Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Summarizing a Poem and Comparing Poetry and Prose | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G4:M1:U1:L8

Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Summarizing a Poem and Comparing Poetry and Prose

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • RL.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • RL.4.2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
  • RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
  • RL.4.5: Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
  • RL.4.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
  • W.4.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
  • W.4.9a: Apply grade 4 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions].").
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can identify the similarities and differences between poetry and prose. (RL.4.1, RL.4.5, RL.4.10)
  • I can determine the theme of Jack's poem about the animal shelter from details in the text and summarize it. (RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.10, W.4.9a)
  • I can identify the characteristics of poetry in Jack's poem about the animal shelter. (RL.4.1, RL.4.5, RL.4.10, W.4.9a)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Summarizing a Poem and Comparing Poetry and Prose (RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.5, RL.4.10, W.4.9a)
  • Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text (RL4.1, RI.4.1, RL4.4, RI.4.4, RL.4.10, RI.4.10, L.4.4)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Working to Become Ethical People Anchor Chart (5 minutes)

B. Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Summarizing a Poem and Comparing Poetry and Prose (35 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Launching 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 this lesson, students complete the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment, in which they read pages 25-27 of Love That Dog to identify the characteristics of poetry, as well as to identify the theme and summarize the poem that Jack writes about visiting the shelter (RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.5, W.4.9a). Students also compare a prose version of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" to the poem (RL.4.5).
  • Although not part of the assessment, students continue to analyze what happened and how Jack felt about it (RL.4.3).
  • After the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment, students reflect on their learning using Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text. This exercise is meant to provide them with time to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning. This self-reflection supports metacognition and pride in work and learning.
  • In this lesson, the habit of character focus is on working to become an ethical person. The characteristic that students are introduced to is integrity, as they work independently on assessments.
  • The research reading that students complete for homework will help build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to poetry and creative writing. 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 the lessons leading up to this one, students have practiced finding the theme from supporting details, and summarizing poems. They have also practiced analyzing poems for the characteristics of poetry, and comparing poetry and prose. Students closely read "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost in Lesson 4.

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.

Assessment guidance:

  • 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 flags/sticky notes on student work in a different color from that used for student responses. There is also space provided to respond to student comments.
  • 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; and R.10: Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Down the road:

  • In the second half of the unit, students will continue to read Love That Dog to analyze what happened and how Jack felt about. They also will continue to analyze the famous poems that Jack describes. Students will be introduced to the question "What inspires poets to write poetry?" and will consider what inspires to Jack to write poetry. Students also will prepare for a text-based discussion about how Jack's feelings about poetry have changed.
    • The Tracking Progress folders are introduced in this unit and referenced both throughout the module and the school year:

In Advance

  • Prepare:
    • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment (see Assessment Overview and Resources).
    • Tracking Progress folder for each student. This will be a folder with seven tabs, one for each type of Tracking Progress recording form students will complete: Collaborative Discussion; Informative Writing; Narrative Writing; Opinion Writing; Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text; Reading Fluency; and Research. Students will keep their Tracking Progress forms in this folder to refer to the relevant form before completing an assessment.
  • Post: Learning targets, Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart, Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart, What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, and What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time B: Students complete assessments online on a Google Form, for example.
  • Work Time B: Students complete assessments in a word-processing document--for example, a Google Doc--using Speech to Text facilities activated on devices, or using an app or software such as Dictation.io.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.B.6, 4.I.B.8, 4.I.C.10, 4.I.C.11, and 4.II.A.1

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to compare "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," which they have closely read, to a new prose version; identify characteristics of poetry; determine theme from details; and summarize a poem, thus demonstrating what they have learned during similar processes in Lessons 1-7.
  • ELLs may find the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment challenging, as it may be a leap from the heavily scaffolded classroom interaction. 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. Encourage students to do their best and assure them that you will continue learning together after the assessment.
  • Allow students to reference the elements of a summary and the summary paragraph frame developed in Lesson 3. Invite them to review language they've written on the Word Wall or in their vocabulary log.
  • Make sure that ELLs understand the assessment directions. Answer their questions, refraining from supplying answers to the assessment questions themselves.
  • 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): Because students need to draw on their knowledge from the previous lesson during this mid-unit assessment, you will want to help them generalize information. Review the anchor charts and their location in the classroom for students before the assessment and also have students reference the graphic organizers and writing they have already completed during this unit.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Consider ways to decrease barriers for students during this assessment. For instance, support fine motor skills by allowing students to use writing tools such as slanted desks, pencil grips, or a word processor. Help limit distractions by using dividers or sound-canceling headphones. Some students may also need support with writing stamina. Provide opportunities for breaks during the assessment with pre-approved activities.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): This lesson is designed to provide multiple tools for students to use during the assessment. Remind students that they have already done a lot of the work to prepare for this assessment and all they need to do is to look at their tools for help.

Vocabulary

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

  • theme, summarize, characteristics, prose, integrity (L)

Materials

  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (begun in Lesson 2)
  • Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Dictionary (one per pair)
  • Vocabulary logs (from Lesson 3; one per student)
  • Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Summarizing a Poem and Comparing Poetry and Prose (one per student; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Lesson 2)
  • What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (begun in Lesson 3)
  • What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart (begun in Lesson 2; added to during Work Time B; see supporting materials)
  • What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference)
  • Tracking Progress folder (one per student)
    • Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (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. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and select a volunteer to read them aloud:

"I can identify the similarities and differences between poetry and prose."

"I can determine the theme of Jack's poem about the animal shelter from details in the text and summarize it."

"I can identify the characteristics of poetry in Jack's poem about the animal shelter."

  • Remind students that they have seen these targets before, but this time they will be reading a different excerpt of text. Tell students that today they will practice these learning targets in an assessment.
  • Review what theme, summarize, characteristics, and prose mean.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with memory: Ask them to recall and describe one way that they worked toward the learning targets in the past seven lessons. (MMR)
  • Build students' confidence by reminding them that even though this is an assessment, they have a lot of tools they can draw on during their writing. They have already done a lot of thinking work for this assessment; they just need to put it on paper in a coherent way. (MME)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Working to Become Ethical People Anchor Chart (5 minutes)

  • Focus students on the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart.
  • Tell them that because they will be working independently on an assessment, it is important that they practice integrity.
  • Distribute dictionaries. Invite students to work with an elbow partner to look up integrity in the dictionary and to say the definition of the word to each other in their own words (being honest and doing the right thing, even when it's difficult, because it is the right thing to do). To foster equity, consider asking:

"What is the translation of integrity in our home languages?" Invite students to use their translation dictionary if necessary. Call on student volunteers to share. Ask other students to choose one translation to silently repeat. Invite students to say their chosen translation out loud when you give the signal. Choral repeat the translations and the word in English. Invite self- and peer correction of the pronunciation of the translations and the English. (lianzheng in Mandarin)

  • Add this to the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart:
    • "I behave with integrity. This means I am honest and do the right thing, even when it's difficult, because it is the right thing to do."
  • Invite students to turn and talk to an elbow partner and cold call students to share out:

"What does integrity look like? What might you see when someone is practicing integrity?" See Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (example, for teacher reference).

"What does integrity sound like? What might you hear when someone is practicing integrity?" See Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (example, for teacher reference).

  • As students share out, capture their responses in the appropriate column on the Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart. Again refer to Working to Become Ethical People anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Record integrity on the Academic Word Wall. Invite students to add translations of the words in their home languages in a different color next to the target vocabulary.
  • Invite students to add this word to the front of their vocabulary logs.
  • To facilitate comprehension, provide multiple examples of integrity (e.g., images, video clips, or excerpts from classroom literature). (MMR)

B. Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Summarizing a Poem and Comparing Poetry and Prose (35 minutes)

  • Distribute the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment: Summarizing a Poem and Comparing Poetry and Prose.
  • Invite students to follow along, reading silently in their heads while you read the directions aloud for each part of the assessment. Answer clarifying questions.
  • Remind students that they read "The Pasture" in the previous lesson, and reread the text aloud for them as a reminder.
  • Remind students of the following anchor charts they have been using in the lessons in this half of the unit and encourage them to refer to these as necessary during the assessment:
    • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart
    • What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart
  • Invite students to begin working on the assessment.
  • Circulate to support students as they complete the assessment.
  • After 30 minutes, refocus whole group and direct students' attention to the What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart. Invite students to turn and talk with an elbow partner, and cold call students to share out:

"What happened on these pages?" (Jack visited an animal shelter with his family.)

"How did Jack feel about it?" (He was happy because they chose a yellow dog who cuddled with him on the way home.)

"How do you know he felt that way? What evidence of this can you find on those pages?" (He writes, "And in the car he put his head against my chest and wrapped his paws around my arm as if he were saying Thank you thank you thank you.")

  • As students share out, capture their responses on the anchor chart. Refer to What Happens and How Does Jack Feel about It? anchor chart (example, for teacher reference) as necessary.

* For ELLs and students who may need additional support with executive function skills: As you explain, display a "map" of the assessment. (MMR) Example--

Two parts:

1. Compare "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" to a prose version.

A. Read poem and prose version.

B. Complete chart to compare.

C. Answer selected response and constructed response about:

    • structure
    • imagery
    • rhyme pattern

2. Write a summary.

A. Read Jack's poem from pages 25-27 of Love That Dog.

B. Complete anchor chart with teacher and class.

C. Write summary independently.

* For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading: Read the assessment directions, questions, AND answer options aloud. (MMAE)

* For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Ensure students understand all assessment directions. Rephrase 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. (MMR)

* For students who may need additional support with organization or memory: Consider providing a template with the color-coding that corresponds to the activity from the previous lesson. This will help students to generalize their learning across lessons. (MMR, MMAE)

* Minimize distractions during the assessment by providing tools such as sound-canceling headphones or individual dividers. (MME)

* For students who may need additional support with fine motor skills: Consider offering supportive tools (e.g., pencil grip, slanted desk, or use of a word processor). (MMAE)

* For students who may need additional support with writing stamina: Provide opportunities to take breaks at pre-determined points during the assessment. Let them choose from a list of appropriate break activities (e.g., getting a drink of water, stretching, etc.). (MME)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Launching Tracking Progress (15 minutes)

  • Give students specific, positive feedback on their completion of the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment (Example: "I was pleased to see a lot of you referring back to your texts to find details.")
  • Distribute Tracking Progress folders and Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text. Tell students that successful learners keep track and reflect on their own learning and that they will be completing a form like this after most of their assessments.
  • Select volunteers to read aloud each criterion for the whole group. After hearing it read aloud, invite students to turn and talk with an elbow partner:

"What does that criterion mean in your own words?" (Responses will vary.)

  • Read the directions aloud for students and answer clarifying questions. Explain the scale and what each number represents. They should score themselves a 3 if they think they have achieved that criterion in their reading of new texts, a 4 if they think they have done even more than the criterion asks, 2 if they think they are nearly there but not quite, and 1 if they think they still have a lot of work to do.
  • Distribute sticky notes. Tell students they will use these to identify evidence in their work from the unit of their progress toward each criterion.
  • Guide students through completing Question 1 on the Tracking Progress form. If this is the first time students have completed this form, they may not be able to answer this question. In this situation, tell students to leave it blank and explain that next time they fill out the same form, they should be able to answer this question. If students completed these forms in Grade 3, students will be able to look back to their Grade 3 forms.
  • Point out the "Teacher Response" part under Question 2 and tell students that after class, you will read each student's reflection and respond with your feedback about their progress toward the skill.
  • Direction students' attention to Question 3 on the form and select a volunteer to read it aloud for the group:
    • "How can I improve next time?"
  • Invite students to reflect on their own or with a partner on how they can improve on this skill in the future. Select volunteers to share with the group.
  • Invite students to record their thinking in the appropriate spot on Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text.
  • Invite students to place the form in their Tracking Progress folder and collect students' folders.
  • Invite students to give a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or thumbs-sideways to indicate how well they showed integrity in this lesson.
  • Developing self-assessment and reflection supports all students, but research shows it helps those needing additional support the most. (MMAE)
  • For students who have been sketching definitions of key words in learning targets throughout this unit: Allow them to refer to those sketches as they explain each learning target on Tracking Progress: Reading, Understanding, and Explaining New Text. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Self-assessment may be an unfamiliar concept for some students. Tell students that thinking about how well they did will help them do even better next time.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with comprehension: Allow them to orally paraphrase the meaning of the Tracking Progress criteria, self-assess, and discuss the evidence with a partner before they begin writing. (MMAE)
  • When completing the teacher response on the Tracking Progress recording form, provide feedback that emphasizes individual effort, improvement, and achieving a standard rather than performance relative to other students. (MME)

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond 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, MMR)

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