8TH Grade American History with Mr. Olmsted at Odyssey Isolation Period Unit Plan: Learning, Assessment, and Assignments

Introduction and background: Nothing can replace the brick-and-mortar school environment and the benefits students get from collaborating face-to-face. Educators, students and families have worked to ensure effective teaching and learning in this new environment.

From roughly March 16 – April 16, 2020, teachers were expected to provide opportunities for students to continue learning without direct instruction, and teachers were directed to be available for communicating with families and to answer questions on school days. In early April, the state decided not to reopen schools this year. On April 17, 2020, our school district provided directives teachers based on the state’s order for school buildings to remain closed.

Students will not be getting final grades on their report cards for third quarter. Students will get grades for 4th quarter and second semester on their report cards. Secondary students are now required (no longer “expected”) to engage in each of their classes for a minimum of 20 minutes per school day, and teachers are required to facilitate that work. The work is expected to be both review and new learning, and overall assignments and teacher feedback are supposed to support students to achieve the intended learning of the course by the end of the year. Teachers are supposed to clarify weekly for students what the assignments look like.

I have developed a plan for students to move ahead with this class. The plan has multiple parts, but it is straightforward. Please continue reading, as I am going to present the plan as clearly as possible.

Before we left for the isolation period, I prepared a learning plan of assignments for students in the form of journal entries. I wanted to be sure that students had enough to do before the end of April, which is when we were originally scheduled to return. At that point, I assigned students to work on each class for 50 dedicated minutes per school day if they were feeling healthy and able to engage in classwork. Students are assigned – and are now required – to continue moving forward with those assignments and then to craft their final assessment essays by engaging in the writing process. Weekly work is due to me on Fridays via email at andrewo@spokaneschools.org. I will evaluate individual student work and provide feedback weekly to set up more specific learning plans for each student. My general expectation is that students should be able to proceed appropriately by following these directions and by asking me questions as they arise.

Learning Goal: I can research and analyze historical documents on the Reconstruction Era and articulate my understanding, in a formal expository essay or an argumentative essay for an audience of academic historians, in response to a given essay prompt.

Unit Project and Assessment: Research, draft, review, revise, edit, proofread and turn in a polished final version of an essay in response to one of the prompts below. Engage in the assigned journal entries in order to guide your research. Consult the supplementary videos as much as you find them useful to your investigation. Journal entries and videos are on Mr. Olmsted’s page on the Libby Center website at spokaneschools.org/page/3135.

Assignments and Activities, as related to assessment and grading

Note: This unit is a continuation of the unit we started in class. Students were introduced to the format of the unit and its basic concepts in class. Students began to explore the ideas, the history, and their responses in the classroom and will now continue their investigations from home.

Timeframe: Students are required to work for 20 dedicated and focused minutes per school day on their coursework for this class beginning Monday, April 27 – Friday, June 19. Previously, students were expected to work 50 minutes per school day from the time period of March 17 – April 20th. However, the district did not “require” that students complete any work during that time period.

The new time directive (20 minutes per subject per school day) is the “minimum” allowed by the district. Teachers are advised not to assign more work than this time will permit. The implications of the timeframe are that now we have about 12-15 hours of class time left in the school year that I can structure for students in a required way for this class. (If you are feeling well and balanced and would like to work beyond that timeframe, then that might be a good topic of conversation for you to have with your family.)

ASSESSMENT OPTION 1 – ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING PROMPT

Laws are the most important factor in overcoming discrimination.

Given your study of Reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War, support, refute, or modify the statement above in a formal argumentative essay. Introduce a precise claim and develop it fully, citing relevant and sufficient evidence from historical documents on the Reconstruction.

ASSESSMENT OPTION 2 – EXPOSITORY WRITING PROMPT

Historian Eric Foner calls Reconstruction “America’s unfinished revolution.” What debates and dilemmas from the Reconstruction era remain unresolved?

After researching informational texts on Reconstruction, write a formal essay in which you explain one debate that was central to this period that remains unresolved. Explain why the debate was significant to the history of Reconstruction. In your conclusion, discuss the legacy of the debate not being resolved. Support your discussion with evidence from class materials and your own research.

Examples of debates that were central to Reconstruction include but are not limited to:

• The role of the federal government in protecting the rights of individuals • The relationship between the force of law and the beliefs of people in determining who belongs in a nation and who doesn’t • The membership and participation of many groups—including African Americans, women, immigrants, workers, and Native Americans—in political and social life • The use and prevention of violence in our society and politics

Therefore, your weekly assignments for the rest of the year are those involved in your assessment: Research, draft, review, revise, edit, proofread and turn in a polished final version of an essay in response to one of the prompts. Engage in the assigned journal entries in order to guide your research. Consult the supplementary videos as much as you find them useful to your investigation. Journal entries and videos are on Mr. Olmsted’s page on the Libby Center website at spokaneschools.org/page/3135.

Turning in work, receiving feedback, and grades will be relative to your learning and production in preparation for your essay. I will need to check progress with each student every Friday via email. You are required to demonstrate progress toward your essay each week. If you are already finished with all of your journal entries and are drafting your essay, then you will turn in drafts with author’s notes to support revision and editing. If you are still working on journal entries, you may show me the entries. If you would like to communicate with me about your essay separately from journal entries, that would be ok too.

I will respond to progress check materials with specific feedback. I can provide more detailed individualized weekly plans with students upon conversation/request.

I do not necessarily need to see what you have done before now – I need to see how you are moving toward a strong final essay at this point. Feel free to ask questions about work you have already completed, however!

The first turn-in due-date is this Friday, April 24th via email. Weekly work (evidence of new progress toward the essay, consistent with 100 minutes of focused and productive engagement) will be due to me via email every Friday thereafter. Your first assignment is to figure out what you are going to show me based on the directions above and email it to me by Friday. Email me if you have questions.

More details: Your quarter 4 grade will probably be: “A” “Pass” or “No-credit.” To get an A, I basically need to see a complete, and accurate essay that (1) has been through multiple rounds of effective revision and edits based on the rubric and (2) shows strong engagement with the research expectations structured by the journal entries. A grade of “pass” would indicate that you worked toward your essay from now until the end of the year, you demonstrate sufficient understanding about the Reconstruction Era and its affiliated concepts in communication with me relative to you working at a consistent 20 minutes per school day, but you don’t end up with a complete and polished essay, simply because you run out of time. A “No-credit” would indicate that you don’t demonstrate your understanding of the Reconstruction history or concepts to me adequately by the end of the school year. (I do not know how a “pass” mark would impact the overall report card grade.) These details are subject to change based on grading discussions over the next few weeks.

SCORING GUIDEScoring Criteria Exemplary Proficient Emerging Incomplete

Ideas The essay• maintains a focused

thesis in responseto the entire prompt

• develops ideasthoroughly withrelevant supportingdetails, facts, andevidence

• provides insightfulcommentary anddeep analysis.

The essay• respondstothe

prompt with aclearthesis

• developsideasadequately withsupporting details,facts, and evidence

• providessufficientcommentary todemonstrateunderstanding.

The essay• hasanunclearor

unrelated thesis• developsideas

unevenly orwith inadequatesupporting details,facts, or evidence

• providesinsufficientcommentary todemonstrateunderstanding.

The essay• hasnoobviousthesis• providesminimal

supporting details,facts, or evidence

• lackscommentary.

Structure The essay• hasanengaging

introduction• usesaneffective

organizationalstructure for a multi-paragraph essay

• usesavarietyof transitionalstrategies to createcohesion and unityamong ideas

• providesaninsightfulconclusion.

The essay• hasacomplete

introduction• usesanappropriate

organizationalstructure for a multi-paragraph essay

• usestransitionalstrategies to link,compare, andcontrast ideas

• providesaconclusionthat supports thethesis.

The essay• hasaweakorpartial

introduction• usesaninconsistent

organizationalstructure for a multi-paragraph essay

• usestransitionalstrategiesineffectively orinconsistently

• providesaweakorunrelated conclusion.

The essay• lacksanintroduction• haslittleor

no obviousorganizationalstructure

• usesfewornotransitionalstrategies

• providesnoconclusion.

Use of Language

The essay• conveys a consistent

academic voice byusing a variety ofsubject-specific termsand precise language

• embeds quotations andcites sources effectively

• demonstratescommand of theconventions ofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage(including a variety ofsyntax).

The essay• conveys an academic

voice by using somesubject-specific termsand precise language

• embeds quotations andcites sources correctly

• demonstrates adequatecommand of theconventions ofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage(including a variety ofsyntax).

The essay• uses insufficient

language andvocabulary to conveyan academic voice

• embeds quotationsand/or cites sourcesincorrectly or unevenly

• demonstrates partial orinconsistent commandof the conventions ofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage.

The essay• uses limited or vague

language• lacks quotations or

does not cite sources• lacks command of the

conventions ofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage;frequent errors obscuremeaning.

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128 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

RECONSTRUCTION ERA UNIT - EXPOSITORY WRITING PROMPTHistorian Eric Foner calls Reconstruction “America’s unfinished revolution.” What debates and dilemmas from the Reconstruction era remain unresolved? After researching informational texts on Reconstruction, write a formal essay in which you explain one debate that was central to this period that remains unresolved. Explain why the debate was significant to the history of Reconstruction. In your conclusion, discuss the legacy of the debate not being resolved. Support your discussion with evidence from class materials and your own research.Examples of debates that were central to Reconstruction include but are not limited to: • The role of the federal government in protecting the rights of individuals • The relationship between the force of law and the beliefs of people in determining who belongs in a nation and who doesn’t • The membership and participation of many groups—including African Americans, women, immigrants, workers, and Native Americans—in political and social life • The use and prevention of violence in our society and politics

SCORING GUIDE

Scoring Criteria Exemplary Proficient Emerging Incomplete

Ideas The essay• responds to prompt

fully, supports a claimwith compelling,relevant reasoning andevidence

• provides extensiveevidence of theresearch process

• addressescounterclaim(s)effectively

• uses a variety ofpersuasive appeals.

The essay• responds to prompt,

supports a claim withsufficient reasoningand evidence

• provides evidence ofthe research process

• addressescounterclaim(s)

• uses some persuasiveappeals (logos, ethos,pathos).

The essay• hasanunclearor

unfocused claimand/or inadequatesupport

• providesinsufficientevidence of theresearch process

• addressescounterclaimsineffectively

• usesinadequatepersuasive appeals.

The essay• hasnoclaimorclaim

lacks support• provideslittleorno

evidence of research• doesnotreferencea

counterclaim• failstouse

persuasive appeals.

Structure The essay• hasanintroduction

that engages thereader and definesthe claim’s context

• followsalogicalorganizationalstructure

• usesavarietyofeffective transitionalstrategies

• containsaninsightfulconclusion.

The essay• hasanintroduction

that includes a hookand background

• followsanadequateorganizationalstructure

• usestransitionalstrategies to linkideas

• hasaconclusionthatsupports and followsfrom the argument.

The essay• hasaweak

introduction• usesanineffective

or inconsistentorganizationalstrategy

• usesbasicorinsufficienttransitionalstrategies

• hasanillogicalorunrelated conclusion.

The essay• lacksanintroduction• haslittleor

no obviousorganizationalstructure

• usesfewornotransitionalstrategies

• lacksaconclusion.

Use of Language

The essay• usesprecisediction

and languageeffectively to conveytone and persuade anaudience

• demonstratescommand of theconventions ofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage

• includesanaccuratebibliography.

The essay• usesdictionand

language to conveytone and persuade anaudience

• demonstratesadequate commandofthe conventionsofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage

• includesagenerallycorrect andcompletebibliography.

The essay• usesbasicorweak

diction and language• demonstratespartial

commandof the conventionsofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage;for the most part,errors do not impedemeaning

• includesanincorrector insufficientbibliography.

The essay• usesconfusingor

vague diction andlanguage

• lackscommandoftheconventions ofstandard Englishcapitalization,punctuation, spelling,grammar, and usage

• doesnotincludeabibliography.

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158 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

RECONSTRUCTION ERA UNIT - ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING PROMPTStatement: Laws are the most important factor in overcoming discrimination. Given your study of Reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War, support, refute, or modify the statement above in a formal argumentative essay.

Introduce a precise claim and develop it fully, citing relevant and sufficient evidence from historical documents on the Reconstruction.