End of Unit 1 Assessment: Part II: Writing a Pourquoi Tale | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G3:M2:U1:L13

End of Unit 1 Assessment: Part II: Writing a Pourquoi Tale

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • W.3.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
  • W.3.3a: Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
  • W.3.4: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
  • W.3.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
  • L.3.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • L.3.1g: Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
  • L.3.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
  • L.3.3a: Choose words and phrases for effect.
  • L.3.6: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs. (L.3.1g)
  • I can write a new pourquoi tale. (W.3.3a, W.3.4, W.3.10, L.3.1g, L.3.3a, L.3.6)

Ongoing Assessment

  • End of Unit 1 Assessment: Writing a Pourquoi Tale (W.3.3a, W.3.4, W.3.10, L.3.1g, L.3.3a, L.3.6)
  • Tracking Progress: Narrative Writing (W.3.3)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. End of Unit 1 Assessment, Part II: Writing a Pourquoi Tale (45 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 End of Unit 1 Assessment, during which they answer selected response questions about comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs (L.3.1g) and then write a new pourquoi tale (W.3.3, W.3.4).
  • 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 students complete for homework helps 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:

  • Students have been practicing forming and using comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs in Lessons 11 and 12 and for homework.
  • Students have already written a pourquoi tale with scaffolding throughout the second half of this unit. They apply this to write a new pourquoi tale independently in this lesson's assessment.

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 time allotted. Consider providing time over multiple days if necessary.

Assessment guidance:

  • Writing rubrics can be found in the Grade 3 Writing Rubrics document. All other 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, sample student responses (see Assessment Overview and Resources), and the Narrative Writing: Grade 3 rubric (see Grade 3 Writing Rubrics) 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.
  • In this assessment, students are tracking progress toward anchor standard W.3.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Down the road:

  • In the next lesson, students continue their Frog Festival, during which they perform the pourquoi tale they wrote in Lessons 5-10.
  • In the next lesson, students are introduced to a new text, Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, to prepare them to learn more about frogs in Unit 2.

In Advance

  • Prepare the End of Unit 1 Assessment.
  • Gather the Tracking Progress folders.
  • Post: Learning targets.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Students type their tales using Google Docs or other word processing software.
  • Work Time A: Students complete their tales 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.C.10, 3.II.A.1, 3.II.B.4, 3.II.B.5.

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with opportunities to demonstrate their content and language knowledge as they write a pourquoi tale based on their preparation and practice in previous lessons. They self-assess at the end of the lesson in order to celebrate their successes and chart a course for the future.
  • ELLs may find the End of Unit 1 Assessment challenging, as it may be a big leap from the heavily scaffolded classroom interaction for some ELLs. Before they begin, encourage students to do their best and congratulate them on the progress they've made learning English. Example: "I know that you can all write pourquoi tales in English because you have already done it. Today you won't get any help from your teachers or friends, but you don't need it. Do your best!"
  • 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.
  • After the assessment, ask students to discuss what was easiest and what was most difficult, and why. To facilitate this discussion, prepare a concise rubric of the elements of the assessment and allow students to rank the difficulty level of these elements on a Likert scale. Example: "The selected response questions were easy to answer. 1 2 3 4 5." 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: In order to set themselves up for success for the assessment, students will need to generalize the skills that they learned from the previous sessions. Before administering the assessment, activate their prior knowledge by recalling the learning targets from the previous lessons. Additionally, make sure that you are presenting the directions for the assessment both visually and verbally. Facilitate comprehension by displaying a map of the assessment parts.
  • Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): Some students may need support in setting appropriate goals for their effort and the level of difficulty expected. Appropriate goal-setting supports development of executive skills and strategies. Offer scaffolds for students learning to set appropriate personal goals, such as a checklist with three goals or reminders for the assessment.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Some students may require support with limiting distractions during the mid-unit assessment (e.g., using sound-cancelling headphones or dividers between workspaces). Similarly, some students may require variations in time for the assessment. Consider breaking the assessment into two parts and offering breaks at certain times. During the assessment, provide scaffolds that support executive function skills, self-regulation, and students' abilities to monitor progress before and after the assessment (e.g., visual prompts, reminders checklists, rubrics, etc.). 

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 Assessment, Part II: Writing a Pourquoi Tale (one per student; see Assessment Overview and Resources)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (from Module 1)
  • Narrative Planning Graphic Organizer: End of Unit 1 Assessment (from Lesson 10; one per student)
  • Narrative Writing Checklist (from Lesson 8; one to display)
  • Tracking Progress folder (one per student; see Teaching Notes)
  • Tracking Progress: Narrative Writing (one per student)
  • Evidence flags or sticky notes (at least 13 per student)

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.

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 form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs."
    • "I can write a new pourquoi tale."
  • Remind students that they have seen these learning targets in previous lessons in this unit.
  • Explain that today students will complete their End of Unit 1 Assessment, during which they will answer questions about comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs and write a new pourquoi tale. 
  • For students who may need additional support understanding the terms in the learning targets: Write synonyms or descriptions above key terms. (MMR)
  • For ELLs: Ask students to recall and describe one time that they practiced working on each of the learning targets in the past five lessons.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. End of Unit 1 Assessment, Part II: Writing a Pourquoi Tale (45 minutes)

  • Distribute the End of Unit 1 Assessment, Part II: Writing a Pourquoi Tale.
  • 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.
  • Point out to students that there are two parts to this assessment: questions about comparative and superlative adjectives and the writing prompt.
  • Tell students you are going to read the questions on the first part of the assessment aloud. They should not write or respond in any way. They should just listen.
  • Read the questions aloud.
  • Give students 10 minutes to answer the questions. Explain that if they finish early, they should check their answers and then read the writing prompt, but they should not respond to the writing prompt yet.
  • Circulate to support students who may need the questions read aloud more than once.
  • Refocus whole group.
  • Next, read the writing prompt aloud. Remind students that they have already planned this new pourquoi tale, starting in Lesson 10.
  • Invite them to retrieve their Narrative Planning Graphic Organizer: End of Unit 1 Assessment and spend a few minutes reviewing it.
  • Ask students whether they have questions about the prompt. Remind them that you cannot give them answers that will help them in their assessments.
  • Focus students on the Narrative Writing Checklist and remind them that their new pourquoi tale should fulfill those criteria. Reiterate the length of the narrative. It should be a short tale, like the ones they wrote in class.
  • Invite students to revisit previous Tracking Progress: Narrative Writing recording forms in their Tracking Progress folder to identify how they said they would like to improve the next time they worked on this skill. Remind students to keep this in mind as they work on their new pourquoi tales.
  • Remind students that since this is an assessment, they must work silently and independently.
  • Ask them to begin. Circulate to monitor students' test-taking skills. Document strategies they use during the assessment.
  • Encourage students to check over their work as they finish the assessment.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with planning: As you explain, write a "map" of the assessment on the board for ELLs. Example:
    Two parts: (45 minutes)
    • 1. Questions--Comparatives and Superlatives
    • 2. Writing a new pourquoi narrative (MMAE)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with visual processing: Read the test directions AND answer options aloud. (MMR)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with working memory: Ensure that students are clear about all test directions. Rephrase the directions for them. Monitor during the assessment to see that students are completing the assessment 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 End of Unit 1 Assessment (e.g., "I noticed some very thoughtful dialogue to show characters' feelings and reactions to the problems").
  • Distribute Tracking Progress: Narrative Writing. Remind students that successful learners keep track of and reflect on their own learning. Remind students that they have done this after every assessment. Because this is a new tracking progress form, review each criterion with students and model finding evidence as needed.
  • Distribute evidence flags or sticky notes so students can mark up their work with evidence. Guide them through completing the form.
  • Tell students the sticky notes are for them to find evidence of the following criteria:
    • W.3.3a
    • W.3.3c
    • W.3.4
  • 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 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 the Tracking Progress recording form. (MMAE)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with self-assessment: Provide support in reading and interpreting each relevant item on the form so that students can accurately self-assess. Example: "W.3.3c says the events in the narrative make sense and are easy to understand. That means that the reader knows exactly what is happening from beginning to end. How would you assess yourself on that? Do you think maybe your narrative was a little confusing, or was it really clear?" (MMAE, MME)

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, MMR)

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