Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts

Task 1: Planning Instruction and Assessment

1. Content Focus Summarize the central focus for the content you will teach in this learning segment. The final, summative assessment of this unit--and therefore the central focus for the content I will teach in this learning segment--is the completion of a nonfiction literary analysis essay. Students will focus largely on learning how to identify and interpret literary techniques in literature. Ultimately, students should be able to critically analyze style, purpose, and theme in nonfiction literature using their knowledge of literary language devices. This unit spans over a month in order to thoroughly cover and ensure a deep understanding of content. At the beginning of the unit, students are instructed to choose a nonfiction book from a predetermined list of titles. Students will then spend a majority of the unit completing three literary language-based outlines using their knowledge of literary techniques. Each outline focuses on major literary components, including character, conflict, and initial purpose and theme for the first outline assignment; language and literary techniques for the second; and purpose and theme for the third. Over the course of the unit, students will gain practice interpreting literary language using various excerpts of nonfiction texts. Finally, we will spend time preparing to organize and write the final essay. For the purpose of this project, I chose four lessons that show the most significant evidence of student comprehension and performance development. These lessons show evidence that students can interpret meaning from complex text and can create written products that interpret or respond to complex features of their nonfiction book. 2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching For each of the categories listed below (ad), describe what you know about your students prior learning and experience with respect to the central focus of the learning segment. What do they know, what can they do, and what are they learning to do? Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support. a. Academic development (e.g., prior knowledge, prerequisite skills, ways of thinking in the subject areas, developmental levels, special educational needs) Students who are taking Fundamentals of Writing and who have taken 9th grade English in this district have already been introduced to basic literary concepts in the Language and Literature course. Not all students have prior knowledge of literary language, however. Approximately 25 percent of students in each class transferred to this district during this academic year. To make sure everyone stays on a similar track, we will thoroughly cover literary language terms and break down these language concepts into subcategories within the unit. Students taking this class should be able to read and comprehend text at a proficient or above-proficient level as determined by state standards. Those who do not will be provided with necessary support tools, including audio books, additional reading time, extension of due dates, etc. Students who scored below the 45th percentile in reading comprehension on the previous years state tests have been placed in Fundamentals of Writing Lab, a support class for additional support and resources.
Copyright 2011 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.

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Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts
b. Academic language development (e.g., students abilities to understand and produce the oral or written language associated with the central focus and standards/objectives within the learning segment) Based on assessment data gathered from previous units this semester, the majority of students in Fundamentals of Writing are capable of demonstrating proficiency in the required objectives and standards of this unit. Those who struggle with reading comprehension will need additional support tools and resources. Fortunately, a majority of students in this category have been placed in Fundamentals of Writing Lab and will receive one-on-one instruction and additional reading time. I will need to closely monitor students who have not been placed in this class but have demonstrated a lack of proficiency based on initial, formative assessments. c. Family/community/cultural assets (e.g., relevant lived experiences, cultural expectations, and student interests) The school community contains students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Students also represent the spectrum of high, medium, and low socioeconomic status. Several students in class transferred to this school district within the last couple of years in pursuit of a more rigorous curriculum than had been provided for them in their previous district. For this reason, a select amount of students do not have the same prior knowledge as those who have been apart of this district for several years or for their entire lives. There appears to be a balanced mixture of students who come from nuclear, reconstituted, extended, and single-parent families. Students in this class also show a wide range of interests. Providing students with the option to choose their book from the designated nonfiction book list will help accommodate this factor. d. Social and emotional development (e.g., ability to interact and express themselves in constructive ways, ability to engage in collaborative learning, nature of contributions to a productive learning environment) The majority of students at the sophomore level are experiencing significant emotional, physical, and psychological transitions from adolescence to adulthood. As a result, there is a mixture of immature and mature behavior shown in the classroom. Throughout the semester, I frequently plan for students to work together as a class and in small groups to improve collaboration and team-building skills. I also strive to improve their focus and attention levels in class through the use of redirection strategies and engaging, relevant lessons and activities. 3. Description of Text(s) Used: A list of nonfiction books selected for 2011-2012 academic year (with summary) is attached. The Chase from An American Childhood by Annie Dillard (Lesson 1): Nonfiction literary essay used for the purpose of identifying evidence from its rich amount of literary techniques. This short essay documents the thrilling and dramatic experience of the author and her friends being chased by a strange man in the dead of winter.

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Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts
Excerpt of Club Denali from Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains by John Krakauer (Lesson 2, Day 1): John Krakauer uses vivid imagery and stunning detail to portray the adventure and adrenaline rush of climbing the summit of Denali (a.k.a. Mt. McKinley) in Alaska. The purpose of including this excerpt in the lesson is for students to practice identifying writing style through the use of various literary language devices. Excerpt from Go Ahead, Panic by Dave Barry (Lesson 2, Day 1): Barry combines the use of hyperbole, and imagery with his playful, sarcastic style to recreate the experience of kayaking down the Salmon River for his audience. This excerpt is used to practice identifying and interpreting writing style and tone in nonfiction literature. 4. Supporting Student Learning in EnglishLanguage Arts Respond to prompts ae below to explain how your plan to support your students learning of Englishlanguage arts related to the central focus of the learning segment. As needed, refer to the instructional materials you have included to support your explanations. Cite research and theory to support your explanations. a. Explain how your understanding of your students prior learning, experiences, and development guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and materials to develop students abilities to comprehend, construct meaning from, interpret, and/or respond to a complex text. The core curriculum of Fundamentals of Writing deals largely with the foundational concepts of language and literature. The majority of students should already have prior knowledge of the basic skills and concepts required for them to be considered proficient in this course. The nonfiction literary analysis unit takes place during the middle of the semester. By now, students have become familiar with identifying various writing styles. Near the beginning of the semester, they experienced working through a structured writing process (with focus on ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation) in a timed setting. Writing strategies and assessment used in this class align with the 6+1 Traits of Writing model. The two major timed writing assignments completed prior to the nonfiction literary analysis unit focused on personal experience. This encouraged student interest and engagement, and made the process less intimidating for those who may struggle with writing. The first timed writing piece focused on writing about a favorite place, while the second writing assignment focused on a light bulb moment, where students identified a time in their lives when they came to a sudden realization about something (either significant or insignificant). The initial score for these assignments was based on completion. Students received a wealth of written feedback from me on how to make their work stronger. The next step involved the revision process. Students were expected to make all necessary revisions and changes by a set deadline. Their final score was evaluated based on the amount of effort to revise the original copy of their work. The purpose of completing the timed writing unit first was to make students more comfortable writing under pressure and to develop an awareness of individual writing style. Students had the opportunity to understand their strengths and weaknesses as
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Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts
writers. It was also an opportunity to assess their writing and provide feedback that could be applied to all future writing assignments. The timed writing unit set the precedent for what is to be expected of them for the remainder of the semester, as assignments grow increasingly more challenging and levels of thinking become more advanced. Students are now expected to apply the writing skills they attained from the timed writing unit toward the nonfiction literary analysis unit. Their success in completing the nonfictional literary analysis project is very crucial to demonstrate overall proficiency in reading and writing comprehension standards. If students are unable to master the content and requirements of this unit, they will not be considered proficient and must retake the class until they demonstrate mastery. Due to the various array of skill sets in the class, I anticipate that some students will experience a lot more difficulty with this project than others. In order to reach students who generally score very low on the reading and writing state standards tests, I realize I must make a conscious effort to carefully and thoroughly scaffold new concepts and frequently check for understanding. Students will be given plenty of class time to not only read their books, but to also to practice identifying literary language techniques, develop knowledge of purpose and theme, identify writing styles, and work on essay formatting concepts. Many activities have been planned to make sure students are immersed in the practice of literary language. Therefore, students will be able to connect their knowledge to a variety of literature and better understand the use of literary techniques as they pertain to the nonfiction books they are reading. Finally, they will be able to apply their knowledge and skills to the nonfiction literary analysis. b. How are the plans for instruction sequenced in the learning segment to build connections between students prior learning and experiences and new knowledge? New concepts and student learning will be carefully scaffolded for this project. I anticipate that many students will be able to identify and define literary language terms, but will experience difficulty seeing their relationship to higher-level thinking concepts, including purpose, theme, and style. Therefore, students must be quite familiar with literary language terms in order to derive meaning from their respective books. Students will be expected to identify literary techniques within their nonfiction books and explain how and why they are used. They must also use evidence to support their final analysis of purpose and theme. Based on the hierarchical nature of the unit content, material will be grouped together according to the cognitive domains of Blooms Taxonomy. For instance, the study of literary language terms will fall under the knowledge and comprehension domains, while the completion of the literary analysis will be classified under the synthesis and evaluation domains. For this reason, students must have adequate practice working with and interpreting literary language. Students will be given the opportunity to work with several nonfiction texts. Immersing students in the literary world will increase their ability to identify literary techniques across many genres of writing. c. Describe common student errors or misunderstandings within your content focus and how you will address them.

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Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts
The most prominent student error I anticipate throughout this unit is the incorrect identification or interpretation of literary techniques in the nonfiction book. I can attest that some students simply tend to go through the motions in a rather robotic fashion, not taking the time to comprehend why they need to know these concepts. When this happens, students do not make the necessary connections needed for them to truly understand the content. Students often tend to stereotype all reading projects as boring and purposeless; however, I want to help them understand the crucial connection between reading comprehension and writing comprehension. In other words, the techniques used by effective readers and writers are often the same. Students who are consciously aware of how they read and who actively use reading strategies will be most successful not only in the classroom, but for the rest of their lives. In order to help students fully understand how to use literary techniques and appreciate their purpose in literature, I plan to incorporate literary techniques into nearly every lesson plan of this unit. Students will have plenty of practice identifying techniques in various forms of literature. To check for understanding, I plan to incorporate many activities in my lesson that involve identifying literary techniques. On a more advanced level, students must complete a literary language packet, where they identify examples from the text that represent every literary technique learned in class. Then they must explain the authors purpose in using each technique. d. Explain how, throughout the learning segment, you will help students make connections between textual references, constructions of meaning, interpretations, and responses to text to deepen student learning. This unit is conducive to making connections among content because students must always apply lower-level thinking concepts to higher-order thinking concepts. I plan to engage students prior knowledge in nearly every lesson to encourage a building block style of learning. I will also emphasize, explain, and demonstrate that literary devices can be applied across all genres and styles of writing. This helps students see that the study of literary techniques is not an isolated concept. The summative assessment will be the ultimate factor in evaluating their ability to make connections between literary devices and meaning from the text. e. Describe any instructional strategies planned to support students with specific learning needs. This will vary based on what you know about your students but may include students with IEPs (individualized education programs), English language learners, or gifted students needing greater support or challenge. Fortunately for this class, an additional support class is provided for students who have scored below the 45th percentile in standardized reading and writing comprehension scores. The support class, Fundamentals of Writing Lab, consists of approximately 16 students who are placed in one of my two Fundamentals of Writing classes. This support class provides the opportunity to tutor students and work in a one-on-one setting. Often, students simply need to be reassured that they are completing a task correctly. Other times, they need someone to help them focus and stay on task. Due to the ambiguous nature of interpreting meaning in literature, this unit can be quite challenging for students who like to arrive at concrete answers. Students in this category are most often the ones who need additional support and reassurance that their ideas make sense. Students who have trouble reading are provided with audio books to listen to while reading. This class allows for additional reading time for struggling readers as well. Those who have
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Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts
trouble reading are then encouraged to ask questions and work with the teacher on anything that doesnt make sense. 5. Supporting Student Understanding and Use of Academic Language a. Identify the key academic language demand and explain why it is integral to the central focus for the segment and appropriate to students academic language development. Consider language functions and language forms, essential vocabulary or phrases for the concepts and skills being taught, and instructional language necessary for students to understand or produce oral and/or written language within learning tasks and activities. The academic language demand of this unit involves the use of literary language terms, which are a crucial part of this unit. The central focus of the unit is for students to be able to effectively analyze their chosen nonfiction book using the literary techniques and devices learned in class. In order to complete this task--and ultimately to be considered proficient and pass the class--students must show a strong ability to identify and relate literary techniques to the overall meaning, purpose, and theme(s) of the novel. The ablilty to define, identify, and analyze these terms as they apply to literature is inherently crucial to the overall success of the student. The instructional language used in this unit directly relates to the academic language students must understand in order to write a proficient essay. In other words, I will be using these literary terms quite frequently in my lessons to familiarize students with the content and how it is used. This constructivist approach will help students see how the language is used and why it is important to use in not just their books, but in literature for the rest of their lives. b. Explain how planned instructional supports will assist students to understand academic language related to the key language demand to express and develop their content learning. Describe how planned supports vary for students at different levels of academic language development. All students must learn how to identify and interpret literary language terms in literature. While I expect all students to know this, I do not expect all of my students to be reading at the same level. If a student is a struggling reader, it will only be that much harder for them to understand and see the purpose of literary language devices. One key factor in helping students comprehend the language demands of the unit is to differentiate instruction according to ability and interest level. Many students struggle with reading or do not take interest in reading for pleasure. One way to help resolve these problems is to provide students with the opportunity to choose which nonfiction book they would be most interested in reading. Students are given a number of options, which vary in topics and reading comprehension levels. Students are guided toward ones that will most appropriately reflect their reading and comprehension level. Student choice is important, especially for this project, because students will likely be more engaged in reading their books and will see clearer connections between the book and their own experiences. By differentiating book options and giving students the choice of which book to read, a positive outcome will be more attainable and true learning can be achieved. 6. Monitoring Student Learning a. Explain how the informal and formal assessments were selected and/or designed to provide evidence you will use to monitor student progress toward the standards/objectives. Consider how the assessments will provide evidence of students
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Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts
abilities to comprehend, construct meaning from, interpret, and/or respond to a complex text. I frequently incorporate formative assessment tools and strategies into each lesson. Due to the nature of this unit, students must be able to comprehend foundational content (literary language terms) before they can fully interpret the meaning and purpose of their books. Likewise, students must be able to properly interpret the meaning of their books to be able to develop a well-written, strongly supported analysis. All assessment components were selected so students could practice working with literary language devices in various pieces of nonfiction literature. They also build on prior knowledge of literary language concepts so students are able to discover how an author develops purpose, theme, and style in literature. Ultimately, students should be able to understand how an author effectively uses structure, conventions, and style to communicate theme, and should also be able to effectively analyze the literature through the use of literary techniques. Major assessment foci include: the nonfiction book; the Setting and Conflict worksheet; the Initial Book Response outline; the Writing Style outline; and the Authors Purpose and Theme Response outline. Additional assessment activities included: the Literary Techniques worksheet; The Chase, Club Denali, and Dont Panic writing style activities and writing style chart; Michael Jacksons Beat It vs. Weird Als Eat It writing style activity; and the writing activities to practice adding quotes as supporting evidence and writing a thesis statement. Two schedule formats were provided in the unit packet as a differentiated instruction tool. A percentage approximation was provided with every major due date in the packet to help the students and myself track reading progress. Formative assessment activities help me see where students are in the process of learning how to identify purpose, theme, and style, along with how well they can identify literary techniques in a variety of writing samples. By practicing identifying techniques, students are more capable of completing larger assignments with accuracy and confidence. Additional assessment activities will be used as scaffolding tools for the completion of the final analysis. The three literary outlines will play the most significant role in monitoring student learning comprehension. These outlines serve as both summative and formative assessment tools because they not only establish understanding of major components within the unit, but they also help me understand how to tailor my instruction based on overall comprehension. Students are expected to use textual evidence in supporting their claims in the analysis. The main purpose of the outlines is to have students prepare their textual evidence throughout the unit and build a thorough knowledge base regarding the major components that must be addressed in the analysis. If students complete the outlines thoroughly and on time, they will already have the evidence they need for the analysis. b. Describe any modifications or accommodations to the planned assessment tools or procedures that allow students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning. As with any assignment, I plan to work with students who have a difficult time completing tasks. I will let them know that I expect them to come to me with their concerns and inform me of their struggles so we can be proactive together. I am more understanding of those who approach me ahead of time with their concerns and can demonstrate responsibility. This unit is very structured with many deadlines to meet. I realize that this
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Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA)

Secondary EnglishLanguage Arts
will be a large responsibility and may present challenges for many students. However, I plan to create daily reminders and dedicate as much class time as possible for students to work on their projects so that I can be of assistance. Also, I will be willing be accepting of late work (although I will still enforce a point deduction) unless that student has approached me ahead of time with their concerns (students who read at a slower pace). Fortunately, most students who already struggle with reading and writing comprehension will be given additional support in their lab class. This will provide more time to read, ask questions, and work through activities in a smaller group setting and will give me the ability to work with more students on a one-on-one basis.

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