Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• Work Time B: Students complete the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment. The assessment invites students to read a new myth, “Prometheus,” and use evidence from the text to support their analysis of the text and its themes. Students also produce a summary of “Prometheus” that highlights its theme and most important details, and they compare its themes to those in a selection from The Lightning Thief. (RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.4, RL.6.9, RL.6.10, W.6.10, L.6.4)
• RL.6.1 – Closing and Assessment A: Students reflect on their learning using the Track Progress: Read, Understand, and Explain New Text recording form, which tracks their developing ability to read new texts and extract textual evidence to support their analysis of the text. This exercise is meant to provide them with time to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning. This self-reflection supports metacognition and pride in work and learning,

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• The Mid-Unit 2 Assessment naturally accommodates exceptional students by allowing more proficient writers to display their writing prowess.
• The story of Prometheus, featured in the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment, is similar to myths from other cultures, like the Native American story of Raven bringing fire to humans. Provide access to versions of similar myths and invite students to draw connections to these additional texts. ▲

How It Builds on Previous Work

• In the first half of this unit, students read Greek myths referenced in The Lightning Thief, determining themes and key details from the texts, summarizing what they read, and comparing and contrasting the myths with the novel. This lesson continues those routines in an assessment.

Support All Students

• 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.
• Some students may need the text read aloud before they work on the questions. Invite students who require this to sit in a group away from the rest of the students, so as not to be distracting.
• For some students, this assessment may require more than the 25 minutes allotted. Provide time over multiple days if necessary.
• 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. Break the assessment into more manageable parts, and offer breaks at certain times. During the assessment, provide scaffolds that support executive function skills, self-regulation, and students’ abilities to monitor progress before and after the assessment (e.g., visual prompts, reminders, checklists, rubrics). ▲
• After the assessment, ask students to discuss which assessment task was easiest and which was most difficult, and why. In future lessons and for homework, focus on the language skills that will help students address these assessment challenges. ▲

Assessment Guidance

• Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Themes in Literature (student and teacher versions) are included in the Assessment download on this page.
• When assessing and providing feedback on this assessment, use the answer key and sample student responses (see Assessment download on this page) to help complete students’ Track Progress recording form.
• In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward the following anchor standards:
• R.1: By the end of Grade 12, I will be able to: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
• R.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
• R.10: By the end of Grade 12, I will be able to: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
• L.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students will begin preparing for the End of Unit 2 Assessment, in which they write an essay comparing and contrasting how a scene from the novel version of The Lightning Thief is depicted in the film version. They will study a model essay and be introduced to the Painted Essay® structure.
• Students’ Mid-Unit 2 Assessments will be returned in Lesson 12 with feedback.