Unit Plan & Assessment Map

Description of assessment purpose, activity, and follow-up action

Reading, Literature Strand
RL 2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and
refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
RL 3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and
advance the plot or develop the theme.
RL 6 Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world
literature.
Language1
L1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking
L2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9-10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a
range of strategies.
Writing
W4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for
a specific purpose and audience.

The Language standards will be worked on daily. We will continue the Daily Grammar Prompt activities that Greeneville High currently does, which focus the first
fifteen minutes of every class on grammar and vocabulary activities. The formative assessment of Most Beautiful Sentence gallery will also continue throughout the
semester. For this reason, neither of these were included in this units assessment plan.
1

Lesson One
Preparing to Read

Lesson Two
Exploring Theme

Lesson Three
Analyzing Character

Lesson Four
A Persuasive Essay

This lesson will take

only the first day as
students prepare to
read the novel. I will
present the five major
themes of the novel in
class, and we will open
our books and begin
exploring the form.

This lesson will span

four days as we read
and respond to the
novel. We will read
whole chapters
together in class, but
students will also be
assigned to read
chapters at home.

This lesson will take

two days. Having now
finished the novel, we
will begin to dissect
the character of
Steven, practicing
using the text to make
claims and to connect
fictional characters to
students own lives.

This lesson will span

two days. Students will
learn to shape their
character analyses into
written claims and
defend these claims in
a very short essay.

Formative Assessment: Misconceptions/ Preconceptions Check

This CAT will allow me to find out what students currently believe about the criminal justice system, about youth in the criminal justice system, about
the system and race, and about Harlem. We can then discuss their mis- or preconceptions and gather background for our reading.
Action: This assessment helps guide my instruction, allowing me to begin discussion by building on students previous knowledge and experience.
Formative Assessment: Freewrite
Each day during the first week, while we read the novel, I will have students do a freewrite on one of the five themes. Freewriting enables students
to get their thoughts out in a writtenbut ungradedform.
Action: these freewrites will then serve as the basis for our Harkness Discussion.
Formative Assessment: Harkness Discussion
Each day during the first week, I will assess students understanding of and feelings about the novel through class
discussion. To help me ascertain the progress of all students, I will use a Harkness diagram.
Action: students who are not sharing may need further intervention either because they arent reading, they arent
understanding, or because speaking out in class is uncomfortable for them. I will need to focus on finding out the reasons.
Formative Assessment: Game Quizzes
Because I am convinced, as Rick Wormeli has said, that we need to be reserving grade points for actual demonstrations of
the mastery of content and standards, I will not be grading quizzes. This is difficult for me because Ive been doing so for
nearly 20 years. But Im going to try to help students be accountable for their reading without wielding their grade as a tool
(which, as Wormeli points out, negates its viability as a unit of measurement). So we will be taking reading quizzes over

Kahoot, a game software that puts students in competition. I think that competing with their peers can provide the
accountability and incentive that I have been traditionally using the grade for.
Action: If students are doing poorly, I will be able to check to see if they are not reading or not understanding and
intervene appropriately.
Formative Assessment: Minute Papers
Minute papers allow students, in one minute, to write about the most important thing they learned during a class period.
These are fast to do and fast to evaluate, and they give me an indication whether or not students are picking up on the
central ideas of the lesson.
Action: If students are missing central concepts that a lesson sought to teach, I can go back and reinforce the following
day.
Formative Assessment: Defining Features Matrix
Students will use the matrix to choose defining characteristicsboth inner and outerof the
novels protagonist, Steven. They will support these claims with quotes from the text.
Action: I can look over these matrices and make sure that students are focused on key moments
in the text. These will help them make progress toward their short essay.
Formative Assessment: Prison Letters
Students will write letters in the persona of Steven addressed to his mentor, his film teacher Mr.
Sawicki. This forces students into higher-order thinking. They now have to use the character
analyses from the matrix to create a product, forcing them to think and see from a new
perspective.
Action: This may be difficult for some students, but I plan to use this to push their
understanding. I will scaffold for those who are struggling.
Formative Assessment: Prewriting
Students will brainstorm, map, and outline their short, one page
persuasive essay on character.
Action: I can check for understanding and solid planning before
students proceed with the construction of the essay.
Summative Assessment: Short, One-page Persuasive Essay
Students will choose a chief character trait of the protagonist, Steven,
and, using two examples from the text, persuade readers that this is a

defining characteristic.
Action: This assignment will be assessed for a grade. Students who do
not score what they would like have the option of rewriting. The
feedback students get on this assignment will help them in the next unit
as they construct a longer persuasive essay. Each student will thus use
instructor feedback to set two writing goals for the next unit.
Summative Assessment: Final Exam
Students will take a final exam that consists of
a variety of question types including
true/false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, short
answer, and essay.
Action: This assignment will be assessed for a
grade. Students who do not score what they
would like may retake the exam. To do so,
they must meet with me for some reading
practice to get them to the level they need to
be to do better.[