ELA G3:M4:U3:L7

Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter

Like what you see?

Order printed materials, teacher guides and more.

How to order

Help us improve!

Tell us how the curriculum is working in your classroom and send us corrections or suggestions for improving it.

Leave feedback

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.
W.3.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
W.3.4: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
W.3.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
L.3.1c: Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).
L..3.2b: Use commas in addresses

Daily Learning Targets

I can write an invitational letter for my video PSA live launch. (RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.5)
I can use abstract nouns. (L.3.1c)
I can use commas and capital letters in a mailing address. (L.3.2b)

Ongoing Assessment

Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter (RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.5, L.3.1c, L.3.2b)
Tracking Progress: Informative Writing (W.2)

Agenda

Agenda	Teaching Notes
1. Opening A. Returning End of Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes) B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) 2. Work Time A. Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter (35 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 mid-unit assessment, in which they write an invitational letter inviting someone to the live launch of the PSA (RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.5, L.3.1c, L.3.2b). After the assessment, students use the Tracking Progress: Informative Writing recording form to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning. Students focus on working to become effective learners by persevering as they complete their assessments. How this lesson builds on previous work: In Lesson 6, students drafted their invitational letters. In this lesson, they write their final invitational letters. Assessment guidance: Writing rubrics can be found on the 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, sample student responses (see Assessment Overview and Resources), and Informative Writing Rubric for grade 3 (see the Tools page) to help complete the student Tracking Progress recording form. In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward anchor standard W.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. 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: In the second half of the unit, students will create their PSAs for the End of Unit 3 Assessment. Please note that three lessons have been allocated for this end of unit assessment to ensure that students have adequate time with the technology to prepare a high-quality final product.

Teaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Returning End of Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter (35 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 mid-unit assessment, in which they write an invitational letter inviting someone to the live launch of the PSA (RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.5, L.3.1c, L.3.2b).
After the assessment, students use the Tracking Progress: Informative Writing recording form to formally keep track of and reflect on their own learning.
Students focus on working to become effective learners by persevering as they complete their assessments.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

In Lesson 6, students drafted their invitational letters. In this lesson, they write their final invitational letters.

Assessment guidance:

Writing rubrics can be found on the 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, sample student responses (see Assessment Overview and Resources), and Informative Writing Rubric for grade 3 (see the Tools page) to help complete the student Tracking Progress recording form.
In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward anchor standard W.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.

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:

In the second half of the unit, students will create their PSAs for the End of Unit 3 Assessment. Please note that three lessons have been allocated for this end of unit assessment to ensure that students have adequate time with the technology to prepare a high-quality final product.

In Advance

Provide feedback on students' End of Unit 2 Assessments in preparation for returning them in Opening A.
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

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 3.I.A.4, 3.I.B.6, 3.I.C.10, 3.I.C.12, 3.II.A.1, 3.II.B.4

Important points in the lesson itself

The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to demonstrate their content and language knowledge in writing a final draft of their invitational letter built on their preparation and practice in previous lessons.
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.
Ensure that ELLs understand the assessment directions. Answer their questions, refraining from supplying answers to the assessment questions themselves (see the Meeting Students' Needs section).

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 previous lessons. Similar to previous modules, before administering the assessment, activate their prior knowledge by recalling the learning targets from previous lessons. Also, present the directions for the assessment both visually and verbally and display a list of the assessment parts/steps.
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.
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 2 Assessments (from Unit 2, Lesson 14; one per student; returned with feedback during Opening A)
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter (one per student and one to display; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
Draft invitational letters (from Lesson 6; one per student)
Invitational Letter Planning graphic organizer (completed in Lesson 5; one per student)
Model invitational letter (from Lesson 5; one per student)
Criteria for an Effective Invitational Letter anchor chart (begun in Lesson 5)
Informative Writing Checklist (one per student; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
Tracking Progress: Informative Writing (one per student)
Tracking Progress folders (from Module 1; 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

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Returning End of Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes) Return students' End of Unit 2 Assessments with feedback and follow the same routine established in Modules 1-3 for students to review feedback and write their name on the board if they require teacher support.
B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) Direct students' attention to the learning targets and read them aloud: "I can write an invitational letter for my video PSA live launch." "I can use abstract nouns." "I can use commas and capital letters in a mailing address." Remind students that these learning targets are similar to those they saw in the previous lesson, but this time they are writing the final draft of the letter	For ELLs: (Working on Same Learning Target) Invite students to discuss how they previously worked toward each learning target.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Returning End of Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes)

Return students' End of Unit 2 Assessments with feedback and follow the same routine established in Modules 1-3 for students to review feedback and write their name on the board if they require teacher support.

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

Direct students' attention to the learning targets and read them aloud:

"I can write an invitational letter for my video PSA live launch."

"I can use abstract nouns."
"I can use commas and capital letters in a mailing address."

Remind students that these learning targets are similar to those they saw in the previous lesson, but this time they are writing the final draft of the letter

For ELLs: (Working on Same Learning Target) Invite students to discuss how they previously worked toward each learning target.

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter (35 minutes) Distribute and display the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter and read aloud the directions. Answer any clarifying questions. 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. Invite students to retrieve their draft invitational letters and to begin. Remind students to refer to: Invitational Letter Planning graphic organizer Model invitational letter Criteria for an Effective Invitational Letter anchor chart Informative Writing Checklist Circulate to provide support as required. At the end of the allocated time, refocus whole group. Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the learning targets and how well they persevered.	For students who may need additional support with sustained effort: Limit distractions during the mid-unit assessment by offering sound-canceling headphones or dividers between workspaces. (MME) For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Offer options for perception by displaying the assessment directions visually to ensure that students clearly understand. (MMR) For students who may need additional support with planning and strategy development: As you explain the mid-unit assessment, display a "map" of the steps of the assessment from start to completion. (MMAE, MME) For ELLs: (Reading Aloud and Monitoring Assessment) Read aloud the entire assessment. Rephrase directions. Monitor to see that students correctly complete the assessment. For ELLs: (Enlarged Model Invitational Letter: Displaying) Consider displaying the annotated enlarged model invitational letter (see Lesson 5, "for heavier support") for students to refer to during the assessment.

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter (35 minutes)

Distribute and display the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter and read aloud the directions.
Answer any clarifying questions.
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.
Invite students to retrieve their draft invitational letters and to begin. Remind students to refer to:

Invitational Letter Planning graphic organizer
Model invitational letter
Criteria for an Effective Invitational Letter anchor chart
Informative Writing Checklist

Circulate to provide support as required.
At the end of the allocated time, refocus whole group.
Use a checking for understanding technique (e.g., Red Light, Green Light or Thumb-O-Meter) for students to self-assess against the learning targets and how well they persevered.

For students who may need additional support with sustained effort: Limit distractions during the mid-unit assessment by offering sound-canceling headphones or dividers between workspaces. (MME)
For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Offer options for perception by displaying the assessment directions visually to ensure that students clearly understand. (MMR)
For students who may need additional support with planning and strategy development: As you explain the mid-unit assessment, display a "map" of the steps of the assessment from start to completion. (MMAE, MME)
For ELLs: (Reading Aloud and Monitoring Assessment) Read aloud the entire assessment. Rephrase directions. Monitor to see that students correctly complete the assessment.
For ELLs: (Enlarged Model Invitational Letter: Displaying) Consider displaying the annotated enlarged model invitational letter (see Lesson 5, "for heavier support") for students to refer to during the assessment.

Closing & Assessments

Closing	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Tracking Progress (15 minutes) Give students specific, positive feedback on their completion of the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment. Distribute Tracking Progress: Informative Writing, Tracking Progress folders, and sticky notes. Tell students the sticky notes are for them to find evidence of the following criteria: W.3.2a: I state my focus clearly, and my writing stays focused. W.3.2a: I have an introduction that gives the reader important information needed to understand the piece. W.3.2d: I have a conclusion that reminds the reader of the focus of the piece. Guide students through completing the form	For ELLs and students who may need additional support with monitoring their own learning: (Self-assessment) Recall that 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. (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.

Closing

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Tracking Progress (15 minutes)

Give students specific, positive feedback on their completion of the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment.
Distribute Tracking Progress: Informative Writing, Tracking Progress folders, and sticky notes.
Tell students the sticky notes are for them to find evidence of the following criteria:

W.3.2a: I state my focus clearly, and my writing stays focused.
W.3.2a: I have an introduction that gives the reader important information needed to understand the piece.
W.3.2d: I have a conclusion that reminds the reader of the focus of the piece.

Guide students through completing the form

For ELLs and students who may need additional support with monitoring their own learning: (Self-assessment) Recall that 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. (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.

Homework

Homework	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.	For ELLs: (Oral Response) Read aloud, discuss, and respond to your prompt orally, either with a partner, family member, or student from grades 2 or 4, or record an audio response.

EL Education Curriculum

ELA G3:M4:U3:L7

Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Writing an Invitational Letter

In this Lesson

You are here:

Like what you see?

Help us improve!

Daily Learning Targets

Ongoing Assessment

Agenda

In Advance

Tech and Multimedia

Supporting English Language Learners

Universal Design for Learning

Vocabulary

Materials

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Opening

Work Time

Closing & Assessments

Homework

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Help us improve our curriculum.