End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: Describing Poison Dart Frogs | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G3:M2:U2:L12

End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: Describing Poison Dart Frogs

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RI.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
  • RI.3.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
  • RI.3.8: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).
  • RI.3.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
  • W.3.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  • W.3.2a: Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
  • W.3.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
  • W.3.2c: Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.
  • W.3.2d: Provide a concluding statement or section.
  • W.3.4: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
  • W.3.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
  • W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
  • W.3.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
  • L.3.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
  • L.3.4a: Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  • L.3.4b: Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e.g., agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat).
  • L.3.4c: Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., company, companion).
  • L.3.4d: Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can describe the connections between sentences and paragraphs in excerpts of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures. (RI.3.8)
  • I can gather and categorize information to answer a research question. (RI.3.1, W.3.7, W.3.8)
  • I can write an informative paragraph about poison dart frogs in response to a prompt. (RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.7, W.3.10)

Ongoing Assessment

  • End of Unit 2 Assessment, Parts I and II (RI.3.1, RI.3.4, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.7, W.3.8, W.3.10, L.3.4)
  • Tracking Progress: Informative Writing (W.3.2)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part I: Selected Response (20 minutes)

B. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II: Planning and Writing an Informative Paragraph about the Poison Dart Frog (25 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Tracking Progress (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt to respond to in the front of your independent reading journal.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • In this lesson, students complete the End of Unit 2 Assessment. In Part I of the assessment, they answer selected response questions targeting reading, writing, and language standards. In Part II, they write an informative paragraph about the poison dart frog. To do this, they use the texts read and notes taken during the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment. They also read a new text about the poison dart frog. Because students are already familiar with most of the texts, a large part of their focus can rest on writing. With this added emphasis on writing rather than reading comprehension, it is possible that assessing students' progress toward mastering the CCSS writing standards addressed by this assessment will be more accurate.
  • In Opening A, students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments are returned with feedback. The purpose of this is for students to have the opportunity to see how they performed in order to improve in their next assessment, and to ask questions if they don't understand the feedback.
  • After the assessment, students reflect on their learning using Tracking Progress: Informative Writing. This exercise is meant to provide them with time to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning.
  • In this lesson, the habit of character focus is working to become an effective learner. The characteristic they are reminded of specifically is perseverance, as they will be working independently on their assessments, which may be challenging for some students.
  • The research reading students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to frogs and how they look and act according to where they live. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help describe and make sense of it.

How it builds on previous work:

  • In previous lessons, students practiced planning, drafting, and revising informative paragraphs to answer research questions. They will demonstrate these skills on the end of unit assessment in this lesson.

Areas where students may need additional support:

  • 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 50 minutes allotted. Consider providing time over multiple days if necessary.

Assessment guidance:

  • Writing rubrics can be found in the Grade 3 Writing Rubrics document. All other assessment materials (student copy, answer key, student exemplar) are included in the Assessment Overview and Resources.
  • When assessing and providing feedback to students on this assessment, use the teacher answer key, sample student responses (see Assessment Overview and Resources), and the Informative Writing: Grade 3 rubric (see Grade 3 Writing Rubrics) to help you complete the student Tracking Progress recording form. Consider making notes in the appropriate column for each criterion and marking evidence with sticky notes on student work in a different color than student responses. There is also space provided to respond to student comments.
  • It will be valuable for students to revisit their previous Tracking Progress: Informative Writing sheet before they begin so they can remember what they would like to improve on from assessments in previous units/modules.
  • In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward anchor standard W.3.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Down the road:

  • Students will include the informative paragraph from the end of unit assessment in their Freaky Frog book.

In Advance

  • Arrange for necessary testing accommodations.
  • Prepare students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with feedback from Lesson 7.
  • Gather students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessment texts and research notes.
  • Gather students' Tracking Progress folders.
  • Post: Learning targets.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time B: Allow students to type their drafts using Google Docs or other word processing software.
  • Work Time B: Students complete their drafts in a word processing document, for example a Google Doc using Speech to Text facilities activated on devices, or using an app or software like Dictation.io.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 3.I.B.6, 3.I.C.10, 3.II.A.1, 3.II.A.2.

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to demonstrate their content and language knowledge as they write an informative paragraph built on their preparation and practice in previous lessons. They self-assess at the end of the lesson in order to celebrate their successes and chart a course for the future.
  • Students may find the End of Unit 2 Assessment challenging, as it may be a big leap from the heavily scaffolded classroom interaction for some ELLs. Before they begin, encourage students to do their best and congratulate them on the progress they've made learning English.
  • Make sure that ELLs understand the assessment directions. Answer their questions, refraining from supplying answers to the assessment questions themselves. See additional support in the lesson.
  • Allow students to review language they've written on the Word Wall or in their vocabulary log.
  • After the assessment, ask students to discuss what was easiest and what was most difficult on the assessment, and why. To facilitate this discussion, prepare a concise rubric of the elements of the assessment and allow students to rank the difficulty level of these elements on a Likert scale. Example:
    • The multiple choice questions were easy to answer. 1 2 3 4 5
  • In future lessons and for homework, focus on the language skills that will help students address these assessment challenges.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation: In order to set themselves up for success for the assessment, students will need to generalize the skills that they learned from the previous sessions. Before administering the assessment, activate their prior knowledge by recalling the learning targets from the previous lessons. Additionally, make sure that you are presenting the directions for the assessment both visually and verbally. Facilitate comprehension by displaying a map of the assessment parts.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Some students may need support in setting appropriate goals for their effort and the level of difficulty expected. Appropriate goal-setting supports development of executive skills and strategies. Offer scaffolds for students learning to set appropriate personal goals, such as a checklist with three goals or reminders for the assessment.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Some students may require support with limiting distractions during the mid-unit assessment (e.g., using sound-cancelling headphones or dividers between workspaces). Similarly, some students may require variations in time for the assessment. Consider breaking the assessment into two parts and offering breaks at certain times. During the assessment, provide scaffolds that support executive function skills, self-regulation, and students' abilities to monitor progress before and after the assessment (e.g., visual prompts, reminders checklists, rubrics, etc.).

Vocabulary

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

  • Do not preview vocabulary for this assessment lesson.

Materials

  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with Feedback (one per student; completed in Lesson 7)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: Describing Poison Dart Frogs (see Assessment Overview and Resources; one per student)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (from Module 1)
  • Tracking Progress folder (from Module 1; one per student)
  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment texts and research notes (from Lesson 7; one per student)
  • Informative Writing Checklist (from Lesson 3; one per student)
  • Tracking Progress: Informative Writing (one per student)
  • Evidence flags or sticky notes (at least 13 per student)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 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 their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Download this Lesson’s Assessment

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes)

  • Return students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with Feedback.
  • Invite students to spend a few minutes reading the feedback. If they require teacher support to understand the feedback, encourage them to write their names on the board so you can visit with them in this lesson.
  • For ELLs and students who need support with reading: Reassure them that if they don't understand or cannot read the feedback, they will have an opportunity to review it with you during the lesson. (MME)
  • Build an accepting and supportive by reminding students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development. (MME)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and ask them to follow along as you read the targets aloud:

"I can use strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in a new text."

"I can describe the connections between sentences and paragraphs in excerpts of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures."

"I can gather and categorize information to answer a research question."

"I can write an informative paragraph about poison dart frogs in response to a prompt."

  • Remind students that they have practiced the skills required by the learning targets multiple times over the course of this unit. In this assessment, they will apply all of these skills to read and research a new excerpt of text and write a new informative paragraph.
  • Direct students to the strategies listed for finding the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. Students will be required to do this on the assessment.
  • For students who may need additional support understanding the terms in the learning targets: Write synonyms or descriptions above key terms. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Remind students to use the charts if they get stuck. Example: "If I can't remember a strategy for finding unfamiliar vocabulary, where can I look?"

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part I: Selected Response (20 minutes)

  • Distribute the End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: Describing Poison Dart Frogs.
  • Tell students that in a moment, they will begin the End of Unit 2 Assessment. Tell them that this assessment focuses on the informative writing techniques they have been working on in class.
  • Explain that this assessment is divided into two parts: In Part I, they answer several selected response questions. In Part II, they complete a graphic organizer to plan and write an informative paragraph about the poison dart frog.
  • Focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, specifically perseverance. Remind students that as they will be working independently in this lesson for an assessment, they may find it challenging, so they will need to persevere.
  • Ask students to begin Part I.
  • While students are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. This is an opportunity to analyze their behaviors while taking an assessment. Document strategies that they use during the assessment. For example, look for students annotating their text, using their graphic organizer to take notes before answering questions, and going back to the text as they answer questions.
  • After 10 minutes, bring students back together whole group.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: As you explain, write a "map" of the assessment on the board for students. Example:

Two parts:

1. Part I: Selected Response (20 minutes)

A. Answer the questions.

2. Part II: Plan and write an informative paragraph (25 minutes)

B. Topic: poison dart frog (MMR)

  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with visual processing: Read the test directions AND answer options aloud for ELLs. (MMR)

B. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II: Planning and Writing an Informative Paragraph about the Poison Dart Frog (30 minutes)

  • Distribute students' Tracking Progress folders. Invite them to refer to the last time they were assessed on Informative Writing W.3.2 (Module 1). Encourage students to look at what they indicated as needing to improve on next time. Remind them to consider this as they write an informative paragraph in this assessment.
  • Distribute students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessment texts and research notes.
  • Tell students they will use these on Part II of the End of Unit 2 Assessment as they gather and categorize information from the text and write an informative piece about the poison dart frog. Remind them to use their research notes, the prompt, and their Informative Writing Checklist as resources while they plan and write their drafts.
  • Remind students to cite their sources.
  • Ask students to begin Part II of the assessment.
  • While students are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. This is an opportunity to analyze their behaviors while taking an assessment. Document strategies that they use during the assessment. For example, look for students annotating their text, using their graphic organizer to take notes, and going back to the prompt as they respond in writing.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Ensure that students are clear about all test directions. Rephrase the directions for them. Monitor during the assessment to see that they are completing the assessment correctly. Stop those who are on the wrong track and make sure they understand the assessment directions. (MMR)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Tracking Progress (5 minutes)

  • Give students specific positive feedback on their completion of the End of Unit 2 Assessment (e.g., "I noticed a lot of you were citing your sources").
  • Distribute Tracking Progress: Informative Writing. Remind students that successful learners keep track of and reflect on their own learning. Remind them that they have done this after every assessment.
  • Distribute evidence flags or sticky notes so students can mark up their work with evidence. Guide them through completing the form.
  • Tell students the sticky notes are for them to find evidence of the following criteria:
    • W.3.2a
  • If students have time, invite them to revisit their previous Tracking Progress: Informative Writing to discuss in pairs how they think they have progressed.
  • Use a checking for understanding protocol (for example Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against how well they persevered in this lesson.
  • For ELLs: Ask students to orally paraphrase the meaning of the Tracking Progress criteria with a partner before they begin their work.
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Allow students to orally paraphrase the meaning of the Tracking Progress criteria, self-assess, and discuss the evidence with a partner before they begin writing. (MMR)
  • For students who may need additional support with monitoring their own learning: Invite students to explain why self-assessment is important for learning. (MME)

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt to respond to in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading and writing: Refer to the suggested homework support in Lesson 1. (MMAE)

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