Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G8:M2:U1:L11

Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RI.8.1, RI.8.5, RI.8.6, RI.8.8, SL.8.3

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.8.10
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can analyze the structure of a specific paragraph in a text and explain how it develops a key idea. (RI.8.5)
  • I can determine an author's point of view and analyze how the author addresses conflicting evidence or viewpoints. (RI.8.6)
  • I can delineate and evaluate the argument in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient. (RI.8.8)
  • I can delineate and evaluate a speaker's argument, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient. (SL.8.3)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 11
  • Work Time A: Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text (RI.8.1, RI.8.5, RI.8.6, RI.8.8, RI.8.10, SL.8.3)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text (35 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Reflect on Learning Targets (5 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

  • The mid-unit assessment in Work Time A has two parts. In Part I, students analyze the claim, points, and evidence presented by a speaker in a short video. In Part II, students read a new text and answer questions about the author's purpose, claim, points, and evidence and analyze how the structure of particular paragraphs develops and refines key ideas about where our food comes from. (RI.8.1, RI.8.5, RI.8.6, RI.8.8, RI.8.10, SL.8.3)
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners by persevering to read and answer questions independently for the mid-unit assessment.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Ask students to reflect on their growth or learning between the end of unit assessment in the last module and this mid-unit assessment. Also, ask students to create goals for the second half of the unit.
  • Add additional questions about structure, purpose, or argument to the assessment for students who finish early.
  • Students might watch additional videos or read additional texts and track the author's structure, purpose, and argument, evaluating if the argument is sound and if the evidence is relevant and sufficient.
  • In later grades, students analyze how an author's ideas or claims are refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text. Students might choose a longer text, perhaps the entirety of The Omnivore's Dilemma, and write an analysis of how the author uses longer portions of text to refine his argument.
  • In high school, students will analyze how an author or speaker uses rhetoric to advance point of view or purpose. Students might analyze the use of rhetoric (the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques) within The Omnivore's Dilemma, Chew on This, or the NourishLife videos.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the first half of this unit, students began reading The Omnivore's Dilemma and watched NourishLife videos to analyze structure and purpose and delineate and evaluate arguments. 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.
  • For some students, this assessment may require more than the 35 minutes allotted. Provide time over multiple days if necessary.

Assessment Guidance

  • All assessment materials (student prompt and teacher checklist) are included in the Assessment download on this page.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will begin to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums to present a topic or idea, and analyze cases in which two sources disagree.
  • Students' Mid-Unit 1 Assessments will be returned in Lesson 15 with feedback.

In Advance

  • Prepare
    • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 11
    • Module 1 End of Unit 3 Assessments with feedback
    • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments (see Assessment download)
  • Cue up "Why Eat Local?" from Nourish: Short Films: 54 Bite-Sized Videos about the Story of Your Food for the mid-unit assessment.
  • Preread the text and preview the video for today's assessment to ensure understanding of the material and content.
  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 11, along with students' Module 1 End of Unit 3 Assessments with feedback, at each student's workspace.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Cue up the "Why Eat Local?" video from Nourish: Short Films: 54 Bite-Sized Videos about the Story of Your Food, or provide links for students to view it on their devices (http://eled.org/0230).

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 8.I.B.5, 8.I.B.6, 8.I.B.7, and 8.I.B.8.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson has a Mid-Unit 1 Assessment that contains graphic organizers and questions that closely mirror the selected and constructed response questions students have done practice with in lessons. Students will be familiar with the layout of the graphic organizer used in this assessment and the process of tracking arguments in texts and videos.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to complete the assessment independently. Before the assessment, build in time to revisit the key concepts that students will be assessed on and review selected and constructed response questions from previous lessons, as needed. To activate students' knowledge, briefly review the elements of an argument (main claim, point, evidence), types of paragraphs, and the concepts of an author's point of view and purpose before the assessment.

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening B)
  • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 3, Opening B)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lessons 4-5, Work Time D)
  • Module 1 End of Unit 3 Assessments with feedback (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 12, Work Time A)
  • Independent reading journals (one per student; begun in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, Work Time B)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text (answers for teacher reference) (see Assessment download)
  • Video: "Why Eat Local?" (from Nourish: Short Films: 54 Bite-Sized Videos about the Story of Your Food, or http://eled.org/0230)
  • Device to display video
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 11 (one per student)
  • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text (see Assessment download) (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. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

  • Return students' Module 1 End of Unit 3 Assessments with feedback.
  • Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 11. This entrance ticket prompts students to review their feedback from Module 1 End of Unit 3 Assessment. Invite students to spend a few minutes reading the feedback and then filling 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.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as with 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. Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text (35 minutes)

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

"I can analyze the structure of a specific paragraph in a text and how it develops a key idea."

"I can determine an author's point of view and analyze how the author addresses conflicting evidence or viewpoints."

"I can delineate and evaluate the argument in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient."

"I can delineate and evaluate a speaker's argument, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient."

  • Distribute Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Structure, Determine Point of View, and Evaluate Arguments in Video and Text.
  • Tell students that for this assessment, they will read an excerpt from Chew on This and watch a new video clip from NourishLife, and then they will answer questions about structure and purpose and will delineate and evaluate an author and a speaker's argument. Read aloud the directions for each part of the assessment as students read along 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
  • 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. Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, and review what perseverance looks and sounds like. Remind students that because they will be reading and answering questions independently for the assessment, they may need to practice perseverance.
  • Invite students to begin the assessment. Project the video for Part I, and allow students to view it twice.
  • While they are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor and document their test-taking skills.
  • Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique--for example, showing thumbs-up or traffic light signal cards. Scan student responses, and make a note of students who might need support. Check in with them moving forward.

For Lighter Support

  • Before the assessment, underline key vocabulary in the assessment directions and prompt, and read aloud together as a class to ensure that students understand each task included in the assessment. Invite students who need lighter support to restate or clarify information for those students who need heavier support. Review key terms (claim, point, evidence) aloud, and consider providing a glossary of terms that students can refer back to as needed to help them stay grounded while answering the questions on the assessment.

For Heavier Support

    • Display a "map" of the assessment to reference while explaining directions to the mid-unit assessment. This will reduce ambiguity and give students a clearer picture of what they can expect so that they can better allocate their time and attentional resources. Provide students with colored pencils or highlighters so that they can mark up the "map" as needed. Example:
        1. Read the text excerpt.
        2. Answer the questions about the author's argument and purpose.
        3. Watch the video two times.
        4. Answer selected and constructed response questions about the speaker's argument and purpose.

    Closing & Assessments

    ClosingLevels of Support

    A. Reflect on Learning Targets (5 minutes)

    • 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

    • After the assessment, ask students to write or 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 help students address these assessment challenges. 

    For Heavier Support

    • Provide students with a sheet of paper on which they can use a selected color, number, or symbol to self-assess against each learning target in private. This provides useful data for future instruction and helps students monitor their own learning.

    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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