TEACH-NOW Module 5 Unit 1 Activity 2: Standards and Backwards Mapping
Standards and Backwards Mapping
Subject and Grade Level
My subject is English Literature for sixth grade. However, due to the fact that my students are not native speakers of English, and are only exposed to English in the classroom, I have and will continue to adjust the standards to suit their English ability. I will also adjust the standards so that I may assess them in their mother tongue. This is in part because the skills I am teaching are not always linked to language, but to cognitive development. As the students are bilingual, I also want them to become proficient in the skill regardless of which language they are using.
Chosen Standards
Because of this, I have chosen the standards below that both address their English skills (as they will be reading and writing in English), but can also, when push comes to shove, be adjusted for Mandarin Chinese, which is their mother tongue.
From the very beginning of the school year, I have been introducing and teaching the students to Notice and Note, that is, to recognize, identify, and then analyze literary "signposts". It is therefore a simple step to move from this onto citing textual evidence:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Once they learn to identify however, I want students to get into the habit of recording and writing their thoughts about what they've read down. This therefore, leads me to the next standard:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.10
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.
These are standards that will be continually reinforced and practiced throughout the year. While I will be holding some specific mini-lessons to get students started on this, I intend for the students to practice this continuously for the rest of the school year. It will become a habit and ingrained, as something to be built upon for next year.
Three Proficiencies
There are three skills that I wish students to become proficient in as a part of addressing these standards. These skills address three of the four language skills: writing, reading, and speaking.
1. Ability to cite textual evidence during class discussions about literary texts.
During class discussions and student-centered discussions such as socratic seminars, students should be able to regularly reference texts and read specific lines when sharing their opinions and thoughts about texts. The reverse of this is that when challenged by their peers on their opinion, students should be able to find evidence, and moreover, peers should regularly challenge each other to cite textual evidence.
2. When answering comprehension or inference questions, students should be able to identify specific lines in the text that supports their answers.
This is pretty self evident, but instead of simply answering questions, students should instead quote or highlight lines from the text that prove their answer correct.
3. In their writing about the text, students should regularly include quotes or lines from the text that support their opinion.
Whether it is analysis, reflection, or reaction, students should be able to copy specific lines as an example or proof of what they are thinking. This will be present in their daily pieces, which they will write during every class.
Three Assessments
The majority of my assessments are formative, rather than summative assessments. That being said, some of these will be adjusted as final, formative assessments at the end of the semester.
1. As a formative assessment, during conversations with students about books they are reading, I ask them for their opinion on what has happened and ask them to read out loud lines that serves as an example or supports their opinion. For example, if a chapter is "good," the student should be able to point to lines or scenes that they found "good." As a summative assessment, during socratic seminars, I will count and record the number of times individual students challenge each other and cite textual evidence while discussing instances in The Giver and other texts.
2. As a formative assessment, while reading The Giver, the students will be required to answer one major question for each chapter. However, instead of answering the question, they are to quote lines from the text that they feel is the answer, and then explain why. As a summative assessment, students will be doing a similar activity where I take a random passage from the novel and ask them to find evidence for a particular answer and explain their choice as a part of their exam final.
3. After their silent reading period, students will continue to write about their reactions, predictions, and write about a Note and Notice signpost they found in their recent reading. This will be given an eyeball grade and immediate feedback about where they do well, and where they need to improve.
Three Learning Experiences/Activities
1. Class Chart -- To practice both Note and Notice and citing textual evidence, there will be a large, whole class chart with each chapter given a space. The class will fill out each part of the chart with texts that are examples of a Note and Notice signpost and what this means for the story, which will be written on a special sticky note. This will be a class tracker and will be regularly referred to throughout the reading of The Giver.
2. Scavenger Hunt -- As a way to practice finding answers, students will do a text "scavenger hunt" and try to find examples (a number which I will specify) in the text of evidence, an exercise that I will be doing regularly with the class as students share, discuss, and identify which ones it might be.
3. Socratic Seminar -- The socratic seminar is a student-led discussion where the teacher has little to no input during the 15-20 minutes the discussion is held. All the teacher does is start of the discussion with an open-ended question regarding the text the students have read and prepared for. We will be doing this regularly after reading 1-2 chapters of The Giver.
Subject and Grade Level
My subject is English Literature for sixth grade. However, due to the fact that my students are not native speakers of English, and are only exposed to English in the classroom, I have and will continue to adjust the standards to suit their English ability. I will also adjust the standards so that I may assess them in their mother tongue. This is in part because the skills I am teaching are not always linked to language, but to cognitive development. As the students are bilingual, I also want them to become proficient in the skill regardless of which language they are using.
Chosen Standards
Because of this, I have chosen the standards below that both address their English skills (as they will be reading and writing in English), but can also, when push comes to shove, be adjusted for Mandarin Chinese, which is their mother tongue.
From the very beginning of the school year, I have been introducing and teaching the students to Notice and Note, that is, to recognize, identify, and then analyze literary "signposts". It is therefore a simple step to move from this onto citing textual evidence:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Once they learn to identify however, I want students to get into the habit of recording and writing their thoughts about what they've read down. This therefore, leads me to the next standard:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.10
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.
These are standards that will be continually reinforced and practiced throughout the year. While I will be holding some specific mini-lessons to get students started on this, I intend for the students to practice this continuously for the rest of the school year. It will become a habit and ingrained, as something to be built upon for next year.
Three Proficiencies
There are three skills that I wish students to become proficient in as a part of addressing these standards. These skills address three of the four language skills: writing, reading, and speaking.
1. Ability to cite textual evidence during class discussions about literary texts.
During class discussions and student-centered discussions such as socratic seminars, students should be able to regularly reference texts and read specific lines when sharing their opinions and thoughts about texts. The reverse of this is that when challenged by their peers on their opinion, students should be able to find evidence, and moreover, peers should regularly challenge each other to cite textual evidence.
2. When answering comprehension or inference questions, students should be able to identify specific lines in the text that supports their answers.
This is pretty self evident, but instead of simply answering questions, students should instead quote or highlight lines from the text that prove their answer correct.
3. In their writing about the text, students should regularly include quotes or lines from the text that support their opinion.
Whether it is analysis, reflection, or reaction, students should be able to copy specific lines as an example or proof of what they are thinking. This will be present in their daily pieces, which they will write during every class.
Three Assessments
The majority of my assessments are formative, rather than summative assessments. That being said, some of these will be adjusted as final, formative assessments at the end of the semester.
1. As a formative assessment, during conversations with students about books they are reading, I ask them for their opinion on what has happened and ask them to read out loud lines that serves as an example or supports their opinion. For example, if a chapter is "good," the student should be able to point to lines or scenes that they found "good." As a summative assessment, during socratic seminars, I will count and record the number of times individual students challenge each other and cite textual evidence while discussing instances in The Giver and other texts.
2. As a formative assessment, while reading The Giver, the students will be required to answer one major question for each chapter. However, instead of answering the question, they are to quote lines from the text that they feel is the answer, and then explain why. As a summative assessment, students will be doing a similar activity where I take a random passage from the novel and ask them to find evidence for a particular answer and explain their choice as a part of their exam final.
3. After their silent reading period, students will continue to write about their reactions, predictions, and write about a Note and Notice signpost they found in their recent reading. This will be given an eyeball grade and immediate feedback about where they do well, and where they need to improve.
Three Learning Experiences/Activities
1. Class Chart -- To practice both Note and Notice and citing textual evidence, there will be a large, whole class chart with each chapter given a space. The class will fill out each part of the chart with texts that are examples of a Note and Notice signpost and what this means for the story, which will be written on a special sticky note. This will be a class tracker and will be regularly referred to throughout the reading of The Giver.
2. Scavenger Hunt -- As a way to practice finding answers, students will do a text "scavenger hunt" and try to find examples (a number which I will specify) in the text of evidence, an exercise that I will be doing regularly with the class as students share, discuss, and identify which ones it might be.
3. Socratic Seminar -- The socratic seminar is a student-led discussion where the teacher has little to no input during the 15-20 minutes the discussion is held. All the teacher does is start of the discussion with an open-ended question regarding the text the students have read and prepared for. We will be doing this regularly after reading 1-2 chapters of The Giver.
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