Unit 1 Assessment, Part I: Retelling the Beginning, Middle, and End of The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G2:M2:U1:L8

Unit 1 Assessment, Part I: Retelling the Beginning, Middle, and End of The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RL.2.1: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
  • RL.2.2: Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
  • RL.2.5: Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
  • RL.2.7: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
  • RI.2.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
  • W.2.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • SL.2.2: Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can answer questions about key details in the text The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs. (RL.2.1, RL.2.7, SL.2.2)
  • I can retell the beginning, middle, and end of the first part of the text The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs. (RL.2.2, RL.2.5, RL.2.7)
  • I can describe what a fossil is. (RI.2.4, W.2.8)

Ongoing Assessment

  • During Work Time A, refer to the 2M2 Assessment Overview and Resources for details about the Unit 1 assessment. (RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.5, RI.2.7, SL.2.2)
  • At the end of Work Time C, circulate and listen in as students share with a partner what they have learned about fossils. Notice whether they are able to articulate their thinking clearly. (RI.2.4, W.2.8)
  • During Work Time C, listen as students share their responses for the shared writing. As needed, clarify misconceptions about the definition of a fossil. (RI.2.4, W.2.8)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Learner: Curiosities Museum (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Unit 1 Assessment, Part I: Retelling the Beginning, Middle, and End of The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs (30 minutes)

B. Engaging the Learner: What More Can We Learn about Fossils? (10 minutes)

C. Shared Writing: Writing What We Learned about Fossils (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Building Vocabulary: Fossils Word Wall (5 minutes)

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • This lesson contains Part I of the Unit 1 Assessment. This assessment is administered over two days, in Lessons 8-9. Although this lesson is the first part of a formal assessment of RL.2.1, RL.2.2, RL.2.4, RL.2.5, and RL.2.7, students should experience the lesson as routine. Do not overemphasize the assessment; instead, use this as an opportunity to continue to gather meaningful data.
  • Since RL.2.2 also includes fables and folktales, this standard will also be taught and assessed in Module 3.
  • As in previous lessons, students are presented with a new photo for the Curiosities Museum in the Opening. As students observe, describe, and label this photo, they practice noticing details, using descriptive language, and collaborating to write a caption. (SL.2.2)
  • Students build background knowledge about fossils through viewing a video in Work Time B and reflecting on learning through shared writing in Work Time C. This knowledge is the foundation of their understanding of fossils and will support their learning throughout the module.
  • In the Closing, students add their first word to the Fossils Word Wall. This collection of domain-specific words will serve as a resource for students throughout the module as they speak and write about fossils.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • Students have learned about fossils through the close read-aloud of Stone Girl, Bone Girl in Lessons 2-7. In this lesson, they begin to learn about fossils through informational sources.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • During Part I of the Unit 1 Assessment, students may need directions repeated several times. Consider providing this modification as needed.
  • Students may find it challenging to grasp the concept of a fossil, particularly as it relates to change over time. Students will delve into this concept more deeply in Unit 2; for now, it is okay for them to have a partial understanding.

Down the road:

  • In Lessons 10-12, students will learn about the tools paleontologists use through a focused read-aloud of several informational texts.

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Part I of the Unit 1 Assessment (see Assessment Overview and Resources) and distribute at students' workspaces, along with pencils.
    • Technology necessary to play "All about Fossils" during Work Time B.
    • A place in the classroom for the Fossils Word Wall to be added to throughout the module. If possible, choose a classroom wall space that can be easily viewed and accessed by all students.
    • Fossils Word Wall card for fossil. Write or type the word on a card and create or find a visual to accompany it.
  • Preview the excerpt from The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs and the "All about Fossils" video clip for Work Time B to familiarize yourself with the content.
  • Post: Learning targets.

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive white board or document camera to display lesson materials.

  • Work Time B: Video: Jim Henson Co. "All about Fossils." PBS LearningMedia. PBS and WGBH Educational Foundation, 2009. Web. 25 June 2016. (For display. Used by permission.)
  • Work Time C: Record the shared writing in an online format--for example, a Google Doc--for display and for families to access at home to reinforce the learning.
  • Closing: Create the Fossils Word Wall in an online format--for example, Padlet--to share vocabulary words with families.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 2.I.B.6, 2.1.C.10, 2.1.C.12, 2.II.A.1, and 2.II.A.2

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by inviting them to complete assessment tasks similar to the classroom tasks completed in Lessons 2-7. Although the text used for the assessment is new, it covers the same topic as the text used in the first half of this unit and students have the opportunity to hear it read aloud several times during the assessment.
  • The Unit 1 Assessment may be challenging for ELLs, because it is a big leap from the heavily scaffolded classroom interaction for some ELLs. ELLs will be asked to not only independently apply cognitive skills developed in Lessons 1-7, but also to independently apply new linguistic knowledge introduced in those lessons.
  • Allow students to review language displayed on the Word Wall, anchor charts, and other environmental resources.
  • Make sure that ELLs understand the assessment directions. Answer their questions, refraining from supplying answers to the assessment prompts themselves. See additional support in the lesson.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, students engage with a narrative nonfiction text, The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs. Some may need support in making text-to-text connections between this text and Stone Girl, Bone Girl. Provide explicit think-aloud modeling of these connections as a way to activate prior knowledge and support comprehension. Say: "I notice this text has some of the same information as Stone Girl, Bone Girl, but this one has more details about Tray. In the other text, the author mostly shared information about Mary, with just a few details about Tray."
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): To minimize distractions during the second assessment task (writing the beginning, middle, and end of the story on the graphic organizer), vary the level of sensory stimulation as appropriate for individual students (e.g., offering sound-canceling headphones or dividing workspaces). Some students may also need additional support with fine motor skills. Consider offering them supportive tools as they complete the graphic organizer (e.g., pencil grips, a slanted desk, or the opportunity to type their retelling of the story).
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): In this lesson, sustaining effort and concentration is important for students as they complete the assessment task. Encouraging them in keeping their focus on the goal will support both engagement and motivation. Before students begin writing, consider creating a writing goal that is appropriate for the individual student. (Example: After completion of one section of the graphic organizer, place a star or sticker at the goal point so that they can self-monitor their progress as they write.) Some students may also need flexibility with the pace of work and length of work sessions. Consider offering timeouts or breaking up the two sections of the assessment into separate days or times of day.

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L): Text-Specific Vocabulary (T): Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

New:

  • evidence, tracks (T)

Review:

  • describe, fossil (L)

Materials

  • Curiosities Museum (begun in Lesson 3; added to during Work Time A)
  • Fossil photo #3 (one to display)
  • Fossil photo #3 caption (blank; co-created with students during Work Time A)
  • The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs (one per student and one to display; for teacher read-aloud)
  • Unit 1 Assessment, Part I: Answering Questions about a Literary Text (one per student; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Pencils (one per student)
  • Curious about Fossils (one to display)
  • "All about Fossils" (video; play 0:00-1:06; see Technology and Multimedia)
  • What I Learned about Fossils anchor chart (new; co-created with students during Work Time C)
  • Fossils Word Wall card (new; teacher-created; one)
  • Fossils Word Wall (new; teacher-created; see Teaching Notes)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Learner: Curiosities Museum (5 minutes)

  • Invite students to the whole group area.
  • Share with students that they have another fossil to add to the Curiosities Museum!
  • Display fossil photo #3 and follow the same process from Lesson 3 to add it to the Curiosities Museum. Use the name of the fossil (fossilized tree fern) and the following sentence frame as needed for the fossil photo #3 caption:
    • "This is a _____." (This is a fossilized tree fern.)
  • Remind students that, as they continue to collect curiosities, the museum will grow larger!
  • For students who may be uncomfortable sharing their own thinking with the entire class: Consider allowing them to share what their partner said so that they still have a chance to speak in front of the class. (MME)
  • For ELLs: Invite students to choose nouns and adjectives from the Adjective Construction board introduced early in the unit to describe what they notice in the photograph.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Unit 1 Assessment, Part I: Retelling the Beginning, Middle, and End of the The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs (30 minutes)

  • Transition students back to their workspaces.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first two aloud:
    • "I can answer questions about key details in the text The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs."
    • "I can retell the beginning, middle, and end of the first part of the text The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs."
  • Remind students that they have been working hard to answer selected response questions and to retell the beginning, middle, and end of the text Stone Girl, Bone Girl.
  • Share that today they will have the opportunity to show what they can do by completing these familiar tasks independently with a new text about Mary Anning.
  • Display The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs and read the title aloud.
  • Share that after listening to part of the text, students will complete two tasks:
  1. Answer two selected response questions.
  2. Use sentences to retell the beginning, middle, and end of the text.
  • Assure students that they will hear the text read aloud several times. Invite them to listen carefully as you read the text aloud the first time.
  • While still displaying the text, read pages 5-9 aloud slowly, fluently, with expression, and without interruption.
  • Point out the Unit 1 Assessment, Part I: Answering Question about a Literary Text and pencils already at students' workspaces.
    • Tell students you will read aloud two questions about the text, and then read the text aloud again.
    • Read the questions and possible answers aloud.
    • Remind students to wait until they hear the text read aloud again before they answer.
    • Draw students' attention back to the text and reread pages 5-9 aloud.
    • Focus students back on the Unit 1 Assessment and reread question 1 aloud.
    • Invite students to circle the correct answer.
    • After 1-2 minutes, refocus students whole group.
    • Repeat the process with question 2.
  • Share that now you will read the rest of the story. Students will need to listen carefully so they can retell the beginning, middle, and end of the text.
  • Draw students' attention back to the text and read pages 5-15 aloud slowly, fluently, with expression, and without interruption.
  • Distribute The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs to each student.
  • Referring to the Unit 1 Assessment, Part I again, orient students to the beginning, middle, and end graphic organizer.
  • Read the directions aloud: "What happened in this part of the story? Use sentences to explain."
  • Direct students to complete the graphic organizer independently. Remind them to refer to their copy of the text for reference as needed.
  • As students work, circulate and reread the directions as needed.
  • After 10-12 minutes, signal students to stop. Collect students' assessments.
  • Invite students to transition to the whole group meeting area.
  • For students who may need additional support with planning and strategy development: Model a think-aloud for sequencing the events of the story into beginning, middle, and end before students complete the graphic organizer in the second task. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Ask students to recall and describe one way they worked toward similar learning targets in previous lessons.
  • For ELLs: Ensure that students clearly understand all assessment directions. Rephrase test directions for them. Monitor during the assessment to see that students are completing the assessment correctly. Stop students who are on the wrong track and make sure they understand the directions.

B. Engaging the Learner: What More Can We Learn about Fossils? (10 minutes)

  • Refocus students whole group.
  • Remind them that they have heard a couple of narrative nonfiction stories about fossils read aloud: Stone Girl, Bone Girl and The Dog That Dug for Dinosaurs.
  • Share that these true stories might make students want to learn more about the topic of fossils.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the third one aloud:
    • "I can describe what a fossil is."
  • Review the definition of describe (to tell or write about).
  • Display Curious about Fossils. Read the title aloud and invite students to look closely at the cover.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What do you think this text teaches the reader about?" (fossils, dinosaurs, bones)

  • Share that this is an informational text that will help students learn information they need to describe fossils.
  • While still displaying the text, read page 1 aloud slowly, fluently, with expression, and without interruption.
  • Read the first sentence of page 2 aloud.
  • Define evidence (something that gives proof of or a reason to believe something).
  • Confirm that fossils provide evidence that there was life long ago.
  • Draw students' attention back to the text and continue reading the remainder of page 2 aloud slowly, fluently, and with expression.
  • Define tracks (a mark or series of marks left on the ground by the feet of people or animals).
  • Pause after reading page 2 and ask:

"What does this page teach us about fossils?" (They are evidence of plants and animals from the past; they give us clues about earth long ago; they were a part of a plant or animal; they can be tracks of animals.)

  • Draw students' attention back to the text and read page 3 aloud.
  • Share that now students will watch a short video to learn more about fossils. Explain that this video is a clip from the show Dinosaur Train, and Mr. Conductor explains what fossils are.
  • Play "All about Fossils."
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with an elbow partner:

"What is one thing you have learned about fossils today?" (Responses will vary, but should include information from the Curious about Fossils excerpt or the "All about Fossils" video clip.)

  • Share that now students will work together to record a few sentences about what they have learned about fossils.
  • Before engaging students with the text and video, provide white boards and white board markers as an option for students to record (drawing or writing) their ideas. This helps scaffold active listening for key details, which supports students as they Think-Pair-Share afterward. (MMR, MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Watch the "Fossils for Kids" video twice. Students will be able to absorb and comprehend more information during their second viewing after they understand the general idea during the first viewing.
  • For ELLs: Provide sentence frames for students to use during the Think-Pair-Share. Examples:
    • "One thing I learned about fossils is _____."
    • "I learned that fossils are _________."

C. Shared Writing: Writing What We Learned about Fossils (10 minutes)

  • Display the What I Learned about Fossils anchor chart.
  • Invite several students to share their responses from the Think-Pair-Share at the end of Work Time B. As needed, prompt students to use a sentence frame:
    • "I learned that fossils are _____."
  • As needed, paraphrase students' responses to help clarify their thinking.
  • As students share out, work as a group to record one or two complete sentences about what students have learned about fossils on the chart paper. Possible responses might include:
    • "Fossils are millions of years old."
    • "Fossils are from animals that died millions of years ago."
    • "Fossils are bones that turned to stone after millions of years."
  • After recording students' learning, invite a volunteer to read the sentences aloud to the whole group.
  • For students who may need additional support with oral language and processing: Provide ample wait time as students express their thinking in response to the question. (MMAE)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Building Vocabulary: Fossils Word Wall (5 minutes)

  • Share that now students will post an important word from the video on a new Word Wall.
  • Show students the Fossils Word Wall card for fossil.
  • Read the word aloud and invite students to echo you.
  • Invite students to say the word using a "serious paleontologist" tone, modeling a serious tone of voice as needed.
  • Instruct students to clap the syllables in the word as they say it aloud: "fos-sil."
  • Review the definition of fossil, referring to the shared writing from Work Time C if possible: "Fossils are the remains or trace of a living animal or plant from a long time ago."
  • Invite students to turn and talk to an elbow partner:

"Use the word fossil in a sentence with a partner." (Responses will vary.)

  • Invite several students to share their sentences with the group.
  • Add the word card for fossil to the Fossils Word Wall.
  • Share that students will continue to learn more about fossils by watching a video about paleontologists in the next lesson!
  • Pair students with strategic elbow partners to ensure that they have a strong, politely helpful partner to support their efforts to create and share a sentence using the word fossil. (MMAE, MME)
  • For ELLs: Provide visual support next to the word fossil on the Word Wall and invite students to share the translation of the word in their home languages.

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