Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G8:M3:U2:L7

Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4, RL.8.5, SL.8.1, L.8.1a, L.8.5a

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RL.8.10

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can determine the theme of a new poem and analyze its development over the course of the text. (RL.8.2)
  • I can compare and contrast how the structural elements of two texts contribute to their meaning. (RL.8.5)
  • I can determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings, and analyze the impact of specific word choices on tone and meaning (RL.8.4, L.8.5)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket
  • Work Time A: Gist on sticky notes
  • Work Time A: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I (RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4, RL.8.5, RL.8.10, L.8.1a, L.8.5a)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I (30 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Collaborative Discussion - RL.8.2 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Preread Text: Students complete Homework: Preread "Abe's Story: Excerpts and Synopsis" in preparation for studying the text in the next lesson.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • Work Time A: Students answer questions about conventions, figurative language, theme, and structure of a poem and Maus I for the mid-unit assessment (RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.4, RL.8.5, RL.8.10, L.8.1a, and L.8.5a).
  • RL.8.2 - Closing and Assessment A: Students discuss the themes in Maus I and two poems.
  • SL.8.1 - Closing and Assessment A: Students discuss the similarities and differences between themes and structures found in Maus I and two poems they explored in the unit.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Add more questions about conventions, figurative language, theme, and structure for a new poem for students who finish early.
  • Students can identify words within the poems they have read that have interesting connotations. This reinforces earlier work with connotation and meaning in Module 2 and deepens students' thinking about meaning within the texts. Challenge students to use the words they have selected to write a new poem. To extend this further, students can also try to use two gerund phrases, two infinitive phrases, and at least one sentence or clause in passive voice in this poem.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the first half of this unit, students wrote a compare and contrast essay about the structure and development of a theme of Maus I and the poem "Often a Minute." Students will independently answer questions about theme and structure, comparing and contrasting Maus I and a new poem in this assessment.

Support All Students

  • 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 30 minutes allotted. Provide time over multiple days if necessary.

Assessment Guidance

  • All assessment materials (student prompt and teacher checklist) are included in the Assessment Overview and Resources.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will analyze the theme and write a literary summary paragraph of a memoir from a Holocaust survivor.
  • Students' Module 3 Mid-Unit 2 Assessments will be returned in Lesson 14 with feedback.

In Advance

  • Prepare
    • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 7
    • Module 3, End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback
    • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I (see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 7, along with students' Module 3 End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback, at each student's workspace.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules 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 8.I.C.11 and 8.I.C.12.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson is centered on a Mid-Unit 1 Assessment that contains questions that closely mirror the text-dependent questions students have done throughout the first half of the unit. Students will demonstrate their understanding of theme and structure in Maus I, comparing and contrasting these elements in the novel with a new poem. A whole class discussion during Closing and Assessment A of the lesson gives students the opportunity to build further understanding of the concepts they have encountered during this unit and on the assessment.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to read a new poem independently and to identify theme and structure in the assessment text. Support ELLs by encouraging them to look for similarities in theme and structure between the assessment poem and other poems they have read. As time allows, consider reviewing strategies for answering selected and constructed response questions with students.

Vocabulary

  • N/A

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening B)
  • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 3, Opening B)
  • Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lessons 4-5, Work Time D)
  • Module 3 End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback (one per student; from Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 10)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I (answers for teacher reference) (see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Collaborative Discussion Sentence Starters anchor chart (one for display)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 7 (one per student)
  • Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I (one per student; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Homework: Preread "Abe's Story: Excerpts and Synopsis: The Ghettos" Excerpt (one per student; see Homework Resources)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 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 students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

Opening

A. Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

  • Return students’ Module 3 End of Unit 1 Assessments with feedback.
  • Invite students to spend a few minutes reading the feedback and then fill out the reflection questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 7. If they require support to understand the feedback, encourage them to write their names on the board for a one-on-one review. Remind students that everyone is working toward individual goals and that learning is about continued growth and development. ▲
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as in previous lessons.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and Maus I (30 minutes)

  • Review the appropriate learning targets relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can determine the theme of a new poem and analyze its development over the course of the text."

"I can compare and contrast how the structural elements of two texts contribute to their meaning."

"I can determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings, and analyze the impact of specific word choices on tone and meaning."

  • Distribute Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Compare and Contrast Structure and Meaning in a New Poem and  Maus I.
  • Remind students that they analyzed and wrote about theme, structure, and language in previous lessons, and they will be assessed on their understanding of this through independent analysis. 
  • Read aloud the directions for each part of the assessment as students follow along silently. Answer clarifying questions.
  • Direct students' attention to the following resources:
    • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart
    • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share about these support documents:

"In what ways can the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart support you in an assessment?" (Responses will vary but may include that the anchor chart reminds us of the skills we've built as readers and we can apply them to an assessment.)

"What strategies do you use when you are completed selected response questions?" (Answers will vary, but may include I think back to the text or I cross out answers that I know are incorrect.)

  • Remind students to refer to these materials as they answer the assessment questions.
  • Remind students that because this is an assessment, they should complete it independently in silence. 
  • Invite students to begin the assessment. While they are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor and document their test-taking skills.

For Lighter Support

  • Before the assessment of Work Time A, underline key vocabulary in the assessment directions and prompt and read aloud together as a class to ensure that students understand each task included in the assessment. Invite students who need lighter support to restate or clarify information for students who need heavier support. Review key terms (verbal, function, figurative language, theme, structure) aloud, and provide a glossary of terms that students can refer back to as needed to help them stay grounded while answering the questions on the assessment.

For Heavier Support

  • Before the assessment, give students 2 minutes to orally review theme and structure in Maus I. This will help students to recall critical information needed to carry out work with comparing theme and structure in the novel and the poem on the assessment.
  • Display a "map" of the assessment to reference while explaining directions to the mid-unit assessment. This will reduce ambiguity and give students a clearer picture of what they can expect so that they can better allocate their time and attentional resources. Provide students with colored pencils or highlighters so that they can mark up the map as needed. Example:
    • Read the poem. Then answer the questions.
    • Question 1: Answer a selected response question about a verbal.
    • Questions 2-3: Answer selected and constructed response questions about figurative language in the poem.
    • Questions 4-7: Answer selected and constructed response questions comparing theme in the poem to Maus I.
    • Questions 8-9: Answer selected and constructed response questions comparing structure in the poem to Maus I.

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. Collaborative Discussion - RL.8.2 (10 minutes)

  • Remind students that they analyzed the themes and structures of Maus I, "Often a Minute," and "The Action in the Ghetto of Rohatyn, March 1942" and the meaning of these texts.
  • Display the Collaborative Discussion Sentence Starters anchor chart. Ask volunteers the following question. Before students respond, invite students to use sentence starters from the anchor chart when responding to a question, building on each other's ideas and expressing their own clearly.

"What are the similarities or differences between the themes and structures we have encountered in Maus I, 'Often a Minute,' and 'The Action in the Ghetto of Rohatyn, March 1942'? How did the authors use language and structure to develop their themes?" (Answers will vary but may include the following: Spiegelman uses the father's chronological recounting of his life to portray this theme, while, in contrast, Kimel uses a rhetorical question and reflection on his own memories to convey this theme.)

  • Prompt students to review the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and then Turn and Talk:

"In what ways did you see your classmates exhibit this habit of character in the collaborative discussion?" (Answers will vary, but may mention they observed their classmates showing responsibility as they referred to the Collaborative Discussion Sentence Starters anchor chart and built upon each others' ideas, or that they saw their peers showing perseverance as they pushed themselves to participate in the discussion, even if it was difficult.)

  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

Homework

Homework

A. Preread Text

  • Students complete Homework: Preread "Abe's Story: Excerpts and Synopsis: The Ghettos" in preparation for studying the text in the next lesson.

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