Reports: 2009-2010 Vol Ume I I I

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Amherstburg Public School
How will increased involvement in student activities (for gr. 4 8) such as
intramurals and the Speak Up Project, affect student perception of their
place in the school community?
Begley Public School, Kingsville Public School, and
Prince Edward Public School
How will explicit teaching of the critical
literary strategies of using problem posing questions and alternative
perspectives affect students' ability to independently demonstrate
critical thinking when interacting with texts?
General Amherst High School

What types of questions, comprehension strategies and methods
of instruction are our grade nine applied students struggling with
most across the curriculum?
11
Glenwood Public School

How does providing daily explicit classroom instruction
in fluency affect comprehension in English Language Learning (ELL)
students?
16
J.L. Forster Secondary and Vincent Massey Secondary

How will the use of popular music in instruction and in
assessment / evaluation engage students in deeper critical
thinking more frequently?
20
LaSalle Public School

How does mapping writing expectations affect teachers
awareness of the writing expectations 3.1 3.8?
27
Public Alternative Secondary School (P.A.S.S.)

Given the transient nature of our students and the challenges
we face in implementing an integrated Character Development
program in the alternative setting of P.A.S.S., how can we best
develop and deliver effective programming to meet our students needs?
33
Vincent Massey Secondary School

How can the Civics Final Summative Evaluation (FSE) be
improved to increase student engagement and success rate
while incorporating what we know about differentiation and learning styles?
37

How will the restructuring of the Applied Canadian History
courseto include differentiated and scaffolded instruction and
projects, as well as team teachingaffect student engagement,
achievement and success?
42

What are the needs of the students enrolled in the
Enriched program and how can teachers, administration and
parents address those needs?
45

How can continual
common diagnostic assessment be used to identify the
essential mathematics sills grade nine students are lacking?
58

How can students preferred learning styles be
incorporated into developing assignments, assessments,
and evaluations in order to improve student motivation
and achievement?
68
Walkerville Collegiate Institute

How will the use of the CPS program improve student
understanding and success on assessments in core courses?
73
Walkerville Collegiate Institute

How will strategic vocabulary instruction affect
student achievement?
79
W.F. Herman Secondary School

Can participation in a teacher moderation exercise increase
the teachers ability to provide specific feedback to students?
Will an increase in specific feedback increase students ability to
pass the OSSLT?
82
School: Amherstburg Public School

Inquiry Team: Lori Hugli (Vice Principal), Carrie More, Joanie Cotter, Erin Holt,
Jennifer Huggins, and Pam Badiuk (Literacy/Numeracy Support Teacher)
Action Research Question:
intramurals and the Speak Up Project, affect student perception of their place in
the school community?
Introduction
At Amherstburg Public School we were concerned that student participation in
school events was sub par and that many students were displaying a degree of
apathy. We looked at the development of house teams to support a sense of
community and the development of character. To target the intermediate
students, grade 8 students were encouraged to create a proposal and apply for a
Speak-Up Grant. The students were successful in receiving a $1200 grant for
promotion of community through the awareness and reduction of bullying
behaviors. Our project crossed divisions and engaged all students and staff.
Our Action Research team was interested in exploring the guiding question
intramurals and the Speak Up Project, affect student perception of their place in
the school community?
Rationale
The team wanted to explore the effects of these two new projects on the student
body. Our primary goal was to increase the engagement of our students in the
school community. In our implementation survey we discovered that only 44% of
our students identified that they were part of a school team. We wanted to
reduce the sense of exclusion around school teams in general and we hoped that
an intramural program would shift attitudes about school and increase the level of
their current participation in school events and positive activities.
Method
Creation of House Colours
Students were divided randomly into one of four house colours (red, blue, yellow,
and green). Care was taken to assign an equal number of students to each
house and to use multi-age groupings. At monthly assemblies students were
introduced to the concept of house teams, how they could generate points for
their team, and they were encouraged to participate in monthly house colour
spirit days. We introduced a gold House Cup that was awarded monthly.
Students from the winning house team received a treat from the cup.
Intramural Program
A team of teachers met to create and schedule a series of physical activities.

The activities were offered on the second nutrition break, in the gym, four times a
week. Students participated based on their grade: PeeWees (gr. 3-4), Bantams
(gr. 5-6), and Majors (gr. 7 -8). Some days were designated as an open gym
day and all interested students were invited to participate. Students received
one house point for attending and an additional point if they were wearing their
house colour.
Speak-Up Program
Students generated the Once in a Lifetime, Once Everyday program for building
relationships in the school. A newsletter was created by the student team and
sent home to parents. The students also created a letter box where students
were invited to submit anonymous letters about their bullying experiences. The
intermediate students also visited primary and junior classes to read mentor texts
with the theme of positive interactions. In partnership with student council and the
principal, students have purchased pink t-shirts with an anti-bullying logo they
designed. The project culminated with the filming of a video which will be shown
at a school assembly where everyone in the school will be given a t-shirt.
Findings
Data Collection
We administered pre and post attitude surveys and examined discipline tracking
data. Focus groups were conducted at the mid point of the project with junior
and intermediate students.
Preliminary Data Results
Behavioral Indicators: Discipline Tracking from January to March 2009 reported
46% of the student population had detentions (1 for bullying, 14 for hands on,3
for harassment, and 19 for insubordination) 33% suspensions (none for bullying),
under 10% reported in school counsel, parent meetings, and supervised
withdrawal.
School Participation Indictors:
When students were asked if they were part of a school team, only 42% of
students agreed with that statement. However, 80% of the students reported
participating in school events in general. Examining recess activities, 85% of the
students indicated that they participate in positive activities. 60% of the students
have engaged in helping other students in different grades but only 22% of the
students identified that they engaged in regular helping activities in the school
and in their classroom.
Emotional Indicators:
I feel like Im part of the school community 85% of the students at the onset
of the project did report that they felt part of the school community however, only
35% felt strongly about this question. As well, 76% of the student population
reported being happy at school, with 22% feeling strongly about this statement.
When asked about relationships with students in other grades, 84% of the
student body knew students in other grades at the school. And 76% of the
students reported feeling motivated to become involved in school activities.
Post Results
Behavioral Indicators: Examining the Discipline Tracking for the same January
March timeframe in 2010, we noticed 17 % of the student population had
detentions (none for bullying), 44% suspensions, 48% reported in school
counsel, parent meetings, and supervised withdrawal.
School Participation Indictors:
Student engagement in school team activities increased by 20% (61%).
Surprisingly, there was a slight decrease to 75% for students reporting
involvement with school activities as a whole. As well, we noticed a slight
decrease (8%) in the reporting of positive recess activities (T=75%).
Emotional Indicators:
75% of the students reported feeling like they were part of a school community.
Students also appeared to be less satisfied with school as 57% of the students
reported that they felt happy at school. Yet, 66% of the students continued to
report that they felt motivated to come to school.
Focus Group Discussions:
Three focus groups, one from each division, had similar comments. All reported
enjoying their intramural experiences and feeling a part of the school community.
Younger, primary students, were pleased to have older students play with them.
Recommendations
As a result of our project, our goal in creating a sense of community in our
students extended to our disciplinary system. Staff commitment to reducing
bullying and intimidation, thus creating a feeling of safety in our environment,
resulted in an increase in the number of suspensions for bullying and an increase
in parent awareness of these incidents. If we are going to continue to create a
feeling of safety in our students then as adults we need to be committed to
following through with discipline when students have confidence to report it to us.
It is important to note that the school community experienced two very tragic
events during the time of the action research project. A very prominent teacher
at the school was seriously injured in a car accident. His teaching and coaching
duties were reassigned to other teachers and he has not returned to school. As
well, a family survived a house fire that left them homeless. Staff and students
rallied to support both the teacher and his family and the family of their
classmates. The school culture has always been one of helping and giving and
both incidents had marked emotional impact on the school. We are confident
that we will see a gradual return to strong feelings of school involvement.
We discovered the value of eliciting student discussion when we held the focus
groups. In the future, we would create a number of focus groups to interview at
the beginning of the school year. This would help in gathering early needs
indicators that could be helpful as we establish our intramural and other school
activities. We also found that when we administered the post survey using the
CPS unit that we were able to also hear verbal responses and questions about
the purpose of the survey. We also found, through student discussion, that some
of the questions were not clear to the students. Seeking student input for
creating a positive school culture is essential to the success of future programs.
The timing of the administration of the surveys is another factor that may
influence student responses. Ideally, we would like to see these surveys
administered in the fall and early spring. We need to be sensitive to all of the
school events that might affect students emotional responses (ex. EQAO testing,
report cards).
Finally, we must acknowledge the tangible benefits that were observed
throughout the program. The introduction of house colours created a team like
atmosphere across the schools as opposed to within each classroom. The
house colours also encouraged students from older grades to interact more with
students from the younger grades. We know from our focus groups that this
interaction was important to our younger students. They enjoyed being able to
interact with the big kids. As well, the work that was completed by the SpeakUp Students served to, again, bridge the gap between younger and older
students. An expectation was created that the intermediate students were
charged with the responsibility of delivering positive messages to the younger
students. The time spent in the younger classrooms was definitely worthwhile.
It was our hope that initiation of Intramurals, House Colours, and the
Speak-Up program would result in a greater sense of community.
Although not all of our data showed the gains that we had hoped it has
provided us with areas of growth for next year. This leads to further action
research to be conducted as we compare the results from this year to data
collected in the new school year.
Schools: Begley Public School, Kingsville Public School, and Prince Edward
Public School
Inquiry Team: Sharon Jones, Rose Lesperance, and Danielle Mooney
Action Research Question: How will explicit teaching of the critical literary
strategies of using problem posing questions and alternative perspectives affect
students' ability to independently demonstrate critical thinking when interacting
with texts?
Introduction
Critical literacy (CL) goes beyond conventional critical thinking because it asks
students to question the authority of texts and to explore issues of bias,
perspective, and social justice. In the multi-literate world of the twenty-first
century, it is not sufficient simply to teach students how to read at a literal level.
Students need to develop the ability to decipher critically the messages contained
in texts, whether those messages were intentional or unintentional.
A Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction Grade 4 to 6, Volume 1, Foundations of Literacy
Instruction for the Junior Learner, pg. 63.
Rationale:
Our research team members are Junior level teachers, grades 4-6, who are also
currently participating in an on-going PLC on critical literacy. We have recognized
that students demonstrate higher order thinking skills and a higher level of
engagement when critical literacy instructional strategies are used while
interacting with texts.
To be critically literate means to have the needed skills to consider texts from a
questioning stance. We wondered if students could demonstrate these skills
independently when reading, hearing or viewing texts.
Method:
In the three classrooms, focus groups were composed of six students: three boys
and three girls representing all levels of achievement.
Explicitly pre-teaching the Reading for Meaning strategies as identified in the
Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction (e.g. activating prior knowledge,
questioning, making inferences) facilitated scaffolding the support students need
to move from a literal to a deeper understanding of texts. Without the prior
knowledge of the Reading for Meaning strategies, students had difficulty
understanding the elements of CL (e.g. stereotype, bias, alternative
perspectives.) The pre-teaching of these strategies was paramount for student
success in critical thinking practice.
Mini-lessons were taught introducing each element of Critical Literacy (multiple

perspectives, finding themes in texts [common threads], problem posing
questions). Specific mentor texts were used to highlight each critical literacy
strategy (specific texts forms include music lyrics, CD covers, photographic
works, poetry, picture books, and media clips). Explicit teaching of these
concepts enabled students to demonstrate their understanding in small
independent activities presented after each lesson.
As our inquiry project unfolded, a greater focus was then put on problem posing
questions and examining alternative perspectives, both present and absent in the
texts. Using an organizer as suggested by Lee Heffernan in Critical Literacy and
Writers Workshop (see Appendix A) questions were posed, responded to, and
analyzed. A gradual release of responsibility model was used to support students
in developing these skills.
Observations:
At the end of the inquiry project, after scaffolding learning to examine posing
questions and alternative perspectives, we observed:
1) Student engagement was evident when providing students with
meaningful, complex texts and an opportunity to question and challenge
the texts (action strategies, giving students a voice in small and large
group discussions) in a risk free classroom environment. Selecting texts
that students could relate to, that allowed multiple viewpoints and that
challenged the status quo resulted in high engagement.
2) Students demonstrated higher level achievement in the thinking category
of the achievement chart in the Ontario Language Curriculum 2006.
Students were able to make inferences, detect bias and examine multiple
perspectives. This was particularly evident in oral discussions and when
creating visual representations. However, students struggle to
demonstrate this level of achievement in written responses.
3) When students had access to co-created anchor charts that were
developed when examining problem posing questions (see Appendix B)
students were able to independently utilize the anchor charts and generate
critical discussions in small groups. Not all students in the focus group
initiated problem posing questions independently, on a consistent basis.
However, when attention was drawn to the anchor charts more students
readily initiated deeper conversations.
4) A reading assessment tool that requires students to consider alternative
perspectives is CASI question #8. Sixty percent of the students in the
focus group increased their level of achievement. Forty percent did not
change their level of achievement. All students responded to questions in

writing.
Next Steps:
Although students are engaged and demonstrate deep understanding orally, they
continue to struggle to demonstrate this thinking in written form. Our continued
challenge is to identify strategies that will develop students ability to clearly
articulate their thinking in writing.
We recognized that not all students were able to internalize independent use of
CL skills within the time frame of this inquiry. We are left wondering, if students
were to experience instruction with a CL focus beginning in the Early Years and
continuing across the divisions, would these CL thinking skills become a habit of
mind?
This inquiry has reaffirmed our belief that CL is an essential skill for students in
the Twenty-First century. We will continue to create opportunities to embed CL
skills (e.g. problem posing questions to challenge the text, consider alternative
perspectives, recognize bias and stereotype) in authentic context across all
subject areas not view it as a single unit of study.
References:
Heffernan, Lee. (2004). Critical Literacy and the Writers Workshop. Newark, DE;
International Reading Association.
McLaughlin, M and DeVoogd, G. (2004). Critical Literacy Enhancing Students
Comprehension of Text. New York, N.Y.; Scholastic Inc.
Wilhelm, Jeffrey. (2002). Action Strategies for Deepening Comprehension. New
York, N.Y.; Scholastic Inc.
Appendix A:
Response Sheet
Something important I want to remember about
this book is:
Something that I did not expect or something that

surprised me was:
Questions I have about the text are:
Write down a topic from your own life that

connects in some way to this text.
Appendix B:
Anchor Chart of Problem Posing Questions
1) Who is in the text/picture?
2) Who is missing?
3) Whose voices are represented?
4) Whose voices are marginalized?
5) Whose perspective does the author favour?
6) What does the author want you to think or feel?
7) What gender is represented in the text?
8) How does changing the gender, change the story?
9)
What story might an alternative text tell?
10
School: General Amherst High School

Inquiry Team: Nicole Maxey (Think Literacy Team Teacher), Jaclyn Deneau,
Heather Leighton, Stephanie Melcher, and Allison Van Geest
Action Research Question: What types of questions, comprehension
strategies and methods of instruction are our grade nine applied students
struggling with most across the curriculum?
Introduction and Rationale
Student achievement results are important indicators of educational quality.
However, achievement results can be interpreted meaningfully only in the context
of the system that produced them (The Education Quality Indicators Framework,
2010). It is with this understanding that our action research team decided to
examine the entire context of our grade nine applied classrooms across the
curriculum. Through our research we were able to gain insight into the academic
areas of difficulty for our grade nine applied students. Included in this were the
types of assessment, questions and comprehension strategies they had the most
difficulty with, and the areas of improvement that the teachers of these students
identified, as necessary for future success.
In addition to surveying both the grade nine applied students and the grade nine
applied teachers, our findings also included data and results collated from the
Ontario Comprehension Assessment (OCA) which was administered to seventytwo grade nine applied students in various subject areas in March of 2010, as
well as the 2009 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) results for
General Amherst High School.
Throughout the action research process, our goal was to help develop students
who were more involved in their learning process, and to identify the types of
questions and comprehension skills that the applied level students struggled with
the most across the curriculum. In addition to this goal, it was also our hope that
teachers developed an understanding of the overall needs of the students at the
applied level. It was also thought that teachers would strive to incorporate a
wider variety of questioning techniques and literacy strategies to help improve
the success rates of our applied students across the curriculum.
Method
As stated by Marguerite Jackson, Chief Executive Officer for the Education
Quality and Accountability Office, in the School Report for previously eligible
students, OSSLT results are to be interpreted and used alongside results from
classroom assessments and other school-level data, as these are all sources of
important information for supporting students in their education (June 10, 2009).
For this reason our teams action research took a variety of sources into
consideration for our final compilation of evidence and suggestions for next
steps.
11
Firstly, our research focused on the 2009 OSSLT results for the previously
eligible, fully participating students at General Amherst High School. The
purpose of the OSSLT is to determine whether a student has the literacy skills
expected by The Ontario Curriculum across all subjects up to the end of Grade 9
(Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, Framework, 2006). Team members
analyzed the questions from the OSSLT and categorized them according to the
cognitive component of Benjamin Blooms taxonomy. The cognitive component
of Blooms taxonomy is rooted in the belief that the cognitive operations can be
ordered into six increasingly complex levels, each of which build upon each
other, thus creating a hierarchy of learning. The levels become increasingly
more complex as one moves up the hierarchy (Bloom, 201). Once the
questions were separated into categories, team members then identified which
areas, according to the taxonomy, the students were both most and least
successful with.
Next, our research focused on the OCA, administered to seventy-two grade nine
students in March of 2010. The OCA is meant to identify students strengths in
relation to literacy expectations outlined by the Ontario Ministry of Education
(Kagan, 5). A team comprised mostly of grade nine applied teachers across the
curriculum, gathered to mark the test and to compile individual results and data
for each student. According to multiple researchers in adolescent literacy,
highlighted in the OCA Student Success Kit successful readers regardless of
age are active, purposeful, strategic and metacognitive. They construct
meaning and learn from text by using comprehension strategies before, during
and after reading (10). The team of teachers responsible for marking the OCA,
and our action research team, targeted these comprehension strategies and
compiled data based on the student responses using each strategy. Based on
the results of the assessment, our action research team was able to identify
areas of weaknesses for the students related to each comprehension strategy.
Then, those areas were compared to Blooms taxonomy and to the previous
years OSSLT results, to determine if there was a trend among applied students
comprehension skills and critical thinking abilities from year to year.
Finally, our team designed two different surveys. The first one targeted the
grade nine applied students attitude towards learning and literacy. The second
targeted the grade nine applied teachers opinions and perceptions about their
students, and the learning that occured in their classroom. It also targeted the
teachers questioning and teaching style, as well as the comprehension
strategies utilized by their students. From these surveys our team was able to
gather and collate qualitative data that provided realistic information about the
challenges and strengths that were a part of General Amherst High Schools
grade nine applied classrooms across the curriculum.
In the end, the qualitative data from the surveys, and the quantitative data from
our other sources were compiled in order to develop a clear and comprehensive
understanding of our grade nine applied learners. With this information will come
12
an effort among staff members to create a set of common vocabulary words that
will be used on assessments across the curriculum. Also, teachers hoped to
develop a common discourse among themselves when identifying strategies and
techniques to be used in their classrooms. Finally, with this effort an opportunity
developed for them to reflect upon and share their expertise and best practices
with each other, in order to help improve the comprehension strategies and
learning environments of their students.
Findings
To begin, our findings gathered from the analysis of the 2009 OSSLT results for
previously unsuccessful, fully participating students, revealed that the majority of
questions posed on the test required students to think critically and apply the
cognitive operations identified at the higher end of Blooms taxonomy. These
cognitive operations include complex skills such as analyzing, evaluating and
synthesizing information. The data analysis also revealed that these same
students were more likely to be successful when answering knowledge and
comprehension based questions, which required the cognitive operations
identified by Bloom at the bottom of his taxonomy. Furthermore, the data also
revealed that more than one-third of unsuccessful students performed at a level
two or below, according to provincial standards, on questions requiring the
complex skills previously identified.
Next, the results and findings from the OCA revealed a trend when compared to
the results of the 2009 OSSLT. Although written in grade nine and not in grade
ten as the OSSLT is, the OCA highlighted the same areas of difficulty and
concern among our schools weakest learners. The data from the OCA
administered this year, revealed that 65% of the students who wrote the test,
scored a level two or below, according to provincial standards, on the making
inferences portion of the assessment, and 69% of the students scored the same
on the making connections portion. These questions once again, required the
students to make judgements, analyze and evaluate the information provided. It
was clear after analyzing the results from both tests that our applied students
struggled with questions and assessments that included the cognitive operations
identified at the higher end of Blooms taxonomy.
In addition to the information gathered by analyzing the OSSLT and the OCA, our
team also compiled qualitative data from our schools grade nine applied
teachers, through a teacher survey. The information gathered revealed that
almost all of the teachers surveyed felt that students performed best on
knowledge and understanding based questions, and were least successful on
thinking and inquiry, and problem solving based questions. In addition to this
finding, teachers also identified a need on their part, to further develop strategies
to help improve student responses on analysis and evaluation typed questions
and tasks.
13
Also, 83% of the teachers surveyed identified the belief that an increase in critical
thinking in their classroom would conversely increase the level of student
engagement, thus improving the overall level of student success. In order to
increase student engagement, the teachers surveyed also revealed that there
was a need on their part to gradually release the sense of responsibility for
learning within their classrooms. The vast majority of the grade nine applied
teachers answered that they were almost always in charge of, or were in control
of questioning and classroom discussions, creating a very teacher-centered
classroom.
Furthermore, the survey also revealed that the teachers realized that the majority
of the time, on all types of assessments, and classroom discussions, they were
not asking their students to make judgments, evaluations or inferences about
what they were learning. With that revelation came an understanding among the
surveyed teachers that there was a need to improve upon their organization of
questions prior to their lessons. They also realized that they needed to make a
concerted effort to design lessons that included questions that gradually built
their way up the cognitive levels of Blooms taxonomy.
To complete our research, we surveyed eighty-two grade nine applied students
about their opinions concerning literacy, learning and assessment. The majority
of the students surveyed identified that their favourite method of learning in the
classroom was discussion and interaction between themselves, their teacher and
their classmates. This supported the surveyed teachers understanding that in
order to develop a more engaging learning environment, they must interact with
their students and allow them some control over their learning experience. This
also supported the belief that this in turn would create more critical thinkers who
were able to make inferences and connections about themselves, others and the
world around them.
To continue, when asked what type of assessment questions they felt they were
least successful with, the students identified problem solving and evaluation
based questions as their areas of concern. Alternatively, they identified
knowledge based questions and multiple choice questions as their areas of
strength. When asked what the specific difficulty was with critical thinking and
problem solving questions, the students responded that they were often confused
by what was being asked of them and not the actual reading material itself. This
information supported the teachers understanding that creating a common
vocabulary to use on assessments across the curriculum would improve their
students understanding of what was being asked of them, and ultimately their
academic success.
Lastly, the majority of the students who were surveyed claimed that they realized
learning was important, but that it was generally not fun. Also, the same number
of students identified that they realized they were most responsible for their
learning, but that they did not feel that they had much control or had a voice
14
within the classroom. This coincides with the teachers realization that in order to
engage their students on a more regular basis, they needed to allow their
classrooms to be more student-centered. In conclusion, the student survey
developed an understanding among our team members and the grade nine
applied teachers, of how the students viewed their learning experience and the
role they had in it.
Next Steps
In summary, the research conducted answered our action research question and
provided us and our teachers with a clear plan of action for the upcoming school
year. As a team we will look at what the second OCA, administered in June of
2010, tells us in relation to the information we have already gathered. Once this
information is organized, we will then share the results with the teachers of the
identified students in the fall of 2010. This will help them make informed
decisions about the strategies they might use with them within the classroom and
on their assessments. It will also help teachers focus on those students
weaknesses before they have to write the OSSLT in the spring of 2011. We also
plan on developing a list of key vocabulary words that can be used in
assessments across the curriculum so that students understand what is being
asked of them when being questioned about material they have learned. We also
hope to encourage teachers to follow a gradual release of responsibility model,
so that they can develop a more student-centered classroom. Teachers will also
be encouraged to design lessons that include an overarching critical thinking
question so that the rest of their questions are focused, purposeful, and aiming
towards the higher end of Blooms taxonomy. Finally we plan to further develop
strategies to help improve students ability to answer analysis, judgment and
evaluation typed questions. All of the above will continue to be goals in the
upcoming school year at General Amherst High School.
References
Bloom, Benjamin, et al. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification
of Educational Goals. New York: McKay, 1956.
Education Quality and Accountability Office. The Education Quality Indicators
Framework: Program Overview. Toronto: 2010.
Jackson, Marguerite. School Report: Previously Eligible Students, OSSLT. 2010.
Kagan, Elynor. Ontario Comprehension Assessment: Student Success Kit.
Toronto: Pearson, 2009.
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test: Framework. 2006.
15
School: Glenwood Public School

Inquiry Team: Sharon Johnson (Literacy/Numeracy Support Teacher),
Stephanie DiFazio, Amy Vreman, John Dowhan, Alice Ferrone, Susan Ouellette,
and Tammy Wilcox
Action Research Question: How does providing daily explicit classroom
instruction in fluency affect comprehension in English Language Learning (ELL)
students?
Recent EQAO demographic data suggests that Glenwoods school population
has shifted to include a much larger proportion of English Language Learners.
This shift has also changed the dynamics of home-school involvement, with
fewer students being read to by an older person at home (17%) and suggested a
strong need to examine current classroom practices to best determine strategies
to fill the gaps and support reading fluency and higher level comprehension skills
within the classroom setting. For the purpose of this action research project, ELL
was defined as students not speaking English as the first language in the home.
The project identified 24 ELL students out of 80 students in the Early Years and
Primary division.
The Glenwood team recognized the importance of a continuum of consistent
teaching strategies and structures to build ELL learning throughout the early
years and primary division. The project involved all the members of both Early
Years and Primary divisions and provided the opportunity to examine best
practices for ELL instruction, and determine how those practices could be
initiated consistently at Glenwood to develop reading fluency and comprehension
for our growing population of ELL students. Research outlines the correlation of
fluency and comprehension (Fountas,Pinnell, 2001) and the team was interested
in determining how the research was applicable to English Language Learners.
Method
Teachers in the project researched which classroom practices they could
incorporate in order to provide multiple opportunities to increase fluency.
Research suggested that multiple exposure to rich and authentic Read Alouds,
opportunities to reread passages of text both to themselves and with others and
opportunities for building phonemic awareness, phonics and vocabulary were all
high-yield best practices ( Pinnell, Scharer, 2003; Moskal, Blachowicz, 2006).
Teachers decided to use The Daily Five program (Boushey, Mosher,2006) to
foster literacy independence through daily explicit opportunities for building
fluency. Teachers all incorporated the 5 activities of Daily 5 in their classroom.
For 30 minutes a day, all students chose to Read to Self, Read to Someone or
Listen to Reading in order to improve fluency. The activities of Work on Writing
and Working with Words were completed on alternate days. Teachers created a
schedule for students to follow that insured that daily opportunities to read to
16
build fluency were provided. All students in Early Years and Primary participated
not just the 24 identified English Language Learners. Teachers could not justify
excluding students from the opportunity to improve fluency and comprehension.
Students were assessed using the Grade One, Grade Two and Grade Three
DIBELS Assessment of Oral Reading Fluency and Retell Comprehension three
times over the course of the project. Senior Kindergarten students were
administered the DRA assessment as no DIBELS assessment was available at
this grade level. Also, students were tested on their word recognition of the
Dolch Word List each term. Teachers identified the words that were appropriate
for each grade level. Three DIBEL assessments were conducted over the
course of the Action Research project to provided diagnostic, formative and
summative data. While the project originally was intended to focus on ELL
students, teachers recognized that all students would benefit from the project and
so all students completed the Daily Five instruction and were assessed as part of
the project.
Findings
The data from the project are summarized in the charts below.
Percentage of Students Identified At Risk or Some Risk for Fluency
Fluency
ELL (24 students)
English (57 students)
Pre-Assessment
At Risk
No Risk
33%
67%
At Risk
No Risk
39%
61%
Post - Assessment
At Risk
No Risk
29%
71%
At Risk
No Risk
42%
58%
Percentage of Students Identified At Risk or Some Risk for

Comprehension
Comprehension
ELL (24 students)
English (57 students)
Pre-Assessment
At Risk
No Risk
62%
38%
At Risk
No Risk
30%
70%
Post - Assessment
At Risk
No Risk
33%
67%
At Risk
No Risk
26%
74%
Data collected indicated that the number of At Risk ELL students decreased
both for fluency and comprehension. There was a 4% improvement in ELL
fluency and a marked improvement of 29% in comprehension over the course of
the project. Pre-assessment data indicated that the greatest difference initially
between ELL students and English language students was in comprehension not
fluency. Post-assessment data indicated that for ELL students, improving fluency
had a significant impact on comprehension of text. English language students in
fact showed an increase in At Risk fluency results in the post-assessment.
17
Analysis of the data suggested to the team that ELL was not a factor in whether
or not a student was at risk for fluency in reading. There were not significant
differences in the pre-assessment data between the ELL students and the
English language students. However, opportunities to practice fluency daily had a
significant effect for ELL students in how well they understood and
comprehended a text. This finding has importance for the teachers as they plan
classroom instruction as results suggest that ELL students comprehension will
increase significantly if there are consistent and frequent opportunities for
students to re-read passages orally and develop their fluency.
The lack of improvement for the English language students in Fluency was
surprising to the research team. The results may be explained by the fact that the
post-assessment text was more difficult. Further, all participants acknowledged
that the results dont reflect the growth in students even though they didnt reach
benchmark. For example, some English language students increased the
number of words read correctly per minute (a measure of fluency) by up to 47
words even though they did not reach benchmark for their grade level. This
improvement is important and reinforces the need to provide daily opportunities
to practice orally reading, especially for struggling students, in order to improve
the trajectory for success in their learning and for teachers to make ongoing
formative assessment observations in order to improve their explicit instruction
with students.
Even though we did not see a marked improvement in fluency, there was
improvement in comprehension for both groups and especially the ELL students.
Teachers in the project felt this was an important distinction to acknowledge. The
purpose of reading is to make meaning, to build understanding and to
comprehend text so providing opportunities to practice and develop fluency
during the project ultimately improved student comprehension especially and
most significantly with ELL students. This has implications for classroom
instruction as teachers recognize the importance of providing daily opportunities
for fluency building in their classrooms.
Recommendations
The teachers in this project are interested in continuing to track the students in
the project over the next year. Using the DIBELS assessment as a means to
provide a standardized running record of fluency and comprehension would
allow teachers to provide timely and specific instruction for students not meeting
benchmark. The instructional coach could be used to assist in this work and to
provide classroom strategies to support identified students. This would identify
students earlier than the 3 assessment periods required by the board and allow
for early intervention for struggling learners.
Teachers all felt the classroom organizational framework of The Daily Five used
in this project was beneficial in providing consistent and comparable language
18
and structure in all classrooms. As a result of this, the Daily Five framework will
be implemented in all Early Years and Primary classrooms in September 2010.
This will provide daily opportunities for students to practice their fluency by
Reading to Self, Reading to Others and Listening to Reading and provide
consistency of language and instruction throughout the divisions. Our project
suggests that improved fluency will lead to improved comprehension, especially
for our ELL students.
Finally, teachers are interested in focusing more on authentic books for Read
Alouds and for the Daily Five activity of Listening to Reading. This will provide
opportunities for oral language development and conversation in ELL students
and will also improve their recognition and use of conventions. The structure of
Daily Five will improve student independence and stamina for learning and
provide the teachers with an opportunity to consistently work with small groups
and individual students to improve learning. Authentic, rich picture books would
be the resource teachers could use in these small groups in order to encourage
discussion and understanding as they support ELL students and struggling
learners. Opportunities to hear fluent reading and engage in rich conversation will
support students as they work to improve their comprehension. This is a highyield strategy that will benefit all students and help develop the crucial critical
thinking skills necessary for future success.
References
Boushey, G, and Joan Moser. The Daily 5 - Fostering Literacy Independence in
the Elementary Grades. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Press, 2006.
Boushey, G, and Joan Moser. The CAF Book Engaging All Students in Daily
Literacy Assessment and Instruction. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Press,
2009.
Fountas, I. and Gay Sue Pinnell. Guiding Readers and Writers Grade 3 6.
Portsmith, New Hampshire: Heinemann Press, 2001
Moskal, M. and Camille Blachowicz. Partnering for Fluency. New York: Guilford
Press, 2006.
Pinnell, G.S. and Patricia Scharer. Teaching for Comprehension in Reading
Grades K-2. New York: Scholastic Press, 2003.
19
Schools: J.L. Forster Secondary and Vincent Massey Secondary

Inquiry Team: Tammy Palmer (Think Literacy Team Teacher) and Mike
Thrasher.
Action Research Question: How will the use of popular music in instruction and
in assessment / evaluation engage students in deeper critical thinking more
frequently?
Rationale(s):
Since students spend an extraordinary amount of time plugged in to
their MP3 Players / iPods, the use of popular music in the classroom is sure to
make learning more engaging. Listening to music is a natural part of a
teenagers life and using it for academic benefits is a teachable moment that we
should embrace and use frequently. Popular music is cool. It engages
students, and with modeling and scaffolding, it can get students to participate in
a critical analysis that they might not regularly and fully commit to on their own.
In an article published in Education Canada, Roland Case suggests that true
teaching of critical thinking is not occurring as much as it should be or as much
as we believe it to be occurring in our classrooms. Our belief is that using
popular music in our classroom instruction and assessment / evaluation, brings
critical thinking to the main stage of classroom activity. (Case 45-46) This
medium can empower both teacher and student in achieving higher levels of
thinking. According to brain research, the area of our brain that supports
memories is also where familiar music, memories and emotion are linked
(Nauhert). Through music, relationships can be built. Popular music allows the
teacher to understanding teenagers feelings, emotions and their world in a
specific lens, one that is not common and therefore enlightening. This in turn
enhances the learning environment, making students more comfortable in
exposing their thinking. (Which we know is very personal and therefore makes
them / us vulnerable).
Method:
Lesson
How music used in

instruction
Glee Unit:
Based on the FOX TV
musical comedy Glee,
Anticipatory Activity
Three talking points
based on Media
Studies strand in the
English Curriculum
portraying of people &

media bias
In the episodes the

songs exemplify what
the characters are
dealing with or
struggling with in their
daily lives
Teacher scaffolds by
examining lyrics of a
song and leading
Critical thinking outcomes
Students need to
examine why the
song is a more
effective way of
communicating their
issue / struggle than
every day dialogue /
monologue
independently
20
Make connections to
their lives (text-toshow) connections
View episode
(45mins)
During -Chart which
songs are sung by
which character
During -In chart write
why song relates to
the characters
situation
During- Answer
content questions
based on the issues
presented in
Anticipatory Activity
students to recognize
how the song is a
metaphor for the
characters stereotype
and/or issue Think
Alouds
Show examples of
specific genres of
music and then the

teacher elicits
common qualities
attributed to the
people who listen to
that music
Self reflection in
regards to the music
they listen to
Recognizing 2
aspects of self true
versus perceived
(stereotyped)
Students can identify
how musical genres
portray specific
messages and
images to the listener.
Power of Language Unit
Profile students
musical interests
Choose songs
appropriate for
classroom use
Obtain copy of lyrics
put on overhead,
obtain copy of song
Approx. once a week
students listen and
examine lyrics
Speaker, audience,
what is being
communicated, Initial
observations about
the language use
(techniques) and word
choice (This is the
one they focus on)
Timed 20 minutes
Students hand it in
Teacher gives
feedback
Classroom discussion
Think aloud scaffold

through a few
examples to get
rhythm of assignment
Write down initial
observations of what
they see as they
analyze the words
and combinations
thereof. Individual
feedback, to class
discussion after
students individually
decide which is
stronger and more
effective for the lyrics
communication
Word choice or
Techniques
Critically taking a side

to the essential
question: Which is
more important: how
you say something
(Use of techniques /
manipulation of
language) or Choice
of Words?
Writing an essay,
using 2 examples
from class and picking
one of their own.
Reflection survey:
What do you think critical
thinking is?
Do you think the activities
weve done as a class,
with popular music, has
helped you become a
better critical thinker?
Explain.
21
Teacher records on
overhead
Students decide
whether song lyric is a
better example to
support How
Language is used
(Use of techniques /
manipulation of
language) or Choice
of Words.
Overall Teachers Reflections:
Students engaged enjoyed music, change of pace

Energizes the traditional English Classroom
Frequency is important for objective (critical thinking) to be reached
Profiles of students listening preferences must be gathered for
establishing rapport with students
Gathering their music and using it gets them to invest themselves more in
the learning opportunity
Teachers need to filter lyrics and be aware of the meaning behind teenage
jargon / slang
Comfortable as a teacher to be talking about sensitive issues
Teacher needs to be culturally aware, and aware of ones own biases on
many levels but for sure about your biases toward teenage music
Teacher needs to establish that Political Correctness is essential in
whole class discussions but that in written discussion honesty is needed
for genuine self reflection and analysis
Safe community environment is assumed, so that tough issues / honest
analysis can be facilitated.
Student Reflections: Power of Language Unit

When I initially asked the group in a whole class discussion, most said they
really didnt know what critical thinking was. Using brainstorming and Think /
Pair / Share, a short classroom discussion was initiated and revealed they
had some idea of what critical thinking was.
After lessons and practice with music, students used the following words /
phrases ideas to define critical thinking. Their understanding of what critical
thinking was did improve.
22
Girls 16)
3
4
11
Boys (13)
4
2
4
1
3
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
Words / Phrases used to define critical thinking

questioning oneself a lot / rethinking
Making connections to world etc...
deep deeper thought, meaning, understanding /
Harder, more complicated, different, higher level of
thinking
exhausting possibilities / wrapping mind around
something mind open to consider any possibility
Analysis / Searching out / attention to / examining /
studying details that normally go unnoticed. Thorough
Thinking outside the box and inside the box / out of
the ordinary
Important / Importance / Precision
Metacognition thinking about your thinking
Different ways of looking at it every perception
Creativity / imagination used
Reading between the lines
Out of 29 students, 27 expressed a resounding yes to music activities helping

them be better critical thinkers. All the female students were part of that group.
One male student said no. This male student is repeating the course from first
semester and is more comfortable looking at advertisements, other media
because he finds more success in it. Another male student said a little. This
boy doesnt actively engage in the activity consistently. He loves listening to the
music and reading the lyrics but the writing aspect was very challenging for him.
Students noticed that their critical thinking abilities were getting better the more
they did the activity. A few commented on this in their survey.
Some students began to see and make connections to society and what we
value as being represented in the song.
These actual comments taken from the survey seem to be reoccurring themes in
the students response.
It makes me think what the song is really about
I know it has helped me because even outside of class I start to notice things in
songs that I never used to
The songs we used, I was very familiar with, now every time I hear it, I think
about the devices
Looking at language techniques in the songs and other things I might not have
noticed by just listening to them, have helped me identify more with the song.
23
Conclusions:
Using music as the text for students to think about critically, eliminated some
barriers often experience with more traditional texts. Music as part of my
instruction meant scaffolding / modeling / using think-alouds to demonstrate what
I do when critically thinking about music lyrics the words. This did help
students develop their critical thinking skills. Practice in class, once a week also
aided greatly in their development.
Something I didnt really predict is that it also improved their media awareness.
Sometimes in our class discussion students began to refer to the music video
and we would then go back to the actual lyrics and see if what they saw in the
video was actually there. As a class, they began to see how much the visual
impacted and often narrowed the meanings of the lyrics.
By pointing out to students that music represents the values of the society in
which it is popular, they also began identifying what these actual values were,
making them more socially aware. This social awareness wasnt as frequent I
suspect because the format of the unit wasnt devised to focus in on that.
Certainly, the unit could be restructured for this purpose.
A mutual respect for tastes in music developed as well. Since I took as many
music examples as I could from their profiles, the amount of active participation
was quite a bit higher than the usual types of English classroom activities.
Students were not resistant to a song they didnt know or didnt like because of
the parameters and early establishment of our goal. Since most students were
familiar with the songs, there was a noticeable comfort level that isnt usually felt
when proceeding with a novel, short story, text etc I had entered their world.
Too often, I believe we as teachers want students to engage in the world of our
subject area when in reality, it is their world, the one they live in every day that
we should be trying to help them understand better. While I believe all teachers
want this, the way we come across perhaps does not suggest this. Using the
music of their world made this quite evident to me.
This skill of critically looking at language did appear outside this unit too. I
was often elated in classroom discussions when students referred and explained
word choice and or techniques when discussing other texts. Transference of
what had transpired in the music unit has increased as the semester has
progressed. It also appeared in their individual writing.
Student Reflections: Glee Music and Media Unit
Students had heard of the term critical thinking and stated that most teachers
had mentioned it on evaluations or they had seen it on report card comments.
Few students had a concrete idea of what critical thinking actually is. We
discussed the idea together and came to an understanding that critical thinking
was looking at something, comparing it to other things, analyzing its place in the
world, and then evaluating it in our brain. Students then admitted that they didnt
do much critical thinking about their musical preferences.
24
When the students were asked how critical thinking could help them understand
the power of music and how it creates stereotypes their responses varied but
many students had common themes in their responses.
Music is a huge part of my life and my musical preferences have really been
sending a different message to others about myself than I realized.
I have my iPod on all the time. I never even really listen to the words. When I
think about some of the messages that are in the music it makes me think about
how music can really influence your tastes in other parts of life.
I dont really like one type of music. I like all types of music.
These are the three most common types of responses when students were
asked what the music they listen to says about them. They took the time to look
at their musical preferences and also how music stereotypes teenagers. They
looked critically at what they thought they liked and why the liked it.
Conclusion:
Presenting the music in a teen friendly format like Glee was really rewarding for
the students because it removed their inhibitions about talking about teenage
stereotypes which they often see in others, but are afraid to discuss. The
students examinations of the characters stereotypical behaviour and clothing
styles helped them to associate these things with the type of music the character
preferred to sing. Once they made the connections between the song choices of
the characters and the stereotypes associated with that character, they were able
to see how music and its message also stereotype people in the real world.
Students raised their media awareness by openly criticizing the stereotypes in
the show and by seeing how the products associated with specific characters are
marketed to teenagers on a daily basis. The use of the musical-comedy Glee
allowed the students to have a talking point for deeper critical analysis of music
because it provided a visual to reinforce the messages of the music and lyrics.
Students also became aware of growing social issues which they dont normally
discuss with their peers on a daily basis. Some students failed to be engaged in
the critical analysis because they didnt have strong musical preferences and
couldnt associate stereotypes with musical genres. Furthermore, when students
were asked to associate their own musical preferences with the stereotypes
presented in the episode, they had a hard time self reflecting and picking out
what their own musical tastes say about them to others. Most students enjoyed
examining music through a critical lens and are now better critical thinkers. It is
evident in their responses about anything from literature to media that they have
developed the skill to look at things critically and to analyze their world instead of
just ignoring it.
25
Future Directions:
Having students choose a song that represents a theme in a sciencefiction novel. Since the genre of Science Fiction is a believable future
possibility of our world, the theme is often a warning of where our present
society is headed. Therefore, students need to connect the present day
song they choose, explain the values present in it which represents the
values of society, explain connection to novel, the society within and the
theme / warning from science fiction author.
Adolescent Experience CD compilation. Students choose songs that they
feel represent their adolescent experience, explain, and create a CD
cover.
Critically analyzing how the music video gives additional meaning,
shapes meaning, makes a narrower focus
A media study using music- Media Arts, English, History, Anthropology,
Sociology, Languages, Marketing, Law, Parenting,
Establishment of characteristics of each genre more explicitly
An analysis of preconceived notions attached to genres of music.
Could be turned into a study of social values in present society
References:
Case, Roland Moving Critical Thinking to the Main Stage Education Canada
Spring 2005: 45-49 University of British Columbia. Web 3 Jun 2010.
Naubert, Rick Brain Center Link Music, Memory and Emotion
Psych Central News Dr. John Grohol. 24 Feb 2009.
<http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/02/24/brain-center-links-musicmemory-and-emotion/4309.html> Web 2 Jun, 2010.
Paul, Richard, Interview for Think Magazine April 1992. The Critical Thinking
Community
<http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/CTquestionsAnswers.cfm> Web 11
May 2010.
26
School: LaSalle Public School

Inquiry Team: Lynn Robinson, Fiona Baetens, Julie Bib, Kristy Jadischke, Marg
Glasgow, and Sharon Johnson (Literacy/Numeracy Support Teacher)
Action Research Question: How does mapping writing expectations affect
teachers awareness of the writing expectations 3.1 3.8?
Consistently low scores in the writing conventions questions of EQAO
EQAO Expectation
Using Conventions ( spelling,

grammar, punctuation) in a
manner that does not distract
from clear communication
Applying Knowledge of
Language Conventions and
Presenting Written Work
Effectively
Students at
Benchmark
2007-2008
Students at
Benchmark
2008-2009
58%
68%
58%
68%
This would maintain continuity of instruction and vocabulary further

empowering students to scaffold their learning from year to year.
We hope to empower students to develop confidence as critical thinkers
and literate learners by maintaining consistency and highlighting
connectiveness between grades.
The entire language curriculum is too broad to map within this time frame
so only the writing expectations will be the focus of the project.
We suspect that this section of the curriculum may be an important
missing component in our writing program.
We think it would be extremely valuable to develop some common
language in writing, as is being done in reading, to improve our instruction
and feedback to students (eg. During a writing conference encourage a
student to change a verb or add an adverb.)
Method
Information from the following sources was collected over the course of the
Action Research project.
A Teacher Checklist was created and completed by 12 primary teachers.
The specific writing expectations 3.1 - 3.8 were organized into a checklist that did
not identify which grade they were from. Teachers checked off the expectations
they explicitly taught on a Likert Scale of never, sometimes and frequently.
Frequently was identified as being once a week.
27
Student Data was collected from a sample of Grade 1 (44), Grade 2 (72) ,
Grade 3 (54) students
Three grade leveled texts (Grade 1 to Grade 3) were created. All students were
asked to read the passage and then identify specific information based on the 3.1
3.8 expectations. The passage was read to each student in order to ensure that
text difficulty was not issue in the task.
Mapping the Writing Expectations
In response the findings from the Teacher Checklist and the Student Data, the
writing expectations were mapped. A chart was created for Grade 1, Grade 2,
and Grade 3 in which each writing form was grouped and aligned with specific
expectations that readily lent themselves to that form for each term. (eg.
Descriptive writing adjectives).
Teacher Reflections were collected.
All primary teachers were given a copy of the map and asked to respond to the
question How will having this resource inform your instruction?
Findings
Teacher Checklist
The data from the Teacher Checklist indicated that teachers were uncertain
about what specific expectations were aligned to their grade. Data suggested
that most of the expectations were not explicitly taught but were more incidentally
referred to without clear alignment with the grade expectation. In response to the
questions on explicit mini-lesson on spelling resources, parts of speech, effective
presentation, editing and proofreading strategies and write traits, the following
data was collected.
Writing Expectations
Use of spelling resources (3.1 3.3)
Parts of Speech (3.5)
Presentation Skills (3.7)
Editing and Proofreading (3.6)
Write Traits (2.2 - 2.4)
Frequent explicit teaching

(Once a Week)
33%
17%
1%
0%
25%
Student Data
The data from the student text suggested large gaps in understanding of
grammar across all grades. For the most part, students were unable to identify
parts of speech (3.5). It was noted that some students were able to identify the
errors in capitalization and punctuation using editing codes but not make the
correction. The wording of the question may have contributed to this
misunderstanding.
Percentage of Students Not Able to Identify Specific Grammar Expectations
28
Grade 1 Students
not able to identify
Nouns
82%
Proper Nouns
n/a
Possessive Nouns
n/a
Pronouns
100%
Adjectives
84%
Personal Objects
n/a
Verbs
93%
Verbs Present
n/a
tens
Verbs Past
n/a
Tense
Adverbs
n/a
Prepositions
n/a
Grade 2 Students
*
49%
n/a
*
74%
51%
*
83%
Grade 3 Students
*
63%
74%
*
78%
*
*
85%
99%
83%
*
96%
81%
100%
* Not specifically identified under 3.5 expectation to be taught at grade level

Mapping the Writing Expectations
Appendix One is the map for the writing expectations created by the team.
Teacher Reflection
The majority of the teachers felt the writing map would be useful to inform their
instruction.
Some responses indicated that the writing map was helpful in addressing the
sequence of learning in the primary grades. Other responses indicated that this
was a good guide to help direct instruction. Particular mention was made that
(it) avoids repetitionand provides focus.
Recommendations
1. One suggestion was to include the assessments from the OWA
documents and align them with specific forms as part of the map.
2. Clarification of the use of the map and the opportunities to personalize the
map to fit student needs would have been helpful in addressing teacher
concerns. The order of the instruction was less important than keeping the
expectations clustered together to support concept attainment.
3. Integrate reading expectations with the writing expectations now that the
framework has been started.
4. Plot expectations month by month to create the beginnings of a curriculum
map.
5. Create common anchor charts and rubrics to enhance consistency and
skill transference between the grades.
29
Appendix One
Writing Grade 1 3
Grade 1
TERM 1
2.1 Form: a poster
2.4 Sentence fluency: write simple,
complete sentences that make sense
3.4 Conventions: write a capital letter at
the beginning of a sentence
1.1 labels and captions
3.5 Grammar: nouns for people, places
and things
Grade 2
TERM 1
2.1 Form: Friendly letter
3.5 Grammar: Proper nouns for local,
provincial, and national place names
and for holidays
3.4 Conventions: punctuation and
capitalization -ongoing
2.1 Form: Factual Recount of an

investigation
3.5 Grammar: personal object pronouns
(me, you, him, her)
3.4 Conventions: punctuation and
capitalization -ongoing
2.4 Sentence Fluency: write a variety of
sentence types - ongoing
Grade 3
TERM 1
2.1 Form: Personal or Factual Recount
3.5 Grammar: Possessive nouns and
proper nouns for titles
3.4 Conventions: Capital letters and
final punctuation
1.5 Organizational pattern:
chronological order
1.5 Organization: Paragraph frame
3.7 Presentation: Use proper
paragraph form using spacing and
margins
2.4 Sentence Fluency: Combine
simple sentences and use joining words
2.1 Form: Descriptive Paragraph

3.5 Grammar: adjectives to describe a
noun
-use of joining words (and, but)
-simple prepositions of place and time
(under, with, before, after)
3.4 Conventions: commas to mark pauses
2.3 Word Choice: sequence of adjectives
(big, brown bear)
30
TERM 2
2.1 Form: a variation on a familiar chant
or song
1.1 All about book
2.3 Word Choice: simple descriptive
adjectives of size, feeling, and colour
3.4 Conventions: period, question mark,
exclamation mark, to end sentence
3.5 Grammar: some adjectives and
simple prepositions of place (in, on, at,
to)
-verbs to tell what they do and feel
TERM 2
2.1 Form: A recipe describing procedure
1.5 Organization: sequential chart (first,
next, then, finally)
3.5 Grammar: simple prepositions of
place and time (under, with, before,
after)
TERM 3
2.1 Form: a story modeled on characters
and events from stories read
3.5 Grammar: verbs to tell what they do
and feel
1.5 Organization
TERM 3
2.1 Form: Patterned Poem
2.1 Form: Directions for a game

1.5 Organization: sequential chart (first,
next, then, finally)
3.5 Grammar: simple prepositions of
place and time (under, with, before,
after)
2.1 Form: Advertisement (for game
possibly)
2.1 Form: An original story modeled on

stories read
1.4 Ideas: use simple graphic organizers
such as WEBS, VENN DIAGRAMS
1.5 Organization: Story grammar
(characters, setting, problem, solution)
-organizational patterns (problemsolution, chronological order)
3.4 Conventions: quotation marks
3.5 Grammar: verbs in the simple present
and past tenses
TERM 2
2.1 Form: Paragraph explaining
connection between 2 things
Report comparing two things
1.5 Organizational pattern
comparison
2.3 Grammar - Comparative
adjectives
3.4 Conventions commas
2.1 Form: Patterned poem using rhyming
or repetition
2.2 Voice : Literal and/or figurative
words to communicate
TERM 3
2.1 Form: Letter from a different point of
view
Familiar story from a different
perspective
1.5 Organization pattern: story map
2.4 Sentence Fluency: Words that
indicate time and sequence to link
sentences
2.3 Word Choice: adverbs
2.5 Point of view determine if
information supports their own view
31
Ongoing Anchor Charts

Spelling 3.1, 3.2
Proofreading 3.6
Publishing 3.7
Revision 2.6, 2.7
Ongoing Reflection
Self-Reflection prompts - 4.1, 4.2
Portfolios - 4.3
32
School: Public Alternative Secondary School (P.A.S.S.)

Inquiry Team: Darina Sleziak, Dana McDermott-ONeil, and Karen Neufeld
Action Research Question: Given the transient nature of our students and the
challenges we face in implementing an integrated Character Development
program in the alternative setting of P.A.S.S., how can we best develop and
deliver effective programming to meet our students needs?
Given the transient nature of our students and the challenges we face in
implementing an integrated Character Development program in the alternative
setting of P.A.S.S., how can we best develop and deliver effective programming
to meet our students needs?
Setting the Stage:
Four years ago, the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training began a process
to formalize character development programs in all schools in Ontario, and
during the 2007-2008 school year, all publicly funded school boards were
expected to implement character development programs. In the alternative
school setting, there are a number of challenges in providing a well-integrated
character development program in a consistent and effective manner: on-going
enrolment throughout the school year with students entering and exiting at any
given time creates an inconsistent student body; and students experiences -such as a lack of support and stability in their everyday live, or a history of poor
attendance and disengagement with the educational system, -- have prevented
them from developing and experiencing a strong sense of community. Thus, the
aim of the action research project is to develop and implement a character
education program that suits the student population of an alternative school
setting; and to measure its effectiveness in terms of student engagement and the
changes in students attitudes.
Originally conceived as a one-year endeavour, our action research project was
extended to another year. Delays in securing programming rights for the boards
software meant on-line surveys to collect teacher and student feedback were not
available until very late in the school year; thus, the data collection component of
the project was moved to the start of the following school thereby extending the
project by an additional year.
Description of Procedures and Implementation:
P.A.S.S. consists of four campuses: two are located in Windsor, one in
Amherstburg and one in Leamington. The student population varies widely from
site to site. To meet the needs of the school community as well as the municipal
community the site is located in, the character development programming varied
somewhat from site to site. Larger, board-wide initiatives were generally
implemented at several or all sites. For instance, each site participated in the
We Care, We Can can drive challenge, while three sites took part in the annual
Terry Fox Walk/Run fundraiser. A sample of the site specific initiatives included
a Random Acts of Kindness program at P.A.S.SEast (Windsor); Hot Dogs
for Haiti and Soup for Heart and Stroke Foundation fundraisers at P.A.S.S.
Mason; a hotdog sale fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society at P.A.S.S.--
33
Leamington; and a three-day in-the-community fundraiser for Haitian Relief

Efforts and the purchase of Shelter Boxes at P.A.S.S.Amherstburg. Of special
note was the Pasta for P.A.S.S. fundraiser, an evening banquet staffed by
P.A.S.SLeamington students and attended and support by the staff and
community of the GECDSB. The evening events raised funds for the Shirley
Ferguson Bursary which was created in memory of a P.A.S.S. colleague and the
Canadian Cancer Society.
In order to collect data and adequate feedback regarding the character
development programming, two on-line surveys were created: one for students
and another for the teaching staff. The student survey included twenty-six singleoption variable questions. Upon entrance to our school, students were surveyed,
and upon de-admission or at the end of semester one (whichever occurred first)
students were re-surveyed. The team was hoping to find changes in behaviour,
attitude and perceptions regarding students and their character development.
Students were tracked on an individual bases using their OEN which ensured
privacy and the ability to determine significant changes to individual responses.
The staff survey included twelve single-option variable questions and four openresponse questions, and the structure of the survey ensured anonymity. From
the twelve single-option variable questions, five questions required an
assessment of their students, their classroom and their professional practice.
The open-response questions allowed for self-reflection. The staff survey was
completed at the end of the first semester.
Findings:
Our broad findings indicate that the majority of student responses remain the
same. Out of the 55 students surveyed, eleven student responses indicated
observable changes. There was a marginal increase in positive responses which
could suggest that the character development programming had a positive
impact; as well, there was a marginal increase in negative responses that could
indicate an increase in self-awareness which is one of the goals of character
development. Based on the student responses, it appears teachers need to
further share the expectations regarding character development so that students
have a clear understanding of what character development is, how it can play a
vital and significant role in their day-to-day lives, and how it shapes individuals to
become responsible, caring members of society.
Nine out of ten teachers responded to the staff survey. The results indicate that
questions which required teachers to reflect on this own teaching practice (for
instance, helping their colleagues, or fostering a respectful environment),
teachers modeled positive character development traits 100 per cent of the time.
For questions which required the teachers to reflect on their students and the
students behaviour, the majority of the responses indicated that students
exhibited character development traits some of the time.
Common themes found in the four open-response responses include teachers
defining character development as personal growth, compassion towards others,
and being a productive citizen. When asked, What opportunities do you see to
bring character development into your daily practice? teachers felt that it was
their primary responsibility to model and encourage positive character
development practice on a daily basis. One teacher wrote, I foster an
34
atmosphere of open communication and trust in an effort to demonstrate my care

and commitment to their well-being with the understanding that we, as
individuals, are important, but also that the common good must be kept in mind
at all times.
In discussing their role in school-wide character development initiatives, the
teachers responses varied: four out of nine teachers have supported but have
not taken a leadership role in school-wide character development initiatives. The
remaining teachers spearheaded a varied of activities, including the Terry Fox
Walk-Run, Little Dresses for Africa, fundraisers for the Canadian Cancer Society
and the Downtown Mission, a Free Garage Sale, and after-school clubs. In
response to questions as to whether our alternative education model encourages
character development in our students, teachers were unanimous in their
response: all agreed that our model does encourage character development in
our students. One teacher indicated that the model is only conducive in that it
allows for repeated teacher-student contact. It is in the individual teachers
hands to make connections with students and discuss, demonstrate and
encourage positive behaviours that exemplify the development of strong
character. Another stated that it needs to be embedded into all classrooms and
embraced by all teachers through actions, projects and words. We need to use
the language of character development so that it becomes commonplace.
Reflections:
Regarding the student questionnaire, some of the questions werent the most
effective in providing enough insight into the effectiveness of the current
character development program. It is evident from the replies of some of the
students that they didnt buy into the survey and the opportunity to share their
thoughts and feelings as their replies appeared to lack reflection and/or
consideration. Although we had an adequate sample of student surveys, it was
challenging to survey the entire student body; due to the transient nature of our
students, it was difficult to ensure that all those who completed the admission
survey also completed the de-admission survey. Both were required to obtain
results.
The teacher survey grew out of discussion regarding the questions and structure
of the student survey. We felt it was a good idea to base the teacher questions
on the student questions so that we could look for parallels or common threads.
Based on the teachers replies, it is apparent that it was valuable to include openresponse questions in the teachers survey as it demonstrated that teachers are
aware of the importance of a solid character development program and
implementing it on a daily basis, both inside and outside the classroom.
Conclusions and Future Directions:
P.A.S.S. does provide adequate character development programs and
opportunities; however, there is a need to focus on making the students aware
that the activities in which they are engaging in are in fact developing their
character. Best practices should include raising awareness amongst the student
body of the daily practice of character development, embedding character
development activities and strategies within courses, and using the language of
character development so that it becomes commonplace and integrated into
35
student learning. In addition, sharing our findings with staff and brainstorming for
next years programming is planned for the end of the school year. One idea is
to create a year-long character development calendar as a complement to what
teachers chose to do in their classroom so that staff and student may be aware
of up-coming events and opportunities. Finally, reflection activities for students
where they might complete a written response considering, for instance, a time
when they assisted or helped someone out, may be useful in creating more selfawareness.
36
School: Vincent Massey Secondary School

Inquiry Team: Christa Braccio, Esther Harrison, Liwei Sun, Stefan Adjetey, and Matt
Biggley (Think Literacy Team Teacher).
Action Research Question: How can the Civics Final Summative Evaluation (FSE) be
improved to increase student engagement and success rate while incorporating what
we know about differentiation and learning styles?
Introduction and Rationale:
Our team was interested in exploring ways in which we can improve the success rate
for the students in our Civics courses by creating a collaborative final summative
evaluation that is meaningful, differentiated, linked to curriculum expectations and
engaging for all learning styles, preferences and modalities.
This topic is critical to the team because traditionally there has been a high failure rate,
and high teacher turn-over in the Civics courses. We are interested in engaging our
learners in their assignments and providing opportunities for them to be successful on
their final summative evaluation (FSE) through ongoing formative assessments
throughout the semester.
As a team we collaboratively created an FSE that is tied to the curriculum expectations,
and aimed to support a variety of learners at different levels. In turn, we desire to share
this project as a resource for other Civics teachers.
Procedure/Methods
1. Our team met to collaboratively create a common civics FSE that incorporated a
scaffolded learning environment which also included various topic and product options
to accommodate different learning preferences or styles.
2. We created a survey which was distributed after the FSE for semester one classes at
the end of the semester in January 2010.
3. We analysed and reflected on the results of the surveys that we created and we
recorded common themes that resulted throughout.
4. We were then able to compare our success rates to that of the previous years.
Results
As part of the Action Research meetings, we conducted an end of course survey for
Civics which invited all Civics students at Massey to answer six questions regarding
types of assignments and corresponding activities, and how they feel about FSE. The
following is the data we collected from nearly 200 students.
37
1.
2.
What types of assignments/activities did you like the most?

Group work
27%
Role Play
15%
Simulation
15%
Debate
15%
Documentary clips
9%
Opinion Pieces
5%
other
14%
Total
100%
Did you feel that the FSE instruction was clear?

Yes
77%
No
16%
Didnt answer
7%
Total
3.
4.
100%
Which part of the FSE frustrated you the most?

Having an exam after
FSE
5%
Written portion is
tedious
11%
Multiple due dates
12%
Computer time
13%
Finding good
information
21%
Nothing. I enjoyed it as
it is.
38%
Total
100%
What would you change about the FSE?

No exam after FSE
6%
Making instructions more

clear
19%
Nothing to be changed
22%
Due date
25%
Amount of class time
28%
Total
100%
38
According to Alfie Kohn in Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students
Decide, we should provide opportunities to students to practice their decisionmaking skills.
In our FSE project for Civics, we provided plenty of opportunities for students to
make their own choices. If they do not like any from the provided list, they can
always come up with their own choice to consult with the teacher for
appropriateness and permission. Students are offered over 50 Civics related topics.
They are given a variety of written format (Letter of Concern, Letter to the Editor,
News Report, Report, etc.) to choose from for their written portion of the FSE. They
then have the following options for their media portion:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Song with lyrics: original or adapted

Power Point file
Newscast: 3-5 minutes
Commercial: 1-3 minutes long
Web site or Wiki: At least 4 pages
Documentary film: 3-5 minutes long
Speech: 3-5 minutes long
Podcast: 3-5 minutes long
Dramatic scene: 3-5 minutes long
Choices come with more responsibilities for students. The FSE spanned 8 school
weeks (because we only used about 2-3 days per week on FSE) and chunked into three
blocks:
1. research and decide your topic period 1 week
2. written product 3 weeks
3. media product - 4 weeks
Students were expected to exercise their ability to follow a deadline and hand in each
portion by each due date. Since they chose their own topics, even students who were
not usually motivated in Civics class were showing more interests in this project.
Students were provided ample class time (including computer lab time for research and
finishing the final product) to work on the project and ask for help from the peers and the
teacher. I was able to keep track of each students progress during the whole process,
identify the students who might be at risk of failing the FSE, and contact the
parents/guardians to ensure support from home. In the end, we had only two students
out of nearly 200 who failed Civics.
Recommendations
From the results of the student surveys and teacher reflection pieces, we suggest
allowing students to have more time to complete their Final Summative Evaluation.
From the surveys, we found that clarity of instructions is important to students. It is
imperative to involve parents in the FSE process. We would recommend making the
FSE process transparent to parents through the use of websites where the assignment,
39
exemplars, resources and due dates can be found. We would require that parents
become involved in the process through the use of a peer-review checklist.
In order to ensure student success, it is important to break the overall product into
smaller more achievable steps where teachers can meet with students throughout the
process and identify those students that may be at higher risk of not completing the
assignment. We recommend that teachers collaborate with student success teachers
and ELL teachers for more specific support and suggestions. We also experienced
success by modeling options provided for written and media products through various
formative or summative assessments during the semester. Students practised some of
the options (ex. Letter to the Editor, News Report, Prezi, etc) and felt more confident
with the formats and expected effects when it was FSE time. To add icing on the cake,
several letters were published on Windsor Star, one of them was even chosen as Letter
of the Day and published with a beautiful illustration to go with the letter. Students and
parents alike experienced the pride of being an involved citizen.
Finally, through the utilization of the UDL strategies (Universal Design for Learning)
within the classroom mainly through: chunking of instructions and tasks; differentiation
of assessment strategies; and teacher collaboration, all students can achieve success
and be empowered to become active citizens.
Conclusion Future Steps
The fundamental contribution to society of public education is to help our young people
become engaged, literate citizens of the world. Therefore, the Civics course, while
often grossly underrated, is in fact one of the most important courses that students will
take during high school.
Given its vital importance, there are a number of steps that Civics teachers might take
to ensure the sustainability of a vibrant program. These steps include:
Continuing to provide formative assessment opportunities and descriptive feedback.

Continuing to plan engaging and relevant activities such as simulations, field trips,
and guest speakers.
Continuing to build the online collaborative Wiki for teachers to add resources and
host discussions.
Continuing to build further differentiation into lessons and assessments.
Continuing to collect and incorporate student feedback into course planning.
Continuing to work with the Think Literacy Team Teacher to incorporate literacy into
teaching activities.
Continuing to hold regular collaborative meetings to set goals and revise lessons
and assessments.
Continuing to promote volunteerism and providing students with volunteer
opportunities.
Continuing to assess students learning styles and incorporating the findings into
lessons and assessment activities.
Creating an electronic binder for future Civics teachers containing lessons,
assessments, course outlines, planning timelines, etc.
40
Planning to attend relevant professional development sessions.
Bibliography
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/cfc.htm March 21, 2010
41

Action Research Team: Matt Biggley (Think Literacy Team Teacher), Regina Caldwell
(Think Literacy Team Teacher), Matt Cornies, Vanessa Plourde, and Mandy Vernhout.
Action Research Question: How will the restructuring of the Applied Canadian History
courseto include differentiated and scaffolded instruction and projects, as well as
team teachingaffect student engagement, achievement and success?
Introduction and Rationale:
As Social Science teachers, we often observe the effects of weak literacy skills on
student learning. Since our courses lend themselves to teaching literacy strategies, our
Action Research team aimed to explore a variety of instructional strategies and student
projects that would close this literacy gap, specifically at the Applied level. The question
that guided us throughout this research project was: How will the restructuring of the
Applied Canadian History courseto include differentiated and scaffolded instruction
and projects, as well as team teachingaffect student engagement, achievement and
success?
Through collaboration and experimentation, our team created a Final Summative
Evaluation for the Applied Canadian History course. This FSE not only provided
students with literacy support and practice, but it also engaged students as it allowed for
numerous opportunities to incorporate personal creativity into their work. Our team is
excited to share the findings from this project in order to inspire and encourage our
fellow educators.
Procedure/Methods:
1. Our team of five history teachers and TLTTs met to collaborate in the creation of
a common Applied Level History Final Summative Evaluation (FSE) at the start
of the second semester. The FSE provided a scaffolded learning environment
focusing on three products, which included both choice and a strong literacy
base.
2. The team created, administered and analyzed three surveysone at the start of
semester two, one after mid-term, and the final survey at the end of the year.
3. As a team, we reflected on the results of the surveys, recorded common themes
and team taught the lessons necessary for the completion of each product.
4. At the end of the semester it will be possible to measure the success of the
research by the level and quality of the completion of this CHC2P FSE.
Analysis:
The group collaborated on several occasions to plan both effective lessons and
create surveys for the students to complete. The lessons were geared to make the
subject of history more applicable to the students, as well to emphasize the importance
of literacy and in-class engagement. The purpose of the surveys were to gain insight
42
into what the students felt about history and the assessments they encountered. Past
and present grades were also analyzed to compare to the surveys.
The first survey was given to the students during the first week of the course. It
asked questions regarding interest in history and what they expected the class to be
like. A majority of the responses were quite brief, with one sentence or point. 12.5
percent of the students surveyed had very positive experiences or opinions regarding
history, while 44 percent of students had very negative comments. Many students used
the word boring to describe history, but also wrote how they expected grade ten
history to be easier than it was in grade school. Other comments included:
I dont like [history] because it has to do with school.
I dont like history because it talks about the past and I dont think its relevant.
I like learning about history because I like learning about the pst and what
happened.
The students history grades from elementary school were also analyzed at this point;
the average for grade seven was 62 percent, and the average for grade eight was 67
percent. Comparing the marks to the surveys, achievement appeared to be an indicator
of the level of interest in history.
Another survey was given to the students after the midterm reports. Compared to
the previous survey, the responses were much more detailed. Students also praised
history and the newspaper assignment that they were assessed on. Students wrote
comments such as:
I enjoy history because a lot of the things that we learn are interesting.
[the newspaper assignment] made history more relevant because...I felt like I
was there.
I like history because you get to learn about what happened in the past and
how things came to be.
The students also rated what activities they found to be the most useful in their
understand of history. A majority of the students rated movies, group work, and games
high, while textbook work and worksheets were consistently rated the lowest. One
students commented in
the survey, with group
Fig. 1
activities I learn in a quick
and understanding
way...with the activities I
felt like I was [a person
from history]. Compared
to the students
elementary school
grades, their midterm
marks were shown to be
much higher (Fig. 1). The high grades appeared to be correlated to the positive
responses on the surveys.
43
The students in class behaviour was also quite positive. The team teaching that was
introduced was well received by the students. The students were able to be taught a
variety of literacy skills from a number of different perspectives. This also kept the
students actively engaged, as they were given several tasks to complete in class. A
majority of the students participated with enthusiasm and finished their assignments on
time. Students expressed that the guest teachers had a different way of teaching, which
excited the class.
On the whole, the class was successful on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test.
Only four out of twenty students were unsuccessful. Their scores, however, were very
close to passing.
A final survey was completed by the students during the final week of the course. The
students rated how well they like the subject of history:
1 student disliked history (strongly disagree/disagree)
29 percent had neutral feelings about history
35 percent agreed that they liked history, while 24 percent strongly agreed
An overwhelming 71 percent of students felt that the Final Summative Evaluation made
history more relevant. Many thought that they gained a more personal understanding of
what Canadians experienced during a variety of events throughout the twentieth
century. Students commented that they could visualize history, that they learned
more, especially with the research [they] had to do; it made things clearer, they were
able to create their own story, and that it made history fun.
After examining the students surveys, our group can conclude that a scaffolded FSE
was not only beneficial for students, but the students enjoyed completing the
assignments, appreciated the process, and developed an enjoyment of history.
Future Steps:
In order to fully support grade ten applied level history students in their efforts to
become successful in this course, there are a number of steps that teachers might take
to ensure the success of all students. These steps include:
Continuing to provide scaffolded instructions to students.

Continuing to provide formative assessment opportunities and descriptive feedback.
Continuing to build further differentiation into lessons and assessments.
Continuing to team with the Think Literacy Team Teacher to incorporate literacy into
teaching activities.
Continuing to utilize relevant school support staff including the LST and SST, along
with the Learning Centre.
Continuing to assess students learning styles and incorporating the findings into
lessons and assessment activities.
44

Inquiry Team: Elizabeth Dagg, Jill Kaufman, Bill Nanson and Christine Zieba.
Action Research Question: What are the needs of the students enrolled in the
Enriched program and how can teachers, administration and parents address those
needs?
We began this Action Research with the goal of determining the efficacy of the Enriched
program at Vincent Massey Secondary School. Since the demise of the OAC program,
the Enriched program has not been reviewed. The best way to ensure accountability to
students and their success within the program is to first identify their needs through a
comprehensive student survey that collects both anecdotal and statistical data. Based
on the student survey results, we hope to examine, modify and create best practices to
address the needs of the gifted learners and students seeking enrichment opportunities
in the courses offered within the Massey Enriched program.
Student Survey
To survey the greatest number of students, surveys were administered on a single day
and were distributed to all students enrolled in an Enriched English class. Students not
currently enrolled in an Enriched English class were asked to fill out the survey during a
lunch period while supervised by an Action Team member. Note: surveys were given
out the day after progress reports were distributed.
Grade
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12
Number of Students
153
153
110
121
Number of Returned Surveys

113
129
80
72
For the purposes of this report, we decided it was best to limit our analysis to the
questions we believed gave us the most pertinent overview. As such, we focused on
question four (What is your overall stress level?), question six (Specifically, what
elements of the Enriched program cause you stress?), question nine (What do you
perceive to be the program strengths?), and question ten (What do you perceive to be
the program weaknesses?).
Analysis of Questions 4, 6, 9 and 10
45
Question #4What is your overall stress level (on a scale of 0-10, 10 being extremely
high)?
Grade Nine
# of
Courses
1
2
3
4
# of
Students
21
23
41
28
Stress
Level
4.9
5.2
6.3
3.9
The average stress level is 5.2. While the highest level of stress indicated was
from those taking three courses, the lowest level was by those taking the maximum
level of courses.
Grade Ten
# of
Courses
1
2
3
4
5
# of
Students
27
22
47
41
1
Stress
Level
3.7
6.4
4.9
5.6
0.0
The average level of stress is 5.1. With the exception of those taking one course
and the single student taking five courses, there is relatively little difference in the stress
levels.
Grade Eleven
# of
Classes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
# of
Students
18
2
9
14
24
12
1
Stress
Level
4.6
5.5
6.2
4.6
6.7
6.3
9.0
The average stress level is relatively low (5.7) and varies very little. The single
student taking 7 Enriched courses experiences the greatest stress.
46
Grade Twelve
# of
Courses
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
# of
Students
21
10
9
7
6
18
4
Stress
Level
5.9
5.3
7.2
6.2
6.4
5.9
7.4
The average stress level is 6.3 and stress levels are relatively consistent.
Of the 44 students taking 3 or more enriched courses, 33 students cited the
overlap between enriched course project/test/lab deadlines a major stressor. As one
student said, due dates always seem to align like an unholy eclipse.
Summary
Generally, there is an increase in stress that correlates to an increase in the
number of Enriched courses a student takes. There are some anomalies within this
pattern. For example, in grade 9 the lowest stress level is 3.9 from a maximum of 4
courses. In grade 10, the highest stress level is with two Enriched courses. In grade
11, the average stress level per number of classes varies very little.
It appears that stress is somewhat consistent at the junior level but then spikes in
senior level Enriched courses. There are only 4 Enriched courses available to junior
level students and in grade 11 science is split into three specific fields of study: Biology,
Chemistry and Physics. There are also three math/computer science options and an
English elective option available in grade 11. Additional stress is noted in grade 12 as
the pressure is on these students to achieve top marks for university entrance and
scholarships.
Students report in question five of the survey (causes of stress outside school),
that there are more factors that contribute to stress than just Enriched courses. For
example, of the 41 grade 12 students reporting higher than the average stress levels,
35 indicated that the cause of stress was unrelated to the Enriched class and
environment but cited a combination of one or more of the following as stressors: overall
workload, family/home life pressure, pressure to get into university and future plans,
friends or social problems, extra-curricular or volunteer load and work or music lessons.
These external stressors have been consistently reported across all grades.
In the five year program (grade 9 to OAC), students taking most of the available
Enriched courses had the opportunity to spread out their course load. The four year
program limits students from taking subjects from outside of the core subjects. Thus,
the transition from grade 10 to grade 11 is more challenging as student timetables often
lack a balance of Enriched, Academic and Open courses.
47
Question #6Specifically, what elements of the Enriched program cause you

stress?
Grade Nine
# of
# of
Assessment &
Courses Students
Evaluation
1
21
4
2
23
4
3
41
23
4
28
10
TOTAL
113
41
Course
content
7
8
26
18
59
Classroom
Environment
5
0
1
0
6
Teacher
Classmates
0
0
2
1
3
3
0
3
3
9
While assessment and evaluation and course content ranked as the two highest
causes of stress, the more challenging content in grade 9 causes students the most
stress.
Grade Ten
# of
# of
Courses Students
1
27
2
22
3
47
4
41
5
1
TOTAL
138
Assessment &
Evaluation
7
8
20
19
0
54
Course
content
7
6
19
19
0
51
Classroom
Environment
1
0
3
3
0
7
Teacher
Classmates
2
6
3
5
0
16
4
5
7
11
0
27
Students are evenly split between assessment and evaluation and course
content as the cause of their greatest stress. Classmates become a more prominent
stressor than in grade 9.
Grade Eleven
# of
Courses
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
TOTAL
# of
Students
18
2
9
14
24
12
1
80
Assessment &
Evaluation
2
0
5
11
19
14
0
52
Course
Content
6
1
6
4
11
3
1
32
Classroom
Environment
3
0
0
1
0
0
0
4
Teacher
Classmates
1
1
1
3
2
2
0
10
0
0
0
1
3
2
0
6
48
Assessment and evaluation and course content are again the greatest cause of
student stress, but assessment and evaluation becomes the main source of stress for
students who take 4 or more Enriched courses.
Grade Twelve
# of
# of
Courses students
1
21
2
10
3
9
4
7
5
6
6
18
7
4
TOTAL
75
Assessment &
Evaluation
3
4
1
1
2
12
2
25
Course
Content
4
3
6
3
2
11
3
32
Teacher
Classmates
None
1
2
1
1
3
2
1
11
6
2
2
3
13
Assessment and evaluation and course content still cause students the greatest
stress. Course content, unlike previous grades, becomes the primary stressor.
Classroom environment and teachers have disappeared as a prominent stressors while
classmates (defined by reporting students as competition between students for marks
and a distaste for peers who are focussed solely on grades) become a greater source of
stress . At 3 + courses, course content also included the overlap of due dates between
courses.
Summary
The challenges of transitioning from elementary to high school are indicated by
grade 9 students reporting a difficulty in adjusting to a quicker pace, more rigorous
grading practises and a shift from teacher centred learning to more student centred and
independent learning.
Potential competitive pressure from peers may account for the rise in classmate
stress with every additional course taken in grade 10.
In grade 11, students consistently report, The marks in the Enriched program
are more difficult to achieve than in other classes, mainly because of the harder marking
schemes, and When everyone is getting up in the 90s and I am getting 70 or 80 I
start to think that a B is a failure.
Students taking four or more Enriched courses at the senior level reported
significantly higher levels of stress caused by increased workload, greater amounts and
overlap of evaluations, greater competition and pressure to get high grades and more
difficult course content. One student commented that Sometimes theres a lot of
information to take-in in a really short time.
The desire to achieve, not merely learn, is a constant source of stress for many
students. They feel There is pressure to do well in this class because I am enriched. I
feel like I should be better, I just cant get there. Many students echo the following
sentiment: The mark. We cannot allow ourselves to slack off once because that may
49
be devastating to our mark. Thus, we are under constant stress to keep up with the
work.
Students perceive that they are not being evaluated and assessed in the same
way as students in the academic stream. They believe that this discrepancy translates
to lower individual marks and class averages than their academic counterparts, thus
they feel penalized for participating in a more academically rigorous program. A
comparison of some Enriched and academic class averages shows this to be true.
Enriched class averages should be the highest in the school.
Ultimately, students are willing to take on the stress as it is a means to a greater
end; I think the program works fine. Its the fact that so many high-achieving people
are all crammed into the same courses. This will obviously make for a more stressful
environment since everyone wants to be the best but not everyone can.
Question NineWhat do you perceive to be the program strengths?
Grade Nine
# of
Courses
# of
students
Fast
Paced
Learn
More
Challenging
21
23
11
41
12
17
28
TOTAL
113
25
43
25
Competition
Environment
Prep for
Future
5
1
Teachers
Interesting
Lessons
16
12
36
15
Opportunities
The highest scoring categories were increased course content, classroom

environment (which includes both strong teachers and like-minded students), faster
pace of the lessons and extra challenges provided.
Grade Ten
# of
Courses
# of
students
27
22
Fast
Paced
Learn
More
Challenging
Environment
Prep for
Future
Teachers
Interesting
Lessons
47
18
11
40
24
13
10
TOTAL
138
59
27
13
Opportunities
1
17
33
18
Students again reported that learning more material was the strongest feature of
Enriched classes. Also making a strong showing was the combination of classroom
50
environment, teachers and the delivery of course material. Only students taking two
courses reported an even split between increased course material and being
challenged.
Grade Eleven
# of
Courses
1
# of
Students
18
14
24
12
TOTAL
80
Fast
pace
4
Environment
1
Learn
more
2
10
Challenging
2
University
Prep.
Teachers
2
1
6
20
18
10
A shift between the junior and senior grades is reflected in the belief that
Enriched classroom environment and the increase in course material are equally
valued. Teachers and challenging courses were also rated by students as significant
strengths.
Grade Twelve
# of
Courses
# of
students
21
10
Fast
Paced
Learn
More
Challenging
Competition
Environment
Prep for
Future
Teachers
Interesting
Lessons
Opportunities
10
18
TOTAL
75
29
31
36
14
22
13
In a continuing trend, the classroom environment, increased content and

challenge are noted as the major strengths. The combination of teachers and subject
delivery top the list of strengths in students final year. Interestingly, no student taking
51
only one Enriched course reported that the faster pace was a positive aspect of the
program.
Summary
In grade 9, students reported that they were eager to rise to the challenges
created within Enriched classes. One student commented that the program allows
students who think and work at a higher level than others to work with others who are
up to their level and learn at a faster pace. They thrive in environments where they
are grouped with mature students who share the same interests and who are more
focused. They also appreciate learning beyond the curriculum. Students who are
enrolled in four Enriched classes were more consistent in their view of faster pacing,
learning more and being challenged as strengths. In grade 10 this pattern continues but
the importance of the teachers and subject delivery takes on greater importance. By
grade 10, students begin to feel part of a larger program and may begin to see
differences in subject delivery that they considered anomalous in grade 9.
When considering the data for the senior grades, it is important to remember in
grade 11 course content becomes more specialized thus requiring specialized teachers,
magnifying the importance of subject delivery. A course is always, no matter what,
defined by how the teacher manages it. We have wonderful teachers. Greater
opportunities are provided for students to extend their learning outside of the classroom.
Specialized areas such as the sciences and mathematics offer competition outside of
school, with initiatives such as Robotics/physics competitions, Science Olympiad and
the mentoring of elementary math students at the feeder schools.
Ironically, the students who rated an increased workload, more rigorous
assessment and evaluation, and more difficult course content as major contributing
factors to their stress level (Question #6) also expressed an understanding of and
appreciation for the inherent value of the material being covered. As one student
expressed, The programs strength is to provide lots of new experiences and instead of
handing the experiences to the students, the teachers guide students to discover more
about themselves.
It becomes clear that the overwhelming appeal of the Enriched program at all
grade levels is an environment that cultivates a desire for learning among like-minded
people, teachers who deliver the material in an appealing way, a greater intellectual
challenge and the ability to learn more in the same amount of time. The environment it
provides by pulling not only bright students together, but also students that want to learn
together.
52
Question TenWhat do you perceive to be the program weaknesses?

Grade Nine
Not
recognized
by
University
# of
Courses
# of
students
Too
fast
Too
much
work
Too
advanced
More
stress
Competition
Too
slow
21
23
41
15
28
TOTAL
113
31
22
11
Large
classes
Lower
marks
None
4
2
7
7
23
While a large number of respondents found no weaknesses within the program,

some found the material was presented too quickly or that the material was too
advanced. Competition between classmates also scored relatively high.
Grade Ten
Too
much
work
# of
Courses
# of
students
Too
fast
27
22
47
40
TOTAL
138
Need to
work on
your
own
Lower
marks
None
10
16
Too
advanced
More
stress
10
14
16
Competition
Teachers
Large
classes
7
11
22
11
There is a significant shift to a focus on marks and the belief that their marks are
lower than they should be. While students have adjusted to the pace at grade 10, they
still find the course content challenging and cite teachers as a significant weakness.
53
Grade Eleven
# of Classes
# of
Students
Too
fast
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
TOTAL
18
2
9
14
24
12
1
80
Too
much
work
3
Low
Marks
More
stress
Too
Advanced
2
2
3
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
1
1
2
10
2
2
3
2
12
2
3
2
1
9
None
Of the course related weaknesses, low marks, more stress, workload, and the
difficulty of the course material all ranked relatively equally. The same number of
students also reported no weaknesses. While the primary weakness was the pace,
most of those who identified this as a weakness are only involved in one Enriched
course.
Grade Twelve
# of
Courses
# of
students
Too
fast
Too
much
work
Too
advanced
More
stress
Peers
21
10
18
TOTAL
75
2
1
3
10
16
Expectations
too high
Teachers
Not
recognized
by
University
Focus
on or
lower
marks
None
3
1
1
7
2
2
17
A heavy workload and the focus on and achievement of lower marks ranked as
the most significant weaknesses. Pace, difficulty of material, stress, peers,
expectations and teachers ranked equally. At 3+ courses, too much work is primarily a
problem where assignments overlap between courses, not with too much day to day
work.
Summary
The data and anecdotal comments demonstrate a connection between the stress
reported in question 6 and the students perceptions of the weaknesses in the Enriched
54
program. Increased workload, more difficult course material and, in two grades,
subject delivery can be a negative part of the program.
By grade 10, students begin to feel the burden of the increased workload and
more difficult course material. Many report they are overwhelmed by their academic
obligations and feel they dont have a lot of time to enjoy being in high school. Its
always tests, projects, tests, projects, REPORT CARDS! Students at the senior level
who have fewer Enriched courses feel the burdens of pace, content and workload more
profoundly than students with heavier Enriched timetables.
Teacher dissatisfaction only appears in grade 10 and grade 12. This data also
corresponds to a significant increase in the dissatisfaction with marks. The students
who are very mark oriented cite not only frustration in achieving the grades they are
expected to achieve but also in the discrepancy between what they would achieve in an
academic class and what they actually achieve in an Enriched class. A grade 12
student articulates the issue with evaluation quite succinctly: The purpose of class is to
learn. The purpose of test marks is to tell us if we are learning the taught material. If
the taught material is hard since we are learning more, test marks will be lower. The
purpose of report card marks is to tell universities how much we know compared to
other Ontario students. Since we learn so much more, they should be high. This is
generally, but not always the case. Students want equity and to be rewarded for
stepping up to the challenge the Enriched program provides, not punished.
Conclusions
Strengths
Students across all grade levels were uniform in their ranking of classroom
environment and learning more as the strongest elements of the Enriched program.
Immediately following this, they varied in ranking teachers, pacing and the challenge as
next strongest. These observations speak highly to the effort placed on creating the
most productive atmosphere to accommodate the differentiated learning styles found
within this body of highly-motivated, intellectually advanced students.
Overall, I think the advantages of the enriched program outweigh the disadvantages.
The fast pace and the extra things we may learn help us a lot in the future. I think it
provides a good challenge and motivation.
I like the enriched program. It challenges me and I have fun in class.
Areas for Improvement
1. Pace
Pacing of classes appears problematic. While many students appreciate moving
through information at a quicker pace, many also believe lessons move too
quickly. Even though its not supposed to be as slow as academic, it would be
beneficial to have the lessons taught a bit more thoroughly.
55
2. Marks
Many students perceive that their marks are unfairly lower than their
academic counterparts. They feel they cant achieve those higher grades
because of a higher level of difficulty and increased workload. Students should
be evaluated in the same way as academic students but challenged in other
ways that dont negatively affect their grades. Enriched classes should have
higher averages due to the high number of talented individuals.
3. Workload
Workload was cited as a concern for students beyond grade nine. Students
taking multiple Enriched courses consistently reported that they wished teachers
communicated due dates to each other to prevent short but very intense bursts of
work. Students want the opportunity to put forth their best effort and product but
indicate that they often cant.
Next Steps
1. Share the data with the Enriched PLC to: define the purpose and parameters of
the program; foster greater understanding of the needs of the students, parents
and teachers; implement strategies that increase student success and
achievement. The following should be addressed:
a. developing strategies to communicate and coordinate test/assignment
dates to avoid overloading students
b. providing common assessment and evaluation to ensure mark equity
c. reviewing and adjusting (if necessary) the pace of subject delivery and
providing opportunities for more one-on-one contact for students who
require it.
2. Distribute a Parent Survey to better understand their views, opinions and
expectations of the program.
3. Distribute a Teacher Survey to better understand their views, opinions and
expectations of the program.
56
Appendix I
Massey Enriched Program

Student Survey2010
The purpose of this survey is to gather your input on the Massey enriched program and assess its
effectiveness. Please refrain from naming teachers specifically; consider all courses/
subjects/teachers as a whole. If more space is needed, please write on the back of the page.
1. In how many enriched courses are you currently enrolled?
2. What factors influenced you to enrol in the enriched program?
3. In considering your enriched classes, comment on the following:
a. overall environment
b. evaluation
c. subject delivery
d. workload
e. marks
4. What is your overall stress level (on a scale of 0-10, 10 being extremely high)? If your
answer is 0, please proceed to question 8.
5. What causes you stress both inside and outside of class (job, volunteer, extra-curricular,
lessons, etc.)?
6. Specifically, what elements of the enriched program cause you stress?
7. What strategies do you use to cope with your stress?
8. What key differences, if any, have you observed between the academic and enriched
courses?
9. What do you perceive to be the program strengths?
10. What do you perceive to be the program weaknesses?
11. What suggestions do you have to improve the enriched program?
12. Please use the remaining space to provide any additional comments.
57

Inquiry Team: Matt Baglole, Jim Beland, Jason Coulter, Jenn Fader, Logan
Lenarduzzi, and Cathy Romiens.
Action Research Question: How can continual common diagnostic assessment be
used to identify the essential mathematics sills grade nine students are lacking?
Introduction / Rationale
It is well known that the transition from grade 8 to grade 9 is one of the most difficult
times of a child's education. As math teachers, we are continually faced with students
entering grade 9 from a variety of different feeder schools, each having a unique
spectrum of mathematical abilities. The challenge is to meet the needs of individual
students based on their specific strengths and weaknesses they are bringing from their
elementary years, which may be different from the needs of the overall class.
The purpose of this project is to learn how we can identify the critical numeracy needs
of individual students entering grade 9, and support these students to strengthen their
knowledge and skills. The main goal is to understand whether the use of common,
diagnostic assessments in all 13 sections of MPM1D and MPM1DN can provide
information that will help the classroom teacher identify areas for student improvement,
while improving teacher collaboration and consistency between sections.
Method
The Action Research Team met early in the year to decide what topics would be
assessed, and when the assessments would be implemented.
Three common, 25-question multiple choice assessments were given to all thirteen
sections of MPM1D and MPM1DN throughout the school year.
The assessments were written to identify the basic, fundamental understanding of
curriculum concepts related to the following areas:
Assessment #1: Essential Skills (fractions, order of operations, rational numbers,
basic exponents). Written on Nov 5/09
Assessment #2: Algebra, Exponents, Equations. Written on Feb 10/10
Assessment #3: Linear Relations. Written on May 12/10
The results of each assessment were tabulated according to the following criteria:
Section averages and medians
Individual question success rate
Academic vs. Enriched success rates
All three assessments, and the tabulated results, are shown in Appendix A (attached to
this report)
58
Teachers then met to discuss the results. Primarily, the goal of the discussion was to
Identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in the students based on the
assessment data
Identify qualities of a good assessment question (ie difficulty level of each
question and ordering in the test)
Collaborate with each other as to methodology of teaching and then discuss the
adjustments in teaching that should be made in the classroom to help with overall
student success
Findings
By examining the data in detail, the team was able to identify numerous areas of
improvement which we could target in the classroom. Additionally, we were able to
make some important conclusions regarding the type of assessment questions, teacher
collaboration, and course structure.
Upon examination of the data, the team was able to identify a high percentage of
incorrect responses for specific questions. Upon discussion of these questions, we
were able to find possible reasons for this low success rate, and suggest strategies we
could use in class to help students improve their skills with these specific topics. In
order to keep this report brief, we will highlight just some examples of our findings from
the data analysis. Please refer to the appendix attachments to see the questions and
data related to the following points.
From CA #1, question #21: A number of students were having a difficult time
with questions related to order of operations involving exponents.
ACTION: The team decided to go back and review these concepts in class.
From CA #1, question #18: Academic sections appear to have difficulties
working with fractions which have multiple negative signs. Enriched sections
on the other hand, seemed to have less difficulty. ACTION: Enriched
teacher collaborated with academic teachers regarding teaching strategies,
and came up with a plan for reviewing these topics in class.
From CA #2, question #8: The team concluded that students did not
understand the meaning of an exponent with zero value. Students were
confusing zero exponents with numbers of zero value. ACTION: Re-cap
the difference between 0 and x 0
From CA#2, question #16: The team was surprised at the high rate of
success with the straightforward equation questions. However, after further
thought, we found that academic sections may not have had as much
experience with solving equations since they had just reviewed this topic
recently. The enriched sections had been working with equations since the
November, which would explain the better performance compared to
academic. ACTION: academic sections will continue to work on concepts
related to solving equations. Additionally, teachers will collaborate closer
regarding the timing of topics within the course.
59
From CA#3, question #10: The team found that there was a lot of focus on
what a linear relations IS, but not a lot of focus on what IS NOT a linear
relation. ACTION: Recap in all sections the concept of linear vs. non-linear
relations.
The team discussed the results of every question. As noted, the above points are just a
small selection of some actions take as a result of the data analysis.
As a result of the thorough examination of the results of each question, the team made
some other important findings:
The use of excess negative signs makes the questions significantly more
difficult. ACTION: team has decided that for future assessments, we should
carefully consider the use of negatives.
Some questions were simplified as a result of the multiple choice answers
provided. In some instances, students were able to deduct the correct
solution by a process of elimination. Additionally, students who made a
common error were able to rethink their response because that particular
answer was not available. Although these are good strategies for students to
use during a MC assessment, the increased success rate provides give a
false indication of student understanding. ACTION: the team must carefully
consider all possible solutions for each questions, ensuring that students
must do the question in order to find the correct answer. Additionally, all
answers provided are based on common errors that students may make.
Review of the assessments made the team realize the importance of question
placement. Interestingly, the team noticed that the first question of each
assessment was poorly done although the question was not particularly
difficult. ACTION: when examining data, the team must consider the element
of student nervousness with regards to early questions. Also, question
placement is important - the assessment should be designed to ease
students into the more difficult questions.
Teacher collaboration was significantly improved as a result of the common
assessment. While examining the data, teachers were discussing strategies
for use in the classroom. Teachers began to increase the amount of shared
material, tests, strategies etc. The action research team essentially turned
into a very effecting PLC.
Conclusion
The following conclusions were made:
The use of common assessments does indeed help teachers identify
weaknesses and strengths in student abilities. Specifically, many students
had difficulties with
o Distribution of negative numbers
o Percentages and ratios
o Fractions (rational numbers)
o Special lines
60
o Rearing formulas
o Exponent laws
The common assessments allow teachers to identify strengths on a sectionby-section basis, allowing us to target specific classes for improvement. This
tool is great when there have been changes in teacher assignments, allowing
the new teacher to quickly understand the areas he/she need to focus on.
The project identified the preferred order for teaching topics, and created a
consistency between all 13 sections when it came to course timing and
content.
Teacher collaboration improved with the use of common assessments for
diagnostic purposes. There was in improved consistency of individual
teacher tests communicating and collaborating with respect to level of
difficulty and question types.
Future Directions (based on teacher input)
We must consider using more multiple choice in regular classroom assessment

to model the common assessment as well as EQAO structure
We are considering inviting the students to give their own reflection regarding
assessment next year by utilizing an EQAO-style student feedback form
There wasnt enough time to collaborate with grade school personnel in order to
extend our findings to the elementary panel. As a result, we have applied for the
TLLP project in order to continue the research in this program
We are planning to set timelines for teaching certain topics
Do we want students to have time to prepare for the common assessment
Transferring some of the results/findings regarding specific weaknesses as a
heads up to grade 10 teachers for next year
We need to use more common language on our tests and assessments not
only in grade 9 but also in elementary school in order to line up with EQAO
standards
References
2009 EQAO Practice Assessment Retrieved October 15/09, from www.eqao.com
61
Grade 9 Essential Skills

25 questions / 3 pages
Do not write on this paper
Answer all questions on Scantron paper using a pencil (no pens!)
1
Evaluate:
20 + 20 4
A
B
C
D
E
Evaluate:
Evaluate:
25
6
90
171
201
281
Evaluate:
13
10
1
1
3
3
2
2
2
2
1904
2424
1994
2044
1475
720 80
8
9
82
90
92
Find the greatest common factor of 16, 24
A
B
C
D
E
10
-3
747 + 914 + 243
A
B
C
D
E
2
3
4
24
96
200
12
10
8
4
A
B
C
D
E
122
Indentify an equivalent fractions to
A
B
C
D
E
Evaluate:
1.44
14.4
0.0144
1.4
Find the lowest common multiple of 8, 12
A
B
C
D
E
36
A
B
C
D
E
805 219 415
A
B
C
D
E
Evaluate:
1
5
10
15
1.2 1.2
A
B
C
D
E
5
2
4
8
24
48
1
Find the lowest common denominator of
48
1
and
36
1728
A
144
B
12
C
1
D
1
E
12
11 Evaluate 5 1
6 4 2 3
12 Evaluate:
30
1
30
6
5
5
6
6
A
B
C
D
E
13 Evaluate: 2 + 8 9 1
15 Evaluate: 9 + 3
10
A
B
C
D
E
14 Evaluate: 3 2 4
4
2
2
7
14
A
B
C
D
E
12
18
24
36
48
A
B
C
D
E
11
2
3
4
5
A
B
C
D
E
16 Evaluate: 5 3 9
6
18
12
18
12
40
21
40
51
40
10
9
6
7
20
3
10
81
5
2
A
B
C
D
E
20
17 Identify the name of the decimal place indicated 18 Evaluate:

in the following number:
10
36
4
4.644
A
B
C
D
E
A
B
C
D
E
7
11
8
7
8
3
7
19 If = 3and = 2, evaluate: +
20 Identify the number represented by the square:
25
1
1
13
25
A
B
C
D
E
7
4
7
4
4
7
1
1
A
B
C
D
E
21 Evaluate: 32 2
22 Evaluate: 5 3 4 3 2
13
5
2
5
13
A
B
C
D
E
B
C
D
E
25 Evaluate:
1 2
3 6
2
4
6
7
8
A
B
C
D
E
23 Evaluate: 2 + 3 2 + 56
A
=1
24 What is 40% of 20?

A
B
C
D
E
11
6
17
6
37
6
47
6
71
6
3 1 1
+ +
4 3 6
A
B
C
D
E
2
3
7
9
0
6
13
11
12
200
12
10
8
4
Name:____________________________________
Instructions
Multiple-Choice
4
9 2 + 5
4 5 (2 + 1)
2 6
2 4
6 6
6 4
=2
2 3 + 4 + 3( 1)
1
4
9 + 3
1
12
9 + 5
8 + 8
32
1
8 + 11
64
4 2
5 2 = 9
= 7
= 2
=2
=3
Page 1 of 4
Multiple-Choice
11
2 3 2 5x + 4x 7 + x
3 4(2 + 7)
2 7
8 25
24 8
6 2 + 22x
8 31
10 2 + 18x
10 2 38x
12
28 2
5 2 = 1
3
3
12
4 4
16
13
(10 6)
9
2 2 = 4 2
=1
8 6
=0
12 6
= 1
3 3
=2
32 3
10
2 3 3
14
(3 )
9 6 9
3 =
17
3 5 6
27 5 6
27 6 9
=5
5 + 4
7
5
31
35
= 5
Page 2 of 4
Multiple-Choice
15
19
2 3
2
= 3
2 5 = 1
3=6
3 3 = 6
4 + 1 = 11
20
( 2 )8 ( 3 )4
16
+3 5
=
4
6
= 19
= 21
17
= 19
28
= 21
17
21
3 2 5 + 2
+ + 4 = 42
4 + + 4 = 42
2 2 + 3 + 1
4 + = 42
4 2 + + 2
4 = 42
5 2 + + 1
4 2 + 2
22
5 2 + 2
18
350
4 37
313
361 4 38
12
36
2400
42
$550
$700
$800
$1000
Page 3 of 4
Multiple-Choice
23
25
1
1
(3 2) = ( + 3)
3
4
1
1
12 (3 2) = 12 ( + 3)
3
4
=
=
3 2 = + 3
2 = 5
2 5
=
2
2
=
5
2
24
12 2 2
2
3
4
2
3
4 3 y 3
8 3 y 3
Page 4 of 4
Linear Relationships Common Assessment #3 2010

Name:_____________________________________________________________________________________________
What is the slope of the relation on the graph?
A
B
C
D
Which graph represents the relation
Which table of data shows a linear relationship between x and y?
x
1
2
3
4
5
y
1
4
9
16
25
x
1
2
3
4
5
y
8
21
34
47
51
x
1
2
3
4
5
y
1
-.07
-2.4
-4.1
-5.8
D Neither tables
A, B, or C shows
a linear
relationship.
What is the negative reciprocal of 16?
A
5
What is the slope of a horizontal line?

6
Hassan belongs to a fitness club. The graph

represents the relationship between the number of
times he visits the club and his total monthly cost.
What type of variation is this relationship, and what
is the initial value?
Direct variation, and initial value of 0
Partial variation, and initial value of 0
Direct variation, and initial value of 20
Partial variation, and initial value of 20
Miranda belongs to a different gym than Hassan in

the previous question. The graph represents the
cost to belong to this gym.
Which equation represents the graph?
A
B
C
D
8
The y intercept of a linear relation is

A
B
C
D
The line
A
10
11
The point where the line crosses the x axis

The point where the line crosses the y axis
The point where the y value of the coordinate is zero
None of the above
passes through which of the following points?
How many of the following equations represent straight lines?
What is the equation of the line that passes through
one
two
three
none
and
12
What is the standard form of the equation
13
Consider the points
Its already in
standard form
Which line segment is parallel to PQ?
A -4
B
C
D
14
1
2
1
4
1
4
Beth works at a grocery store. She earns $8/h for her first 20 h in a work week. She earns $11/h for working
beyond 20 h a week.
Which graph shows the relationship between Beths earnings and the number of hours she works in a week?
15
What is the slope of
A
16
3
4
4
3
D None of these
3
4
Which of the following lines are perpendicular?
A A and B
B and C
A and C
C
D none of the above

17
Rearrange the equation
so that it is in the form
18
Which equation of a line that has a y-intercept of -2 and has a slope of 5
A
19
Which coordinate represents the x-intercept of the equation
20
Which equation of a line passes through the point
and (5, 9)
21
Which equation of a line passes is parallel to the line
22
Which equation of a line is perpendicular to y = 6 and passes through the point (-1, 4)
23
and passes through the point
How would the graph of the relation
change if the 3 and the
were both doubled?
The graph would be
24
steeper and have a

lower y-intercept
The equation
and
steeper and have a

higher y-intercept
less steep and have D

a lower y-intercept
less steep and have

a higher y-intercept
represent straight lines that intersect.
In which quadrant do they intersect?
25
1st
2nd
3rd
What is the value of k such that the line through the points
D 4th
and
has the slope
Results: Gr. 9 Common Assessment #1 - November 5th, 2009
# Written
# Missing
Avg Correct / 24
Avg %
Median %
Question #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
A
27
3
15.7
65.6
66.7
17
3
14
0
7
2
8
10
0
13
5
7
4
13
10
6
10
20
12
13
13
10
11
7
9
B
23
0
15.2
63.4
54.2
10
5
12
1
5
3
6
8
0
14
5
10
5
15
13
8
2
13
6
10
12
7
7
4
13
C
22
0
14.2
59.1
58.3
12
2
19
0
7
3
10
7
0
14
1
17
2
11
15
9
2
12
7
15
14
13
9
7
8
D
26
0
12.3
51.1
50.0
18
10
9
2
3
9
17
14
0
18
11
17
7
20
14
11
18
19
14
9
23
12
11
6
13
E
26
1
12.7
52.9
58.3
14
10
10
0
6
4
3
17
0
14
8
10
14
19
16
12
18
20
14
13
23
17
11
6
15
Classes: MPM1D-##
F
G
H
30
23
24
0
5
1
13.0
12.7
14.3
54.2
52.9
59.5
50.0
50.0
58.3
# of Incorrect Answers
22
15
10
10
8
7
1
12
17
5
1
0
4
5
1
14
4
1
4
12
14
19
16
16
0
0
0
13
17
8
8
5
5
13
16
14
14
6
4
20
15
10
17
9
7
11
9
3
11
13
15
22
19
15
13
9
8
14
13
13
20
18
16
16
13
11
16
13
16
10
7
9
16
5
13
I
21
0
11.2
46.6
45.8
17
7
15
2
5
6
8
16
0
11
6
16
10
7
9
13
12
17
11
14
15
13
15
9
15
J
29
1
20.0
83.3
83.3
5
2
5
0
2
0
8
7
0
9
2
11
2
4
5
4
6
7
4
6
15
4
2
1
5
K
28
0
18.7
78.0
85.4
8
3
5
0
0
3
8
6
0
8
7
11
2
7
10
5
5
12
5
7
15
8
5
1
7
L
27
0
21.0
87.7
87.5
6
1
3
0
0
2
7
5
0
4
1
3
0
3
4
1
2
7
5
0
17
3
2
1
3
M
29
0
19.2
79.9
79.2
6
2
9
2
0
3
10
6
0
13
3
4
1
8
6
2
8
15
5
6
18
6
4
3
0
Total
160
70
131
13
45
54
115
147
0
156
67
149
71
152
135
94
122
198
113
133
219
133
122
71
122
Percentage of Incorrect
Answers for Each Question
Measures of Central
Tendency
Combined
Academic
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Combined
Avg Correct
15.4
Avg % 64.2%
Avg Median 63.6%
47.8%
20.9%
39.1%
3.9%
13.4%
16.1%
34.3%
43.9%
0.0%
46.6%
20.0%
44.5%
21.2%
45.4%
40.3%
28.1%
36.4%
59.1%
33.7%
39.7%
65.4%
39.7%
36.4%
21.2%
36.4%
60.8%
27.9%
49.1%
5.0%
19.4%
20.7%
36.9%
55.4%
0.0%
55.0%
24.3%
54.1%
29.7%
58.6%
49.5%
36.9%
45.5%
70.7%
42.3%
51.4%
69.4%
50.5%
49.1%
29.3%
48.2%
Enriched
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
22.1%
7.1%
19.5%
1.8%
1.8%
7.1%
29.2%
21.2%
0.0%
30.1%
11.5%
25.7%
4.4%
19.5%
22.1%
10.6%
18.6%
36.3%
16.8%
16.8%
57.5%
18.6%
11.5%
5.3%
13.3%
Academic
Avg Correct
13.5
Avg % 56.1%
Avg Median 54.6%
Enriched
Avg Correct
19.7
Avg % 82.2%
Avg Median 83.9%
Attendance
# Written
335
# Missed
11
% Written 96.8%
% Missed
3.2%
Results: Gr. 9 Common Assessment #2 - February, 2010
# Written
# Missing
Avg Correct / 25
Avg %
Median %
Question #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
A
29
1
12.8
51.6
52.0
12
19
6
15
5
10
13
23
8
18
7
14
26
15
20
10
12
12
9
17
17
17
16
12
18
B
20
2
12.9
51.6
50.0
3
14
3
9
3
8
5
17
9
17
5
13
12
9
11
6
8
13
9
7
13
12
13
9
14
C
20
1
12.2
49.0
52.0
10
16
4
5
3
5
10
17
10
15
6
12
17
9
13
10
8
11
6
12
14
13
9
8
12
D
24
2
11.3
45.3
46.0
20
14
15
13
6
10
9
18
18
15
10
13
17
15
10
16
8
14
14
7
13
13
11
9
20
E
28
0
10.4
41.7
38.0
19
21
18
27
9
13
21
22
15
19
17
20
18
14
17
17
16
11
14
11
14
15
11
17
12
Classes: MPM1D-##
F
G
H
28
25
23
3
2
2
9.2
10.8
11.2
36.8
43.4
44.7
36.0
36.0
36.0
14
21
17
18
16
12
22
16
20
25
18
16
9
10
2
17
13
10
21
10
16
21
21
14
10
16
10
16
17
12
21
9
8
24
12
15
26
19
15
17
13
13
14
9
9
16
15
14
16
15
16
15
12
9
18
11
13
12
6
8
15
9
14
20
17
14
12
15
13
17
12
14
16
22
14
I
20
1
10.1
40.2
36.0
15
11
19
17
8
13
13
16
7
14
11
10
17
12
8
13
11
10
8
3
12
15
10
13
13
J
30
2
20.6
82.5
88.0
11
4
7
9
2
2
3
7
4
8
4
6
11
4
3
5
6
7
7
5
1
9
5
6
4
K
24
4
19.3
77.3
80.0
12
3
7
6
2
3
6
7
7
6
8
4
10
6
2
7
8
5
1
3
3
5
1
4
10
L
25
2
21.4
85.4
88.0
5
3
4
10
2
1
4
9
3
5
6
1
6
2
2
2
8
1
1
2
0
3
2
1
8
M
27
2
18.2
72.9
72.0
17
6
9
10
5
2
4
15
7
6
9
7
9
3
7
1
10
3
2
7
7
12
5
3
11
Total
176
157
150
180
66
107
135
207
124
168
121
151
203
132
125
132
142
123
113
100
132
165
123
125
174
Measures of Central
Tendency
Combined
Academic
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Combined
Avg Correct
13.9
Avg % 55.6%
Avg Median 54.6%
54.5%
48.6%
46.4%
55.7%
20.4%
33.1%
41.8%
64.1%
38.4%
52.0%
37.5%
46.7%
62.8%
40.9%
38.7%
40.9%
44.0%
38.1%
35.0%
31.0%
40.9%
51.1%
38.1%
38.7%
53.9%
60.4%
65.0%
56.7%
66.8%
25.3%
45.6%
54.4%
77.9%
47.5%
65.9%
43.3%
61.3%
77.0%
53.9%
51.2%
53.9%
50.7%
49.3%
47.0%
38.2%
55.8%
62.7%
50.7%
51.2%
65.0%
Enriched
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
42.5%
15.1%
25.5%
33.0%
10.4%
7.5%
16.0%
35.8%
19.8%
23.6%
25.5%
17.0%
34.0%
14.2%
13.2%
14.2%
30.2%
15.1%
10.4%
16.0%
10.4%
27.4%
12.3%
13.2%
31.1%
Academic
Avg Correct
11.2
Avg % 44.9%
Avg Median 42.4%
Enriched
Avg Correct
19.9
Avg % 79.5%
Avg Median 82.0%
Attendance
# Written
323
# Missed
24
% Written 93.1%
% Missed 6.9%
Results: Gr. 9 Common Assessment #3 - May, 2010
# Written
# Missing
Avg Correct / 24
Avg %
Median %
Question #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
01
24
4
12.8
53.3
54.2
02
17
5
13.1
54.4
54.2
03
18
3
13.1
54.4
54.2
04
22
4
11.1
46.4
45.8
05
26
2
9.8
41.0
37.5
2
13
0
10
4
7
11
5
18
16
11
11
12
9
9
11
6
4
21
11
10
20
11
19
19
4
9
0
8
1
5
9
6
10
9
10
7
10
7
10
2
8
0
13
9
4
14
8
9
13
7
12
0
2
3
1
12
2
15
9
8
8
8
7
8
3
9
1
17
11
4
15
8
14
13
12
12
0
7
8
3
10
13
17
15
18
8
13
4
18
6
11
5
16
15
8
20
8
19
17
15
18
0
21
17
13
15
6
20
19
21
2
19
6
14
20
12
9
12
18
20
21
10
21
19
Classes: MPM1D-##
06
07
08
25
25
24
4
2
1
10.9
11.5
14.5
45.3
47.8
60.4
45.8
45.8
60.4
15
14
5
10
17
14
0
0
0
17
8
6
8
9
10
8
3
5
19
8
14
3
3
5
19
19
16
17
12
17
18
16
12
5
4
0
20
21
12
3
5
11
7
20
4
17
13
7
12
15
8
7
7
1
17
19
9
17
18
14
18
14
7
24
21
13
8
11
7
20
20
14
19
16
15
09
17
4
12.3
51.2
45.8
01N
29
1
18.1
75.6
79.2
02N
27
1
17.1
71.3
75.0
03N
25
2
17.3
72.2
75.0
04N
27
1
15.6
64.8
70.8
10
12
0
3
2
5
14
2
15
10
8
1
10
7
3
9
10
1
13
14
5
14
7
13
11
4
7
0
2
6
16
14
6
8
11
6
2
11
4
4
3
5
3
6
6
7
18
5
9
7
6
6
0
1
5
6
15
3
11
12
6
2
10
8
7
11
11
1
11
7
7
14
4
13
9
4
12
0
1
2
0
11
5
8
18
3
1
11
4
6
11
4
3
9
7
6
14
1
17
9
9
15
0
4
1
2
13
3
11
15
9
0
11
13
7
16
10
1
12
7
10
18
5
22
14
Total
107
157
0
90
76
74
165
62
187
180
146
51
168
88
117
129
121
43
175
154
120
226
93
210
181
Combined
Academic
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
35.0%
51.3%
0.0%
29.4%
24.8%
24.2%
53.9%
20.3%
61.1%
58.8%
47.7%
16.7%
54.9%
28.8%
38.2%
42.2%
39.5%
14.1%
57.2%
50.3%
39.2%
73.9%
30.4%
68.6%
59.2%
42.4%
59.1%
0.0%
41.4%
31.3%
25.3%
56.6%
22.7%
75.3%
62.6%
61.6%
23.2%
63.1%
29.8%
47.0%
44.4%
46.0%
17.7%
69.2%
64.1%
45.5%
81.8%
39.4%
75.3%
71.7%
Enriched
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
21.3%
37.0%
0.0%
7.4%
13.0%
22.2%
49.1%
15.7%
35.2%
51.9%
22.2%
4.6%
39.8%
26.9%
22.2%
38.0%
27.8%
7.4%
35.2%
25.0%
27.8%
59.3%
13.9%
56.5%
36.1%
Measures of Central
Tendency
Combined
Avg Correct
13.6
Avg % 56.8%
Avg Median 57.2%
Academic
Avg Correct
12.1
Avg % 50.5%
Avg Median 49.3%
Enriched
Avg Correct
17.0
Avg % 71.0%
Avg Median 75.0%
Attendance
# Written
306
# Missed
34
% Written 90.0%
% Missed 10.0%

Inquiry Team: Jody Parker, Lisa Martire, Lacey Raymond, Nichole Jun, Bryanne
Morphet, and Noella Smyth.
Action Research Question: How can students preferred learning styles be
incorporated into developing assignments, assessments, and evaluations in order to
improve student motivation and achievement?
Introduction:
Choice makes the young adolescents desire for control and freedom possible without the
power struggle. Choice builds confidence and fosters independence. Choice tells students their
interests are important and allows them to demonstrate responsibility.
Hume
Research shows that being aware of students learning styles can help educators
understand how students approach learning. This being said, learning styles can be
used as a tool to improve the delivery of our curriculum in the classroom. As teachers
the goal is to increase our knowledge base as to how students learn in order for us to
enhance motivation and involvement. In doing so, a more meaningful learning
environment is established. When the understanding of the importance of learning
styles is recognized, we as teachers become stronger critical thinkers and are able to
develop differentiated instruction methods based on student needs. This process
allows teachers to think, reflect and improve upon best practices.
In identifying and understanding the learning styles present in our own classrooms, we
are addressing approaches to respond to student diversity. In many cases, research
has shown that teachers tend to teach to their own dominant learning style.
Recognizing this tendency is the first step to beginning the reshaping of our thinking
process when it comes to creating assignments. Many researchers suggest that the
integration of differentiated instruction and correlation to learning styles into our
classrooms can increase student interest and motivation. In the Artful Science of
Instructional Integration author Barrie Bennett states, learning styles provide a powerful
lens to assist in explicating the messy world of motivation (Bennett e. al).
This quote is a reminder that although we as educators have many instructional
strategies, not one practice, is best for all students. The ministry mandates that we
reach every student. Achievement of this can be accomplished through the
understanding of students individual learning styles and providing differentiated
instruction to reach each and every student.
Method:
Step 1: Learning Styles Inventory was administered to all grade 9 students by the
Vincent Massey Guidance Department.
68
Step 2: Action Research Team designed a rubric to be used for both the differentiated
assignment and the textbook assignment. This rubric was created from the curriculum
guidelines.
Step 3: Action Research Team designed an opinion survey to gage the following:
intrinsic motivation, personal enjoyment, retention of concepts, desire to do a similar
assignment, and relevancy. (see appendix A)
Step 4: Action Research Team designed and administered a knowledge based
assignment in which students were asked to answer questions directly out of their
textbooks
Step 5: Action Research Team administered the opinion survey based on the
knowledge based assignment in Step 4.
Step 6: Action Research Team designed and administered a differentiated assignment
that included four assignment choices from the following learning styles: aural (song),
visual (poster), verbal (news report), and physical (model).
Step 7: Action Research Team re-administered the opinion survey.
Step 8: Action Research Team recorded results (see appendix B)
Step 9: Action Research Team evaluated results (see findings below).
Findings:
After recording all of the data collected from nine classes we found that 7 out of 9
classes achieved higher marks when given an assignment which appeals to multiple
learning styles. Classes range from open, to academic, to applied. Results also showed
that 6 out of 9 classes increased the hand in rate when choice in assignments was
offered. These findings therefore verified our assumptions that differentiated learning
will improve both academic success and motivation.
One class in particular was reminded of their dominant learning styles (see CGC 1P-03
on chart below). This class was educated about which choice assignment correlated
with each learning style. As shown, we found that with this explicit education students
were 50% more likely to choose the assignment which correlated with their learning
style and overall the class achievement was 30% higher.
69
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Generic Assignment
Average
Generic Assignment On
Time %
Choice Assignment
Average
Choice Assignment On
Time %
BT
T
SN 1OC 07
1
SN DC 02
SN 1PC 02
1
EN DG 01
C 1P
G -0
C
3
C 1D
G -0
C
7
C 1D
G -0
C
8
C 1DG
C 06
1P
-0
3
Percentage
Action Research Data Summary
Class
Recommendations:
After conducting our research and evaluating our data we feel that it is necessary to
make students aware that they have a preferred learning style that they should consider
when choosing a particular assignment. Students must also be aware of which type of
assignment is designed to appeal to which learning style.
We also recommend that the textbook assignment be of equal workload to the
differentiated assignment. We feel that the textbook assignment hand in rates could be
higher than initially anticipated as the textbook assignment did not require the same
amount of time and effort as the differentiated assignment.
Our final recommendation is that researchers compile and analyze data on students
who were late in submitting assignments. What we perceived as lack of motivation
could actually be students taking more time to put effort into their assignments.
70
REFERENCES
1. Learning Styles Inventory

www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory
2. Program Planning and Assessment
The Ontario Curriculum, Grade 9 to 12
Ministry of Education, 2000
3. Assessment & Evaluation
A Secondary Teachers Resource Guide
GECDSB, 2005
4. Beyond Monet: the Artful Science of Instructional Integration
Barrie Bennett, Carol Rolheiser, 2008
5. Reach Every Student through Differentiated Instruction
Ministry of Education, Reach Every Student
6. Hume, Karen. Start Where They Are: Differentiating for Success with the Young
Adolescent. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education 2008.
71
Appendix A
Appendix A
Name:
_______________________________
Date:
_______________________________
Course:
_______________________________
Teacher:
_______________________________
Instructions: Circle one of the three options that exist under each question.
1. How motivated were you to complete this assignment?
Highly Motivated
Somewhat
Not at All
2. Did you enjoy completing the assignment?

Heck Yes!
A little Bit
Nope
3. Did you find this assignment worthwhile?

I sure did!
Kind of
Definitely Not
4. Will you remember the concepts and content taught from completing this
assignment?
Engraved in my Brain
I Might
Already Forgot Them
5. Would you want to complete a similar assignment in the future?

YES!
Maybe
PLEASE STOP THE TORTURE!
School: Walkerville Collegiate Institute

Inquiry Team: Annette Nelson-Szpak, Sue Crowley, Adriana Greco, Brandon
Ioannis, and Rick Visentin.
Action Research Question: How will the use of the CPS program improve student
understanding and success on assessments in core courses?
Introduction:
Student response systems or clickers have been available, for use in the classroom,
for approximately 15 years. They provide instant feedback for both the students and the
teacher about student learning and understanding of concepts taught in the classroom.
This method allows for anonymous responses to questions posed by the teacher rather
than the traditional hands-up approach. Due to the fact that the responses are
anonymous students are more willing to respond to questions posed by the teacher.
This use of clickers in the classroom allows students to use a medium that they are very
comfortable and knowledgeable with in order to interact during a lesson.
Clickers can be used in many ways: as a pre-assessment of students prior knowledge,
to identify misconceptions students may have about the subject being taught, to test
students understanding of concepts taught, to allow for discussion of ideas and to
increase student engagement. There has been substantial research on the use of
clickers and the results have found that students are enthusiastic about clickers
(Donovan, Fredericksen and Ames, 2004; Greer and Heaney 2004; Hatch, Jensen, and
Moore 2005; Kaleta and Joosten 2007; Patry 2009). Students report that they believe
that they help them understand the material and prepare them for assessments. Some
reports have shown that there is an increase in student attendance in classrooms where
they are being used, from less than 50% to over 80% and that with the use of clickers,
student learning improves and student apathy is reduced. Some of the disadvantages
that were noted about the use of clickers are: the learning curve for the use of the
clickers by teachers, questions tended to be at the knowledge level of Blooms
taxonomy however if the time is taken questions at the higher level can be constructed,
there were problems with the technology while trying to use it both in and outside of the
classroom, and the possible prohibitive cost of the technology.
Rationale:
Based on the research that has been done it was the goal of this project to determine if
the CPS program was used would student understanding improve, would students will
be more willing to participate because of the anonymity factor, would students be more
engaged/motivated to participate, would the use of immediate feedback help students
clarify their misconceptions and misunderstanding and would it help teachers become
aware of inadequacies with instruction, question format, student retention and
understanding? The research project was also undertaken to determine if the use of
73
clickers in the classroom would increase student achievement, close the gap in student
achievement and increase public confidence in public education.
Method:
Teachers teaching at least two sections of the same core courses were chosen to
participate in this research project. These subject areas included Grade 9 Geography,
Grade 10 History, Grade 10 Science and Grade 12 English. The clickers were to be
used as either an anticipatory activity to assess prior knowledge, as a formative
assessment (review), or as a method to identify student misconceptions. Teachers
built clicker questions banks for each review activity using Microsoft Word. The
question bank was either photocopied as a handout for one class or imported into the
CPS program for the other class. Students then wrote a summative assessment
covering the same concepts as in the review. The classes were switched half way
through the data collection time period to compensate for the possibility that one class
had students with higher averages than the other class.
Quantitative data was collected for the class with the handout by filling in scantron cards
with their choices. This allowed the teachers to determine the students correct
responses quickly and accurately using the scantron machine. The classroom
performance system has a reporting program built within it which calculates the correct
responses by students. Both sets of data were entered into Microsoft Excel program so
that class averages for each review could be calculated. The results were recorded in
Tables 1 and 2.
Qualitative data was collected using a student survey in which students were asked to
rank the effectiveness of the review their class performed (paper and pencil or clickers),
to comment on the effectiveness on the program and to give suggestions to improve the
review. Teachers also collected qualitative data in the form of self-reflections. They
recorded their thoughts on the use of the clickers for preparing the review questions as
well as the use of the program in the classroom setting. The qualitative data was
grouped into two categories, effective or not effective and then further broken down into
common themes within each category. The results were recorded in Tables 3 and 4.
Findings for Quantitative Data:
Table 1: Performance on Formative Assessment
Course
CPS Class vs Scantron Class
Grade 9 Geography
higher in CPS class
Grade 10 History
higher in CPS class
Grade 10 Science
higher in CPS class
Grade 12 English
higher in CPS class
74
Table 2: Performance on Summative Assessment

Course
CPS Class vs Scantron Class
Grade 9 Geography
higher in CPS class
Grade 10 History
increase in both classes
Grade 10 Science
higher in Scantron class
Grade 12 English
higher in Scantron class
Findings for Qualitative Data:
Table 3: Student Survey Results for CPS program
Effective as a Review
Not Effective as a Review
fun way to review
didnt help prepare for short answer questions
liked that is was anonymous need more varied or balanced focus (not all topics were
covered that were on the summative)
good study tool
wanted something to take home to review with later
good practice tool
liked automatic feedback
Table 4: Student Survey Results for Scantron Program
Effective as a Review
Not Effective as a Review
good preparation for summative
make the review more interesting and active
good study tool
not enough time to take up
made them realize what needed to study
Teachers Reflections:
the paper and pencil review was easier to get through in one class period
the use of the CPS gets everyone answering however so did the paper and pencil
review
the reluctant learners are not anymore prone into getting into a discussion when
using the CPS vs the paper and pencil review
at least 1 or 2 students got zero on the CPS (no accountability)
using the time limit made students more stressed
the reluctant were more interested in using the CPS but not sure if it improved
understanding
when used as a summative assessment the CPS allowed immediate feedback which
seemed to make students more confident when answering the next question.
students who have learning disabilities needed more time than other students which
made it difficult for those students when everyone else was done
answering the questions became a game (who is first or last)
sometimes had problems with the program when trying to use it in class which
meant lost instructional time
when the batteries died during the class a student had to switch the clicker for
another and therefore their results were split between two clickers
problems importing word documents into the CPS program which made it very
frustrating and time consuming compared to printing and copying the review
75
didnt get to finish all of the review in the CPS class so those concepts missed were
not reviewed before the summative assessment
Recommendations:
If teachers wanted to use the clickers as a method of formative assessment, issues
identified by the students would need to be addressed. The following changes would
need to be made; a copy of the review should be handed out once the clicker review is
finished and the summative assessment should not be given until all of the CPS
questions have been answered. The comment that the CPS did not help them with any
short answer questions cannot be addressed since this program only allows multiple
choice, true or false, or numerical data to be collected. This type of review would have
to be done using a paper and pencil method.
The use of the CPS program did not seem to substantially increase student
performance on summative assessments compared to the paper and pencil method.
This may be due to the fact that this was the first time the clickers had been used by the
teachers. Research performed by William Donovan (2008) found that there was more
of an effect on students performance in the second year that clickers were used. He
attributed this difference to more refined and better received formative assessments.
To verify whether or not this may be the case in our research this project would have to
be repeated next year.
Research has shown that courses which use clickers as active learning strategies
experienced more of an effect in student understanding than traditional lectures.
(Donovan, Fredericksen and Ames, 2004; Greer and Heaney 2004; Hatch, Jensen, and
Moore 2005; Herreid, Kaleta and Joosten 2007; Patry 2009) The questions were
embedded either within a case study or within the lecture format itself prompting
students to be actively involved in their learning. This may be a better use of the
clickers to increase student understanding and success rather than as a formative
assessment. To determine if this would be a better approach a project which involved
the active use of clickers in the teaching component of the classroom would have to be
explored.
References:
Donovan, W. 2008. An Electronic Response System and Conceptests in General

Chemistry Courses. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching 27
(4): 369-389
Fredericksen, E.E., and Ames, M. 2004. Can a $30 Piece of Plastic Improve
Learning? An Evaluation of Personal Responses Systems in Large Classroom
Settings. http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/csd2690.pdf
76
Greer, L., and P.J. Heaney. 2004. Real time analysis of student comprehension:
An assessment of electronic student response technology in an introductory earth
science course. Journal of Geoscience Education 52 (4): 345-51.
Hatch, J., M. Jensen, and R. Moore. 2005. Manna from heaven or clickers from
hell: Experiences with an electronic response system. Journal of College Science
Teaching 34 (7): 36-42
Herreid, C.F. Clicker Cases: Introducing Case Study Teaching Into Large
Classrooms. http://www.sciencecases.org/clicker/herreid_clicker.asp
Kaleta, R., Joosten, T. 2007. Student Response Systems: A University of

Wisconsin System Study of Clickers. EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research
Research Bulletin 2007 (10): 1 12.
Patry, M. 2009. Clickers in Large Classes: From Student Perceptions Towards an

Understanding of Best Practices. International Journal for the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning 3 (2): 1 11.
77
STUDENT SURVEY
1. How well did the review (CPS/handout) prepare you for this assessment? Circle one of the
descriptors below and provide a comment.
Extremely Effective
Moderately Effective
Somewhat Effective
Not Effective
Comments:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. If you did not choose Extremely Effective what changes would you suggest I make to
improve the review?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
78
School: Walkerville Collegiate Institute

Inquiry Team: Elizabeth Hanes (Think Literacy Team Teacher), Kevin Lock, Milica
Rakic, Brandon Telegdy, and Chris Thomas.
Action Research Question: How will strategic vocabulary instruction affect student
achievement?
Action Research Question: Setting The Stage:
Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock (2001) indicate that despite the fact that direct
vocabulary instruction is one of the most important instructional tools that teachers
can use to improve student understanding and achievement, it is rare in secondary
schools. It is common for teachers to either simply provide students with a definition
for vocabulary or to assign students definitions to look up. Neither of these
scenarios allow for deep understanding of concepts many of which are critical to
understanding content. According to Marzano and Pickering (2005) teaching specific
terms is probably the strongest action a teacher can take to ensure academic
background knowledge to understand content.
Description of Procedures and Implementation
Three teachers, each from a different subject area (visual arts, history, physics)
selected vocabulary terms that they identified as critical to understanding a unit of
study. The terms that they identified were terms they determined as integral to their
subject area. The teachers reasoned that if students deeply understood these terms
a positive effect on student achievement would likely be the result.
To provide instruction of vocabulary terms the teachers selected a repertoire of
instructional strategies specifically designed to support vocabulary development by
modifying Marzano and Pickerings six-step process for teaching new terms (2005).
Their modified steps included the following:
1. Prior to starting the study, a diagnostic assessment (pre quiz) was given to the
students. Students wrote down their initial definitions as well as rating their
perceived understanding of the key vocabulary terms that were included in the
strategic vocabulary instruction.
2. Teachers then posted a word wall of the words of the study.
3. To introduce the terms, teachers provided the initial definition of the term as they
came up during the course of study.
4. Students kept journals that contained standardized forms for each of the
vocabulary words. On these forms, students then restated the definition in their own
words and created non-linguistic visual representation of the terms. Standardized
forms were then given to students at a later time whereby the students reflected on
their understanding of the key terms in order to see if their comprehension or
understanding of the terms improved.
79
5 In order to facilitate improvement in vocabulary comprehension, students also

completed activities on the words (examined suffixes, synonyms, provide additional
graphics, consider related words, Frayer diagrams, foldables, charades ...) Students
also discussed terms with each other (think-pair-share, think-pair-draw-share; etc...)
to help aid in their understanding.
Teachers modified the above steps to fit their subject area, the content being taught
on any given day, and the readiness of both themselves and the students.
Furthermore, throughout the unit of observation, teachers made anecdotal
observations of students use of the vocabulary words as a means to determine their
understanding of the terms. Additionally, students completed a summative
assessment which included questions that required the terms of study as a way to
specifically determine their understanding of the vocabulary words. Finally, to get
feedback from students at the completion of the unit they answered a questionnaire
where they reflected on the vocabulary instruction.
Teacher Reflections
The teachers unanimously agreed that strategic vocabulary instruction was
important for student understanding terms. In fact, the teachers observed that
students did use content-related vocabulary more frequently throughout the unit of
study than students in previous years. However, it was difficult to determine whether
there was a positive effect on students understanding as direct comparisons
between classes are not possible.
Readiness on the part of both the teachers and the students may have been a factor
that affected how fully the vocabulary instruction was implemented. With respect to
the teachers, they acknowledged that they did not always fully implement the
strategies. Because the instruction was not habitual, some days they were
challenged to incorporate vocabulary instruction into their lesson. Additionally, there
were different levels of comfort integrating the strategies, especially regarding
releasing the responsibility for learning to the students.
With respect to the students, the teachers observed many students were not
interested in obtaining deep understanding of terms- they were comfortable with just
to getting by with superficial understanding of vocabulary. The fact that many
students appeared to not be intrinsically motivated for learning got in the way of
teaching vocabulary. Teachers found it challenging to motivate students to complete
activities where students had to think deeply about vocabulary unless it was marked
(eg., vocabulary journals, Frayer diagrams, etc)
Student Reflections
1. Students seemed to recall most consistently the collaborative exercises in the
classroom. Students also seemed to remember the journal activities in which they
used multiple learning modalities such as drawing visual symbols to represent
words, rating their own understanding, and writing out their own personal definitions.
80
These engaging activities, which allowed students to collaborate with their peers,
seemed the most commonly recalled.
2. Students identified strategies in which they felt were the most helpful to their
learning. Students identified journal entries and repeated writing and redefining of
terms as the most effective ways that they learned and understood the terms.
3. Students consistently reported, upon self reflection, that they would like to focus
on subject specific materials for longer durations. Students felt that materials were
covered too quickly and would like to delve deeper into the units.
Students also noted that strategies were sometimes a distraction from core subject
information and felt that they were interruptions in the flow of the lesson.
Finally, students commented that they were more engaged in collaborative work
such as Venn-diagrams, placemats, charades, Pictionary, etc. Students stated that
they would like to continue working with more collaborative work.
Conclusion and Future Directions
Regardless of how deeply teachers implemented strategy instruction into the unit of
study, they all agreed that they questioned their previous practice regarding
vocabulary instruction. As they all recognized the importance of students
understanding vocabulary, the teachers are willing to continue to incorporate
vocabulary instruction in future classes. Furthermore, they will modify their approach
by incorporating both the students suggestions and their own reflections.
References
Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J., & Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that
Works. ASCD Publications.
Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J., & Pollock, J.E. (2005). Building Academic
Vocabulary: Teachers Manual. ASCD Publications.
81
School: W.F. Herman Secondary School

Inquiry Team: Elvira Di Gesu (Vice-Principal), Jana Rohrer-Cabana (Think
Literacy Team Teacher), and Dina Saddy (Think Literacy Team Teacher).
Collaborating Social Science Department: Jeff Lutz (Department Head), Bill
Clinansmith, Kathy Prieur, and Andrew Stebelsky.
Action Research Question: Can participation in a teacher moderation exercise
increase the teachers ability to provide specific feedback to students? Will an
increase in specific feedback increase students ability to pass the OSSLT?
Overview
The start of the school year meant the re-establishment of the Literacy and PLC
committees with the goal of determining the area of focus for the current school
year. Like all other schools, we wanted OSSLT results to improve. We began
the process be examining and reviewing all available data sources. Here is what
we found:
Data Source
Profile of Strengths
and Areas for
Improvement
Information Gleaned
-
Individual Student
Report
Detailed School
Results
FTE
Detailed School
Results
PE
In reading all three skills,(understanding

explicitly, understanding implicitly, and
making connections) about 75% of students
found success.
In the writing skills, again about 72-74% found
success.
Each students results were examined and
summarized.
Each student had individual areas of concern.
When summarized by class, there was a
range of areas of concern.
Over the last five years there was a
downward trend in the percentage of fully
participating students who were successful on
their first attempt: 72%, 82%, 74%, 74%, 71%
No significant difference in achievement in
gender results was noted.
Identified student or English Language
Learners were not negatively impacting
results.
Level of Study:
Academic 50% of students enrolled with 93%
success on OSSLT
Applied 46% of students enrolled with 52%
success on OSSLT
Locally developed 4% (total of 7 students) of
student enrolled with 14% success (1 student
successful and 6 unsuccessful
2009, 44% of PE were successful
Gender gap, more females unsuccessful
(55% female, 37% male)
Reflection
-All areas needed
attention. There
wasnt any one
skill that was far
behind the
others.
- Each student
needed
personalized
attention to their
individual area of
concern.
-The biggest area
of concern was in
the gap in
success between
students enrolled
in the applied and
locally developed
stream as
opposed
academic stream.
Gender Gap
school results
showed
significant gap
while , board and
provincial results
showed close to
equal
achievement
results in gender
data
Other data
Transiency (students left the school and a

large group came into the school for whom
we did not have data to consider.
Once the data was examined, we reviewed what strategies and practices had
been previously implemented in the school. Many practical strategies had been
employed:
A Literacy Blitz where each week there was a focus lesson based on the
OSSLT. Students would complete that section in class.
Each teacher was responsible for taking up the section they were
assigned. Teachers were given overheads with the answer key. Many
teachers were not comfortable with the section(s) they were assigned
because they didnt have the opportunity to review the test anchors or the
codes for marking. The feedback in class was not effective when the
teacher wasnt comfortable with the test.
Mock OSSLT prior to the actual test occurred but the tests were not
marked in a consistent manner. The implementation of the process varied
from teacher to teacher depending on the individual comfort level.
Each of the strategies previously used were excellent at providing practice but
the important piece that was missing was feedback. Students had never
received specific feedback in order to improve. In many cases, teachers
themselves were unsure of the specific criteria required to be successful on the
OSSLT. This prompted us to consider teacher moderation. The Literacy and
Numeracy Secretariat in their Capacity Building Series, Special Edition No. 2,
Teacher Moderation: Collaborative Assessment of Student Work1 provides
compelling research which supports teacher moderation was a powerful strategy
at improving student achievement.
Research Questions
Can participation in a teacher moderation exercise increase the teachers ability
to provide specific feedback to students? Will an increase in specific feedback
increase students ability to pass the OSSLT?
Methodology
The goal of providing specific feedback for each student required an extensive
organizational plan which involved a number of teachers.
1
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Teacher_Moderation.pdf
83
The teachers involved in the moderation group were from three main groups,
PLC members (approx 12 teachers) who had prioritized increased Literacy as a
main focus for their work, Literacy Team Members (approx. 4 teachers) Social
Studies Department (4 teachers who had agreed to be part of the Action
Research Project, Teachers in a Supporting Role (SST, LST,TLTT) and teachers
from the Faculty of Education Department (approx. 6 teachers)
The students were divided into two groups: FTE (First Time Eligible) Grade 10
students, and PE (Any student who had previously written the test but was
unsuccessful).
Students were given two opportunities to complete practice tests. Teachers were
released for two half days in order to mark the test. The first step involved
familiarizing the teachers involved with the OSSLT Anchors and to ensure a good
understanding of the criteria and scoring rubrics.
In order to facilitate the process, the TLTT teacher developed an organizer,
Appendix A (a summary of the anchors provided by EQAO) to record each
students achievement. This sheet would be given back to each student when
the feedback session occurred.
Once the booklets were marked students from the PE group were divided among
all the participants so one on one meetings to review responses could occur. The
greatest amount of attention and time was given to this group knowing they had
already been unsuccessful and needed the specific feedback to improve.
The FTE were given feedback in the homeroom setting. Teachers involved in
the moderation were each assigned a homeroom. Each homeroom teacher was
provided with a class summary (Appendix B). Teachers facilitated a class to
review general feedback with the entire class and specific feedback for students
determined to be High Risk. Sample answers from the Anchors were reviewed.
The TLTT teachers worked with homeroom teachers to design lessons to
address specific areas of concern.
Surveys to determine the impact the moderation process had both on teachers
and students were developed and administered at the end of the OSSLT in April
2010. The key findings of the surveys are provided for your review.
Key Findings
Teacher Survey
Sample size: 18 teachers
OSSLT Moderation Increases Teacher Competency
Prior to engaging in the OSSLT moderation process, teachers were asked
to rate their level of knowledge about the literacy test. Teachers began
with limited familiarity of OSSLT (66 percent rated their knowledge as low
84
to moderate), but through moderation became very knowledgeable about

the test, with 100 percent rating their knowledge as high or very high after
completing the moderation process.
When asked to articulate what parts of the moderation process were most
helpful, teachers indicated that working in small groups, collaborating
with colleagues and using the OSSLT anchors and scoring rubrics were
most valuable to them.
OSSLT Moderation Increases Staff Collaboration and Professional Learning

In addition to collaborating with colleagues, teachers benefited from the
support provided by the Think Literacy Team Teachers (TLTT), Learning
Support Teacher (LST), and Student Success Teacher (SST). This
teamwork allowed for a whole-school approach with a common vision.
Many teachers, when reflecting on the process, indicated that they
enjoyed the professional dialogue afforded through the moderation
process and job-embedded professional learning in practice.
OSSLT Moderation Builds Capacity
When asked if teachers are willing to participate in this moderation
process again, 94.4 percent overwhelmingly agreed. Only one teacher
indicated that he would not participate again, explaining that he is soon
retiring, and would prefer to allow the moderation team to recruit a
younger teacher in his place.
88.9 percent of teachers anticipated improved OSSLT scores this year as
a direct result the moderation process. The remaining 11.1 percent of
teachers thought the scores would not necessarily increase this year, but
would the following year.
OSSLT Moderation Has a Positive Impact on Instruction and Assessment
The moderation process does have a positive and meaningful impact on
instructional planning and classroom practice:
o 70.6 percent of teachers indicated that the moderation process has
created some change in their explicit OSSLT instruction
created considerable change in their incorporation of literacy
strategies in the classroom
created some change in their understanding of assessment FOR
learning.
Student Survey
Sample Size: 71 students (three classes in applied stream, one class in
academic stream for comparative purposes)
OSSLT Moderation Affects Student Effort and Likelihood of Success
85
When asked to rate the effort they gave on their OSSLT, 97 percent of
students indicated that they did offer a good effort to be successful on the
test.
Students recognized that an increased effort when taking the OSSLT had
a strong correlation to the likelihood of being successful.
OSSLT Moderation Improves Feedback for Learning

78.5 percent of students indicated that they felt well prepared to take the
OSSLT successfully, based on the instruction, practice, and feedback they
received.
Students recognized that the more feedback they received, the more
prepared they felt when writing the OSSLT, therefore there was a direct
correlation between the quantity and quality of feedback they received and
their confidence in passing the test.
When asked to consider what feedback and suggestions were most
helpful in preparing students for the OSSLT, students referenced the
explicit instruction they received working with moderating teachers and
homeroom teachers as being most helpful. Students indicated that
explicit instruction related to shaping answers on OSSLT questions,
comparing their responses to the OSSLT anchors, and learning how to
improve their own answers was very valuable to them.
To best prepare future students for the OSSLT, students suggested more
opportunities for explicit instruction, OSSLT practice, and written and
verbal feedback.
Overwhelmingly, students indicated that they value the moderation
process and benefited tremendously from it.
OSSLT Results
First Time Eligible Students
In 2009, 71percent of fully participating students were successful on the
OSSLT. After participating in the moderation process, the scores in 2010
improved 9 percent with an overall success rate of 80 percent.
Previously Eligible Students
In 2009, 44 percent of fully participating students were successful on the
OSSLT. After participating in the moderation process, the scores in 2010
improved 19 percent with an overall success rate of 63 percent.
Conclusions and Recommendations
This initiative served to prove that teacher moderation is a process that does in
fact increase teachers understanding of the criteria required to pass the OSSLT.
Additionally, moderation provides teachers with the confidence and knowledge to
provide specific feedback. Students can improve if provided with specific
information.
86
We have concluded that teacher moderation needs to be sustained. In fact, we

need to find ways to dig deeper and find ways to increase staff competency and
responsibility for the process. The enthusiasm and commitment teachers
showed for the process supports our desire to continue to invest in teacher
moderation at Herman Secondary School. The next step will be to expand
teacher moderation in regular classes moving beyond OSSLT.
87
Appendix A
OSSLT Practice Test Version April 2009
Open Response Feedback Form
Student Name: _______________________
Booklet 1
Homeroom: ______________
SCORE
Section I, Question 6 Making Connections
10
_______ Clearly states opinion does settle or does not settle
_______ Provides at least vague support for the opinion
_______ Uses specific and relevant details from the selection to support opinion
Section III, Question 1 Conventions and Topic Development
10
_______ At least one clear reason for learning about other cultures is given
_______ Provides at least vague explanation of the reason above
_______ Explains clearly and provides specific and relevant details as support
Conventions
10 (Distract)
20
30
20
30
20 (Do Not Distract)
Section IV News Report

10
20
30
40
50
60
Topic Development
______ Topic of news report relates to both headline and photo
______ News report format: factual, formal, informational
______ Clear focus on one main event
______ Many specific details are given to develop the main event, many small paragraphs
______ Evidence of careful and logical organization of ideas
______ Polished, unique and thoughtful writing
Conventions
10 (Interfere)
20 (Distract)
30 (Do not distract)
40 (Controlled)
Section V, Question 7 Implicit
10
_______ States the main idea
_______ Shares at least one detail from the text
_______ Discussion/elaboration and use of several specific details to support main idea
20
30
Booklet 2
Section VI Series of Paragraphs
10
20
30
40
50
60
Topic Development
______ Topic of response is related to the prompt
______ An opinion is stated, though it may be inconsistent
______ Some details are given to support a consistent opinion, minimum three paragraphs
______ Details and ideas are specific and clearly explained/discussed
______ Evidence of careful and logical organization of ideas
______ Polished, unique and thoughtful writing
Conventions
10 (Interfere)
20 (Distract)
30 (Do not distract) 40 (Controlled)
Section IX, Question 6 Implicit
_______ At least one characteristic or trait is identified
_______ Explains how the characteristic(s) are developed
_______ Uses specific and relevant support from the selection
10
20
30
Section IX, Question 7 Making Connections

10
_______ A title is given
_______ Provides some support to explain why title is appropriate in own opinion
_______ Uses specific and relevant support from the selection
20
30
Section X, Question 1 Conventions and Topic Development

10
_______ Identifies one method that advertisers use to persuade teenagers
_______ Offers some explanation of the method above
_______ Discusses, elaborates, and explains further giving specific details and examples
Conventions
10 (Distract)
20
30
20 (Do Not Distract)
88
Appendix B
OSSLT Practise Test

Summary of Results
GLC2OH - 11
Problem Areas
Name of student
1. Grant
2. Rebecca
Risk
level
High
High
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Delanie
Zied
Cassandra
Kanally
Jamie
Med
Med
Med
Med
Med
X
X
8. Samantha
9. Paige
10. Cody
11. Sakriya H
Low
Low
X
X
MC
News
Report
Series of
Paragraphs
Open
Response
X 10
X 10
X 30
X
X
X 40
X 40
X 40
X 40
X 40
X
X 40
X 40
X 40
X 30
*If the section is left blank, the student scored well on that section of the OSSLT.
*highlighted student was unsuccessful
Suggestions
-
Teach multiple choice test-taking strategies

Implicit questioning techniques
Cover the news report and opinion essay formats
Assign a news report and opinion essay by end of March
Teach how to add specific details and examples in short answer
Collaborate with a TLTT if needed
89

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REPORTS

General Amherst High School

Glenwood Public School

J.L. Forster Secondary and Vincent Massey Secondary

LaSalle Public School

Public Alternative Secondary School (P.A.S.S.)

Vincent Massey Secondary School

Vincent Massey Secondary School

Vincent Massey Secondary School

Vincent Massey Secondary School

Vincent Massey Secondary School

Walkerville Collegiate Institute

Walkerville Collegiate Institute

W.F. Herman Secondary School

School: Amherstburg Public School

A team of teachers met to create and schedule a series of physical activities.

Mini-lessons were taught introducing each element of Critical Literacy (multiple

change their level of achievement. All students responded to questions in

Something that I did not expect or something that

Questions I have about the text are:

Write down a topic from your own life that

What story might an alternative text tell?

School: General Amherst High School

School: Glenwood Public School

Percentage of Students Identified At Risk or Some Risk for

Schools: J.L. Forster Secondary and Vincent Massey Secondary

How music used in

portraying of people &

In the episodes the

Critical thinking outcomes

music and then the

Power of Language Unit

Think aloud scaffold

Critically taking a side

Overall Teachers Reflections:

Students engaged enjoyed music, change of pace

Student Reflections: Power of Language Unit

Words / Phrases used to define critical thinking

Out of 29 students, 27 expressed a resounding yes to music activities helping

School: LaSalle Public School

Using Conventions ( spelling,

This would maintain continuity of instruction and vocabulary further

Frequent explicit teaching

* Not specifically identified under 3.5 expectation to be taught at grade level

2.1 Form: Factual Recount of an

2.1 Form: Descriptive Paragraph

2.1 Form: Directions for a game

2.1 Form: An original story modeled on

Ongoing Anchor Charts

School: Public Alternative Secondary School (P.A.S.S.)

Leamington; and a three-day in-the-community fundraiser for Haitian Relief

atmosphere of open communication and trust in an effort to demonstrate my care

School: Vincent Massey Secondary School

What types of assignments/activities did you like the most?

Did you feel that the FSE instruction was clear?

Which part of the FSE frustrated you the most?

Multiple due dates

What would you change about the FSE?

Making instructions more

Amount of class time

Song with lyrics: original or adapted

Continuing to provide formative assessment opportunities and descriptive feedback.

Planning to attend relevant professional development sessions.