Authentic+Assessments

 The purpose of this assignment is for you to create an authentic assessment for use in a high school biology class. Your assessment should include both a student handout and a rubric by which you will grade the students. The #|postedassignment sheet describes the requirements in further detail. This assignment does not require a formal lesson plan.





Student Work:
**Langefeld, Cristy**: My authentic Assessment is called "Let's Bake a cell!" and could be used during an animal and plant cell unit. This project has the students creating a model of either a plant or animal cell out of cake. They are to use only edible items to create their model and must label the different cell structures. Students will also choose a type of specialized cell and write a 2 page report about the cell. Students will present their model and report to the class. 

**"Food Web Creation" - Phil Dorjath:** In this authentic assessment students will be creating a food web given a particular ecosystem. Students will need background on ecosystems and on how food webs work. Students are to be creative and construct an actual food web for the ecosystem they are assigned. A sample has been provided, but students would be encourage to be more creative than a simple picture. Along with the food web, the students will have to complete a series of write-ups which act as rationals. They will then briefly present and hang pu their models in class.

**"Home Sweet Home" - Amanda Donnelly:** In this authentic assessment, students will research about a chosen animal and write a paper about what that animal needs in its home environment, draw a blueprint for the home they have researched for and build a model of what the home would look like.

"Bacteria Wanted Poster"- Brock Parrott- In this authentic assessment, students will research about a particular bacteria. They will then present the information on a wanted poster.

**"Science in Plain English"** David Herbst. For this authentic assessment, students will first familiarize themselves with what it means to use "Plain English." After that they will create their own Plain English video on topics covered in class. Finally, the students will share their videos to the class while their peers have a chance to judge their video. The video which scored the highest via class vote will receive extra credit.

This is an authentic assessment that is to have students draw from the knowledge they have learned throughout the second semester of school (while studying plant and animal systems) and apply it in a creative way. This includes a research paper as well as a presentation with a visual aid.
 * "Full Circle" Life Cycle-Stephanie Mocilan**

**"Biome Project" - Sammy Licocci** This Authentic Assessment is a project for students in groups. They get assigned a specific biome and research it. They create a tri-fold poster that they decorate with pictures and lots of information. Attached is the assignment sheet, rubric and a power point with some pictures of examples of some of the projects.

**"Build-A-Bird" - Max Taylor:** This authentic assessment is designed for better reinforcement of bird anatomy and sparks interest with the students. The students are required to design a fictitious bird that has unique, but real adaptations to a specific environment. The students will work in groups of two and must draw the bird they designed also including the justification of why the bird has those specific features. Included is the handout, a bird anatomy example page, the rubric they will be graded with, and the objectives and sources for the lesson.

**Kevin Nichols - "Cogs of the Great Machine"** This authentic assessment has the students create an exhibit about one structure of the cell. The students are responsible for working together to create a poster, a pamphlet, and an explanation of the structure. The students will also have to present their materials as if they were presenting an exhibit in a museum. This will help ensure that they must know the topics in order to display them efficiently.

**Adam Bruinius - "Genetic Disorder Presentation"** This authentic assessment gives the students the freedom to create any type of presentation they want in order to educate the class on their assigned genetic disorder. The students will have to present their information to the class accompanied by a visual aide.

**Dan DeWees- "Amazing Cellular Models in 3-D!"** This authentic assessment allows students the chance to create their own interpretation of either a plant or animal cell in the form of a three dimensional model. Students are also required to create a key that identifies all the organelles within their model and provide descriptions on the structure and function of any two organelles within their cell. **Angela Vitale - "Shoebox Biome Diorama Project"** This authentic assessment gives students a chance to research a biome of their choosing and also allows students the room for creativity. Students choose a biome from the list and create a shoebox diorama of the biome using any materials provided or ones of their choosing. Then, students create a written description of their biome using the rubric attached.

**Nic Roome- "I Created a Monster!"** This authentic assessment assess the students understanding of evolution through the creation and evolution of a created organism. Students will show pressures and various methods of change that cause evolution in a photo time-line of the organisms evolution. The students will submit their final organism into certain categories and the students will anonymously judge each category to see who wins. After the judging each student/team will present their organism's evolution to the class.

The premise behind this authentic assessment lives in the fantastic revelation of communication with an alien species. In an effort to share knowledge with these presumably friendly organisms, the students will be comprising an herbarium, preserving and identifying plant species endemic to our area. The students will not only have an experience in dealing with plants, but also in exploring how plants are classified, all in an attempt to ensure that the aliens have a few good reasons not to eliminate our planet, should it come to that... Attached are the student handout (on which student objectives are identified), a rubric for the project components, and a rubric to be used for each herbarium entry.
 * Larissa Roy--"Breaking News!"**

This authentic assessment assesses the students understanding of the digestive system by creating 5 postcards, each from the 5 major organs of the digestive system. They will be responsible for picking a food which will be the point of view they write from. I will be able to assess them by their writing on the postcard that explains the processes, structure and functions of the digestive system. They will also have to define any scientific terms used. Below, I have included the student handout which explains the assignment, and the rubric. The objectives are included in the student handout.
 * Taryn Williams- "Greetings! From the Digestive System."**