End of Unit 2 Assessment: Revise Compare and Contrast Essay | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G6:M1:U2:L14

End of Unit 2 Assessment: Revise Compare and Contrast Essay

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.6.1, RL.6.7, W.6.2, W.6.4, W.6.5, W.6.6, W.6.9a, W.6.10, L.6.2b, L.6.6

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • SL.6.1

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can provide kind, specific, and helpful feedback to peers. (W.6.5)
  • I can use feedback to revise my essay. (W.6.2)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket (W.6.2, W.6.10)
  • Work Time A: Language Dive: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions note-catcher (W.6.2c, SL.6.1, L.6.6)
  • Closing and Assessment A: End of Unit 2 Assessment (RL.6.1, RL.6.7, W.6.2, W.6.4, W.6.5, W.6.6, W.6.9a, W.6.10, L.6.6)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - W.6.2 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Language Dive: Appropriate Transitions - W.6.2c (10 minutes)

B. Introduce Peer Critique Protocol - W.6.5 (10 minutes)

C. Peer Critique - W.6.5 (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. End of Unit 2 Assessment Revision - W.6.2 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Preread Anchor Text: Students should preread chapter 19 in The Lightning Thief in preparation for studying an excerpt from the chapter in the next lesson.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • W.6.2 – Opening A: Students review the informative essay drafts that they completed in the previous lesson and note ways to make the essay more effectively convey ideas.
  • W.6.2 – Work Time A: Students participate in a Language Dive, which facilitates a closer look at the use of transition words and phrases in the model essay. This Language Dive will give students the opportunity to dissect and practice transitional phrases that express contrast (yet) and that situate events in time (at the end of the scene of the novel). Deeper understanding of the ways in which transitional devices can be integrated into writing will help students produce clearer, more organized essays.
  • W.6.5 – Work Time B: The Peer Critique protocol is introduced, and students collaborate to generate criteria for giving kind, helpful, and specific feedback. Ensure that students understand the purpose of revising their work and gaining insight from multiple people. Allow for students to share stories of a skill in which they are now proficient but with which they once struggled (e.g., playing an instrument, competing in a sport). Model what the Peer Critique protocol looks like, and monitor closely to ensure that students are being gentle in their critique.
  • W.6.5 – Work Time C: Students provide feedback to partners on their compare and contrast essays using the Peer Critique protocol.
  • L.6.2b – Work Time C: Students give one another feedback on areas in the informative essays that could be improved, such as spelling.
  • Closing and Assessment A: Students complete the End of Unit 2 Assessment, revising their essays using feedback from their peers as guidance. (RL.6.1, RL.6.7, W.6.2, W.6.4, W.6.5, W.6.6, W.6.9a, W.6.10, L.6.6)

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Select trustworthy students to model a peer critique before expecting students to do this work independently. Alternatively, as a class, watch an EL video demonstrating the Peer Critique protocol and outlining the benefits (http://eled.org/0105).
  • Direct students who finish early to http://eled.org/0128, an interactive anthology of myths, to compare and contrast creation stories from a number of different cultures.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lesson, students completed the end of unit assessment, in which they composed a four-paragraph essay comparing and contrasting a scene from the film version of The Lightning Thief with the same scene in the novel. Students will have one more opportunity to revise their work in this lesson as they incorporate peer feedback.

Support All Students

  • Much of this lesson is discussion-based, so students who struggle with oral language and/or auditory processing may need additional support. Provide sentence frames for students to refer to during discussions or a note-taking template for students to take notes during discussion. ▲
  • Think about strategic grouping during the peer critique. Mixed-proficiency groups may still be helpful. Alternative options are having students interact (1) in home language groups if the task is particularly challenging or (2) in homogeneous proficiency groups to promote English language development through grappling. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Review students’ Language Dive: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions note-catcher from Work Time A to ensure students understand how to connect one point to another in a smooth, coherent way using precise words, phrases, or sentences.

Down the Road

  • This next lesson commences the final unit in Module 1. In Unit 3, students practice narrative writing by rewriting a scene from The Lightning Thief, adding a new character to the action. Incorporating research on another Greek god or goddess and narrative techniques, students develop a new demigod character to join the main characters of The Lightning Thief in a specific scene from the novel.
  • Students will also share their progress on their Independent Research Reading task. Refer to the Independent Reading: Sample Plans to guide students through a research reading share, or use your own routine.

In Advance

  • Prepare the Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart.
  • Review the student tasks and example answers to get familiar with what students will be required to do in the lesson (see Materials list).
  • Preview the Language Dive Guide, and invite conversation among students to address the language goals suggested under each sentence chunk strip. Select from the questions and goals provided to best meet students' needs.
  • Prepare the Language Dive Sentence Chunks for students to physically manipulate.
  • Determine pairs for Work Time B.
  • Ask a student if he or she is willing to share his or her writing to help model the Peer Critique in Work Time B.
  • Review how to use the suggestions/comments feature for documents composed on a device.
  • Prepare copies of handouts for students, including entrance ticket (see Materials list).
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time C: Audio critique: Students record their partners' ideas and feedback in audio through free software or apps such as http://eled.org/0118 or http://eled.org/0119.
  • Work Time C: Students use the highlighting and comments features on word-processing software to make suggestions on the work of peers.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 6.I.A.3, 6.II.A.1, and 6.II.C.6.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson incorporates a Language Dive that emphasizes the usefulness and versatility of transition phrases as a way to add more information. Transitional words and phrases are critical as students effectively organize their own ideas in writing. After completing the Language Dive, students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge of transitions to their own compare and contrast essays. Additionally, this lesson explicitly outlines a discussion protocol that supports students as they give and receive peer feedback.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to provide feedback on their partners' spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Provide a checklist of more specific things for students to identify in their peers' writing.

Vocabulary

  • critique, peer (A)
  • transitions (DS)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Criteria for an Effective Informative Essay anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (one to display; from Unit 2, Lesson 8, Work Time B)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one to display; from Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening A)
  • Domain-specific word wall (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Module 1: End of Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Essay (example for teacher reference) (see Assessment download)
  • Annotated Compare and Contrast Model Essay (for teacher reference) (from Unit 2, Lesson 6, Work Time A)
  • Academic word wall (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one to display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one to display; from Unit 1, Lesson 5, Work Time A)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (from Unit 1, Lesson 5, Work Time A)
  • Vocabulary logs (one per student; begun in Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time B)
  • End of Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Essay (one per student; from Unit 2, Lessons 12–13, Work Time A; composed on a device or on lined paper)
  • Compare and Contrast Model Essay (one per student; from Unit 2, Lesson 6, Work Time A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 14 (for teacher reference)
  • Language Dive Guide: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions (for teacher reference)
  • Language Dive: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions note-catcher (example for teacher reference)
  • Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart (for teacher reference) (one to display)
  • Directions for Peer Critique (for teacher reference) (one to display)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 14 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (one per student)
  • Devices with word-processing software (optional; one per student)
  • Language Dive: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions note-catcher (one per student)
  • Language Dive: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions sentence chunk strips (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (optional; two per student)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 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 students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

Opening

A. Engage the Learner - W.6.2 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review Entrance Ticket: Unit 2: Lesson 14.
  • Students will need to reference the Criteria for an Effective Informative Essay anchor chart.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as previous lessons.
  • With students, use the vocabulary strategies on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart to deconstruct the word transitions (words, phrases, or sentences that connect one topic or idea to another in a smooth, coherent way). Record on the domain-specific word wall with translations in home languages, where appropriate, and invite students to record words in their vocabulary logs.
  • Turn and Talk:

"What do you think you will be doing in this lesson based on these learning targets?" (We will work with a partner to revise our essays, specifically looking for places to add transitions, precise language, and domain-specific vocabulary.)

"Why are we doing this? How is it meaningful to you? How will it help you to be successful?" (Reviewing our work multiple times and gaining the insight of our peers will help us to strengthen our skills as writers.)

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Language Dive: Appropriate Transitions - W.6.2c (10 minutes)

  • Tell students they will now participate in another Language Dive to examine how transition words and phrases improve the connections between ideas, giving the text a logical organization and structure.
  • Reread aloud from the Compare and Contrast Model Essay.
  • Focus students on the sentence:

"The setting of the novel and the movie, while not exactly the same, are quite similar."

  • Use the Language Dive Guide: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions to guide students through a Language Dive conversation about the sentence. Distribute and display the Language Dive: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions note-catcher, and the Language Dive: Compare and Contrast Model Essay, Appropriate Transitions sentence chunk strips.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Lighter Support

  • Challenge students to generate a list of transitional phrases, grouped by function (e.g., to add information, to give an example, to contrast an idea), which classmates can refer to when revising their essays.

B. Introduce Peer Critique Protocol - W.6.5 (10 minutes)

  • Tell students they are going to work in pairs to help each other revise their Compare and Contrast Essays from the End of Unit 2 Assessment. Explain that when they work together to review and critique work, this is called a peer review or a peer critique. Ensure students understand that a peer is someone else in the class.
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share, leaving adequate time for each partner to think, ask the question of their partner, and partner share:

"What is the purpose of giving peer feedback? Why is it more effective than revising our own work alone?" (It helps someone else improve their work, and it is better than trying to do it on your own because sometimes you can't see your own mistakes and someone else can see them more clearly.)

  • If productive, cue students to expand the conversation by giving an example:

"Can you give an example?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Focus students on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart, and remind them specifically of respect and compassion. Remind students that the purpose of peer feedback is to help the other student improve his or her work, so when we provide feedback, we have to be careful to ensure we are respectful and compassionate.
  • Emphasize that peer critique is not about telling someone how bad his or her work is--it is about celebrating the good things about the work and helping to make it even better.
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share, leaving adequate time for each partner to think, ask the question of their partner, and partner share:

"How can we effectively give peer feedback? What things should we think about and be aware of? What strategies can we use?" (Responses will vary.)

"What does this look like? What does this sound like?" (Responses will vary.)

  • As students share out, capture their responses on the Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart. Refer to the Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart (example for teacher reference) for guidance.
  • Tell students that today they will give and receive feedback about their compare and contrast essay. They will help each other take the drafts of their compare and contrast essays and make them into high-quality work pieces.
  • Post and review the Directions for Peer Critique.
  • Emphasize also that students should only revise their work when they agree with the peer critique. If they don't agree, they shouldn't do so, as we don't always have to take the advice we are given.
  • Answer clarifying questions.
  • Use student work in a whole group peer critique to model the process.

For Heavier Support

  • During Work Times B and C, invite partners to identify smooth and awkward transitions in their text and to suggest appropriate linking words or transitional phrases. Provide questions and sentence frames to facilitate such discussions. Examples:
    • Where is my writing choppy?
    • Why did you use this linking language?
    • Consider adding the transition word(s) _____ here.
    • I think you should use the transition (word(s) _____ here.
    • I like the transition word(s) _____ you used here. It makes the writing sound smooth.

C. Peer Critique - W.6.5 (10 minutes)

  • Review the learning targets relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can provide kind, specific, and helpful feedback to peers."

"I can revise my essay to use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary."

  • Read aloud Part II of the Module 1: End of Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Essay Directions (example for teacher reference).
  • Explain that students who composed their essays on electronic devices should receive feedback using the comment/suggestion feature provided through the word-processing software. For students critiquing an essay composed on lined paper, distribute sticky notes.
  • Invite pairs to begin working.
  • Circulate to support students as they complete their peer critiques and make their revisions.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Heavier Support

  • During Work Times B and C, invite partners to identify smooth and awkward transitions in their text and to suggest appropriate linking words or transitional phrases. Provide questions and sentence frames to facilitate such discussions. Examples:
    • Where is my writing choppy?
    • Why did you use this linking language?
    • Consider adding the transition word(s) _____ here.
    • I think you should use the transition (word(s) _____ here.
    • I like the transition word(s) _____ you used here. It makes the writing sound smooth.

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. End of Unit 2 Assessment Revision - W.6.2 (10 minutes)

  • Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, and remind them of initiative and responsibility as they revise their work.
  • Invite students to revise their writing using the peer feedback and their notes from the warm-up activity. Circulate to support students as they revise their work.
  • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

Homework

Homework

A. Preread Anchor Text

  • Students should preread chapter 19 in The Lightning Thief in preparation for studying an excerpt from the chapter in the next lesson.

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