ELA G5:M4:U3:L6

End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
W.5.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose.
W.5.1b: Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.
W.5.1c: Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically).
W.5.1d: Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.
W.5.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W.5.6: With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.
L.5.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.5.2e: Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed

Daily Learning Targets

I can write an opinion essay about personal items to include in an emergency preparedness kit. (W.5.1, W.5.4, W.5.6, L.5.2e)
I can provide kind, specific, and helpful feedback. (W.5.5)

Ongoing Assessment

End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit (W.5.1, W.5.4, W.5.6,L.5.2e)
Tracking Progress: Opinion Writing (W.1)

Agenda

Agenda	Teaching Notes
1. Opening A. Returning Mid-Unit 3 Assessments (5 minutes) B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) 2. Work Time A. End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit (80 minutes) B. Peer Critique: Opinion Essays (20 minutes) 3. Closing and Assessment A. Tracking Progress (15 minutes) 4. Homework A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal	Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: In Work Time A, students complete the end of unit assessment, in which they write an on-demand opinion essay about two personal items they would choose to include in an emergency preparedness kit (W.5.1, W.5.4, W.5.6). In Work Time B, students participate in a peer critique to check for sustained focus, clear organization, and spelling (W.5.1, W.5.5, L.5.2e). They then revise their work using either the suggestion/track changes feature to show their revisions if using technology, or a green pen or pencil if handwriting. After the assessment, students use the Tracking Progress: Opinion Writing recording form to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning across all four modules. In this lesson, students work to become effective learners by persevering as they complete their assessments and work to become ethical people as they practice respect and give kind, specific, and helpful feedback during the peer critique. How this lesson builds on previous work: In Lessons 3-5, students wrote a scaffolded opinion essay about two non-personal items to include in an emergency preparedness kit. For the assessment in this lesson, they write about the personal items they would choose. Assessment guidance: Writing rubrics can be found on the Tools page. All other assessment materials (student copy, answer key, student exemplar) are included in the Assessment Overview and Resources. When assessing and providing feedback on this assessment, use the teacher answer key (see Assessment Overview and Resources) to help complete the student Tracking Progress recording form. In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward anchor standard: W.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. Areas in which 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. Some students may require longer than the time allocated to complete the assessment. Down the road: For the remainder of the unit (Lessons 8-12), students will prepare for their performance task presentation: creating prompt cards, practicing, and creating a leaflet to hand out.

Teaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Returning Mid-Unit 3 Assessments (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit (80 minutes)

B. Peer Critique: Opinion Essays (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Tracking Progress (15 minutes)

4. Homework

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

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

In Work Time A, students complete the end of unit assessment, in which they write an on-demand opinion essay about two personal items they would choose to include in an emergency preparedness kit (W.5.1, W.5.4, W.5.6).
In Work Time B, students participate in a peer critique to check for sustained focus, clear organization, and spelling (W.5.1, W.5.5, L.5.2e). They then revise their work using either the suggestion/track changes feature to show their revisions if using technology, or a green pen or pencil if handwriting.
After the assessment, students use the Tracking Progress: Opinion Writing recording form to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning across all four modules.
In this lesson, students work to become effective learners by persevering as they complete their assessments and work to become ethical people as they practice respect and give kind, specific, and helpful feedback during the peer critique.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

In Lessons 3-5, students wrote a scaffolded opinion essay about two non-personal items to include in an emergency preparedness kit. For the assessment in this lesson, they write about the personal items they would choose.

Assessment guidance:

Writing rubrics can be found on the Tools page. All other assessment materials (student copy, answer key, student exemplar) are included in the Assessment Overview and Resources.
When assessing and providing feedback on this assessment, use the teacher answer key (see Assessment Overview and Resources) to help complete the student Tracking Progress recording form.
In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward anchor standard:

W.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Areas in which 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.
Some students may require longer than the time allocated to complete the assessment.

Down the road:

For the remainder of the unit (Lessons 8-12), students will prepare for their performance task presentation: creating prompt cards, practicing, and creating a leaflet to hand out.

In Advance

Provide feedback on students' Mid-Unit 3 Assessments in preparation for returning them in Opening A.
Prepare:

End of Unit 3 Assessment (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
Technology necessary for students to word-process their essays (see Technology and Multimedia).

Gather Tracking Progress folders.
Post: Learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see materials list)

Tech and Multimedia

Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout Modules 1-3 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.
Work Times A and B: Prepare technology and tools necessary for students to word-process their essays, one device per student. If possible, choose word- processing tools with the suggestion/track changes function for students to track their revisions during the peer critique in Work Time B.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards5.I.A.4, 5.I.B.6, 5.I.C.10, 5.I.C.11, 5.I.C.12, 5.II.A.1, 5.II.A.2, 5.II.A.6, and 5.II.A.7

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 3-5.
ELLs may find the assessment challenging. Encourage students to consult classroom resources and give them specific, positive feedback on the progress they've made learning English.
Allow students to review note-catchers, the Academic and Domain-Specific Word Walls, vocabulary logs, and other classroom resources.
Ensure that ELLs understand the assessment directions. Answer their questions, refraining from supplying answers to the assessment questions themselves (see the Meeting Students' Needs column).
After the assessment, ask students to discuss which assessment task was easiest, which was most difficult, and why.

Universal Design for Learning

Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): To get the most informative data from the assessment, ensure that all students have access to the assessment directions and feel comfortable with the expectations. Continue to vary the ways in which you convey your expectations.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Continue to support those who may struggle with expressive language by providing sentence frames to help them organize their thoughts. Also, consider asking questions to guide self-monitoring and reflection.
Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Some students may need additional support with expectations and motivation in writing their opinion essay. Provide reassurance that they have worked hard and are prepared for this assessment

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 3 Assessment: Research: Supplies to Include in an Emergency Preparedness Kit (from Lesson 2; one per student; returned with feedback during Opening A)
End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit (one per student and one to display; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
Opinion Writing Checklist (from Lesson 3; one per student)
Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
Sticky notes (two different colors; two of each per student)
Peer Critique anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
Directions for peer critique (one to display)
Tracking Progress folders (from Module 1; one per student)
Tracking Progress: Opinion Writing: Module 4 (one per student)
Sticky notes (eight 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

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Returning Mid-Unit 3 Assessments (5 minutes) Return students' Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Research: Supplies to Include in an Emergency Preparedness Kit with feedback and follow the routine established in Modules 1-3 for students to review feedback and write their name on the board if they require teacher support.	To build an accepting and supportive environment, remind 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 learning targets and read them aloud: "I can write an opinion essay about personal items to include in an emergency preparedness kit." "I can provide kind, specific, and helpful feedback." Remind students that this is what they have been preparing for throughout Lessons 3-5	For students who may need additional support with motivation: Invite students to share one way the work they have done in this unit has supported them toward this learning target. (MME) For ELLs: (Recalling Prior Work: Learning Targets) Invite students to discuss how they previously worked toward similar learning targets in this unit.

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit (80 minutes) Distribute and display the End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit and read aloud the prompt and instructions. Ensure that students understand the difference between personal items and items necessary to survive and provide an example: a book would be a personal item because it isn't useful for anything other than entertainment and enjoyment, but a flashlight is necessary to see in the dark if the power goes out. Answer any clarifying questions. Remind students that now that they are in Module 4, they need to prepare their own planning graphic organizers. Focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and remind them specifically of perseverance, as they will work independently to complete the assessment. Remind students to retrieve or refer to their Opinion Writing Checklist as they write and invite them to begin. Circulate to provide support as required	For students who may need additional support with organization: Offer two graphic organizer templates as choices to reduce frustration in decision-making and support students' strategy development. (MMAE, MME) For ELLs and students who may need additional support with strategy development: (Rephrasing Directions) Invite students to verbally rephrase the directions for the assessment. (MMAE) For ELLs: (Activating Prior Knowledge) Before inviting students to begin the assessment, activate their prior knowledge about opinion essay organization by inviting them to discuss in pairs what they will include in each paragraph, supporting them in organizing their writing.
B. Peer Critique: Opinion Essays (20 minutes) Invite students to pair up and to label themselves A and B. Tell students they will now participate in a peer critique. Focus them on the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart and review the respect criteria as needed. Tell students that when they evaluate their partner's work, they should look specifically for evidence of the following criteria on the Opinion Writing Checklist: "W.5.1a: I state my opinion clearly, and my writing stays focused." "W.5.1a: Information is well organized to make my argument clear and convincing." "L.5.2e: The spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are correct." Tell students to pay particular attention to spelling. Distribute sticky notes and use the Peer Critique anchor chart and the directions for peer critique to guide students through a peer critique. When appropriate, model for students how to use the suggestion/track changes feature on their essay to make revisions that you can see. If this feature is not available, instruct students to make revisions in a different-colored font or to highlight their revisions in a color to make them evident. When 2 minutes remain, use a checking for understanding protocol (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the learning targets and how well they demonstrated perseverance and respect	For students who may need additional support with sustained effort: Invite students to take a stretch and movement break halfway through the peer critique. (MME) For ELLs and students who may need additional support with organizing ideas for written expression: (Sentence Starters) Provide sentence starters on the sticky notes for students to complete during the peer critique. (MMAE) For ELLs: (Linking Words and Phrases) Encourage students to use varying linking words and phrases as they share their stars and steps (e.g., for example, for instance, however).

Meeting Students' Needs

A. End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit (80 minutes)

Distribute and display the End of Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Opinion Essay: Personal Items for My Emergency Preparedness Kit and read aloud the prompt and instructions.
Ensure that students understand the difference between personal items and items necessary to survive and provide an example: a book would be a personal item because it isn't useful for anything other than entertainment and enjoyment, but a flashlight is necessary to see in the dark if the power goes out.
Answer any clarifying questions.
Remind students that now that they are in Module 4, they need to prepare their own planning graphic organizers.
Focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and remind them specifically of perseverance, as they will work independently to complete the assessment.
Remind students to retrieve or refer to their Opinion Writing Checklist as they write and invite them to begin.
Circulate to provide support as required

For students who may need additional support with organization: Offer two graphic organizer templates as choices to reduce frustration in decision-making and support students' strategy development. (MMAE, MME)
For ELLs and students who may need additional support with strategy development: (Rephrasing Directions) Invite students to verbally rephrase the directions for the assessment. (MMAE)
For ELLs: (Activating Prior Knowledge) Before inviting students to begin the assessment, activate their prior knowledge about opinion essay organization by inviting them to discuss in pairs what they will include in each paragraph, supporting them in organizing their writing.

B. Peer Critique: Opinion Essays (20 minutes)

Invite students to pair up and to label themselves A and B.
Tell students they will now participate in a peer critique. Focus them on the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart and review the respect criteria as needed.
Tell students that when they evaluate their partner's work, they should look specifically for evidence of the following criteria on the Opinion Writing Checklist:

"W.5.1a: I state my opinion clearly, and my writing stays focused."
"W.5.1a: Information is well organized to make my argument clear and convincing."
"L.5.2e: The spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are correct."

Tell students to pay particular attention to spelling.
Distribute sticky notes and use the Peer Critique anchor chart and the directions for peer critique to guide students through a peer critique.
When appropriate, model for students how to use the suggestion/track changes feature on their essay to make revisions that you can see. If this feature is not available, instruct students to make revisions in a different-colored font or to highlight their revisions in a color to make them evident.
When 2 minutes remain, use a checking for understanding protocol (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the learning targets and how well they demonstrated perseverance and respect

For students who may need additional support with sustained effort: Invite students to take a stretch and movement break halfway through the peer critique. (MME)
For ELLs and students who may need additional support with organizing ideas for written expression: (Sentence Starters) Provide sentence starters on the sticky notes for students to complete during the peer critique. (MMAE)
For ELLs: (Linking Words and Phrases) Encourage students to use varying linking words and phrases as they share their stars and steps (e.g., for example, for instance, however).

Closing & Assessments

Closing	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Tracking Progress (15 minutes) Give students specific, positive feedback on their completion of the End of Unit 3 Assessment. Distribute Tracking Progress folders, Tracking Progress: Opinion Writing: Module 4 and sticky notes. Point out that this tracking progress form is different from the other opinion writing forms they have completed throughout the year. Tell students that for this form, they are reflecting on fewer criteria and are considering their progress over the entire school year, not just this particular unit or module. Focus students specifically on the criteria: "W.5.1a: I state my opinion clearly, and my writing stays focused." "W.5.1a: Information is well organized to make my argument clear and convincing." Guide students through completing the recording form. Remind them to use evidence from their work over Modules 1, 2, 3, and 4 as they reflect.	For ELLs and students who may need additional support with monitoring their own learning: (Self-assessment) Invite students to explain why self-assessment is important for learning. (MME) For ELLs: (Orally Paraphrase) Invite students to orally paraphrase the meaning of the Tracking Progress criteria, self-assess, and discuss the evidence with a partner before they begin writing. For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Consider highlighting key words or phrases on the Tracking Progress form to lift up the focus for each criterion. (MMR)

Closing