Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Researching about Reptiles and Amphibians | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G3:M2:U2:L7

Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Researching about Reptiles and Amphibians

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.3.3: Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
  • 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.3.5: Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.
  • RI.3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
  • 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.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
  • 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 refer explicitly to the text when answering questions about the text. (RI.3.1, RI.3.3, RI.3.5, RI.3.7)
  • I can find the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary. (RI.3.4, L.3.4a, L.3.4b, L.3.4c, L.3.4d)
  • I can gather information from a text and take notes into provided categories. (RI.3.1, W.3.8)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment, Parts I and II (RI.3.1, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.7, W.3.8, L.3.4a, L.3.4b, L.3.4c, L.3.4d)
  • Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text (RI.3.1, RI.3.4, RI.3.10, L.3.4)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1.      Opening

A.     Returning End of Unit 1 Assessment (5 minutes)

B.     Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2.      Work Time

A.     Mid-Unit 2 Assessment, Part I: Selected Response (2o minutes)

B.     Mid-Unit 2 Assessment, Part II: Researching about Reptiles and Amphibians (20 minutes)

3.      Closing and Assessment

A.     Tracking Progress (10 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 Mid-Unit 2 Assessment. In Part I of the assessment, they read a new selection from Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures and answer selected response questions targeting reading and language standards. In Part II, they gather the information needed to answer a research question and complete a graphic organizer using information from the text.
  • In Opening A, students' End of Unit 1 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.
  • In the Closing, students reflect on the learning targets on the Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text recording form. 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 that students complete for homework helps them to build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to frogs and specifically frog adaptations. 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 this lesson, students demonstrate the close reading and synthesizing skills practiced in Lessons 1-6 with a new section from Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures.

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:

  • All 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 and sample student responses (see Assessment Overview and Resources) 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: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text 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 R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text; R.4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone; R.10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently; and L.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.
  • Collect Regular and Irregular Verb Practice homework from Lessons 3-6. See Regular and Irregular Verb Practice (answers, for teacher reference).

Down the road:

  • For the End of Unit 2 Assessment, students will use the same texts and notes (from the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment) to write an informative paragraph about the poison dart frog. Hold on to these resources so that they can be redistributed in Lesson 12.

In Advance

  • Prepare students' End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback from Unit 1, Lesson 13.
  • Gather students' Tracking Progress folders.
  • Post: Guiding Questions anchor chart, learning targets.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Students complete the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment online with the Part I questions set up on a Google Form, for example.
  • Work Time A, B: Students complete their Mid-Unit 2 Assessment 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 by inviting them to complete assessment tasks similar to the classroom tasks completed in Lessons 1 through 6.
  • The Mid-Unit 2 Assessment may be challenging for ELLs, as it may be a big leap from the heavily scaffolded classroom interaction. ELLs will be asked not only to independently apply cognitive skills developed in Lessons 1-6, but also to independently apply new linguistic knowledge introduced in Lessons 1-6.
  • 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 logs.
  • After the assessment, ask students to 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 will help students address these assessment challenges.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation(MMR): To set themselves up for success for the mid-unit assessment, students need to generalize the skills that they learned from the previous sessions. Similar to Modules 1 and 2, before administering the assessment, activate their prior knowledge by recalling the learning targets from the previous lessons. Also present the directions for the assessment both visually and verbally and display a map of the assessment parts.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Continue to support students in setting appropriate goals for their effort and the level of difficulty expected for the Mid-Unit Assessment. Appropriate goal-setting supports development of executive skills and strategies. Offer scaffolds for students, such as a checklist with three goals or reminders for the mid-unit assessment.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Continue to support students in limiting distractions during the mid-unit assessment. Also continue to provide variation in time for completing the assessment as appropriate. Consider breaking the assessment into parts and offering breaks at certain times. 

Vocabulary

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

  • Do not preview vocabulary for this assessment lesson.

Materials

  • End of Unit 1 Assessments with Feedback (one per student; completed in Unit 1, Lesson 13)
  • Regular and Irregular Verb Practice (answers, for teacher reference)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Researching about Reptiles and Amphibians (see Assessment Overview and Resources; one per student)
  • Tracking Progress folder (from Module 1; one per student)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (from Module 1)
  • Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text (one per student)
  • Evidence flags or sticky notes (at least three 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 End of Unit 1 Assessment (5 minutes)

  • Return students' End of Unit 1 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)

  • Collect Regular and Irregular Verb Practice homework from Lessons 3-6. See Regular and Irregular Verb Practice (answers, for teacher reference).
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets. Ask them to follow along and read silently as you read them aloud:

"I can refer explicitly to the text when answering questions about the text."

"I can find the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary."

I" can gather information from a text and take notes into provided categories."

  • 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 using a new excerpt of text.
  • Direct students to the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart, specifically at the strategies for finding the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, as students will be required to do this in the assessment.
  • Answer any clarifying questions.
  • 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. Mid-Unit 2 Assessment, Part I: Selected Response (20 minutes)

  • Distribute the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Researching about Reptiles and Amphibians.
  • Tell students that this assessment focuses on reading informational texts and collecting research or evidence.
  • Explain that this assessment is divided into two parts: In Part I, they answer several selected response questions. In Part II, they gather information that answers a new "why" question.
  • Distribute students' Tracking Progress folders. Invite them to refer to the last time they were assessed on Reading, Understanding and Explaining New Text (Unit 1). Encourage students to look at what they indicated as needing to improve on next time. Remind them to consider this as they read a new text in this assessment.
  • 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 they are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. This is an opportunity to analyze students' behaviors while taking an assessment. Document strategies that they use during the assessment. For example, look for those who are annotating their texts, using their graphic organizers to take notes before answering questions, and returning to the text as they answer questions.
  • After 25 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 (25 minutes)

A. Answer the questions.

2. Part II: A "Why" Question (20 minutes)

A.cResearch reptiles and amphibians. (MMR)

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

B. Mid-Unit 2 Assessment, Part II: Researching about Reptiles and Amphibians (20 minutes)

  • Tell students to turn to Part II of the assessment. Explain that as they finish their assessment, they should check over their work.
  • Remind students that as this is an assessment, they must work silently and independently.
  • Ask students to begin Part II of the assessment. Circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. Document strategies students use during the assessment, such as annotating their text, using their graphic organizer to take notes before answering questions, and going back to the prompt as they answer questions.
  • After 20 minutes, bring students back together whole group.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with information processing: Ensure that students are clear about all test directions. Rephrase the directions for them. Monitor during the assessment to see that students are completing it correctly. Stop those who are on the wrong track and make sure they understand the directions. (MMAE)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Tracking Progress (10 minutes)

  • Give students specific positive feedback on their completion of the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (e.g., "I noticed that while you were answering the selected response questions, a lot of you were referring back to the text").
  • Distribute Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text. 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.
  • If students have time, invite them to revisit their previous Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text 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 targets with a partner before they begin writing.
  • For students who may need additional support with monitoring their own learning: Invite students to explain why self-assessment is important for learning. (MME)
  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Consider highlighting key phrases on the Tracking Progress sheet to lift up the focus for each criterion. (MMR)

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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