A. Return Mid-Unit 2 Assessments and Engage the Learner (5 minutes)

• Repeated routine: As students enter the classroom, invite students to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 11 using their Mid-Unit 2 Assessments with feedback on their desks.

• Circulate as students review their feedback, and offer guidance and support as necessary.

• Once all students are ready, invite them to Turn and Talk, sharing their stars and steps with a partner. 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 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 previous lessons.

A. End of Unit 2 Assessment: Write a Narrative – W.8.3 (30 minutes)

• Invite students to retrieve the following materials:

  • Narrative Writing checklist

  • Model Narrative: “Peuchen”

  • Character and Setting planner

  • Storyboard graphic organizer

• Tell students that they will use their plans to write their narratives.

• Guide students to open up the word processor with which they will draft their narratives.

• Remind students that because this is an assessment, they should complete it independently in silence. Focus students on the Work to Become Effective Learners anchor chart and review perseverance and what this looks and sounds like. Remind students that as they will be writing their full narrative today, they may need to practice perseverance.

• Remind students that they planned this essay in the previous lessons.

• Invite students to begin the assessment.

• While students are taking the assessment, circulate to monitor and document their narrative writing skills.

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

Engage the class in a clarifying discussion about the assessment directions; ask one or more students to summarize the process they will use to carry out the narrative writing task. Record the process on the board for students to reference throughout the assessment, as needed.

• Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique—for example, thumbs-up or traffic light signal cards. Scan student responses and make a note of students who might need support. Check in with them moving forward.

• Repeat, inviting students to self-assess how well they persevered in this lesson.

A. Track Progress - W.8.3 (10 minutes)

• Give students specific positive feedback on their completion of the End of Unit 2 Assessment. (Example: "I was pleased to see a lot of you referring back to your texts to find details.")

• Distribute the Track Progress: Narrative Writing, Track Progress folders, and sticky notes. Tell students that successful learners keep track of and reflect on their own learning and that they will be completing a form like this after most of their assessments. Tell students that this helps to build responsibility for our work and learning. Select volunteers to read aloud each criterion for the whole group. After hearing each one read aloud, invite students to Turn and Talk with an elbow partner:

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

MEETING STUDENTS' NEEDS

As with earlier assessments in Units 1 and 2, in Closing and Assessment A, if students seem unsure of how to respond to the open-ended questions, provide examples of statements that answer the questions about previous improvements and goals for future improvement that are directly connected to the criteria within the Track Progress: Narrative Writing handout to help students create clear self-reflection and concrete, attainable personal targets (e.g., "I have improved at using transitional words and phrases to show the relationships among experiences and events," "In the future, I will improve my writing by using spelling, capitalization, and punctuation that are correct").

• Read the directions aloud for students, and answer clarifying questions. Explain the scale and what each number represents. They should give 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, a 2 if they think they are nearly there but not quite, and a 1 if they think they still have a lot of work to do.

• Distribute sticky notes. Tell students the sticky notes are for them to find evidence in their assessment work of the following criteria:

  • W.8.3

• Guide students through completing Question 1 of 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 previous grades, they will be able to look back to their Grade 7 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 feedback about their progress toward the skill.

• Direct 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 Turn and Talk, reflecting 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 the Track Progress form.

• Have students place the form in their Track Progress folders, and collect students' folders.

• Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.