Olivia Leong

TED 510
Embedded Signature Assignment (ESA): Mathematics Assessment

1. Create a summary of student learning across the whole class relative to the assessment
rubric. Summarize the results in narrative and/or graphic form (e.g., table or chart).
Attach the rubric. (3 points)
My group worked on the 2nd grade word problem assessment. The word problem was:
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar ate 2 fruits on Monday, 2 fruits on Tuesday, 2 fruits on
Wednesday, 2 fruits on Thursday, and 2 fruits on Friday. How many fruits did he eat
altogether? Solve the problem and show your work, using words, numbers, and pictures.”
Overall, ten students took the grade 2 assessment. The assessment rubric graded
students on a scale from 1 to 4 depending on the strategy used, how their work was shown (if
they used pictures, words/labels, and/or numbers), and the quality of their work. Based on the
assessment rubric, the average score was 2.2. Most of the students received a score of 2 or
3. The highest score received was a 3 and the lowest score received was a 1. The score
breakdown is as follows: two students received a 1, four students received a 2, four students
received a 3, and zero students received a 4.

The above chart and graph represent the scores received by each student. The chart is
organized alphabetically and also shows the average score of the whole class. The graph is
organized by score and shows the score distribution.

Rubric
Specific mathematics standards/objectives:​ Using addition to solve a word problem, making an
addition expression to solve problem, using labels and pictures to set up the problem (ex:
labelling the days of the week and drawing how many fruits were eaten on which day),
labelling the answer (ex: “10 fruits” instead of just “10”)
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TED 510
4 3 2 1

Student met Student met Student demonstrated Student​ did not

standards by using standards by using counting skills​ to demonstrate
addition skills​ to addition skills​ to solve the problem by counting or
solve the problem. solve the problem. using words, addition skills​ to
Strategy Student used words, Student used numbers, and/or solve the problem.
Used numbers and pictures. words, numbers pictures Student​ did not
and/or pictures. OR use words,
Student was able to numbers, or
demonstrate ​addition pictures​; and
skills​, but ​did not​ get their ​solution
to correct solution. was incorrect​.

Student demonstrated Student Student demonstrated Student

their thinking by using demonstrated their their thinking by using demonstrated
How addition symbols thinking by using numbers and/or their thinking by
student and drawing​ and was addition symbols drawings​. Solution only using
showed able to get a ​correct and/or drawing was correct OR drawings OR
their work solution with proper and was able to get solution was incorrect student did not
labels. a ​correct solution but had correct show work at all​.
addition expression Student’s solution
and/or drawings was ​incorrect​.

Quality of Student work is neat Student work is Student work is mostly Student work is
Student and organized. neat and organized. neat and organized. not neat or
Work Answer is clearly Answer is clearly Answer is somewhat organized.
stated. stated. clearly stated. Answer is not
clearly stated.

2. Using examples from the summary chart, discuss the patterns of learning across the
whole class relative to conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and mathematical
reasoning/problem-solving skills. (3 points)
When I first looked at the student work without referencing the rubric, I noticed that
most of the students had the correct solution and it seemed like most understood what the
problem was asking for. All of the students drew pictures to represent the fruits the Very
Hungry Caterpillar ate over five days and all students were able to use numbers to show their
answer. If the results are broken down by strategy used: four students used drawings and an
addition expression to find the solution and six students used drawings and counting skills
(counting by 1s or 2s) to find the solution. Out of the ten students, eight students found the
correct solution and two did not find the correct solution.The two that did not find the correct
solution used drawings to show their work and tried to use words in their answer. It seemed
like those two students tried to use counting to find the answer. The eight students that found
the correct solution either used counting or addition to find the answer.
The first pattern of learning I noticed was that all of the students drew a picture to help
represent the values stated in the word problem. The fact that all students drew pictures shows
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TED 510
me that they all understood what the problem was asking for. They knew that the question was
asking for the total number of fruit. The students probably started by drawing the amount of
fruit specified in the problem and then either counted or used addition to find the total number.
The next pattern of learning I noticed was whether students followed directions
carefully when showing their work. The instructions state that students needed to “solve the
problem and show [their] work, using words, numbers, and pictures.” When making the rubric,
my group was careful to note whether students followed those directions and used all three to
show their work. If a student used words, pictures, and numbers properly on the assessment,
their work was scored with a 4. If they only used one or two, then their work was scored from
1-3 depending on what strategy they used, the quality of their work, and if they found the
correct solution. When I used the rubric to score the student work, I noticed that most of the
students received 2s or 3s. No one received a 4. I also noticed that it was mainly the “How the
Student Showed Their Work” section of the rubric that kept some of the students from
receiving a 4. All of the students used numbers and pictures to find their answer but none of
the students used words properly in their work. Some students wrote their numerical answer in
word form. For example, student 2c wrote “six 6” as their answer, student 2d wrote “the
answer is ten,” and student 2e wrote “six.” It is possible that the students did not understand
how to use words to show their work. But in math, words can be used to label your work and
answer. I was looking for students to write the days of the week over their fruit drawings to
keep track of the days of the week or label their answer by writing “10 fruit.” In math and
science, it is important for students to get used to labelling the units whenever they write an
answer. This habit is crucial when students take more advanced courses where they learn unit
conversions and some problems have variables with different units. This class may need a
short lesson about labels and reminders to help reinforce this habit.
Another pattern I noticed was what strategies students used to find the solution. The
problem does not indicate what strategy students are supposed to use to solve the problem.
As mentioned previously, four students used drawings and an addition expression to find the
solution and six students used drawings and counting skills (counting by 1s or 2s) to find the
solution. By 2nd grade, students should be able to use an addition expression to represent a
word problem. Four students were able to write down the expression “2+2+2+2+2” or the
equation “2+2+2+2+2=10” to represent how much fruit the Caterpillar ate after 10 days. These
students were then able to accurately calculate the correct solution using their equation. The
six students who did not write an addition expression only drew pictures of the fruits. Without
any numbers or addition symbols to go along with their pictures, it is hard to determine exactly
which strategy these students used. The students could have counted their pictures by 1s or
2s or they could have added the fruit in their head. If they did not write any addition
expressions/equations then I would assume that they used counting skills to find the solution.
Although students can get the correct solution by counting, Common Core Standard 2.0A 1
states that 2nd grade students should be able to “represent and solve problems involving
addition and subtraction.” It is important to master the ability to represent a word problem with
an equation. This skill is especially important in future grades where students will need to solve
multi-step problems.
Olivia Leong
TED 510

3. Identify one area where students struggled mathematically. Include three student work
samples that represent the struggles in this area. (These students will be your focal
students for this task.) Describe the students’ struggles as they related to the
underlying mathematical understanding and/or concept. Use your student samples to
illustrate these struggles. (4 points)
One area where students struggled mathematically was using addition symbols or an
addition expression/equation to represent the word problem. All of the students were able to
show their work by drawing pictures of the fruit the Caterpillar ate but only four students wrote
addition expressions/equations. The remaining six students only drew pictures and then wrote
their answer. More than half of the students did not create an addition expression/equation.
These students may need a re-engagement lesson to help reinforce their mathematical
understanding of how to create an addition equation to represent a word problem.

An example of not using addition would be Student 2d’s

work. As pictured to the left, Student 2d drew ten fruit to
represent what the Caterpillar ate after five days. At the
bottom of the page in the answer box, Student 2d wrote,
“the answer is ten” and “2 4 6 8 10.” Based on the
series of numbers this student wrote, I can assume that
they found the answer by counting by 2s. When
students only draw pictures to show their work, it is
difficult to determine what strategy the student used to
solve the problem. This student clearly wrote how they
counted the fruit and this helps me determine how they
approached this problem. However, the students were
supposed to write an addition expression/equation to
represent the problem. Because Student 2d did not
meet this standard, they received a score of 2 for
getting a correct solution by using counting skills. Being
able to write an addition equation not only helps the
student visualize how they are supposed to solve the
problem, but this skill will also help students when then encounter multi-step math problems in
the future. A total of 4 students only drew pictures to show their thinking. All of these students
were able to get the correct solution but they did not include an addition equation on their
paper. The other 3 students who used counting skills did not write out their counting on their
paper and only drew 10 fruits and wrote “10” as their final answer. Student 2d’s work was the
only example of the student actually writing out how they counted the fruit.

Another example would be Student 2c’s work. As pictured below, Student 2c also used
drawings to illustrate the amount of fruit the Caterpillar ate. However, this student did not get
the correct solution. They drew eight circles but their final answer was “six 6.” The eight circles
they drew were in groups of two. I also noticed that the student started to draw seven circles in
one row but then erased them and ended up drawing four groups of two circles. The way the
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TED 510
fruits are grouped in 2s shows that Student 2c
understood that the Caterpillar ate two fruits per day.
But the amount of groups the student drew was
incorrect. They should have drawn five groups of two
because the problem listed five days of the week. It is
possible that they misread the problem or read the
problem too quickly and only added what they saw.
This student would have benefitted from labelling the
groups of fruits with the days of the week so they
would not miss a day when they count the final
answer. Student 2c received a score of 1 because
their solution was incorrect. One other student also
received a score of 1 for having an incorrect answer.
The other student also drew an incorrect number of
fruits and wrote their answer as “six.” Both student got
the same incorrect solution so it is possible that both
students misread the amount of fruits the Caterpillar
ate in the problem.

Another area where students struggled was with using

words in their work. Although this area of struggle is not
related to a particular mathematical concept, I believe
that always labelling your answer is an important habit
to instill in students. An example of this area of struggle
is in Student 2h’s work as pictured to the left. This
student did use an addition equation to show their
work. They were accurately able to create an equation
to represent the word problem and they were able to
calculate the correct solution. However, they did not
receive a score of 4 because they did not use words to
label their drawing and their answer. The problem
asked that students “solve the problem and show [their]
work, using words, numbers, and pictures” but none of
the students used words properly in their work. I was
looking for students to label their fruit drawings with the
days of the week so they could keep track of how many
fruits they needed to draw. I was also looking for a labelled answer like “10 fruit” instead of just
“10.” A labelled answer is more descriptive. Additionally getting into the habit of labelling the
answer will help students in the future when they take more advanced math and science
classes that involve unit conversions and problems with more than one unit.
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TED 510

4. What feedback could you provide to individual students to acknowledge what was done
well and what could be done to improve? Give specific examples of oral or written
feedback for your three focal students. (3 points)
Student 2c did not get the correct solution and received a 1. They drew eight circles to
represent the fruit eaten by the Caterpillar but their final answer was “six 6.” It looks like they
started drawing the fruit circles in one row but erased it. They were on the right track by
drawing out the circles first to find the solution but the amount of circles drawn and the final
answer were both incorrect and did not match. It is possible that they did not fully understand
what the problem said so I would write a short note on their work and make sure to speak with
them about it later and elaborate on what they can do to improve so they understand what to
think about next time. I would write: “Good start grouping the fruits by 2s! Next time, think
about what labels you can use to help organize your groups and double check your counting.”
In person, I would check in with them to make sure they understand what my note said. I
would point out the way they grouped the fruit circles by 2s again and ask them, “You had a
good start by drawing out the fruits. How did you know to group the fruit by 2s? I noticed you
erased some circles here. Why did you decide to group the fruits are not keep them in a row
like how you originally drew them?” They would explain that the problem described how the
Caterpillar ate 2 fruits every day. These questions help me understand their thinking and how
they approached the problem. Then I would say, “That’s a good way to draw out the fruit. What
can you do to help keep track of how many fruits to draw? Think about how we keep track of
things during math.” The student might mention tables or number lines. If the student says they
have trouble spelling out the days of the week, I would ask them where in the problem are the
days of the week written. If the student struggles with writing longer words, I would suggest
that they use the first one or two letters of each day to label the fruits. This student would
benefit from a re-engagement lesson that involves me modelling how to label and write an
equation to represent a word problem.
Student 2d got the correct solution and received a 2. They drew out 10 fruit to
represent what the Caterpillar ate and their final answer was “the answer is ten.” They also
wrote their counting (“2 4 6 8 10”) under their answer. They understood what the problem was
asking for but based on their work, they only used counting skills to find the solution.
Additionally, this student did not label their answer as “10 fruit” and just put “the answer is ten”
as their solution. I would write feedback on their work. I would write: “Good start counting by 2s
to find the answer and drawing the fruit to help you count! Next time try using the addition skills
we learned in class.” They understood what the problem was asking so I don’t need to offer
spoken feedback. This student might need a reminder or mini lesson in the future about how to
label your answer and use words in their work.
Student 2h found the correct solution and received a 3. This student drew a picture and
was able to use addition skills to find the solution by writing an addition expression. But this
student drew 10 circles in a row without labelling the fruit and their answer did not have a label.
The rubric states that to receive a 4, a student must use “words, numbers ​and​ pictures” as well
as “get a correct solution with proper labels.” A correct solution with proper labels would be “10
fruit” instead of just “10.” This student had the right idea and was able to represent the word
problem using an addition expression but they are missing labels. I would write feedback on
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TED 510
their paper. I would write: “Great job using addition and pictures to show your work and justify
your answer! Next time remember to label your work and answer with words.” They
understood what the problem was asking so I don’t need to offer spoken feedback. This
student might need a reminder or mini lesson in the future about how to label your answer and
use words in their work.

5. Based on your analysis of the focal students’ work samples, write a targeted learning
objective/goal for the students related to the area of struggle. Describe a re-engagement
lesson you could teach to develop each focus student’s mathematical knowledge in
relation to the targeted learning objective/goal. Your description should include
● targeted learning objective/goal from prompt 5
● content standards that were the basis of the analysis
● strategies and learning tasks to re-engage students (including what you
and the students will be doing)
● representations and other instructional resources/materials used to
re-engage students in learning
● assessments for monitoring student learning during the lesson (e.g., pair
share, individual whiteboards, quiz, exit ticket)

The next steps may be taught with the 3 focus students one-one-one, in a small group,
or with the whole class. In your description, be sure to explain how these next steps
follow from your analysis of the focal students’ performances. In addition, provide
sufficient detail to make it clear what the next steps would involve. (5 points)

A targeted learning objective for students who struggled with creating an addition
expression/equation would be for students to be able to write an addition equation to represent
a word problem and to be able to label their work and the solution. The content standards that
were the basis of this analysis were Common Core Standard 2.0A 1 “Represent and solve
problems involving addition and subtraction.” Under this standard, students should be able to
“use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step problems involving
situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with
unknown in all positions, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown
number to represent the problem.”
All students could benefit from reviewing how to create addition equations to represent
word problems so I would include the whole class in a re-engagement lesson. Additionally,
most had difficulty with labelling and using words to show their thinking so I would start off the
lesson by doing a mini lesson about labels. This mini lesson would be a good opening for the
re-engagement lesson and help students learn how to set up their drawings with labels. To
start, I would have the students gather in the carpet area with their own whiteboards in front of
the larger classroom whiteboard. I would write several different numbers on the board (ex: 12,
35, 6, 20, 10) and ask the class “What do we know about these numbers? What do they tell
us?” I would then do a think pair share with their elbow partner and ask clarifying questions to
understand student thinking. After everyone is finished sharing their thoughts, I would add
units or labels to each number (ex: 12 inches, 35 apples, 6 pounds, 20 cats, 10 feet) and ask
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TED 510
the class the same questions to initiate another think pair share. Students would start to notice
that with the labels, the numbers have a different meaning. I would explain that these are
called labels and that they help us know what our answer means. Then, I would give students
the opportunity to explore labels through some activities with their whiteboards. When they
have written down their solution, they hold up their whiteboard for me to check. First, I would
line up several books on the whiteboard and have students count and label them on their
whiteboards. Then I would have them try it again with another number of objects or draw a
number of objects on the board. Finally, I would have students work with a partner to count
and label a group of objects in the classroom. I would call on students to share what they
counted and labelled.
When this mini lesson is finished, I would begin the re-engagement lesson. I would
present a similar problem to the assessment problem. For example, I would change the
number of fruits the Caterpillar ate or the number of days listed in the problem (ex: The Very
Hungry Caterpillar ate 2 fruits on Monday, 2 fruits on Tuesday, 2 fruits on Wednesday, 2 fruits
on Thursday, 2 fruits on Friday, 2 fruits on Saturday, and 2 fruits on Sunday. How many fruits
did he eat altogether? Solve the problem and show your work, using words, numbers, and
pictures). First, I would point out the last sentence and remind students that labels can count
as words in math. Then, I would ask the class “What is the first step in solving this problem?” I
would choose a couple of students to help set up the problem and write down what they say
on the board. The rest of the class is following along on their whiteboards. If one student says
to draw a picture of the fruit, then I would ask the class “Can anyone tell me a way they can
use to help keep track of how many fruits there are?” Students might mention grouping the fruit
by 2s or labelling the days of the week. I would model writing clear labels on my whiteboard
and I would keep my labels simple by abbreviating the days of the week (ex: writing “Mon” or
“M” for Monday). After the drawing is complete I would ask the class “Now that we have our
pictures and words [I would put a check next to pictures and words on the problem], how can
we add numbers to our work?” Students might mention writing an addition equation. I would
model writing the equation and make sure students are following along on their own
whiteboards. After modelling the set up, I would have students solve the problem on their own
and hold up their white board when they have the solution. I would then nod to them if they got
the correct solution. During this time they would be working independently and I would be sure
to keep an eye on Student 2c and 2e to make sure that they are adding carefully. For the last
part of the lesson, I would have students work in partners to solve a similar problem (ex: The
Very Hungry Caterpillar ate 5 fruits on Monday, 5 fruits on Tuesday, 5 fruits on Wednesday, 5
fruits on Thursday, and 5 fruits on Friday. How many fruits did he eat altogether? Solve the
problem and show your work, using words, numbers, and pictures). I would walk around the
classroom and offer feedback or guidance to students. Students would come back to the
carpet, show me their whiteboards, and then I’d ask students to share how they solved the
problem. I would follow along on the big whiteboard and write down what students say. I would
try to pick volunteers who did not write an addition equation on the assessment so I would
know they now understand how to write one. Writing labels and an equation two times during
this lesson is good practice for the class. Throughout the rest of the year, I would remind the
class to label their answers and show all their work on any math problems.