Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

• Two lessons have been allocated for this assessment to ensure sufficient time for students to analyze God Grew Tired of Us and conduct research. If these are taught in two separate lessons rather than together as one block, revisit the learning targets and the task at the beginning of the second 45-minute lesson to remind students of the task and purpose.
• Repeated routines occur in the following:
• Opening A: The entrance ticket activity is to recall the video God Grew Tired of Us and the questions it answered.
• Opening B: Students review learning targets.
• SL.7.1 – Work Time A: Students engage in collaborative discussions as they use the Think-Pair-Share protocol to discuss the habits of character demonstrated in A Long Walk to Water.
• Work Time A: Students read the next chapter of the text, finding the gist and adding to the Questions about A Long Walk to Water anchor chart.
• W.7.7 – Closing and Assessment A: Students track progress on their abilities to research to answer a question, assessing their effectiveness at drawing on several sources to answer a question.
• W.7.8 – Closing and Assessment A: Students track progress on their abilities to research to answer a question, assessing their effectiveness at quoting or paraphrasing information from sources.
• New skills are introduced in the following:
• Work Time B: The class adds persevere to the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart.
• SL.7.2 – Work Time B: Students complete Part I of the mid-unit assessment as they watch a clip of God Grew Tired of Us and answer selected response questions related to the main ideas and supporting details in the video clip. 
• Work Time C: Students complete Part II of their mid-unit assessment as they summarize and research a source to answer a question about A Long Walk to Water, using information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively, assessing the credibility and accuracy of each source, and quoting or paraphrasing the information appropriately. (RI.7.1, RI.7.2, W.7.7, W.7.8).
• After students complete Part I of the assessment, they will pause to consider how Panther’s portrayal of the setting of Southern Sudan differs from Linda Sue Park’s portrayal of the setting. This inquiry allows students to see Sudan and its people as multidimensional with diverse experiences.
• The Think-Pair-Share protocol is used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of our curriculum because they are one of the best ways we know to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.
• In the chapter of A Long Walk to Water read in this lesson, Nya continues to walk all day to water, demonstrating her perseverance. Salva learns English despite the challenge of not having resources (books, time, or a consistent teacher), which demonstrates his perseverance through hardships and his taking responsibility for his own learning.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

• Allow those students who complete the mid-unit assessments early to research another question from the anchor chart with the purpose of sharing their knowledge with the class.

How It Builds on Previous Work

• In the first half of this unit, students read informative texts and watched a clip of the documentary God Grew Tired of Us in order to increase their understanding of the context surrounding A Long Walk to Water. This lesson continues those routines in an assessment, wherein students conduct independent research and answer questions related to a different clip of the same video.

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.
• In Work Time A, students should be reading the text independently. However, if some or all students need more support, read several pages aloud and then release students to read independently, in pairs, or in small groups. ▲
• In Work Time B, some students may need to watch the clip an extra time before completing the assessment. Provide options for subtitled versions of the video and transcripts, if available. ▲
• For some students, this assessment may require more than the time allotted. Provide time over multiple days if necessary. ▲
• The subject matter in this video and article includes war, death, and water and food insecurity. Continue to monitor students to determine if there are issues surfacing as a result of the content of this lesson that need to be discussed as a whole group, in smaller groups, or individually.

Assessment Guidance

• All assessment materials (student prompt and teacher checklist) 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 to help complete students’ Track Progress recording form.
• In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward the following anchor standards:
• W.7: By the end of Grade 12, I will be able to: conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
• W.8: By the end of Grade 12, I will be able to: gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

Down the Road

• In the next lesson, students will be introduced to the prompt for the end of unit assessment and begin analyzing a model essay in order to prepare for the planning and writing of their own essays.
• Students’ Mid-Unit 2 Assessments will be returned in a future lesson with feedback.