In thinking about what to assess in our 2nd grade curriculum, I am over whelmed with options. In our core subjects (i.e. math, phonics, writing, and reading) we already have many assessments that we use effectively. However when it comes to social studies and science our assessments are severely outdated. They consist of matching and cut and past activities, that were created in the early 90’s. This is where I think our biggest need for assessment is. In thinking about where we are currently, in our science and social studies units, we are teaching the stages of the water cycle.
The purpose of this assessment would be to see the students understanding of the water cycle, and the various stages in the cycle. This goes along with the Next Generation Science Standard:
Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.
Performance Expectation
Grade: K-2
My thoughts for this assessment would be to have the students do a stop motion animation video of the water cycle. Apple has a great app for this called Stop Motion Studio. I have used it before with creating lego stop motion videos with my after school STEAM students. There would be some instruction that would have to happen prior to them making the video. A good way to do this would be to show them examples of the videos, then create a video together, before letting them work on their own to create a video for fun. To help them with making their water cycle video, I would give them cut outs of water cycle labels, raindrops, and clouds, which they could use as they move around to the different stages of the cycle. The end product would look similar to the video below.
The instructions which can be found here, outline to the students what they will need to do with their video. Stop motion animation is essentially a series of pictures, as they move the water droplets and labels through the cycle they are to snap pictures moving the droplets only a little bit between stages. All the pictures are then compiled and make up a video highlighting the stages of the water cycle.
This type assessment will be super engaging for the students and will give them a purpose behind learning the cycle. It will be a way for them to add a creative spin in water cycle, and for me to see their understanding in an entertaining way. Which is a big upgrade from checking cut and paste activities. It is also an idea we could use with other science assessments we do throughout the year, like with stages of matter for example, and needs of a plants. This type of assessment can be very versatile.
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