Assessments

Line of Inquiry: How animals use plants

An informal assessment was done to help understand the children's knowledge of how animals use plants. We looked at the mural they made last week and the children expressed their knowledge. It was evident that the children know that animals use plants for food and to camouflage for protection. What was missing was an understanding that animals use plants for shelter. We will explore this tomorrow.

The children cut out animals and placed them on the mural remembering the different ways animals use plants. An example of this understanding was when a child placed a brown pill bug on a brown tree and said "My little pill bug saw the raccoon and it ran to camouflage."

Cutting with scissors is an important skill and is a part of Kindergarten readiness. The children have a variety of skill and confidence. I took this opportunity for the children to practise this skill and reflect on their confidence and ability. The children assessed their skill before the activity and then  after. They were given three options:

• I am good at cutting
• Sometimes when I cut it turns out the way I want it, sometimes it doesn't
• When I cut it doesn't turn out the way I want it

All the children assessed their skill as being good at cutting, except Nicki who thought sometimes he was. The group was quiet, deep in concentration, as they cut out the animals. Rocco said, "This is harder than I thought!" After the activity the children reflected on their beginning assessment and decided if their idea changed or stayed the same. Nicki changed his idea to "I am good at cutting". Rocco and Sarah changed their thinking to "Sometimes when I cut it turns out the way I want it, sometimes it doesn't" and the rest of the children's thoughts stayed the same.