Transforming an Icebreaker into a Standards-Based Formative Pre-Assessment

 

 

I have modified the usual Find Someone icebreaker as a way of pre-assessing who knows what about the topic or has had experiences with various aspects of a course or a unit. For the course of Oral Presentations, I look at the course outcomes and then create a list of the major performance tasks that they will do in the class. These tasks become the who has… statements. Students interview each other to find someone who has….. Not only does the asking student write down the name of the person who has done the activity but the asker also writes down what she or he has specifically done. I collect the icebreakers as a quick class analysis. I begin to plan what specific activities or suggestions will help the students to close the gap between where they are and the desired outcome.

Mini-version of Oral Presentations Standards-Based Find-Someone

Persuaded/convinced another person to do something or think in a different way

Taught a small group how to do something

Presented new information to a small group of people (2-5)

Discussed an issue with a large group of people (10+) who disagreed with your point of view

Create a Find Someone Who for your next unit to canvass what your students know and what areas they need assistance with. By structuring it around your standard(s) for that unit, you can learn much about the present status of your students and begin to determine what you can do to help them grow in the standard.

Harry Grover Tuttle, 2007