Jaimee T. Mendillo
Lesson One: What Makes Someone Smart? Games, Skills, & Systems
Lesson Rationale: This lesson gently introduces the idea that systems define success differently, and not all systems are fair or accurate. It primes students to begin questioning how intelligence has been defined historically (especially in relation to eugenics and testing) and sets a personal, experiential foundation for the deeper critical work that follows.
Lesson Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Engage with games that require different combinations of memory, strategy, and chance.
- Reflect on how different games reward different types of thinking, behavior, and luck.
- Discuss how systems (in this case games) define and reward “intelligence,” “skill,” and “success.”
- Begin questioning the fairness and objectivity of labels such as “proficient” or “gifted.”
Materials Needed:
- Memory-Based Games: These games test short-term and long-term memory, pattern recognition, and attention to detail.
- Memory/Concentration: Flip and match pairs from a face-down set of cards.
- SET: Visual pattern recognition game involving shapes, colors, and numbers.
- Simon: Classic sequence memory game involving lights and sounds.
- Strategy-Based Games: These reward planning, foresight, and logical thinking.
- Connect Four: Classic alignment strategy game.
- Blokus: Spatial reasoning and competitive blocking game.
- Checkers/Chess: Strategic movement and foresight.
- Mastermind: Deductive reasoning game; one player creates a code, the other tries to break it.
- Tic-Tac-Toe: Simple and classic strategy under pressure game.
- Chance-Based Games: These highlight the role of randomness and unpredictability; ideal for disrupting assumptions about “skill = success.”
- Chutes & Ladders: Pure chance; often frustrates students.
- Left Center Right: Dice-based game relying purely on rolls.
- UNO: Combines basic strategy with heavy randomness (who draws what).
- Candyland: Luck-based game with few choices.
- Dice 100: Students roll two dice, choosing to bank or risk each roll to reach 100. Teaches risk management and math fluency.
- Hybrid Games: Games that blend chance, memory, and/or strategy.
- Guess Who?: Combines deductive reasoning with some randomization based on who goes first and what questions are asked.
- Battleship: Combines strategic positioning and guesswork.
- Yahtzee: Combines luck of dice rolls with strategic decision-making.
- Qwirkle: Offers multiple ways to earn points; blends spatial reasoning with an element of unpredictability as tiles are drawn at random.
- Uno Flip (or classic Uno with house rules): Layered strategy with randomness.
- Student journals or notebooks
- Whiteboard or chart paper
- Observation sheet
- Exit tickets
Warm-Up (10 minutes): Personal Reflection Prompt
- Have questions posted for student references. Let students complete a journal response to the following questions:
- What does it mean to be ‘smart’?
- How do you know if someone is smart?
- Who decides what counts as intelligence?”
- After students have had a chance to write a response, have them share with a partner or in a small group.
- Invite pairs/groups to share out with the whole class.
- Capture their ideas on the board/chart paper.
Game Rotation (40 minutes): Play & Observe
- Set up game stations that represent Memory-based games, Strategy-based games, Chance-based games, and Hybrid games.
- Distribute an observation sheet for each student to take notes on in each station. Encourage them to notice for each game they play:
- What kind of thinking or behavior is rewarded?
- What makes someone “good” at this game?
- How much of success depends on luck/chance?
- How much of success depends on strategy?
- Group students into pairs or trios and have them rotate through at least 2 stations, spending 10-20 minutes at each. It may be optimal to limit time at each station to have students rotate through more stations, regardless of whether games are completed or not at the end of the allotted time.
Class Discussion (10 minutes): Debrief & Connect
- Gather students and lead a discussion using these guiding questions:
- Which games did you enjoy most? Which were frustrating?
- Did any games feel “unfair”? Why?
- Did winning (or losing) feel like a result of skill, chance, or both?
- Do the systems we use to define success (in school and in other aspects of their lives) feel more like skill or chance?
- Bridge the conversation toward the unit: “Standardized testing is one tool schools use to measure success. After playing games today, what questions do you have about how intelligence and ability are defined and measured?”
Exit Ticket (5-10 minutes):
- Distribute an exit ticket for students to complete answering the following prompts:
- Which game did you feel best at today? What helped you succeed at that game?
- Which game felt the most unfair or random? Why?
- What is one thing today’s games taught you about how success can be measured – or mismeasured?
Lesson Two: Personal Reflections on Standardized Testing
Lesson Rationale: This lesson builds directly on the opening games-based activity by inviting students to reflect on their own experiences with standardized testing. After exploring how chance, memory, and strategy affect outcomes in games, students will now shift their focus to real-world systems that shape their academic identities.
Journaling and peer discussion give students the space to examine how testing has influenced their self-perception and sense of capability. These reflections help them recognize that assessments are not just academic tools; they carry emotional and social weight. By surfacing personal stories, this lesson creates empathy, curiosity, and critical awareness, which are essential for understanding the historical and systemic issues explored later in the unit.
Starting with students’ lived experiences ensures relevance and builds investment. It affirms that their voices matter and will set the tone for deeper inquiry and activism.
Lesson Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Reflect on their personal experiences with standardized testing.
- Identify and articulate how standardized testing has shaped their academic identity and feelings about school.
- Engage in respectful, open-ended discussion with peers about shared and differing experiences.
- Begin to question the assumptions and impacts of standardized assessment practices.
Materials Needed:
- Student journals or notebooks
- Whiteboard or chart paper
- Discussion prompt slide or handout
Warm-Up (10-15 minutes): Discussion
- Initiate a discussion with students about their experience from the last class:
- “Yesterday, we played games that tested different combinations of memory, skill, and chance. Think about the games you played yesterday.”
- Students can have their journals, observation sheets, and exit tickets in front of them for reference.
- Ask students to share out responses to the following questions:
- Which games did you feel confident in? Why?
- Which games made you feel frustrated? Why?
- Did any games make you feel “lucky” or “unlucky”? Which ones? How so?
- Did any games feel “fair” or “unfair”? Which ones? How so?
- Did any game outcomes surprise you?
- What skills did each game reward? Which skills didn’t matter as much?
- Segue the discussion to standardized testing. Use the discussion to underscore that games are designed to work a certain way, as are assessments. And those designs impact how students feel; whether they succeed, or struggle – sometimes regardless of effort or intelligence.
- “Today, we’re going to reflect on a system we all participate in – standardized testing – and ask some of the same questions:
- Are these tests fair?
- What do they measure?
- How do the outcomes make us feel about ourselves?”
- Have questions posted for student references. Let students complete a journal response to the following questions:
- What thoughts or emotions do you associate with standardized testing?
- Allow 2-3 students to share out if they’re comfortable.
Mini-Lesson/Framing (5-10 minutes):
- Briefly remind students what standardized testing is (students in New Haven start official SBAT testing in third grade, but are also subjected to quarterly district-level subject-specific testing in mathematics and reading, as well as in science in middle school).
- Reinforce that this reflection is not about assigning blame to teachers or schools, but about exploring how systems affect learners. You may say:
“Today, we’re going to reflect on your experiences. These reflections will help us understand how testing affects students – not in theory, but in real life. Your experiences are valid and important data.”
Journaling (15-20 minutes):
- Have questions posted for student references Ask students to respond in writing to three or more of the following prompts in their journals:
- What is your first memory of taking a standardized test?
- How do you feel when you take standardized tests?
- What do you think your test scores say about you?
- How have test scores affected the way you see yourself as a student?
- Who decides what “proficient” means, and do you agree with those standards?
- Have you ever felt that a test didn’t reflect what you know or can do? Why?
- What would a better assessment look like for you?
- Let students know their writing will not be graded for grammar or correctness and will not be shared without their permission.
Pair or Small Group Discussion (15-20 minutes):
- Invite students to discuss their reflections in small groups (3-4 students). Post these discussion norms:
- Speak from your own experience.
- Listen actively without interrupting.
- Respect different perspectives.
- Share only what you’re comfortable sharing.
- Suggested guiding questions for group discussion after individual sharing:
- Did anyone’s experience surprise you?
- What do you think makes testing feel so high-stakes?
- How do you think testing could be made more fair or meaningful?
- Create a shared board or chart where students can anonymously add key takeaways or feelings (e.g., “Stress,” “Frustrated,” “Motivated,” “Confused by labels”).
Debrief (5 minutes):
- Debrief with the whole class:
- What did you notice about your classmates’ experiences?
- What questions do you have about testing systems now?
- How might we use these reflections to think about change?
- Inform students that this reflection work will shape their activism project later in the unit.
Exit Ticket Reflection (5-10 minutes)
- Have students take a few quiet minutes to respond to the questions below. Reaffirm that there are no right or wrong answers and that their honest reflections will help guide their learning and conversations moving forward.
- What is one insight or realization you had today about standardized testing?Write 2-3 sentences.
- How have standardized tests made you feel about your intelligence or your abilities in school? Check all that apply and add details if you’d like.
| ☐ Confident |
☐ Anxious |
☐ Confused |
| ☐ Discouraged |
☐ Motivated |
☐ Frustrated |
| ☐ Proud |
☐ Indifferent |
☐ Other: _______ |
Optional: Explain your answer.
- What questions do you still have about where standardized tests come from or why we use them? List one or two questions you’re curious to explore.
Lesson Three: A History of Standardized Testing
Lesson Rationale: This lesson introduces students to the historical roots of standardized testing in the U.S., emphasizing how tests were shaped by, and have reinforced, systems of inequality. By connecting their personal reflections to broader historical patterns, students will begin to see that their experiences are not isolated but part of a larger story. This historical lens deepens their critical awareness and prepares them to imagine, explore, and advocate for more just systems of assessment.
Lesson Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Understand the historical emergence of standardized testing in U.S. public schools.
- Identify how testing has been used to rank, sort, and exclude students.
- Recognize connections between personal experiences and systemic patterns.
- Reflect on how historical context complicates the idea that tests are “objective” or “fair”.
Materials Needed:
- Teacher-led version of a slideshow created from the “Historical Background of Standardized Testing & the Fight for Educational Justice” essay (with speaker notes)
- Student-facing version of the slideshow (for note-taking)
- Student journals or notebooks
- Pens/pencils
- Projector or smartboard
Warm-Up (10-15 minutes):
- Have questions posted for student references. Let students complete a journal response to the following prompt: “Last class, you reflected on your experiences with testing. Today, you’ll begin to explore the history of where these tests came from. Before we jump in, spend 5 minutes writing a response to these questions:
- Why do you think schools started using standardized tests in the first place?
- Who might benefit from test scores? How so?
- Who might be hurt by them? How so?”
- After students have had a chance to write a response, have them share with a partner or in a small group.
- Invite pairs/groups to share out with the whole class.
- Capture their ideas on the board.
Main Activity – Teacher-Led Slideshow and Discussion (35-40 minutes):
- Present the teacher-led version of the slideshow based on the background essay using speaker notes. Pause at key slides for student discussion and responses. Use think-pair-share opportunities for students to engage more completely with the material.
- Students should follow along using a printed or digital note-taking guide with built-in questions. Suggested questions to include:
- What role did IQ tests play in early American schools?
- How did cultural bias affect the design and outcomes of these tests?
- What patterns do you notice in who benefits from testing and who is harmed?
- How does this history connect to your own experience?
- Make space for emotional responses to the examples of injustice; acknowledge discomfort, invite curiosity.
Reflection & Wrap-Up (10-15 minutes):
- Have students return to their journals and respond to the following prompts:
- After learning more about the history of standardized testing, how do you feel about your own test experiences?
- Has anything shifted in your thinking?
- What do you want to know more about?
- Optional Share-Out: Students can share a sentence or phrase from their journal aloud in a circle, popcorn style, or post anonymous responses to a class Padlet or chart paper titled:
- “What surprised me / What I wonder now.”
Lesson 4: Rethinking Assessment – Performance-Based Alternatives to Standardized Testing
Lesson Rationale: This lesson builds on students’ growing awareness of how intelligence has been historically defined and assessed through inequitable systems. Having explored their personal experiences with standardized testing and the troubling history behind it, students now pivot to consider meaningful alternatives.
Through a station format, students will explore different models of performance-based assessment that prioritize critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and self-reflection, and align more closely with the diverse strengths that students bring to the classroom. By examining these alternatives, students begin to imagine what equitable assessment could look like in their own learning environments.
Lesson Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Identify key characteristics of various performance-based assessments (portfolios, exhibitions, inquiry-based research, peer/self-review).
- Compare performance-based models to standardized testing in terms of purpose, fairness, and effectiveness.
- Reflect on and articulate their own beliefs about how student learning should be measured.
- Collaboratively envision equitable assessment practices that honor diverse ways of knowing.
Materials:
- Station reading handouts and examples
- Graphic organizer (for note-taking while cycling through the stations)
- Clipboards
- Chart paper or whiteboard for class brainstorm
- Reflection journals
Warm-Up (10 minutes):
- Have questions posted for student references. Let students complete a journal response to the following prompt: “Think back to the last three lessons: We’ve explored how intelligence can be defined and measured in many ways, as well as how tests don’t always reflect our strengths or learning.
- What do you think a good assessment should do or show?
- What would make you feel proud of your learning?”
- After students have had a chance to write a response, have them share with a partner or in a small group.
- Invite pairs/groups to share out with the whole class.
- Capture their ideas on the board/chart paper.
Station Review of Performance-Based Assessments (35-40 minutes): Students will rotate through six stations; five will each focus on a different model of performance-based assessment. At each of these stations, students will explore how the model works, its purpose, and how it supports student learning through a short description and examples. Students will answer questions and take notes to compare across models. A sixth station will ask students to reflect on aspects of performance-based.
- Hand out graphic organizers for note-taking and assign students to their first station. Students will have only 5 minutes at each station before being asked to complete their notes and move along to the next station.
- Station 1 – Portfolios: A collection of a student’s work over time that shows growth, reflection, and learning. Students will explore sample portfolio excerpts, and reflection quotes from students. They will respond to these guiding questions:
- What kinds of work are included in a portfolio?
- How does a portfolio show what a student knows or can do?
- How might this feel different than taking a test?
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- Station 2 – Inquiry Projects: Research-based projects where students pose a question and explore answers through investigation. Students will explore sample inquiry prompts, mini case studies, student product images. They will respond to these guiding questions:
- How is this assessment driven by student questions?
- How does inquiry encourage deep thinking?
- How might students demonstrate learning in creative ways?
- Station 3 – Public Exhibitions: Students publicly present and explain their work to an audience. Students will explore photos from exhibition nights, reflection quotes, and teacher descriptions. They will respond to these guiding questions:
- How might knowing you’ll present to others affect your work?
- What skills (besides content) are being assessed?
- How could exhibitions connect to real-world audiences?
- Station 4 – Peer & Self Review: Students reflect on their own work and give feedback to others. Students will explore peer feedback forms, student reflections, samples of rubrics. They will respond to these guiding questions:
- Why is it valuable to reflect on your own learning?
- What might you learn from reviewing someone else’s work?
- How could this make assessment more fair?
- Station 5 – Service or Action-Based Projects: Projects where students apply learning to address real-world problems. Students will explore student project samples, videos, case summaries. They will respond to these guiding questions:
- How does this kind of project support civic engagement?
- How might students feel more ownership over their learning?
- What kinds of skills are practiced?
- Station 6 – Assessment Aspects: Student Voice, Equity, Real-World Relevance, Reflection, Collaboration. Students will review brief definitions/examples for each aspect. They will reflect on the following:
- Which aspect do you think matters most for making assessment fair and meaningful? Why?
- In your opinion, which PBA model showed this aspect most clearly? (Students should not answer this until they have rotated through ALL the PBA model stations.)
- How could a performance-based assessment include all of these aspects?
Whole-Class Reflection & Visioning (10–15 minutes):
- Lead a debrief discussion about the various PBA models using prompts such as:
- How do the models you explored measure learning differently than a traditional test?
- Which model or models seem most meaningful or exciting to you? Why?
- What challenges or obstacles might come up when using these kinds of assessments?
- If you could redesign how students are assessed at school, what would you include?
- Lead a debrief discussion about the aspects of PBA using prompts such as:
- How do the aspects you explored support student learning, motivation, or equity?
- Why are those aspects important in a performance-based assessment?
- How would you want to see these aspects implemented in your own assessments?
- Consider using a co-created class chart titled: “What We Want Assessments to Look Like” with input gathered on sticky notes or orally and recorded on the board.
Journal Reflection (5–10 minutes):
- Have questions posted for student references. Students can write quietly or pair-share their ideas before turning in their responses to the prompt:
- “What’s one new idea about assessment you learned today?
- What kind of assessment would help you show what you know and can do? How so?”
Culminating Project Guide: Educational Justice Activism
Project Overview: This project empowers students to use their voices and creativity to advocate for educational justice. Students will apply their learning by participating in an activism project that addresses educational inequity, demonstrating their ability to advocate for policy or practice changes in their schools or communities. Whether through writing letters to educational leaders, creating awareness campaigns, or proposing alternative assessment models, students will take meaningful action on an issue that matters to them.
Project Objectives: By the end of this project, students will:
- Investigate a current or historical aspect of standardized testing, assessment practices, or the impact of eugenics.
- Analyze the impact on individuals and communities and make recommendations for improvements.
- Develop a civic-minded product that communicates your learning and proposes ideas for a more just future.
Project Steps: Scaffolded Timeline
- Day 1 – Launch & Planning: Introduction of the project. Students should select a topic related to the unit, form groups (if they choose to work with their peers), and brainstorm essential questions surrounding their topic. Here are some possible topics/questions to explore. Students may also propose their own topic for approval:
- Eugenics in educational policies. How is the legacy of the eugenics movement still showing up?
- The origins of IQ testing and its current usage in education. How does the history inform the future?
- Standardized testing and tracking (e.g., special education, gifted and talented programs). Is there a better way?
- The disparities in standardized testing outcomes for minority groups. How can balance be achieved?
- Opt-out movements and parent/student resistance to standardized testing. What is the effect of opting out?
- The evolution of standardized testing in education. Where do we go from here?
- Test-optional college admissions. How has not using standardized tests changed the process – for students and for institutions?
- Assessment alternatives to standardized testing. What would equitable and just alternate assessments look like in practice?
- Days 2 & 3 – Research and Reflect: Students will gather additional evidence about their topic, take notes, and track source. Students will use the following guiding questions to understand their topic/issue, consider different perspectives, connect to justice, and advocate for change:
- What is the history behind this issue?
- Who is most affected by this issue today?
- How does this issue show up in schools or education policy?
- What are the root causes or systems that keep this issue in place?
- How is this issue related to fairness, equity, or civil rights?
- Who has spoken out or acted against this issue in the past?
- What efforts (past or present) have been made to solve or address this problem?
- What role does standardized testing or assessment play in this issue (if any)?
- Who benefits from things staying the way they are?
- Whose voices have been silenced or ignored in this conversation?
- What would different people (students, teachers, parents, lawmakers) say about this issue?
- What specific changes would make things more fair or just?
- What kind of action could make a difference – and who has the power to make that change?
- What message do I want to send, and how can I say it clearly and persuasively?
- What examples, stories, or statistics support my claims?
- Which materials from this unit help strengthen my argument?
- What new sources or information do I still need to find?
- Day 4 – Design an Advocacy Product: Students will consider what their civic-minded product will be and who their audience is. The product should explain your topic, share your research, and propose one or more ideas for change. Students will meet with peers to brainstorm and provide feedback. Here are some possible products/actions. Students may also propose their own action for approval:
- Write a persuasive letter to an educational leader or policymaker
- Create a poster, infographic, or slide deck for a school/community campaign
- Design a more equitable assessment model with justification
- Record a short podcast, Public Service Announcement, or video to raise awareness
- Create a hashtag to use in a series of reels or social media posts
- Days 5 & 6 – Draft, Revise, and Peer Review: Students will begin the process of creating their advocacy product. They will engage in self-reflection as well as have an opportunity for peer feedback before finalizing their product.
- Days 7 & 8 – Share Your Voice: Present or share final projects with peers either live, via a recorded product, or through a gallery-walk. (Ideally, students will have an opportunity to share their final projects with an authentic audience as well [e.g., administration, local leaders, family]). Students will complete peer evaluations and answer the following reflection questions in their journals after their peer presentations:
- What did you learn through your research?
- What emotions did you feel while you were researching? Why?
- How does your project promote educational equity or justice?
- How did you use your voice to advocate for change?
- What do you hope your audience takes away?
- What role can students play in advocating for and creating change?
