- I can describe the connections between sentences and paragraphs in excerpts of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures. (RI.3.8)
- I can gather and categorize information to answer a research question. (RI.3.1, W.3.7, W.3.8)
- I can write an informative paragraph about poison dart frogs in response to a prompt. (RI.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.7, W.3.10)
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.
- RI.3.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.
- RI.3.8: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).
- RI.3.10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
- W.3.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
- W.3.2a: Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.
- W.3.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.
- W.3.2c: Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.
- W.3.2d: Provide a concluding statement or section.
- W.3.4: With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
- W.3.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
- W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.
- 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.3.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning word and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
- L.3.4a: Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
- L.3.4b: Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word (e.g., agreeable/disagreeable, comfortable/uncomfortable, care/careless, heat/preheat).
- L.3.4c: Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., company, companion).
- L.3.4d: Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.
Daily Learning Targets
Ongoing Assessment
- End of Unit 2 Assessment, Parts I and II (RI.3.1, RI.3.4, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.7, W.3.8, W.3.10, L.3.4)
- Tracking Progress: Informative Writing (W.3.2)
Agenda
Agenda | Teaching Notes |
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1. Opening A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes) B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) 2. Work Time A. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part I: Selected Response (20 minutes) B. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II: Planning and Writing an Informative Paragraph about the Poison Dart Frog (25 minutes) 3. Closing and Assessment A. Tracking Progress (5 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:
How it builds on previous work:
Areas where students may need additional support:
Assessment guidance:
Down the road:
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In Advance
- Arrange for necessary testing accommodations.
- Prepare students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with feedback from Lesson 7.
- Gather students' Mid-Unit 2 Assessment texts and research notes.
- Gather students' Tracking Progress folders.
- Post: Learning targets.
Tech and Multimedia
- Work Time B: Allow students to type their drafts using Google Docs or other word processing software.
- Work Time B: Students complete their drafts 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.B.6, 3.I.C.10, 3.II.A.1, 3.II.A.2.
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 an informative paragraph built 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.
- Students may find the End of Unit 2 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.
- 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.
- Allow students to review language they've written on the Word Wall or in their vocabulary log.
- After the assessment, ask students to discuss what was easiest and what was most difficult on the assessment, 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 multiple choice 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
- Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with Feedback (one per student; completed in Lesson 7)
- Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (begun in Module 1)
- End of Unit 2 Assessment: Informative Paragraph: Describing Poison Dart Frogs (see Assessment Overview and Resources; one per student)
- Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (from Module 1)
- Tracking Progress folder (from Module 1; one per student)
- Mid-Unit 2 Assessment texts and research notes (from Lesson 7; one per student)
- Informative Writing Checklist (from Lesson 3; one per student)
- Tracking Progress: Informative Writing (one per student)
- Evidence flags or sticky notes (at least 13 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.
Opening
Opening | Meeting Students' Needs |
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A. Returning Mid-Unit 2 Assessment (5 minutes)
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B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)
"I can use strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in a new text." "I can describe the connections between sentences and paragraphs in excerpts of Everything You Need to Know about Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures." "I can gather and categorize information to answer a research question." "I can write an informative paragraph about poison dart frogs in response to a prompt."
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Work Time
Work Time | Meeting Students' Needs |
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A. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part I: Selected Response (20 minutes)
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Two parts: 1. Part I: Selected Response (20 minutes) A. Answer the questions. 2. Part II: Plan and write an informative paragraph (25 minutes) B. Topic: poison dart frog (MMR)
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B. End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part II: Planning and Writing an Informative Paragraph about the Poison Dart Frog (30 minutes)
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Closing & Assessments
Closing | Meeting Students' Needs |
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A. Tracking Progress (5 minutes)
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Homework
Homework | Meeting Students' Needs |
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A. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt to respond to in the front of your independent reading journal. |
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