Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary (Lessons 4-5) | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G8:M1:U2:L4

Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary (Lessons 4-5)

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4, L.8.4

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.

  • RL.8.10
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can demonstrate understanding of the excerpt of chapter 16 of Summer of the Mariposas.
  • I can determine a theme and analyze its development in Summer of the Mariposas, chapter 16. (RL.8.2)
  • I can write an objective summary of Summer of the Mariposas, chapter 16. (RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.10)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket
  • Work Time C: Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary (RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4, RL.8.10, L.8.4)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Return End of Unit 1 Assessments with Feedback (5 minutes)

B. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Whole Class Critique: Literary Summary - RL.8.2 (10 minutes)

B. Read Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 16 Excerpt - RL.8.2 (15 minutes)

C. Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary - RL.8.2 (30 minutes)

D. Introduce Work to Become Effective Learners (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Track Progress (15 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RL.8.2 – Work Time A: Students will participate in a whole class critique of one student’s summary to help that student and all students improve their summarizing and writing skills.
  • Work Time C: Students will answer questions about theme and summary within the chapter for the mid-unit assessment (RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4, RL.8.10, L.8.4).
  • RL.8.2 – Closing and Assessment A: Students will track their progress toward being able to read, understand, and summarize a new text.
  • Two lessons have been allocated for this assessment to ensure sufficient time for students to read, analyze the text, and write their summaries. 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. Be sure to collect written work at the end of each session.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • You may choose to add additional theme or summary selected or constructed response questions for students who finish early.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the first half of this unit, students read Summer of the Mariposas, determining theme(s) and how theme(s) developed in chapters 13–15 from the text and summarizing what they read. 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.
  • Return End of Unit 1 Assessments, keeping in mind that ELL writing might contain a multitude of language errors and extensive error correction from the teacher may be overwhelming and unproductive. Focus on only one or two pervasive errors that interfere with meaning. If patterns emerge among multiple students, address some of these as a class. ▲
  • 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 30 minutes allotted. Provide time over multiple days if necessary.
  • Note that there is a Synopsis: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 16 ▲ in the supporting materials download. This resource should only be used as necessary for students who need support. ▲
  • Chapter 16 brings up potentially sensitive topics of border crossing and the supernatural. Because these topics may be controversial, frightening, or emotional for students, allow for time to process and respond to these topics during discussion, and reach out to families as needed.

Assessment Guidance

  • Assessment materials (student copy, annotated student exemplar, teacher rubric) are included in the Assessment download on this page.
  • When assessing and providing feedback to students on this assessment, use the Summarize a Literary Text Rubric (see Assessment download on this page) and the annotated sample summary to help complete the student Tracking Progress recording form. Make notes in the appropriate column for each criterion in a different color than student responses. There is also space provided to respond to student comments.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will analyze a model narrative as they prepare to plan and write their own.
  • Students’ Mid-Unit 2 Assessments will be returned in Lesson 11 with feedback.

In Advance

  • Prepare the following:
    • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4
    • End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback
    • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary (see Assessment download on this page)
  • Select a student summary for the whole class critique during Work Time A, being sure to ask the student's permission to use it and inquiring about whether the writer would like to remain anonymous.

  • Prepare Track Progress folder for each student. This will be a folder with seven tabs, one for each type of Track Progress form students will complete: Collaborative Discussion; Informative Writing; Narrative Writing; Opinion Writing; Read, Understand, and Explain New Text; Reading Fluency; and Research. Students will keep their Track Progress forms in this folder to refer to the relevant form before completing an assessment.

  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 at each student's workspace.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Document camera or projector to display student summary and Austin’s Butterfly video (http://eled.org/austins-butterfly) as necessary for modeling the process of critique. 
  • Work Time B: For students who will benefit from hearing the texts read aloud multiple times, use a text-to-speech tool such as Natural Reader, SpeakIt! for Google Chrome, or the Safari reader. To use a web-based text-to-speech tool like SpeakIt! or Safari reader, create an online document—for example, a Google Doc—containing the text.
  • Work Time B: Students complete assessments online—on a Google Form, for example.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 8.I.B.6, 8.I.B.7, 8.I.B.8, 8.I.C.10, and 8.I.C.12. 

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, in this lesson, students complete a mid-unit assessment that centers on skills and strategies that have been addressed throughout Unit 2. Prior to beginning the assessment, students will read an excerpt of chapter 16 of Summer of the Mariposas in class, with support from peers and the instructor. The exam is broken up over two lessons to provide students with adequate time to process tasks and plan and execute their summary writing. 
  • ELLs may find it challenging to generalize the skills that they learned from previous sessions. Before administering the assessment, activate their prior knowledge by recalling the learning targets from previous sessions and eliciting the strategies students have used to achieve these learning targets. Additionally, present the directions for the assessment both visually and orally. Facilitate comprehension by displaying a map of the assessment parts. Some students may benefit from a short discussion about the purpose and practice of self-assessment at the beginning of the Closing and Assessment portion of the lesson.

Vocabulary

  • N/A 

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Criteria for an Effective Literary Summary anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 2, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time D)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening B)
  • Chart paper of Spanish words (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 3, Opening B)
  • Module Guiding Questions anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Text Guide: Summer of the Mariposas (for teacher reference) (Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Equity Sticks
  • End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback (one per student; from Unit 1, Lesson 16)
  • Summer of the Mariposas (text; one per student; from Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Vocabulary logs (from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Austin's Butterfly video (optional; one for display)
  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary (answers for teacher reference) (see Assessment download)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; co-created during Work Time D)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (three per student)
  • Synopsis: Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 16 ▲ 
  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary (one per student; see Assessment download)
  • Track Progress folders (one per student)
  • Track Progress: Read, Understand, and Explain New Text (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 Lesson’s Assessment

Opening

Opening

A. Return End of Unit 1 Assessments with Feedback (5 minutes)

  • Return students’ End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback.
  • Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 4. This entrance ticket prompts students to review their feedback from End of Unit 1 Assessment. Invite students to spend a few minutes reading the feedback and then to fill out the reflection questions on the entrance ticket. If they require support to understand the feedback, encourage them to write their names on the board for a one-on-one review. Remind students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development. ▲

B. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, setting students up for success for the mid-unit assessment. Activate prior knowledge by recalling the learning targets from Unit 2, Lessons 1-3.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Whole Class Critique: Literary Summary – RL.8.2 (10 minutes)

  • Tell students that in the forthcoming mid-unit assessment, they will write an effective literary summary of chapter 16 in Summer of the Mariposas. The following class critique will help them continue to hone their understanding of the criteria for summary before they take the assessment. 
  • Explain that students will work as a class to review two students’ summaries to improve the writing to better align to the Criteria for an Effective Literary Summary anchor chart. Type the paragraph or write a new paragraph to maintain anonymity. (Identify one or two problems observed in student writing. For example, students may be struggling to write concisely or to identify the central ideas of a text.) To support all students, write the problem(s) on the board and reread them. Give examples of the problem(s) (not the student’s writing yet). To increase engagement and investment, have students review their own summaries and determine which problem they think is most important to address. Then vote as a class to address the most important problem(s).
  • Focus students on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart and remind them of the habit of character recorded: respect, as this is someone’s personal written work. If necessary, model and guide students to practice giving courteous and constructive feedback. Show the Austin’s Butterfly video to model constructive feedback. Also, provide sentence frames on the board, read them aloud, and model using: I like how you ___, but I don’t understand ____. Can you ____? I like how you ___, but I think ____ needs revision because ____. Can you ____? ▲
  • Focus the class on the first summary and use a Think Aloud to model explaining the problem and brainstorming ideas for fixing it.
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share about these questions:

“In what ways does this paragraph meet the criteria for a strong summary? In what ways does it not meet the criteria?” (For example, “There are lots of details in this summary, but the summary is not brief. Let’s reread these sentences to see which we can cut,” or “There are some great details in the paragraph, but the summary doesn’t start with the central idea of the chapter. How do we find the central idea?”)

  • Invite volunteers to join in brainstorming ideas for fixing the problem. Then ask students to Think-Pair-Share about which solution they think is best for fixing the problem and why. Come to a consensus about which solution(s) to recommend to the writer. Make note of this on the displayed copy of the summary.
  • Focus the class on the second problem paragraph and have students work in pairs to identify the problem and generate solutions for it. 
  • Use equity sticks to have students share out the problems they identified and the solutions they generated.
  • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.
  • N/A

B. Read Summer of the Mariposas, Chapter 16 Excerpt – RL.8.2 (15 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same process as with previous lessons for students to read the excerpt of chapter 16 of Summer of the Mariposas, using the Text Guide: Summer of the Mariposas (for teacher reference). Instruct students to read the excerpt independently, and support struggling students as needed. Then have students identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, add words to the chart paper of Spanish words, reflect on their reading as they choose, and record the gist on sticky notes using the following resources as appropriate: vocabulary logs and Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart.
  • For ELLs and students who require additional support, Synopsis: Summer of the Mariposas  Chapter 16 ▲ can be used to review the key details from the chapter.
  • Gist: Five sisters get home and reunite with mom.
  • Asks students to Think-Pair-Share about the following question related to becoming ethical people. (Refer to the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart as needed.)

“When the girls meet Tonantzin, she directs them on a final mission to help Mama. How does this last quest, to ‘remind her of who she is’ relate to compassion or empathy?” (Answers will vary, but student responses may include the following: The girls must put energy into helping their Mama transform back to her true self. In doing this, they are showing forgiveness and hopefulness, which both relate to being compassionate.)

  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.
  • N/A

C. Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary - RL.8.2 (30 minutes)

  • Distribute Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Determine Theme and Write Literary Summary, and invite students to take out their copies of Summer of the Mariposas.
  • Tell students that for this assessment, they will reread chapter 16 and answer questions about vocabulary and theme, before writing an objective summary of the chapter.
  • Read the directions for each part of the assessment aloud, and ask students to follow along, reading silently. Answer clarifying questions.

  • Direct students' attention to the following anchor charts:

    • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart
    • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart
  • Direct students to Turn and Talk, naming one or two strategies they want to focus on in this assessment.
  • Remind students to refer to these anchor charts as they read the assessment text and answer the assessment questions.
  • Remind students that because this is an assessment, they should complete it independently in silence. 
  • Invite students to begin the assessment. While they are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor and document their test-taking skills.

For Lighter Support

  • Before Work Time C, underline key vocabulary in the mid-unit assessment directions and read aloud together as a class to ensure that students understand each task included in the assessment. Invite a student to paraphrase each set of instructions to reinforce comprehension of each task.

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time C, during the mid-unit assessment summary writing task, provide students who may need additional support with an individual checklist containing the criteria from the Criteria for an Effective Literary Summary anchor chart. Instruct students to check off each criterion as they incorporate it into their work. For increased visualization, color-code elements of the checklist and also provide colored pencils or highlighters for students to mark in their writing.

D. Introduce Work to Become Effective Learners (10 minutes)

  • Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart. Explain that it says at the top that effective learners are people who develop the mindsets and skills for success in college, career, and life.
  • Read aloud the habit of character: "I persevere. This means I challenge myself. When something is difficult or demanding, I keep trying and ask for help if I need it."
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share about the following questions:

"What does collaboration look like? What might you see when people are collaborating?" See Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (example for teacher reference).

"What does collaboration sound like? What might you hear when people are collaborating?" See Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (example for teacher reference).

  • Continue this discussion with the other rows of the anchor chart. As students share out, record their responses in the appropriate column on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart.
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share once more, about the following questions:

"How have you shown the habits of character of working to become an effective learner today?" (Answers will vary but may include, "I collaborated with my classmates to critique a summary paragraph in order to accomplish our goal of writing strong summaries on our mid-unit assessment. I challenged myself by taking a rigorous assessment and I preserved throughout. I took ownership by tracking my progress and reflecting on my own strengths and growth areas.")

  • Remind students that they will continue to focus on working to become effective learners throughout this unit and the ones to come.
  • N/A

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Track Progress (15 minutes)

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

"I can determine a theme and analyze its development in Summer of the Mariposas, chapter 16."

"I can write an objective summary of Summer of the Mariposas, chapter 16."

  • Give students specific, positive feedback on their completion of the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment.
  • Distribute Track Progress folders, Track Progress: Read, Understand, and Explain New Text, and sticky notes.
  • Guide students through completing the recording form.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.
  • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • In Closing and Assessment A, if students seem unsure of how to respond to the open-ended questions on the Track Progress: Read, Understand, and Explain New Text, provide examples of statements that answer the questions about previous improvements and goals for future improvement that are directly connected to the criteria within the handout to help students create clear self-reflection and concrete, attainable personal targets (e.g., "I have improved at determining and clarifying the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases," "In the future, I will improve my writing by choosing stronger textual evidence that supports an analysis of what the text says"). 

Homework

Homework

A. Independent Research Reading 

  • Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

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