Group Summative Assessment

As we end our NGSS Universe unit, students are working with partners to make a scale model of the solar system using receipt tape, stickers, rulers, and a planning sheet.  The overarching action is:

MS-ESS1-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

We've used astronomical units (au); students found these distances for objects in the solar system and started with these as the basis for the model.

This was a great activity as far as student engagement.  We worked on this in class for 3 days.  There was minimal teacher assistance. Students are naturally using the vocabulary of the solar system (planets, dwarf planets, au, etc.), and doing legitimate problem solving to determine where objects should be placed on their paper.

Once students are done with the model, they will respond to questions based on the model via a Google Form: https://goo.gl/forms/SS0XWZzMbfwIk8hf2.

We are going to take a day next week to align the models (based on their scales) to analyze for accuracy, errors, and general questions.

What I liked about this:
1. It was student-driven based on concepts we had already experienced, and they were engaged.
2. It led for some good conversations about size and scope of the solar system.
3. We decided to do a combination of hands-on activities and written work to assess for understanding.
4. My understanding of the size of the solar system and the power of the Sun's gravity has been enhanced; I know this is true of students as well.

What I didn't like about this:
1. Various students were absent for school activities during two of the days, so deciding what is necessary for them to do and finding the time for them to do it is a challenge.
2. Some of the groups' scales were wrong.  This will lead to a good discussion, but it was a challenge to address all of them.
3. I had to do mini-lessons on measurement, which wasn't an assessed skill, but students needed to know how to do it, and it could have affected their models. However, I think the general idea is that they understand the solar system is big, and that was accomplished.
4. This was a better activity for smaller classes than larger classes.

I think the big takeaway of this was that assessments take time.  Students need time to let the concepts marinate in their minds, students need time to work through the assessment itself, students need time to show their understanding, and time needs to be set aside for discussion of the final products.

What I don't know is how I am going to assess this.  I should have started with a rubric, but I wasn't sure what to expect. Perhaps I'll have the students help me determine how to assess this.....