In using language arts in Hong Kong primary classrooms, we hope to see pupils' collaborative, meaningful acquisition of knowledge and language skills, creative methods of teaching, and the promotion of critical thinking, creativity and cultural awareness.

Teachers, when using stories in the classroom, are actually adopting a thematic approach. In this model, the process is as important as the product. The assessment could be done by teachers, by pupils themselves, or even by observers or parents. Self-assessment should be encouraged throughout the process to promote critical thinking as well as the ability to self-reflect. At the same time, the teacher can look for evidence of pupils' ability to make intelligent choices, think creatively, solve problems, cooperate with others and express themselves throughout the process and in the end product.

The assessment also enables teachers to evaluate themselves: their creativity in using activities in class to teach language, their sense in choosing the right story, their ability to monitor the learning process, their ability to integrate language arts with other subjects, their effort in promoting pupils' critical thinking and creativity, as well as their attempts in using different kinds of media and assessment tools in class.

Portfolios, mini-tasks, final projects, etc. can be used to assess pupils' performance. These modes of formative assessment have been discussed in Module 1 Section 1.6.3, and they are suggested for your consideration. The following is a three-stage model that provides you with more ideas about what assessment is, and how we can assess our pupils' performance.