ELA G3:M1:U2:L11

End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

RI.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RI.3.2: Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.
W.3.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
W.3.2a: Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.3.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
W.3.2d: Provide a concluding statement or section.
W.3.4: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
W.3.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Daily Learning Targets

I can refer explicitly to the text to answer questions about the text. (RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.10)
I can write an informative paragraph that has a clear and maintained focus, that groups related information together, and that is organized so it introduces the topic, develops the topic, and provides a concluding statement. (RI.3.1, RI.3.2, W.3.2a, W.3.2b, W.3.2d, W.3.4, W.3.8, W.3.10)

Ongoing Assessment

End of Unit 2 Assessment (RI.3.1, RI.3.2, W.3.2a, W.3.2b, W.3.2d, W.3.4, W.3.8, W.3.10)

Agenda

Agenda	Teaching Notes
1. Opening A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes) B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) 2. Work Time A. End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books (40 minutes) 3. Closing and Assessment A. Reflecting on Learning (10 minutes) 4. Homework A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.	Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: In this lesson, students complete the End of Unit 2 Assessment, rereading the excerpt from My Librarian Is a Camel read for the mid-unit assessment, and then planning and writing an informational paragraph using evidence from this excerpt. In Opening A, students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments are returned with feedback. The purpose of this is for students to have the opportunity to see how they performed in order to improve in their next assessment, and to ask questions if they don't understand the feedback. The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to overcoming challenges in access to education, books, and reading near and far. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it. How it builds on previous work: Throughout the second half of the unit, students practiced writing an informative paragraph about the challenge of accessing books using evidence from My Librarian Is a Camel. Areas where students may need additional support: If students receive accommodations for assessments, communicate with the cooperating service providers regarding the practices of instruction in use during this study as well as the goals of the assessment. For some students, this assessment may require more than the 45 minutes allotted. Consider providing time over multiple days if necessary. Assessment guidance: Writing rubrics can be found in the Grade 3 Writing Rubrics document (see the Tools page). All other assessment materials (student copy, answer key, student exemplar) are included in the Assessment Overview and Resources. Down the road: Students will continue practicing writing informative texts in Unit 3, when they plan and write a three-paragraph essay in response to a text.

Teaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books (40 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Reflecting on Learning (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

In this lesson, students complete the End of Unit 2 Assessment, rereading the excerpt from My Librarian Is a Camel read for the mid-unit assessment, and then planning and writing an informational paragraph using evidence from this excerpt.
In Opening A, students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments are returned with feedback. The purpose of this is for students to have the opportunity to see how they performed in order to improve in their next assessment, and to ask questions if they don't understand the feedback.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to overcoming challenges in access to education, books, and reading near and far. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.

How it builds on previous work:

Throughout the second half of the unit, students practiced writing an informative paragraph about the challenge of accessing books using evidence from My Librarian Is a Camel.

Areas where students may need additional support:

If students receive accommodations for assessments, communicate with the cooperating service providers regarding the practices of instruction in use during this study as well as the goals of the assessment.
For some students, this assessment may require more than the 45 minutes allotted. Consider providing time over multiple days if necessary.

Assessment guidance:

Writing rubrics can be found in the Grade 3 Writing Rubrics document (see the Tools page). All other assessment materials (student copy, answer key, student exemplar) are included in the Assessment Overview and Resources.

Down the road:

Students will continue practicing writing informative texts in Unit 3, when they plan and write a three-paragraph essay in response to a text.

In Advance

Prepare:

Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with feedback from Lesson 6.
End of Unit 2 Assessment (see Assessment Overview and Resources).

Review the Red Light, Green Light protocol and gather red, yellow, and green objects. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)

Post: Learning targets.

Tech and Multimedia

Work Time A: Students complete the End of Unit 2 Assessment online with questions set up on a Google Form, for example.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 3.I.B.6, 3.I.C.10, and 3.II.C.6

Important points in the lesson itself

The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by inviting them to complete assessment tasks similar to the classroom tasks completed in Lessons 7-10. Students have the opportunity to work with the same text that they worked with in their groups.
The End of Unit 2 Assessment may be a big leap from the heavily scaffolded classroom interaction for some ELLs. Before they begin, encourage students to do their best and congratulate them on the progress they've made learning English. Point out some specific examples.
Make sure that ELLs understand the assessment directions. Answer their questions, refraining from supplying answers to the assessment questions themselves. See additional support in the lesson.
After the assessment, ask students to discuss what was easiest and what was most difficult on the assessment, and why. To facilitate this discussion, prepare a concise rubric of the elements of the assessment and allow students to rank the difficulty level of these elements on a Likert scale. Example: The multiple choice questions were easy to answer. 1 2 3 4 5
In future lessons and for homework, focus on the language skills that will help students address these assessment challenges.

Universal Design for Learning

Multiple Means of Representation: To set themselves up for success for the end of unit assessment, students will need to generalize the skills that they learned in previous lessons. Before administering the assessment, activate their prior knowledge by recalling the learning targets from the previous lessons. Additionally, present the directions for the assessment both visually and verbally. Facilitate comprehension by displaying a map of the assessment parts.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: It is important to provide all students access to the assessment so that they have the best chance of demonstrating their knowledge and skills. My Librarian Is a Camel may be higher than some students' independent reading levels. Consider reading the book aloud to students or offering the book on tape to support students with their reading.
Multiple Means of Engagement: Some students may require support with limiting distractions during the assessment (e.g., using sound-canceling headphones or dividers between workspaces). Similarly, some students may require variations in time for the assessment. Consider breaking the assessment into more manageable parts and offering breaks at certain times. During the assessment, provide scaffolds that support executive function skills, self-regulation, and students' ability to monitor progress before and after the assessment (e.g., visual prompts, reminders, checklists, rubrics, etc.).

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

Do not preview vocabulary for this assessment lesson.

Materials

Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with Feedback (one per student; completed in Lesson 6)
End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books (one per student; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
Informational Texts handout (from Lesson 1; one per student and one to display)
Red, yellow, and green objects (one of each per student)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Download this Assessment

Opening

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes) Return students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with Feedback. Invite students to spend a few minutes reading the feedback. If they require teacher support to understand the feedback, encourage them to write their names on the board so you can visit with them in this lesson.	For ELLs and students who need support with reading: Reassure them that if they don't understand or cannot read the feedback, they will have an opportunity to review it with you during the lesson. (MME) Build an accepting and supportive by reminding students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development. (MME)
B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud: "I can refer explicitly to the text to answer questions about the text." "I can write an informative paragraph that has a clear and maintained focus, that groups related information together, and that is organized so it introduces the topic, develops the topic, and provides a concluding statement." Remind students that they have practiced the skills required by these learning targets multiple times over the course of this unit. In this assessment, they will apply these skills to write a new informative paragraph. Answer any clarifying questions.	For ELLs and students who may need additional support with memory: Ask students to recall and describe one example of how they worked to meet these learning targets in the past three lessons. (MMR) Build an accepting and supportive classroom by reminding students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development. (MME)

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes)

Return students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with Feedback.
Invite students to spend a few minutes reading the feedback. If they require teacher support to understand the feedback, encourage them to write their names on the board so you can visit with them in this lesson.

For ELLs and students who need support with reading: Reassure them that if they don't understand or cannot read the feedback, they will have an opportunity to review it with you during the lesson. (MME)
Build an accepting and supportive by reminding students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development. (MME)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud:

"I can refer explicitly to the text to answer questions about the text."
"I can write an informative paragraph that has a clear and maintained focus, that groups related information together, and that is organized so it introduces the topic, develops the topic, and provides a concluding statement."

Remind students that they have practiced the skills required by these learning targets multiple times over the course of this unit. In this assessment, they will apply these skills to write a new informative paragraph.
Answer any clarifying questions.

For ELLs and students who may need additional support with memory: Ask students to recall and describe one example of how they worked to meet these learning targets in the past three lessons. (MMR)
Build an accepting and supportive classroom by reminding students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development. (MME)

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books (40 minutes) Distribute the End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books. Tell students that this assessment focuses on rereading the excerpt My Librarian Is a Camel that they read for the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment and writing a paragraph about what they read. Display and invite students to take out their Informational Texts handout and select volunteers to read the bullet points aloud. Remind students to keep this criteria in mind as they plan and draft their paragraphs. Remind students of the process they went through when planning and writing a paragraph about their expert group's country and encourage them to do the same when completing this assessment: First, they read and took notes about what they read. Then, they planned their focus statement and organized their notes. After that, they wrote their paragraphs. Finally, they revised and edited them. Ask students to begin the assessment. While students are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. This is an opportunity to analyze students' behaviors while taking an assessment. Document strategies you observe them using, such as annotating their texts and returning to the text as they work. After 45 minutes, refocus students whole group.	For ELLs and students who may need additional support with executive function skills: As you explain, display a "map" of the assessment on the board. (MME, MMAE) Example: One part: Write an informative text about the challenge of accessing books. A. Reread your group's excerpt from My Librarian Is a Camel. B. Plan an informative paragraph about the chapter. C. Write an informative paragraph about the excerpt. For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading: Consider providing an audio version or reading aloud the excerpt from My Librarian is a Camel. (MMR, MMAE) For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Ensure that all students are clear about all test directions. Rephrase the directions for them. Monitor during the assessment to see that students are completing it correctly. Stop those who are on the wrong track and make sure they understand the directions. (MMR) Minimize distractions during the assessment by providing tools such as sound-canceling headphones or individual dividers. (MME)

Meeting Students' Needs

A. End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books (40 minutes)

Distribute the End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books.
Tell students that this assessment focuses on rereading the excerpt My Librarian Is a Camel that they read for the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment and writing a paragraph about what they read.
Display and invite students to take out their Informational Texts handout and select volunteers to read the bullet points aloud. Remind students to keep this criteria in mind as they plan and draft their paragraphs.
Remind students of the process they went through when planning and writing a paragraph about their expert group's country and encourage them to do the same when completing this assessment:

First, they read and took notes about what they read.
Then, they planned their focus statement and organized their notes.
After that, they wrote their paragraphs.
Finally, they revised and edited them.

Ask students to begin the assessment. While students are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. This is an opportunity to analyze students' behaviors while taking an assessment. Document strategies you observe them using, such as annotating their texts and returning to the text as they work.
After 45 minutes, refocus students whole group.

For ELLs and students who may need additional support with executive function skills: As you explain, display a "map" of the assessment on the board. (MME, MMAE)

Example:

One part:

Write an informative text about the challenge of accessing books.

A. Reread your group's excerpt from My Librarian Is a Camel.

B. Plan an informative paragraph about the chapter.

C. Write an informative paragraph about the excerpt.

For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading: Consider providing an audio version or reading aloud the excerpt from My Librarian is a Camel. (MMR, MMAE)
For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Ensure that all students are clear about all test directions. Rephrase the directions for them. Monitor during the assessment to see that students are completing it correctly. Stop those who are on the wrong track and make sure they understand the directions. (MMR)
Minimize distractions during the assessment by providing tools such as sound-canceling headphones or individual dividers. (MME)

Closing & Assessments

Closing	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Reflecting on Learning (10 minutes) Distribute the red, yellow, and green objects. Tell students they are now going to use the Red Light, Green Light protocol to reflect on their learning and their work on the end of unit assessment. Remind them that they used this protocol in the first half of the unit and review what each color represents (red = stuck or not ready; yellow = needs support soon; green = ready) as necessary. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.) Focus students on the first learning target and guide students through the Red Light, Green Light protocol using the red, yellow, and green objects. Repeat this process with the remaining learning targets. Tell students they will continue working on writing informative texts in Unit 3. Check in with students showing yellow or red objects as they go through the writing process in Unit 3.	Developing self-assessment and reflection supports all students, but research shows it helps struggling students most. (MMAE) For ELLs: Self-assessment may be an unfamiliar concept for some students. Tell them that thinking about how well they did will help them do even better next time.

Closing

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning (10 minutes)

Distribute the red, yellow, and green objects.
Tell students they are now going to use the Red Light, Green Light protocol to reflect on their learning and their work on the end of unit assessment. Remind them that they used this protocol in the first half of the unit and review what each color represents (red = stuck or not ready; yellow = needs support soon; green = ready) as necessary. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
Focus students on the first learning target and guide students through the Red Light, Green Light protocol using the red, yellow, and green objects.
Repeat this process with the remaining learning targets. Tell students they will continue working on writing informative texts in Unit 3. Check in with students showing yellow or red objects as they go through the writing process in Unit 3.

Developing self-assessment and reflection supports all students, but research shows it helps struggling students most. (MMAE)
For ELLs: Self-assessment may be an unfamiliar concept for some students. Tell them that thinking about how well they did will help them do even better next time.

Homework

Homework	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.	For ELLs and students who may need additional support with writing: Discuss and respond to your prompts orally, either with a partner, family member, or student from grades 1 or 2, or record a response. (MMAE)

EL Education Curriculum

ELA G3:M1:U2:L11

End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: The Challenge of Accessing Books

In this Lesson

You are here:

Like what you see?

Help us improve!

Daily Learning Targets

Ongoing Assessment

Agenda

In Advance

Tech and Multimedia

Supporting English Language Learners

Universal Design for Learning

Vocabulary

Materials

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Opening

Work Time

Closing & Assessments

Homework

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