Success Criteria, Self/peer Assessment

[Guest]

Does anyone know of any great sites that help you with success criteria in reception class or in numeracy or literacy in general. I am an nqt and trying to develop this in my classroom but I get so far and then feel like I have ran backwards.

 

At the moment I have sorted out a writing success criteria using pictures which the children use in self assessing their own work and HA/GT go on to peer assess. What are other people doing and does some one have the magical site or words of advice to help me start moving forward again????

[Susan]

Sounds great! What are you using?

 

Have you looked at lancsgfl? There is some good stuff on there but its quite hard to find stuff for reception.

Also Sparklebox might have something you can adapt and communications4all is quite good too.

[meles]

hello

im sorry i cant help, but i am very interested in this area. my SMT want me to devlop something similar to what your doing. any advice or information you could give me would great!

i really hope you can help

thank you

meles

[Guest]

Isn't the whole Success Criteria regime a bit heavy for reception?

 

I would say (and this is just my opinion) that success for a four/five year old is not about meeting the criteria set by profile levels or Early Learning Goals (as the Success Criteria for SATs year children seems to be based); it is more about the children feeling themselves that they have achieved what they have been asked (for adult led)or what they set out to do (for child initiated).

Maybe a simple smiley drawn by the child for an adult led /directed task to be compared with the teachers smiley (or not!!).

 

Any more would be moving against the whole principle of the EYFS, creativity, childhood etc. Shouldn't we be thinking more about moving reception into KS1 not the other way around. That's one of the parts of the Rose review I agree with!!!

 

Incidentally, whatever happened to the Alexander review. Think I'll start a thread!!

[Guest]

I think your right in asking the children do they understand with thumbs or smiley faces but its not what were hearing in local area at min ofsted what to see all children challenged and moving ks1 success crtieria into ha/GT reception seems the way forward (it is presumed). At the min we are using two stars in and a wish in plenaries or after group work so it can be from things they have been making diring play or when writing a sentence. Im going to some outstanding providers soon so Ill keep updated. THanks for your reply

[Guest]

I think your right in asking the children do they understand with thumbs or smiley faces but its not what were hearing in local area at min ofsted what to see all children challenged and moving ks1 success crtieria into ha/GT reception seems the way forward (it is presumed). At the min we are using two stars in and a wish in plenaries or after group work so it can be from things they have been making during play or when writing a sentence. Im going to some outstanding providers soon so Ill keep updated.

 

We also use pink and green highlighters in writing and children peer mark work in a group highlight capital letters, fingerspaces and full stops.

 

There is a formative assessment book i think it shirley clarkes and they have pictorial success criteria for reception. Ive got writing established now so reading is my next target.

[Guest]

Thanks Sam, would certainly love to hear what others are doing. There does seem to be a bit of a push for success criteria at mo; just seems sooooo formal and un-fun(if there's such a word) in reception doesn't it? I like the idea of using the stars and a wish in reception. Maybe Ill look at using something like that in my classroom. Do you do that as whole class verbal feedback in plenary or do you ask each group to feed back after the have finished an adult-led or directed activity.

[melc]

Hi,

 

Just found this thread and I was wondering if anyone can elaborate for me on some of the things that you do for self assessment like 2 stars and a wish and the pictorial clues as suggested earlier in the thread.

 

Many thanks

 

Mel

[Guest]

Hi at the mo in recpetion Im just doing thumbs up and down. but more at the ned of spring term esp in writing with ha then use 2 stars and a wish - will have to see how the gorup get on might be more appro earlier or not at all. I have got success criterai posters for writing and reading - the reading at the mo has on using reading finger and sounding at words and will add to later in the year as we progress. Writing has on it sounding out words nothing else as we arent really at that stage yet just finishing phase 2 phonics. This was an idea from shirley clarke book formative assessment its got a red cover but dont know isbn or anything sorry.

[Guest]

Hi

 

I do the whole pink and green highlighting of writing and next step marking (supported) tasks but have to say not until after Christmas and in a very friendly informal way - i'm just dipping their toe in the water of what is to come further up the school. We have a pictoral sign of success criteria for writing - finger - finger spaces, mouth - for keep saying the sentence, ear - for listen for the sounds, abc - for write the sounds you can hear and lines and a pencil - for neat handwriting.

 

I have started developing simple success criteria for other things, although it is only very informal. I ask the children what i would see if they were playing with the 'sand' successfully - 'sharing, taking turns, talking about what we are doing, keeping the sand in the tray, building things together...' it's taken some modeling but we're getting there.

 

I also stop them for mini plenaries throughout the day for them to share waht they've been 'learning' - it's taken a while to get past the ';nothing we're just playing' stage but io feel like we're beginning to get them thinking a little more about what they are learning the children are certinally aware that they are developing their PSED skills constantly.

 

I'm very keen to develop this area of my practice - Di Pardo has done a lot of work on AfL startegies in EYFS and KS1

 

Will keep reading

 

Drew

[Susan]

Drew---where did/do you get your visuals from?

[Guest]

Isn't the whole Success Criteria regime a bit heavy for reception?

 

I would say (and this is just my opinion) that success for a four/five year old is not about meeting the criteria set by profile levels or Early Learning Goals (as the Success Criteria for SATs year children seems to be based); it is more about the children feeling themselves that they have achieved what they have been asked (for adult led)or what they set out to do (for child initiated).

Maybe a simple smiley drawn by the child for an adult led /directed task to be compared with the teachers smiley (or not!!).

 

Any more would be moving against the whole principle of the EYFS, creativity, childhood etc. Shouldn't we be thinking more about moving reception into KS1 not the other way around. That's one of the parts of the Rose review I agree with!!!

 

Incidentally, whatever happened to the Alexander review. Think I'll start a thread!!

 

 

Phew tattybogle I was beginning to think I was on my own in thinking that this was not appropriate for EYs! Even in my KS1 class I have stopped using success criteria but I do a lot of reviewing with children and how do they feel they did and could they have improved on their effort! I have built on the review idea from Plan/Do/Review in High/Scope and it works really well.

 

I have looked at the Building Learning Power from Guy Claxton and have been on traiining with him but feel that some of the ideas I see other colleagues using are just a bit gimmicky and don't add anything to the children's self esteem!

 

Definately won't be going down that line and to be really honest children learn in my class and make progress and... enjoy themselves!

 

Emilia

[Guest]

I've just drawn them myself, with the children there so they know what it should be, they're all just little pencil drawings - super simple!

 

As for the whole debate about suitable or not - i taught reception and mixed nursery reception for a few years, then moved to year 2 for 3 years and then back to reception. Whilst teaching year 2 i went on series of courses about AfL, this resulted in changes to my classroom practice. These ideas i've now watered down and employ in my reception class. I can't say whether or not it's had an impact on attainment but it has certinally increased the children's ability to talk about their learning and in my opinion that can only be a good thing. Di Pardoe's ideas have a great many links to Guy Claxton and all the thinking skills stuff.

 

Drew

[Susan]

AFL is something Im struggling to get up and running successfully.

Do you have any other tips that you could share please?

[Guest]

Phew tattybogle I was beginning to think I was on my own in thinking that this was not appropriate for EYs! Even in my KS1 class I have stopped using success criteria but I do a lot of reviewing with children and how do they feel they did and could they have improved on their effort! [\quote]

 

Like you I don't use sucess criteria with my year one class either. They know what I expect them to do and we always talk about using finger spaces etc before they start their writing but I don't set these out as 'sucess criteria' in a formal way. To them they are 'successful' if they complete the task and I don't like the idea of them feeling 'unsuccessful' just because they've failed to meet one of the criteria.

 

I do praise them for what they have done and discuss how to improve their work when appropriate, but again two stars and a wish is a bit formal for children so young particularly when they aren't producing a lot of writing. It becomes endlessly repetitive and I find myself searching for something else to say for the second 'star' that I haven't said hundreds of times already. Plus although I'm all for teaching children how to improve sometimes it's nice for a child just to hear, "well done, you've done that brilliantly" without having to hear "... oh but by the way you could have done this better" or even "how do you think it could be better?" As an adult I think we ourselves sometimes like to hear that; no matter how reflective we are sometimes it's nice to just have something we've done considered perfect and unimprovable, and I don't think we should deny children that by constantly pushing things like 'two stars and a wish' for each and every piece of work.

[Susan]

Maybe thats why I'm struggling!

But it is an expectation that I need to at least try and meet.

[Guest]

Hi - weve been trying something that I read on here a while back - we have a curious cat and and learning lion. - At the begining of the day learning lion tells us what we need to be able to do/learn by the end of the day (this is focussed on our grouptime) and then curious cat watches all day - he has a box which children can post their own work into (they get stickers if it matches the success for the day) and we have two photographers who go around looking for learning to show cat and lion. Children have begun to approach our daily photographers asking them to come and take pictures etc. At the end of each day we have begun to swap our story time for a slide show of the days pictures - we give the children opps to talk about what they did and how they acieved the days success criteria. I save all the pictures in a dated file each week and on fridays when parents come to read at the end of the day the pictures are playing on slideshow to allow the children to review the week. (Also gives me something constructive to do with the children whoose parents do not come!!) Intoriducing success criteria is something I am struggling to do with my class but I feel this is a start.

[Susan]

That sounds lovely. So another purchase--digital photo frame or do you use your IWB?

[Guest]

That sounds lovely. So another purchase--digital photo frame or do you use your IWB?

 

That does sound a lovely idea, I would save yourself the purchase of the photo frame though, the IWB is great for doing slide shows like this and the advantages over a digital photo frame are that it is large enough for many people to look at at once. I put up slide shows relating to the lesson quite often such as pictures of monsters or dinosaurs and after the holidays it will of course be pictures of snow!

 

At the end of each day we have begun to swap our story time for a slide show of the days pictures

 

Have you moved storytime to another time of day? If so when do you fit it in? Whilst your idea sounds great I would be reluctant to replace storytime altogether as the children love it and on two seperate recent courses we were told repeatedly about the benefits and importance of storytime to young children, even if shared reading sessions are going on during literacy work.

 

Also do your children use a child friendly digital camera though or are they just using normal ones Ems? We only have one of the normal ones and getting a child friendly purchased one would be like pulling teeth. I was just wondering if anyone had found children using the normal versions sucessful?

Edited January 1, 2010 by Guest

[Guest]

yes - we do use the IWB I prefer this as it is bigger so we can all see it at the same time.

Yes we have fitted story time in during other parts of the day - I often find the end of the day quite hectic and wasnt in the right frame of mind for story time then! So we sometimes read a story before lunch or at the start of the day as i agree that it would be sad to let this part of the day go altogether.

As for the digital camera - i know what you mean - my head has promise that if i make this work we can buy a child friendly one but for now they are using a very old camera of my own from home which they appear to be able to work easily enough. This means we have to cameras each day as they are also used to using the school camera (which is a normal "adults" one) and that we can have to offical photographers each day. However when one of the adults needs a camera to capture something else going on it can be a bit of a battle!