STUDY GUIDE: The Souvenir by Louise Steinman
Developed by Library Services, Santa Clara County Offices of Education
Perhaps the most important goal of assessment is to inform instruction. As
you monitor the degree to which your students understand and engage with the
book, you will naturally modify your instructional plan. The frequency and
balance of class and small-group discussion, the time allowed for activities,
and the extent to which direct teaching of reading skills and strategies,
literary elements, or vocabulary can all be planned on the basis of your ongoing
assessment of your students' needs.
Several forms of assessment are particularly appropriate for work with the
novel:
Observing and note taking
Anecdotal records that reflect both the degree and the quality of students'
participation in class and small-group discussions and activities will help you
target areas in which coaching or intervention is appropriate. Because
communication skills are such an integral part of working with the novel in a
classroom setting, it is appropriate to evaluate the process of making meaning
in this social context.
Observing yourself with dialogue journals and letters
You may want to exchange notes with students instead of, or in addition to,
encouraging them to keep reader's logs. A powerful advantage of this strategy is
that at the same time you have the opportunity to evaluate students' responses;
you can make a significant difference in the quality of the response. When
students are aware that their comments are valued (and addressed to a real
audience - an audience that writes back), they often wake up to the significance
of what they are reading and begin to make stronger connections between the text
and their own lives.
Agreeing on criteria for evaluation
If evaluation is to be fair, it must be predictable. As students propose and
plan an activity or project, collaborate with them to set up the criteria by
which their work will be evaluated, and be consistent in applying only those
criteria.
Encouraging self-evaluation and goal setting
When students are partners with you in creating criteria for evaluation, they
can apply those criteria to their own work. You might ask them to rate
themselves on a simple scale of 1, 2, or 3 for each of the criteria and to
arrive at an overall score. Students can then set goals based on
self-evaluation.
Peer evaluation
Students can participate in evaluating one another's demonstrations and
presentations, basing their evaluations upon a previously established set of
standards. Modeling a peer-evaluation session will help students learn this
method, and a chart or checklist can guide peer discussion. Encourage students
to be objective, sensitive, courteous, and constructive in their comments.
The following is a list of some of the English-Language Arts Content
Standards that could be addressed through the activities in this guide:
Reading 1.1 - Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of
words and understand word derivations.
Reading 2.4 -Extend ideas presented in primary or secondary sources
through original analysis, evaluation, and elaboration.
Reading 3.8 – Interpret and evaluate the impact of ambiguities,
subtleties, contradictions, ironies, and incongruities in a text.
Reading 3.12-Analyze the way in which a work of literature is related
to the themes and issues of its historical period.
Writing 1.1-Establish a controlling impression or coherent thesis that
conveys a clear and distinctive perspective on the subject and maintain a
consistent tone and focus throughout the piece of writing.
Writing 2.2- Writes responses to literature
- Demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of the significant ideas of a work of
literature
- Support important ideas and viewpoints through accurate and detailed
references to the text or other works.
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| With Special Thanks To: |
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City of San Jose
Silicon Valley Library System
Friends of Cupertino Library
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George E. Ewan Family Foundation
Friends of the Los Gatos Public Library
Friends of the Milpitas Community Library
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Friends of the Library of Los Altos & Community
Mountain View Library Foundation
Friends of the Campbell Library
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Friends of the Morgan Hill Library
Friends of the Gilroy Library
Friends of Saratoga Libraries
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