Muna Arafat

West Sylvan MS.

Portland, Oregon

Assessment Activities for Low Novice Students

When planning a lesson, I try to divert from using traditional worksheets by including interactive activities as a teaching strategy. Activities that keep the fun and generate the student’s interest and engagement whether introducing new words, practicing them, or when assessing. The following are activities used when I taught a unit about food, but can be used with any other topic.

1. Writing a song and singing it Students are assigned, with a partner, to write a song mainly using words from the unit as well as their knowledge in the target language. A rubric is attached to the assignment to clarify the goals and the grading. See p.3 &4 for the assignment instructions.

2. Bingo

A bingo game was designed where I included images of food items on one side, and verbs and nouns written in Arabic on the other. Verbs and nouns can also be written English and called out in Arabic. Use the attached images and words p 5 thru 9 to create bingo cards. Bingo template is on p. 10

3. Sorting

For this activity you need:

a) Flash cards with written names of fruits and vegetables in the target language. Cards should be shuffled.

b) Two small tubs or cardboard boxes. One for fruits cards and the other for vegetables. A set for each team.

c) Alarm clock set for two minutes or more depending on the number of students.Form students into two equal and compatible teams. The first student reads the first card and puts it in the matching tub.

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Each student reads, sorts, and then passes the stack to the next person in line. The activity continues until the alarm sounds. Each team checks the other team’s cards, the team with the least errors wins. Use the attached images and words p 5 thru 9 as flash cards for this game.

4. Find your partner:Give half of the class cards with vocabulary words and the other half an image of the words. Ask student to look for their matching partner. Use the attached images and words p 5 thru 9 as flash cards for this game.

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“At the Restaurant” Song AssignmentYou are to create a song about being at a restaurant and perform it in class. The assignment should include the following:

1. Language and grammar

a. Correct conjugationb. Accurate pronunciationc. Subject verb agreement

2. The Songa. You can work by yourself or in a pair b. Include a title and a message. You need to tell us what the song is trying

to convey c. You should be prepared to sing smoothly, but you don’t need to have the

song memorized. You can read the lyrics only if they are written in Arabic.

d. both partners participating equally in writing the song and in singing (whether singing the whole song together, or taking turns singing)

e. A live performance.3. Tips

a. The easiest way to do this is to take a song that you already know and just replace the lyrics rather than trying to create an original tune.

b. Most songs have repetition, don’t be afraid to use the same phrase more than once.

c. Try to look up a simple song template such as the ones written for children.

The assignment is worth _________ and is due ___________.

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Rubric for At The Restaurant Song Assignment

Category 4 3 2 1Use of vocabulary Student uses a wide

variety of vocabulary words. His or her usage of the words demonstrates an understanding of their meaning. The student uses vocabulary from class and does include new words from another source.

Student uses a range of vocabulary words correctly, but their vocabulary is narrower than a (4). The student may use new words from outside the class without fully understanding their correct usage.

Student uses a narrow range vocabulary words correctly, sometimes incorrectly. The student may use new words from outside the class without fully understanding their correct usage.

Student uses a narrow range of vocabulary, often in a way that shows he/she does not understand their meaning / OR the student’s vocabulary is mostly from an outside source; student demonstrates his lack of understanding of these words.

Pronunciation and comprehensibility

The student’s pronunciation enhances his/her ability to communicate. Each word he or she says is easy to understand.

The student’s pronunciation mostly interferes with the listener’s understanding of individual words, but does not obscure his or her overall meaning.

The student’s pronunciation makes some entire sentences and thoughts difficult to understand, but the listener can grasp the overall meaning.

It is frequently difficult to understand the student due to his/her pronunciation.

Language control (use of grammatical structures)

The student always demonstrates excellent control of grammar and uses grammatical structures we have covered in class correctly almost all of the time. E.g., the student conjugates verbs correctly, uses correct noun-adjective order and agreement.

The student demonstrates good control of grammar and uses grammatical structures we have covered in class most of the time, but his or her presentation contains some grammatical mistakes. However, these mistakes do not interfere with the listener’s overall understanding.

The student demonstrates control of grammatical structures some of the time, and his or her grammatical mistakes interfere with the listener’s understanding.

The student demonstrates weak control of grammar, and mistakes obscure his or her intended meaning.

Fluency The student’s speech is continuous when appropriate, with pauses when appropriate. The student has clearly memorized what he or she has planned to say.

The student shows some hesitation in speaking but does not leave any incomplete thoughts or sentences.The student has clearly memorized what he or she has planned to say.

The student’s speech is choppy and/or slow with frequent pauses, but he or she has only a few incomplete thoughts. It may be unclear to the listener whether or not the student has memorized his presentation.

The student’s speech is halting or slow with long pauses and many incomplete thoughts. / OR The student gives a clear indication of not having memorized his presentation, such as stopping to consult something off the paper.

Inclusion of The student included all the necessary parts of the song. His or her interpretation of the project shows thought and creativity.

The student included most parts, but not all. His or her interpretation of the project shows thought and creativity.

The student included only a few necessary parts. His or her interpretation of the project is basic and lacks creativity.

The song did not include any of the necessary parts.

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فواكه فواكه

موز - موزة

خوخ - خوخة

رمان - رمانة

تين

5

عنب

دراق

كرز

توت

فراولة

تفاحة - تفاح

6

بطيخ - بطيخة

شمام

برتقال - برتقالة

أناناس

مشمش

خيار

7

جزر

بطاطا

بصل

ثوم

خس

كوسا

8

طماطم

باذنجان

زيتون

فليفلة

ذرة

9

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