Prepare for Performance Task: Rehearse and Refine | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G6:M2:U3:L13

Prepare for Performance Task: Rehearse and Refine

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • SL.6.1, SL.6.4

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.

  • RI.6.1, RI.6.7, RI.6.10, W.6.7, W.6.8, SL.6.2, SL.6.5, SL.6.6, L.6.6
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can respond to symposium guests' presentation prompts. (SL.6.1c)
  • I can give kind, helpful, and specific feedback to my peers. (SL.6.1)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket (W.6.10)
  • Work Time A: Performance Task (RI.6.7, RI.6.10, W.6.7, W.6.8, SL.6.1, SL.6.2, SL.6.4, SL.6.5, SL.6.6)
  • Work Time B: Peer Critique (SL.6.1, SL.6.4, SL.6.5, SL.6.6, L.6.6)
  • Homework A: Performance Task (RI.6.7, RI.6.10, W.6.7, W.6.8, SL.6.1, SL.6.2, SL.6.4, SL.6.5, SL.6.6)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - W.6.10 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Prepare Performance Task: Presentation Prompts - SL.6.1 (15 minutes)

B. Rehearse Performance Task - SL.6.4 (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Share Stars - SL.6.1 (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Prepare Solution Symposium: Students continue to prepare for and rehearse their performance task presentation.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • SL.6.1c – Work Time A: Students prepare to respond to the presentation prompt questions with elaboration and detail. The presentation prompts facilitate interaction and collaboration during the performance task.
  • SL.6.4 – Work Time B: Students rehearse their performance task presentations. They practice presenting their findings, sequencing their ideas logically, and demonstrating appropriate presentation skills.
  • SL.6.1 – Closing and Assessment A: Students engage in a casual discussion to highlight stars of their partners’ work.
  • In this lesson, the habit of character focus is on working to become an ethical person. The characteristics that students practice are respect, empathy, and compassion as they help each other prepare for the symposium.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Students can learn as much from non-examples as they do from exemplars. Invite some students to rehearse and present some non-examples of the presentation as a reminder of what not to do. Allow other students to watch these presentations and critique them using the Presentation checklist. Encourage humor to mitigate any anxiety students may be feeling on the eve of the Solution Symposium.
  • Students who excel at graphic design could be tasked with creating promotional materials for the Solution Symposium, such as fliers, posters, and programs. Allow students to experiment with a free online design tool, such as Canva, to create these materials.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lessons, students focused on preparing the physical components of the Solution Symposium. In this lesson, students compose their answers to the presentation prompts and rehearse how they will incorporate both components into the presentation.

Support All Students

  • Some students may feel nervous as they prepare and rehearse for the Solution Symposium; this anxiety may be felt especially by ELLs, whose language abilities may make them feel uncomfortable speaking aloud for extended periods of time. Validate students’ feelings and concerns, if they come up. Remind students of how much they have prepared and practiced for the symposium, and reiterate that the purpose of a performance task is to celebrate learning, not assess it. ▲
  • Encourage students to set small, individualized goals for their performance in the symposium.

Assessment Guidance

  • In this lesson, students rehearse their performance tasks. Use the Speaking and Listening Informal Assessment: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas checklist to informally assess their presentations, using only the relevant categories that are reflected in the student checklist that students work with during this lesson.
  • Review students’ materials to ensure that they are fully prepared for the Solution Symposium.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will participate in the Solution Symposium. In Lesson 15, the unit and the module will conclude with the End of Unit 3 Assessment: Fishbowl Discussion: Habits of Character to Solve Critical Problems. This discussion will help students synthesize what they learn during the Solution Symposium. Ensure that students are aware that the module is not complete after the symposium; they still have one more summative assessment before closing out this topic.

In Advance

  • Determine how students will both present their own and visit their peers' presentations during the Solution Symposium. Consider dividing the class into two groups and having one group rotate while the other presents, then switching. Ensure that students know their group before the symposium in Lesson 14.
  • Create strategic pairings for partner work in Closing and Assessment A.
  • Review the student tasks and example answers to get familiar with what students will be required to do in the lesson (see Materials list).
  • Prepare copies of handouts for students, including the entrance ticket (see Materials list).
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Prepare materials and technology for students to create and finalize their visuals and their notes. Choose the level of technology that is appropriate for the students and school resources, and guide students accordingly.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 6.I.A.1, 6.I.A.3, 6.I.A.4, and 6.I.C.9.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson builds upon the previous lesson and allows time for students to rehearse and refine their performance task presentations for the following lesson. Students have the opportunity to work in pairs to rehearse their presentations and give each other feedback, increasing overall confidence.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to feel adequately prepared for the performance task of the following lesson, especially if they are nervous about speaking in English or if they have little presentation experience. Remind them that the nature of the Solution Symposium is such that many people will be presenting at once, in short, rotating increments. Also, by inviting engagement and input from audience members, these presentations are interactive and dynamic. Conceiving of the Solution Symposium format as something like a discussion-presentation hybrid, as opposed to a more traditional or formal presentation, may help calm students' nerves.

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Performance Task anchor chart (one for display; from Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Work to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 8, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time A)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 11 (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 11, Opening A)
  • Performance Task: Solution Symposium (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 10, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Performance Task Flip-Down Visual (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 12, Work Time A)
  • Design Solution: Research note-catcher (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 6, Work Time A)
  • Problem-Solution Essay (from Mid-Unit 3 Assessment) (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lessons 8-9, Work Time A)
  • Model Performance Task handout (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 11, Work Time A)
  • Presentation checklist (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 11, Work Time A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • N/A
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 13 (one per student)
  • Index cards (one 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.

Download this Performance Task

Opening

Opening

A. Engage the Learner - W.6.10 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as previous lessons to distribute and review Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 13. Students will also need to refer to their Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 11.
  • 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 in previous lessons.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Prepare Performance Task: Presentation Prompts – SL.6.1 (15 minutes)

  • Invite students to retrieve the following materials:
    • Performance Task: Solution Symposium
    • Performance Task Flip-Down Visual
    • Design Solution: Research note-catcher
    • Problem-Solution Essay
    • Model Performance Task
    • Presentation checklist
  • Direct students to the section labeled “Presentation Prompts” on the Performance Task: Solution Symposium, and invite a student to read it aloud.
  • Explain that in today’s lesson students are going to develop their responses to the presentation prompts, questions that participants will ask them at the Solution Symposium. Remind them to use the model and the Performance Task anchor chart as they create their own responses. Also direct their attention to the Habits of Character anchor charts—Work to Become Ethical People, Work to Contribute to a Better World, Work to Become Effective Learners—to help them develop their responses.
  • Direct students to the section labeled “During the Symposium” on the Performance Task: Solution Symposium, and invite a student to read each step aloud.
  • Turn and Talk:

“When will the presentation prompts be incorporated in the presentation?” (After explaining the problem and solution and utilizing the flip-down visual).

“What is the purpose of the presentation prompts?” (To make the presentation interactive by giving guests an active role in the learning experience; to make connections to the Guiding Questions and Big Ideas of this module related to design thinking and habits of character.)

  • Ensure that students understand the process. Instead of presenting one at a time to the class, many students will present at the same time but to different people. Students will also be giving the same presentation several times in a row to new guests. The guests who attend the symposium might be classmates, other students, friends or family members, or other people in the community.
  • Incorporate reflection on and awareness of the following academic mindset: “This work has value to me.”
  • Ask:

“How is this work valuable to you?” (Answers will vary. Responses may include that sharing the story of these modern innovators can inspire others to try to solve problems that will benefit their community.)

  • Release students to begin working. Distribute index cards for students to write down their responses to the presentation prompts.
  • As students work, circulate to answer questions, push their thinking, and provide support as needed. Remind them to review the model and the anchor chart to help them make decisions and to also use one another as thought-partners.

For Lighter Support

  • To prepare students for the Solution Symposium in the following lesson, develop a mini lesson that invites students who need lighter support to practice varying their intonation in English. For example, distribute a list of questions that students will encounter during the Solution Symposium, and coach students through accurate intonation of those questions. Help them notice that yes/no questions (e.g., clarifying questions) have a rising intonation, while wh- questions (e.g., the questions on the presentation prompts cards) have a falling intonation. Invite students to practice with one another. For added practice, invite students to play a game in which they can only interact with one another using (appropriately intonated) questions. Some examples of questions to include in this mini lesson are listed below:
    • Could you please repeat that? (rising intonation)
    • How was design thinking used to solve this problem? (falling intonation)
    • How were habits of character used to solve this problem? (falling intonation)
    • Do you agree that this is a critical problem? (rising intonation)
    • Why or why not? (falling intonation)

For Heavier Support

  • To prepare students for the Solution Symposium of the following lesson, develop a mini lesson that invites students who need heavier support to practice general presentation strategies, such as making engaging eye contact with audience members and using body language, such as gestures and one's own posture, to help convey messages. This mini lesson will help increase students' confidence as well as challenge the idea that successful presentations entirely contingent upon language abilities.

B. Rehearse Performance Task - SL.6.4 (20 minutes)

  • Focus students on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart before they share. Draw their attention to the habits of character of respect, empathy, and compassion, and remind them to keep these in mind as they work with their partners.
  • Direct students to pair up, present their flip-down visuals, and respond to the presentation prompts.
  • As each one listens to the other, they should track their partner using the Presentation checklist. Then each partner gives one star and one step to help improve the presentation.
  • Once pairs are done sharing, field any new questions about the specifics of the presentation and clarify the logistics of the next lesson, when they will present.
  • Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique. Scan student responses and make a note of students who might need support. Check in with them moving forward.

For Lighter Support

  • To prepare students for the Solution Symposium in the following lesson, develop a mini lesson that invites students who need lighter support to practice varying their intonation in English. For example, distribute a list of questions that students will encounter during the Solution Symposium, and coach students through accurate intonation of those questions. Help them notice that yes/no questions (e.g., clarifying questions) have a rising intonation, while wh- questions (e.g., the questions on the presentation prompts cards) have a falling intonation. Invite students to practice with one another. For added practice, invite students to play a game in which they can only interact with one another using (appropriately intonated) questions. Some examples of questions to include in this mini lesson are listed below:
    • Could you please repeat that? (rising intonation)
    • How was design thinking used to solve this problem? (falling intonation)
    • How were habits of character used to solve this problem? (falling intonation)
    • Do you agree that this is a critical problem? (rising intonation)
    • Why or why not? (falling intonation)

For Heavier Support

  • To prepare students for the Solution Symposium of the following lesson, develop a mini lesson that invites students who need heavier support to practice general presentation strategies, such as making engaging eye contact with audience members and using body language, such as gestures and one's own posture, to help convey messages. This mini lesson will help increase students' confidence as well as challenge the idea that successful presentations entirely contingent upon language abilities.

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. Share Stars – SL.6.1 (5 minutes)

  • Facilitate a quick round-robin sharing where each student shares something positive about their partner’s flip-down visual or rehearsal. For example, “Jamal’s drawing of his problem is so artistic and creative!” or “Abena was confident and clear when she answered the questions!”
  • Conclude by celebrating the students’ perseverance and initiative as they worked on preparing their performance tasks for the Solution Symposium and expressing excitement for tomorrow’s event.
  • If students seem especially nervous about their slide presentations, encourage them to practice their presentations aloud at home, if possible. They may wish to record themselves to locate areas in need of further practice. ▲

Homework

Homework

A. Prepare Solution Symposium

  • Students continue to prepare for and rehearse their performance task presentation.

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