Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4 | EL Education Curriculum

You are here

Home › Our Curriculum › ELA 2019 Grade 8 › ELA 2019 G8:M3 › ELA 2019 G8:M3:U1 ›

ELA 2019 G8:M3:U1:L7

Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4

In this Lesson

You are here:

Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.3, RL.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
Download Materials

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can analyze how dialogue between characters and incidents in Maus I reveal aspects of character or provoke a decision. (RL.8.1, RL.8.3)
  • I can analyze how specific word choices impact meaning and tone in Maus I. (RL.8.1, RL.8.4)
  • I can track characters, plot, and emerging themes in order to track the development of theme in Maus I. (RL.8.2)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket
  • Work Time A: Gist on sticky notes
  • Work Time B: Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4 (RL.8.1, RL.8.3, RL.8.4, RL.8.10)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read Maus I, Chapter 4 (10 minutes)

B. Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4 - RL.8.3 (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Track Gist, Plot, Character, and Emerging Theme: Maus I, Chapter 4 - RL.8.2 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Preread Anchor Text: Students preread chapter 5 in Maus I in preparation for reading the chapter in the next lesson.

B. Analyze Voice: Students complete Homework: Selected and Constructed Response Questions: Analyze Voice: Maus I, Chapter 5 to answer questions about active and passive voice.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • Work Time B: Students answer questions about how dialogue, word choice, and tone reveal aspects of character in chapter 4 of Maus I for the mid-unit assessment (RL.8.1, RL.8.3, RL.8.4, RL.8.10, L.8.4).
  • RL.8.2 - Closing and Assessment A: Students track the gist, plot, character and emerging theme of chapter 4 of Maus I.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Add additional dialogue, word choice, and tone selected or constructed response questions to the assessment for students who finish early.
  • In Closing and Assessment A, ask students to find specific examples from the text that support the character and themes they track. As time allows, have students select examples for their peers to connect to the information tracked.
  • Invite students to predict what they think will happen next in chapter 5 of Maus I. Students can record their predictions and track them as they preread this section of the text for homework.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the first half of this unit, students analyzed how dialogue, word choice, and tone reveal aspects of character in Maus I. Students will independently answer questions about aspects of character in chapter 4 of Maus I.
  • Students will also continue to track the gist, plot, character, and emerging theme of Maus I through an analysis of chapter 4.

Support All Students

  • Note that chapter 4 of Maus I brings up potentially sensitive topics such as a public hanging. Allow for time to process and respond to this topic during individual, small group, or full class discussion, and reach out to families as needed. Use thoughtful strategic pairing for discussions around these topics to ensure that all students feel comfortable.
  • 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 20 minutes allotted. Consider providing time over multiple days if necessary.

Assessment Guidance

  • All assessment Materials (student prompt and teacher checklist) are included in the Assessment Overview and Resources.
  • When assessing and providing feedback on this assessment, use the answer key and sample student responses (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
  • Check student vocabulary logs for accountability in recording vocabulary.
  • Check gist statements to ensure students are recording quick notes about what the text is mostly about.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will continue tracking gist, plot, character, and emerging theme as they read Maus I and analyze a whole-book summary in preparation for writing a whole-book summary of Maus I for their end of unit assessment.
  • Students' Mid-Unit 1 Assessments will be returned in Lesson 10 with feedback.

In Advance

  • Prepare
    • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 7
    • Module 2 End of Unit 3 Assessments with feedback
    • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4 (see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Preread the chapter reading for today's Work Time A and review the text guide to ensure understanding of the material and content.
  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 7 and students' Module 2 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

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 8.I.C.11 and 8.I.C.12.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson includes supported in-class reading of the text and a Mid-Unit 1 Assessment that contains questions that closely mirror the text-dependent questions students have done practice with in Lessons 4, 5, and 6. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of how the meaning of words contributes to tone and of how dialogue and incidents in the story reveal aspects or character and propel the action. In Closing and Assessment A of the lesson, students will continue to track emerging themes in preparation for the End of Unit 1 Assessment in Lesson 10.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to read Maus I, chapter 4, and complete the assessment independently. The depth and volume of both the content students will read and the assessment questions will require strong focus from students. Support ELLs by encouraging them to apply familiar reading and test-taking strategies. Review where the book left off after chapter 3 to activate students prior knowledge, enabling them to jump back into the story with ease.

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time D)
  • 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)
  • Gist, Plot, Character, and Emerging Theme anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Gist, Plot, Character, and Emerging Theme anchor chart (one for display; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Module 2, End of Unit 3 Assessments with feedback (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 3, Lessons 11-12, Work Time A)
  • Maus I (text; one per student; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • Holocaust Glossary (one per student; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 3, Work Time A)
  • Vocabulary logs (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • Track Progress folders (from Module 1; one per student)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4 (answers for teacher reference) (see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Homework: Selected and Constructed Response Questions: Analyze Voice: Maus I, Chapter 5 (answers for teacher reference) (from Homework Resources)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 7 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (three per student)
  • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4 (one per student; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Synopsis: Maus I, Chapter 4 (one per student, as needed)
  • Homework: Selected and Constructed Response Questions: Analyze Voice: Maus I, Chapter 5 (one per student; from Homework Resources)

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 2 End of Unit 3 Assessments with feedback.
  • Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 7. This entrance ticket prompts students to review their feedback from the Module 2 End of Unit 3 Assessment. Invite students to spend a few minutes reading the feedback and then 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.
  • 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. Read Maus I, Chapter 4 (10 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Follow the same process as with previous lessons for students to read chapter 4 of Maus I. Since this is an assessment, instruct students to read the pages independently. Remind students that they can refer to their Holocaust Glossary if they encounter domain-specific vocabulary they do not understand. Then have students identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, 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.
  • Gist: Jewish people hide but are ultimately sent to Auschwitz, a concentration camp where Nazis gas Jews to death.
  • Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"What examples of habits of character were evident in chapter 4 of Maus I?" (Students may mention many examples and answers will vary, but may note how Vladek showed perseverance as he worked to earn money and use that money to keep himself alive.)

"What habits of character did you practice while reading and discussing chapter 4 of Maus I?" (Answers will vary, but may include that they practiced using compassion as they worried about the survival of Vladek and other Jewish people and respect as they deepened their understanding of the inhumane experiences Jewish people endured during the Holocaust.)
  • N/A

B. Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4 - RL.8.3 (20 minutes)

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

"I can analyze how dialogue between characters and incidents in Maus I reveal aspects of character or provoke a decision."

"I can analyze how specific word choices impact meaning and tone in Maus I."

  • Distribute Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Analyze Character, Dialogue, and Word Choice: Maus I, Chapter 4, and invite students to take out their copies of Maus I.
  • Remind students that they analyzed how dialogue, word choice, and tone reveal aspects of character in previous lessons, and will be assessed on their understanding of this through independent analysis.
  • Read aloud the directions for each part of the assessment as students follow along silently. Answer clarifying questions.
  • Direct students' attention to the following resources:
    • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart
    • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share about these support documents:

"In what ways can the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart support you in an assessment?" (Responses will vary but could include that the anchor chart reminds us of the skills we've built as readers and we can apply them to an assessment.)

"What strategies do you use when you are completed selected response questions?" (Answers will vary, but might include I think back to the text or I cross out answers that I know are incorrect.)

  • Remind students to refer to these materials as they 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.
  • Collect assessments.

For Lighter Support

  • Before the assessment of Work Time B, 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 students who need heavier support. Review key terms (tone, dialogue, character, incident, action) aloud and provide 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:
    • Read Maus I Chapter 4. Then answer the questions.
    • Questions 1-3: Answer selected response questions about tone in dialogue.
    • Questions 4-6: Answer selected and constructed response questions about how dialogue and incidents in the story reveal aspects of character and propel the action forward.
    • Question 7: Write a short paragraph, with evidence, explaining how the words within a statement inform tone and how the statement reveals aspects of a character.

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. Track Gist, Plot, Character, and Emerging Theme: Maus I, Chapter 4 - RL.8.2 (10 minutes)

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

"I can track characters, plot, and emerging themes in order to track the development of theme in Maus I."

  • Distribute Synopsis: Maus I, Chapter 4 to students as needed.
  • Display the Gist, Plot, Character and Emerging Theme anchor chart.
  • Prompt students to Think-Pair-Share:

"What is the gist of chapter 4?"

"What are the key events that happened in the plot in Maus I, chapter 4?"

"What have we learned about the development of characters in this chapter?"

"Yesterday, we began to discuss some emerging themes around perseverance and the will to survive, family ties, and the importance of remembering. Based on what we learned today, how might we add to or revise these emerging themes?"

  • Cold-call students to share out and add to the key plot elements section of the anchor chart. Refer to the Gist, Plot, Character, and Emerging Theme anchor chart (example for teacher reference) as needed, and clarify any misconceptions.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

Homework

Homework

A. Preread Anchor Text

  • Students preread chapter 5 in Maus I in preparation for reading the chapter in the next lesson.

B. Analyze Voice

  • Students complete Homework: Selected and Constructed Response Questions: Analyze Voice: Maus I, Chapter 5 to answer questions about active and passive voice.

Copyright © 2013-2024 by EL Education, New York, NY.

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Sign Up

Help us improve our curriculum.

Tell us what’s going well, share your concerns and feedback.

Terms of use. To learn more about EL Education, visit eleducation.org

Leave feedback