Five-Plus Days of Learning Tasks and Performance Assessments

Five-Plus Days of Learning Tasks and Performance Assessments

Grade 7 - Multiple Passage Set

Texts:

Passage #1: “School Days” by Gus Edwards; Lyrics by Will D. Cobb (1907)

Source(s): Lyrics - http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/childrens/schooldaysmp3.htm Performance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i76i7NN0Ag

Lexile: N/A

Placement: 4th Grade (Low)

Word Count: 51

Passage #2: “The School Master” – EXCERPT FROM The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Source: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/cgi-bin/version_printable.pl?story_id=LegSle.shtml

Lexile: 1410L

Placement: 12th Grade (High)

Word Count: 435

Passage #3: “1872 Instructions to the Teachers”

Source: http://www.pchswi.org/archives/schools/teacher_rules_1872.html

Note: There is some doubt as to the reliability of this document. And it might be interesting to research this information via Snopes.com – Rumor Has It at the following site:

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1872rule.asp

Lexile Level: 2160 L (Note: includes numerous examples of archaic language)

Placement:

Word Count: 190

Passage #4: “Punishments” from an 1818 classroom.

Source: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1250290562/4

Note: One resource indicates this document is from the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum, and another source claims it is found in the Mason Street School, San Diego County Historical Days Association.

Lexile Level: 770L (Note: Lexile level raises to 790L when spelling is changed to today’s standards)

Placement: 4th Grade (Low)

Word Count: 162

Passage #5: “The Classroom Rules” – EXCERPT FROM the writings of Charlotte Hawkins Brown, author of The Correct Thing to Say, to Do, to Wear (1941)

Source: http://www.nchistoricsites.org/chb/chb-excerpt.htm

Lexile: 1020L

Placement: 4th Grade (Middle)

Word Count: 256

Passage #6: Middle School Disclosure Document

Source: Sunset Middle School

Lexile: 1200L

Placement: 9th Grade (Middle)

Word Count: 1915

Performance Task Preview:

At the end of this collection, you will have the opportunity to complete two tasks:

1. Participate in a Socratic Circle or Fishbowl or Inside/Outside Circles to discuss changes in schools and schooling throughout history and how these changes may have affected students’ education.

2. Write a fictional historical narrative by using the RAFT Writing Strategy and by including information from the studied texts to lend authenticity to the stories.

Learning Tasks:

· Learning Task #1: Short Constructed Response to a Prompt

· Learning Task #2: Close Reading, Note-Taking, Vocabulary

· Learning Task #3: Short Response to a Prompt in Preparation for Future Discussions

· Learning Task #4: Close Read a Text

· Learning Task #5: Close Read and Application of Text Evidence in Creating a Document

· Learning Task #6: Close Read of “Instructions to Teachers” to Compare with Student-Created Teacher Instructions

· Learning Task #7: Close reading and note-taking

· Performance Assessment

Learning Task #1: Short Constructed Response to a Prompt

Prompt: Using a scale of 5, with 5 being the most positive and 1 being the least, how do you feel about starting school today. Write a short but formal response in which you explain why you ranked your feelings as such. Use personal examples to support your reply.

Scaffolding Suggestion: Provide sentence stems such as the following:

“I ranked my feelings about starting school at a _____. I chose that ranking because ______.

The reason I feel this way is because of the time(s) I ______.

Learning Task #1 Standards Addressed:

W.7.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

W.7.3d: Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

W.7.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.7.10: 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.

Learning Task #2: Close Reading, Note-Taking, Vocabulary

THINK/PAIR/SHARE: After reading the lyrics to the song and listening to the audio production of “School Days”, 1) students will complete column 1 of the graphic organizer; 2) discuss their responses with a partner; 3) share responses with whole class.

Learning Task #2 Standards Addressed:

RL.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RL.7.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.

W.7.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Scaffolding Suggestion: Ask students two or three guiding questions to get them started, instructing students to use text evidence to support answers.

· Read the first stanza and analyze how the speaker feels about Nellie.

· Based on the lyrics in stanzas 1 and 2, how does the speaker feel about school? How does Nellie feel about the speaker?

· How does the music contribute to the conventional meaning of the lyrics?

· Record your initial ideas in the first column: “Surface or Conventional Meaning”.

Helpful Vocabulary:

Study the following words and their definitions in the chart below. You will use these words as you discuss and write about this text.

Words / Definitions
golden rule / the rule of conduct that advises people to treat others in the same manner as they wish to be treated themselves
hickory stick / a walking stick or switch made of hickory wood
calico / a coarse cotton cloth with a bright printed pattern
beau / a boyfriend or male admirer
slate / a small square piece of slate formerly used for writing on, especially by school students. It could be wiped clean and reused indefinitely.

Learning Task #3: Short Response to a Prompt in Preparation for Future Discussions

Prompt: Who was your favorite school teacher? What characteristics did that teacher have that made him or her a favorite? Record a list of adjectives that describe that teacher. (See the attached graphic organizer)

Who was your LEAST favorite teacher? What characteristics did that teacher have that made him or her the least favorite? Record a list of adjectives that describe that teacher.

Partner or group discussion: assign students to compare characteristics of favorite and least favorite teachers, noting AND highlighting common characteristics for both. (Students should be prepared to share commonalities as part of a whole class discussion.)

Learning Task #3 Standard Addressed:

7.W.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.

SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

· Come to discussions prepared having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

· Follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

· Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.

· Acknowledge new information expressed by others and, when warranted, modify their own views.

Name ______Date ______Class period ______

Directions: Who was your favorite school teacher? What characteristics did that teacher have that made him or her your favorite? Record a list of adjectives that describe that teacher.

Who was your LEAST favorite teacher? What characteristics did that teacher have that made him or her your least favorite? Record a list of adjectives that describe that teacher.

Characteristics of a Favorite Teacher / Characteristics of a LEAST Favorite Teacher

Partner or Group Discussion:

· Compare characteristics of favorite and least favorite teachers, identifying AND highlighting common characteristics for both.

· Be prepared to share commonalities as part of a whole class discussion in creating a final list of characteristics.

Learning Task #4: Close Read a Text

Read “The Schoolmaster” with the understanding that the excerpt from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a highly complex piece, which makes it a good choice for a Think-Aloud that models annotating the text to understand the purpose of reading this excerpt.

Learning Task #4 Standards Addressed:

RL.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

W.7.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

L.7.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

· Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

· Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.

· Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).

The purpose for reading this text is to learn a little more about school and teachers in the past. Some guiding questions might be:

· What kind of teacher is Ichabod Crane?

· What would it be like to be a teacher in the 18th or 19th century?

· What would it be like to be a student in “Master” Crane’s class?

· Would Ichabod be considered a “favorite teacher” based upon today’s students’ criteria?

To help with this task, refer to document “The ‘Reading with Your Pen’ Palette”, included on the following page.

After performing a Think-Aloud for a portion of the text, work with students as a whole group and invite them to suggest annotations.

When you are satisfied that students understand this process, assign them to read a few sentences on their own, making at least one or two annotations. Then with a partner, assign students to re-read the sentences and make a few more annotations. (Depending upon how this part goes, either review the process or assign more sentences to study.)

Upon completion, discuss responses to the above questions, plus any other questions or observations you and students may have, including vocabulary words, etc. You may want to use this graphic organizer to identify vocabulary you and students defined through textual clues and/or researching dictionaries or thesauruses.

Note: Here are some ideas that can be used for annotating texts, but the key is to use a variety of annotation strategies and choose those that work best with the chosen texts.

Name: ______Date: ______Class Period: ______

Word / Defined by Context Clues
Word / Defined by Researching Resources

Post-Learning Task Mini Assessment:

Example: Based upon Washington Irving’s description, how would you picture School Master Ichabod Crane? Use words, phrases, or sentences from the text to explain your answer.

A. Disney’s Ichabod Crane

B. Tim Burton’s Ichabod Crane

The ACTUAL Assessment –

1. Choose one of the following adjectives to describe Ichabod Crane’s teaching style? (There can be more than one right answer.)

a. Engaging

b. Uninteresting

c. Strict

d. Lenient

2. What sentence from the text, “The School Master” supports your choice? Write that sentence below.

3. What motivates Ichabod Crane to stay on good terms with his students? (There can be more than one right answer.)

a. His desire to know their sisters

b. His concern for his students’ success

c. His board and room

d. His wish to be popular with his students

4. What sentence from the text, “The School Master” supports your choice? Write that sentence below.

Learning Task #5: Close Read and Application of Text Evidence in Creating a Document.

After reading and discussing what Ichabod Crane had to do as a teacher in the early 19th century as identified or suggested in “The School Master”, assign students to work in small groups to create a list of instructions to teachers of 1820.

Learning Task #5 Standards Addressed:

RL.7.1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

These additional paragraphs from Sleepy Hollow will provide more information about Ichabod’s circumstances.

That this might not be too onerous for his rustic patrons, he assisted the farmers occasionally by helping to make hay, mending the fences, and driving the cows from pasture. He laid aside, too, all the dominant dignity with which he lorded it in the school, and became wonderfully gentle and ingratiating. He found favor in the eyes of the mothers by petting the children, particularly the youngest, and he would sit with a child on one knee, and rock a cradle with his foot for whole hours together.

In addition to his other vocations, he was the singing master of the neighborhood, and picked up many bright shillings by instructing the young folks in psalmody. Thus, by divers little makeshifts, the worthy pedagogue got on tolerably enough and was thought, by all who understood nothing of the labor of headwork, to have a wonderfully easy life of it.

Name: ______Date: ______Class Period ______

Directions: After reading “The School Master” and the additional paragraphs from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, complete the following assignment: