GENERAL TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS
FOR ALL STANDARDS
The following section presents a variety of practical teaching and assessment tools, strategies, and culturally relevant approaches designed to help you and your students meet specific grade standards and benchmarks. (Some have been combined for clarity, as their content closely overlaps.)
Many of the sample materials provided in this Resource Guide can be printed, copied, and used directly in the classroom. However, we encourage teachers to adapt and modify these tools, strategies, and approaches to suit their own classrooms and contexts. In addition, we reference a small selection of resources from the Resource Library, but this is as examples only. The library contains hundreds of diverse materials and we hope teachers will enjoy exploring them and putting them to good use.
Standard 1: Listening and speaking
| Grade | Tools, strategies, or approaches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ECE Listen and respond respectfully to oral communications. | Grading using a rubric can support
data-based interventions. This tool allows the teacher to see where the student is performing and work on ways to help the student improve. Students can use rubrics to self-evaluate their performance and progress. |
Sample 1 |
| Grades 1,2 and 3 Do an oral or group presentation about their family (Grade 1), community/ village (Grade 2), municipality/ village (Grade 3) in a clear voice using appropriate intonation, rhythm, and gestures. | An oral presentation plan is a helpful tool to
keep the students organized and to ensure they
understand the criteria of the assignment. Grading using a rubric can support data-based interventions. This tool allows the teacher to see where the student is performing and work on ways to help the student improve. Students can use rubrics to self-evaluate their performance and progress. |
Sample 2 |
| Grades 4 and 5 Listen attentively and participate respectfully in group presentations on grade-appropriate topics. | Grading using a rubric can support
data-based interventions. This tool allows the teacher to see where the student is performing and work on ways to help the student improve. Students can use rubrics to self-evaluate their performance and progress. |
Sample 3 |
| Grades 6 and 7 Engage effectively in presenting and discussing information following the collaborative rules for speaking and listening. | Creating collaborative rules as a class will promote understanding and student buy-in. A presentation plan is a helpful tool to keep the students organized and to ensure they understand the criteria of the assignment. | Sample 4 |
| Grade 8 Analyze, critique, and ask questions on any current events to build or enhance vocabulary and grammar. | Developing a bank of culturally appropriate questions as a class will build understanding to enhance vocabulary and grammar. | Sample 5 |
| Grade 9 Listen to a dialogue and respond confidently using appropriate words/ phrases in different settings. Pay attention to a speaker’s body language, gestures, and facial expressions (e.g., nod, eye‑contact, frown, etc.) in an interview and formulate responses in different settings. | Conducting interviews with elders gives
students a real-world, interactive context
to observe, interpret, and respond to both
verbal and nonverbal communication. Interview documentation is a useful strategy to learn about place, culture, and to apply language skills. |
Sample 6 |
| Grade 10 Listen attentively to a variety of live presentations and/ or oral presentations, and respond to specific questions. Discuss reactions with others and respond to specific questions and comments with clarity. | Three column note taking is an interesting
way to enhance active listening. When
taking notes, it is very easy to become
focused on recording information without
thinking about why it is important. Three column note taking gives a clear structure for both recording information and thinking deeply about the information as each step is completed. The notes can guide and support the discussions and questioning process. |
Sample 7 |
| Grades 11 and 12 Listen to spoken texts in different settings (e.g., debate, trial, legislative session, etc.) and respond respectfully with thoughtful questions, justifiable reasoning and from a cultural perspective. | A T-Chart is a two-column table used to organize information, particularly when comparing or contrasting two different sets of data. | Sample 8 |
Standard 2: Reading
| Grade | Tools, strategies, or approaches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ECE Demonstrate understanding of the letter-sound association of the alphabet and use skills to figure out sounds of letters and words in simple sentences. | Creating place-based posters for letter sound association using local and easily recognized objects supports young students to quickly learn the alphabet their sounds. | Sample 9 |
| ECE, Grade 1 and 2 Demonstrate the ability to use the concept of print to navigate different types of texts (books, posters, signs, bulletins, comics, etc.). | Comparing and contrasting different types of texts will support learning the functions of printed material (eg. to raise awareness, as a reference, to inform, to entertain, etc.) | Sample 10 |
| Grade 3 Demonstrate understanding of how the different elements of the concept of print convey meaning (e.g., comma, period, question mark, exclamation mark, etc.). | Using any text for a punctuation scavenger hunt will help students understand how these marks convey meaning. | Sample 11 |
| Grades 4 and 5 Engage in strategies to build word understanding. | Drawing or sketching the meaning of a word helps students to think about how the word is used and the context. | Sample 12 |
| Grades 6, 7 and 8 Use a wide range of strategies to build and expand on the understanding of words and phrases. | Playing word games is a fun way to build and expand
understanding of words and phrases. In "Three Truths and a Lie", students consider a word’s part of speech, definition, related words, associations, and "personality," then write four statements about it. One of the statements should be false, and the others true. |
Sample 13 statements for
"Honorific":
People use honorific language when addressing royalty. Pohnpeian language has a rich honorific vocabulary. Honorific is a dish with lots of fish. The word "Sir" is an honorific in English. |
| High School, grades 9, 10 11, and 12Demonstrate the ability to use skills and strategies for reading and comprehending a wide variety of grade-appropriate texts. | Effective high school reading strategies include active reading through annotation and questioning, previewing the text before reading, summarizing and paraphrasing sections to check for comprehension, using graphic organizers to visualize concepts, employing context clues to decode vocabulary, and making connections between the text and personal experiences or other texts. | Sample 14 of a mind map or concept map and how to use it. |
Standard 3: Writing
| Grade | Tools, strategies, or approaches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ECE, Grade 1 and 2 Use basic skills and processes of writing to write a descriptive piece about self (ECE), their family (Grade 1), home or place (Grade 2). | Helping students to use all their senses while writing gives them access to ideas and details to write about. Descriptive writing templates can help students explore different elements to include in their stories. | Sample 15 |
| Grades 3, 4 and 5 Use grade-appropriate writing skills and the processes of writing to write an expository passage about the cultural aspect of their community (Grade 3), state (Grade 4), or nation (Grade 5). | Expository writing is a genre of writing that describes, explains, or investigates an idea, reason, or steps in order to inform or illuminate a particular subject for the reader. Like all kinds of academic writing, expository essays have a clear thesis statement that is supported by sound evidence and reasoning. Successful and effective expository essays should provide necessary context and background information, present a main idea, and provide examples to elaborate on the subject at hand (taken from Gacho, 2021). | Sample 16 |
| Grades 6 and 8 Create a variety of texts using correct conventions of writing, appropriate cultural protocols and word choices, and organization to fit the purpose and audience for the writing. | Knowing the purpose and the audience is key to writing persuasively and to using the appropriate language and protocols. | Sample 17. Adapt to any kind of text. |
| Grades 7 and 9 Compose an informative report, based on factual information, with references, using precise vocabulary, correct transitional words, and phrases, with clear purpose and audience. | Gathering facts and details for an informative report is very important. Knowing the purpose and audience is also key. | Sample 18 |
| Grade 10 Compose a piece of text (report, poem, letter, etc...) using precise and effective vocabulary and processes of writing on an important local topic (e.g., historical sites, environmental degradation, election results, etc...). | Gathering facts and details for any piece of text is very important. Knowing the purpose and audience is also key. | Sample 19 |
| Grade 11 Create a short pamphlet or brochure on a traditional event (e.g., feast, ceremony, funeral, etc.) using precise and effective vocabulary. | Precise and effective vocabulary is necessary to get the message across in shorter documents such as a pamphlet or brochure. | Sample 20 |
| Grade 12 Research and write an opinion piece on a chosen topic (e.g., clan, taboo, traditional titles, language, family roles, etc.) and cite facts and evidence to support the claim. | Gathering facts and details for an opinion piece to support a claim is very important. | Sample 21 |
Standard 4: Literature response
| Grade | Tools, strategies, or approaches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ECE Demonstrate awareness of the importance of stories by recognizing the characters and settings of stories. | Teachers can use who and where/when charts to have students recognize the characters and settings of a story. | Sample 22 |
| Grade 1 Recognize that opinions differ. | Venn Diagram can be used in many ways. For example, to compare and contrast, discuss the same and different, like and dislike, etc. Teachers can use this tool to help students recognize that they can have different opinions on the same topic. | Sample 23 |
| Grade 2 Make inferences regarding the consequences of characters' actions. | Students can add their own experiences to the story to deepen their understanding and to develop ideas. | Sample 24 based on “What I see on the reef”, a book you can find in the Resource library. |
| Grade 3 Demonstrate understanding that people respond differently to different types of texts (e.g., stories, articles, media platforms, etc.) read. | Students can first fill out the template in response to the text and then share with a classmate. They can compare and contrast their response to understand that people can respond differently to the same text. | Sample 25 |
| Grade 4 Identify literary elements (e.g., setting, characters, and plot) in stories read, viewed, or heard. b. Identify the main events in a story read, viewed, or heard and arrange them in sequential order. | Story or play outline provides an organized way for the student to write or draw their understanding of the events of the story and to arrange them. | Sample 26 based on “Rat and Crab”, a book you can find in the Resource library. |
| Grade 5 Read a variety of genres and explain how the contents relate to real-life situations or experiences. | A concept map is a visual organizer or graphic tool that illustrates the relationships between different ideas or concepts, typically represented as nodes (circles or boxes) connected by labeled arrows. It helps to structure information hierarchically, beginning with a main idea and branching out to more specific topics. | Sample 27 based on “Teamwork in my Community”, a book you can find in the Resource library. |
| Grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 Demonstrate an understanding of the literary elements of a story and play, including characters, setting, plot, dialogue, and theme. | Story or play outline provides an organized way for the student to write or draw their understanding of the literary elements. | Sample 28 based on “Mwein Olisihpa and Olosohpa”, a book you can find in the Resource library. |
| Grades 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 Analyze how the contents (e.g., message, theme, purpose, and moral) of different types of literary genres relate to real-life situations or experience. | A concept map is a visual organizer or graphic tool that illustrates the relationships between different ideas or concepts, typically represented as nodes (circles or boxes) connected by labeled arrows. It helps to structure information hierarchically, beginning with a main idea and branching out to more specific topics. | Sample 29 based on “How the Islands of Yap became separated”, a book you can find in the Resource library. |