curriculum.nesd.cacurriculum.nesd.ca/grade6/english-language-arts-suppo… · web viewone method...

ELA Unit Planning

Unit Title and Type Personal Power – Multi-disciplinary/Multi-genre

Unit Context Social/Cultural/Historical

Big Idea or Question Some people go above and beyond regardless of the consequences

Compose and Create (What’s)

Writing: Descriptive ParagraphsRepresenting: Poster, TableauSpeaking: Using oral language to express ideas: Voice Thread connections to Big Idea

Comprehend and Respond

(What’s)

Reading: Responding to fiction-nonfiction: Literature Circle Listening: Responding to oral opinions: Voice Thread critique, Literature CirclesViewing: Text with special features: Posters, Terry Fox video

Formative Assessment

QuickwritesDiscussion/large and small group reflectionsUsing rubrics for self and peer assessment poster rubricGraphic organizers ( Five Senses, Four Quadrant, Literature Circles response Sheet, Group Work Participation Pizza)

Summative Assessment Rubric criteria (see attached)

Texts and Resources

Shared Text: Underground to Canada , Barbara SmuckerLiterature Circles: Youtube, Collections: Looking for Answers: Free the Children, Craig Kielburger Speaks OutNewspaper Articles; Canadian black icon could get pardon, It’s wrong to exonerate Riel, Internet website Famous Women - Nellie McClungMovie/documentary: The Terry Fox StoryResources: Differentiating Instruction,Betty Hollas pg.124-126Pulling Together,Schnellert/Datoo/Ediger/Panas pg. 50

This is a multidisciplinary unit including Arts Ed – CP 6.11, CH 6.3, and Math, SS 6.5, and SS6.1 (Quilt pattern and messages)

BDA strategies are not noted separately, but are infused throughout the Learning Plan.

Learning Plan - POWER

Day 1:

1. Introduce Big Idea – Some people will go over and beyond the call of duty regardless of the consequences.

2. Role Play – arbitrary use of power. Treat students with glasses with kindness and do not allow all the other students the same opportunities. KQ: What did you think was happening? , How did being treated differently than everyone else make you feel? , What action came to your mind to do? , Have you ever been witness or involved in situation where someone was treated unfairly? , What did you do and why?

3. Quickwrite – 5-10 minutes write everything you think or know about the experience that just happened. (Fully explain that you write for 10 min. without pulling your pencil from the paper. Just write and write).

Reflections: Most students participated and passions/ opinions were strong. Strong sense of betrayal that we as women would pick on girls, and that Mrs. McGown, who wears glasses, would pick on people who wore glasses. Excellent vocabulary words such as: stereotypes, frustration, hypocritical, jealousy, resort to violence. Felt that teacher thought they were not worthy. Observation-students distanced themselves by lack of eye contact or interaction. Some students felt pleasure at being “favored”, even with some feeling of guilt. Other students stated that being doubled discriminated against brought out jealousy and rage. Students were trying to please the person in power in order not to be singled out. Not fully understanding what criteria was needed in order not to be discriminated against.

Day 2:

1. Introduce Essential Questions and Discuss and write on chart paper – How have others acted on their beliefs? How do we stand up for what is right? How do we know what is right? Why do others fail to act when they know something is wrong?

2. Introduce Barbara Smucker and read Introduction by Lawrence Hill.

3. Quickwrite – 5-10 minutes write everything you think or know about the essential question discussed earlier.

Reflections: Need to keep discussions to power on a big stage, personal stories can be used in reflections. Can never be sure of right or wrong.

Day 3:

1. KWL Chart on Slavery/America in the 1860’s

2. Introduce the Four Quadrant Graphic Organizer – explain images, emotions, words that have an impact, words that you do not know.

3. Read Chapter One – Read orally, students taking turns.

4. Students fill out the GO, reflect and discuss as a group

Reflections: need to add Misconceptions chart to KWL, as there is a lot of “speculation”. 4-Q many had nothing down. Some had lots of little pics that represented all aspects.

Day 4, 5, 6 – Essential Questions

• How is descriptive writing unique?

• How do the senses tell us about the world we live in?

•How do adjectives make details more vivid?

Day 4: Introduce the Descriptive paragraph. Activate prior knowledge of requirements of the paragraph. Go over rubric. Write paragraph on the topic. Describe the Hensen Plantation. Mark your own paragraph with the rubric. Give a mark, explain where you got it and how you can improve.

Reflections: Many thought they needed help with introduction and concluding sentences. Some thought they should have been more material to work with. Mrs. Grown found a whole page of descriptors. Much of the written work was judgmental and making pronouncements. Many facts were not accurate, or inferred for no good reason. Almost no use of descriptors.

Day 5: Review criteria for a Descriptive Paragraph. Students review their own paragraph for criteria. Using Ch. 1 plantation descriptors – with a partner, categorize by the five senses. (See Graphic Organizer). Write a topic sentence. Share as a large group. Pick a topic sentence and create a paragraph as a class. Give students copies and have them use as an exemplar.

Reflections: Intense, but students stayed engaged for the whole time. Because of the pre-assessment our lesson was much more focused and clear. The paragraph we wrote as a class was very well written. It was difficult for most to come up with a topic sentence. Students had a lot of opinion and judgment. Celebrations: when the class was asked if they should do another one right away or wait, one of the top students said to do another one before he forgets. Greatest moment was when a girl, who actively resisted participating had, by the end, written a topic sentence.

Day 6: Read Ch. 2 as a large group.

Day 7: Posters of Slave Sale

Essential Questions

• Who is the author of the poster? Who is the audience for the poster? What is the purpose of a poster?

• How can posters and broadsides of the 1880’s help us to understand various attitudes toward slavery in the U.S. prior to the Civil War?

Look at examples of posters. Determine important elements. Discuss authenticity. Make rough draft. Complete poster on computer.

Use Poster Rubric to evaluation and give formative feedback written on poster.

Reflections: Everyone got done. Key information wasn’t an issue. Everyone stuck to the facts, possibly because they know have an idea about that. Authenticity- look at vocabulary. Use of technology. Work done during descriptive paragraphs on sticking to the facts, not editorializing was helpful for posters as same mindset was needed. Some areas students need to improve on are: font size, use of underlines, and importance of information v.s. where it is located on poster. Have students write 1. what they did well and 2. what they could have done better on.

Day 8: Give feedback on posters. Review essential poster questions and ask for posters back to be made into a bulletin board. Read Chapter 3-6

Day 9: With a partner, find descriptors in Ch.3-5 for a descriptive paragraph that describe the journey the slaves endure as they travel to their new plantation. Organize. Write the topic sentence. Write the paragraph.

Reflections: Most had the idea of finding the descriptors. Lots needed help with topic sentences. They were able to take suggestions and move far with them, possible from the work done yesterday. Vonda wrote a paragraph independently. Using the chart had to be encouraged, she needed a lot of help at first, but finished on her own and started her paragraph independently.

Day 10: Read chapters 7&8 using Literature Circle Format. Have student groups fill out Lit. Cir. G. O., (Main Points of Passage, Essential Questions passage connected to, How it connects?) and Participation Pizza/How Well Did We Work Together Graphic Organizers. They can work as a group to get this done.

Reflections: When asked how the groups worked together some were honest and some were not. Those who were not did not want to take responsibility for their role in the group. We did brainstorm some ways to make group members accountable for their role in the group.

Day 11: Read Chapters 9&10 as a large group. Look at examples of Runaway Slave Posters review - Who is the author of the poster? Who is the audience for the poster? What is the purpose of a poster?

• How can posters help us to understand various attitudes toward slavery in the U.S. in the 1880’s?

Review important elements. Discuss authenticity. Compare and review formative feedback and plan from last poster. Make rough draft. Complete poster on computer.

Use Poster Rubric to evaluation and give a summative mark with formative feedback written on poster.

Reflections: (I was really looking forward to seeing the process of learning in the poster rubric for students). When we went over some examples of what students thought they did well on and how they could have done better lots of “silly” mistakes were made. Students did not do a good job of proofreading their work, even though it was in their action plan from last day? How do I get teach students how valuable their past mistakes are as a learning tools?

Day 12: Lit. Cir. – Reading Chapter 11-14 Graphic Organizers – Formative feedback on group work. Students fill in the G.O.’s independently this time. Discussions referring back to the essential question: what kept the girls going in the face of all the dangers?

Art Lesson – Making Quilt Patterns

1. Explain the background information and how the quilts became a part of the Underground Railroad.

2. Show six patterns and explain their meaning. Students must complete four of the six. Give the meaning on the back of each pattern.

Freedom Quilts

Since many slaves could not read, songs and symbols were used to guide them on their way. One method of communicating safety or danger was the use of quilts. They called them “freedom quilts”. Here are six patterns that gave messages to the runaways:

“Monkey Wrench” – signaled those slaves planning to escape to collect the mental and physical tools needed for escape. It was usually the first pattern to be displayed.

“Shoefly” – this was a location that secretly aided and harbored runaways. This person was very knowledgeable about codes and symbols.

“The Crossroad” – these symbols let runaways know there was a crossroad ahead and to wait for further directions on which way to go.

“The Star” – the North Star; this pattern is a directional pattern and told the slaves to look to the sky for guidance.

“The Bowtie or Hourglass” – this pattern told the slaves that new clothing would be gotten at this stop to disguise themselves as free blacks before they reached the next safe house.

“Flying Geese” – This design communicated direction to the slaves. The darker color indicated what direction to follow to safety.

Answer these Questions

1. Do we communicate by symbols in any way nowadays?2. How do shapes and patterns communicate information?3. Can you match the freedom quilt pattern to its name and purpose?

3. Turn the finished products into a bulletin board.

Reflections: Students enjoyed reading and discussing the hardship that faced the girls. I heard a lot of talk about what they would do in that same situation. Students were very intrigued to hear about the quilts and how they were a very important part of the Underground Railroad. Some were more enthusiastic to make the quilts than others. All completed at least four quilts. Next year I would like to have a guest speaker come in and explain all that she knows in regards to the quilts. Also I would like to introduce more than six so students have more of a selection to pick from. It might help those that are less enthusiastic about putting together quilts? I received some resources to connect the quilts to symmetry and angles in math as well.

Day 13: Lit. Cir. - Read 15-18 Graphic Organizers – Summative mark for overall performance in Lit. Cir., (rubric). Assessment on completion and growth of the student in regards to the feedback given on G.O.’s.

Day 14: Read Chapter 19, the follow-up on Mr. Alexander Ross and Mr. Levi Coffin together as a large group. Have students complete a Quikwrite expressing their thoughts and feelings about the story.

Day 15: Tableau Activity

1. Explain the definition, (still picture), and purpose, (informational), of a Tableau

2. Discuss ways to create the Tableaux

3. Organize groups and chapters.

4. Have each group pick the main idea of the chapter to represent the scene.

5. Discuss authenticity, costumes, and positions.

6. Create and practice tableaux before taking pics.

7. Have other groups view, and give feedback, sharing ideas on how it could be better.

8. Take tableaux picture

9. Review process and reflect

10.Publish and share the pics on bulletin board. (remember to show the process of the how the Tableau was created, Step one, Step two planning Step three taking the pics Step four reflecting.)

Reflections: Students thoroughly enjoyed making the Tableaux. It was fun, engaging and exciting to create. Some of the feedback I received was: it was hard to keep your facial expression still for a long time. Students really felt like Julilly when they were crouched down having someone over them with a ‘whip’. It was really hard to keep a straight face at times. The costumes and old paper make the look more Tableaux more realistic. When planning the Tableaux, it was suggested that at another school they used a railroad to tie the Tableaux together. Through extensive discussion it was finally decided that the railroad was not the way to go because there were numerous symbols used in the novel and the railroad was only one overused one. It completely changed our direction and personally made it more fun for me because it was now a group effort and not just teacher led and directed. It also made us start to, for the first time, really look at and make connections with some of the symbolic messages in the novel, such as the drinking gourd, North Star and Big Dipper. The essential questions became - How do symbols help us to understand stories? Can you convey emotion with movement through body language? Next year I would like to spend more time on these connections right from the start. I would also like to get a quote from each student about the experience and how it all connects to the Big Idea.

Day 16 – 18 - Literature Circles.

1. Have students read a variety of texts’ of different Canadians who have gone over and beyond the call of duty regardless of the consequences. Such as Louis Riel, Craig Keiburger, Wayne Gretzky, Viola Desmond, (aka Rosa Parks), and Terry Fox, Nelly McClung, You Tube.

2. Discuss qualities that make these people “leaders”. Compare them to the characters of ordinary people such as you or I or the characters in the novel, Underground to Canada. How are they the same and how are they different?

Reflections: I truly enjoyed these discussions. Jaw dropping moment was when Wayne Gretzky was compared to Terry Fox and the question was asked, Should Terry Fox be more famous than Wayne Gretzky? Gretzky was just a hockey player but Fox actually gave up his life fighting to save others. Also a quote was mentioned from Keilburger, “ Why should

I give up when children are still dying?” Higher level students were very thoughtful and articulate in the discussions. How do I get quieter/lower level students involved in these conversations?

Day 19 & 20 – Voice Thread Activity - Final Project

Question - Compare a character from Underground to Canada to a person from the literature we have taken in class, or from your own independent reading. What qualities do they both have that drive them to go “above and beyond”, regardless of the consequences? Example – Terry Fox Story, Craig Kielburger – Free the Children, Viola Desmond – aka Canada’s Rosa Parks. Students will write out answers first and practice saying their statement over and over until they have it down.

Reflections: Students really enjoyed this activity too. “It was fun to be able to speak your thoughts instead of always having to write them”. “It was neat to speak into the mic and then hear your voice back”. Students also enjoyed being able to hear others and commenting on what they had to say. I think this activity really summed up nicely our unit. It was hard work to make rubrics and meet all the requirements but well worth it at the end.

Unit End Reflections/Celebrations

Have I given enough balance to viewing, representing, reading, writing, listening and speaking?

Really tough to keep up with all the associated prep, assessment, and planning of a new UbD unit on top of regular work load. Next one I will do a better job just because I realize the time commitment involved.

Excited each day about what the students were going to bring to the table and say.

I really felt they were engaged throughout the whole unit.

Working to make the Bulletin Boards a learning tool instead of just a product display.

How much Inquiry can be done through Anchor Activities? How do I evaluate it?

When asked what students learned, students could tell us – Quick writes, how to make a poster, how to write a descriptive paragraph,etc

Thoughtful discussions – courage, planning of the bb

Student contributions to the Big Ideas and Essential Questions

Some tasks really worked well together – poster and descriptive paragraph both require factual information but must engage an audience

Some students were able to connect their own readings to the Big Idea and Essential Questions.

Students just naturally tiered some assignments to their own level of capabilities. 1. Student realizing that instead of reinventing the wheel during an anchor activity, she asked if she could use the sentence from the novel as the clue in making a cross word puzzle. This really was fun and exciting to see.

The element of choice in the final Voice Thread response meant that students who do a lot or very little reading were able to go beyond the parameters of the literature studied. It made it a self-tiering final assessment.

It was interesting that when we did the Lit. Cir the students did not want roles, especially a leader. This seemed to have a negative connotation. They wanted leadership to be more democratic and to come naturally from the group.

The impact, student input had on our direction throughout the unit.

Focusing on making learning visual, posters, tableaux, descriptors.

Learning the process of forming a UbD unit from scratch was so beneficial.

A huge “Thank You” to my DI Faciliatator who help inspire, direct, refocused, and, at times, even lead me to what I feel was an enormous success.

I am excited about my next unit.

Anchor Activities – Underground to Canada

Complete 3 of the 5

1. Top Ten • new words from the text

• colors, names not often used (example teal)

• adjectives/adverbs - words that describe nouns and verbs

• reasons to have slaves

• reasons to describe images/objects

• favorite books and include why

2. Create a travel brochure describing Mississippi in the Early 1800’s. Include: places of interest, local food at a restaurant with prices, entertainment (where to go out on the town), hotels and rates, cost of clothing, forms of travel and prices.

3. Spelling – learn to sign 10 of your spelling vocabulary words and create a crossword puzzle using at least 20 vocabulary words. Provide an answer key for both.

4. Design illustrations in a portfolio that you think you go with a particular chapter from the book. Minimum 3; paper must be 8x11 and colored or sketched and shaded.

5. Create a fictional group and design a political “platform” for them in 1855, in the form of a portfolio. Include a name and purpose. Are you a Republican or a Democrat? What are the groups beliefs based on? Write a speech on your stand on the issue of slavery? What, if any, are the other issues at this time? Why should people vote for you? What specific actions are you going to take to win this election?

Underground to Canada Vocabulary

Chapter 1 & 2: abolitionists, barbaric, bellowed, calloused, chirping, fretful, hewn, hoecake, honeysuckle, loiter, nigger, oppressed, plantation, reins, slavery, slurred, tote, whippoorwill, yearning

Chapter 3 & 4: ambled, bound, cypress, deep-south, parched, plodding, promise, red-necked, shimmering, tug, waded

Chapter 5 & 6: bramble, chinking, Crocker, dislike, despair, gaiety, gnawed, listlessness, magnolia, rattan, rumple, trough

Chapter 7 & 8: bolls, draw, furrow, gin house, ladled, lashings, precision, sickened, trudged

Chapter 9 &10: accursed, apprehension, blotted, cicadas, determination, disdain, eerie, meager, meandered, poised, roundabout, ruckus, scrounged, serene, solemn, splendidly, trance, tussled, unyielding

Chapter 11 & 12: canebrake, compass, congress, fervor, flint, fugitive, gnarled, hickory, hoof-beats, immobile, kindled, lapsed, scarred, spunk, swerved, thickets

Chapter 13 & 14: abundantly, dispersed, endurance, unkempt, wiry

Chapter 15 & 16: clomp, counterpane, depot, distinction, hasten, frail, gaunt, offence, oppress, skiff, tremolo, wilt

Chapter 17 & 18: bade, closeted, impervious, innumerable, jolt, lassies, skid, sloshed, strode, urgency

Chapter 19: burnished, hostile, sullen

Underground Railroad – Individual Project

TASK- Create a collection of correspondence: three letters exchanged between Julilly and her mother, from the time they were separated at the Hensen Plantation.

• Make the letters interesting! Have Julilly ask questions and describe what her life is like.

• Include at least four references to things going on in the United States during this time period (1850’s). For example, who was president? Had something been invented lately? Was there a war going on?

• Mention real towns and places along the journey to the Riley Plantation and during the escape underground.

• Keep track of dates correctly. Remember how long it would take for mail to be delivered.

• Place letters in envelopes using the proper format and mail in classroom mailbox. Remember to include stamp, address, and return address.

Title: Listening Name __________________

Great work! This is going extra well for you!

You did it and you did it on your own!

Good start. You are beginning to make sense of this on your own.

You can do it. Spend some extra time with the criteria and ask for help.

Demonstrates good listening behaviors (before, during and after)

Understanding the ideas

You are highly engaged in the listening process. You clearly understand why you are listening and how to get the most of your listening experience. You ask good questions that enhance your understanding.

You are able to focus on a speaker throughout, ready yourself for why you are listening and ask questions or seek further information when you need to and at appropriate times.

You show good listening behaviors most of the time. You need a little help getting and/or staying focused. You sometimes ask questions and seek more information but more time should be spent deciding the purpose of your listening and acting on that purpose.

You seem unsure of why you are listening and how to listen in a way that meets your needs. You need to spend more time figuring out how to listen well and for what reason.

Listens purposefully


You Have a very clear understanding of why your are listening and you use many techniques for

You note information as you hear it in order to help you later. You are able to identify important

You seem to have a sense of why you are listening but more strategies are needed for keeping track of

You need to spend much more time thinking about why you are listening and then deciding how to keep track

keeping track of your thoughts and your newly gained knowledge.

information and apply it to your purpose for listening.

information as it is presented as well as your thoughts about that information.

of what you are learning and hearing

Interprets themes, messages and point of view

Responding to and interpreting texts

You can recognize the complexity of what is being said. You have a high level of understanding of theme, message and point of view.

You are clear about the theme or message of what you heard. You can identify the point of view of the speaker.

You seem unsure of the theme or message of what you have heard. You needed some help clearly recognizing these elements.

You are unsure of what you have heard in terms of its theme, message or point of view. You need to spend more time listening to the speaker.

Makes connections


Connections are detailed, developed and varied; the link to the text is clear and relevant.

Connections are strong and personal; reasons are given for connections and there are links to the text.

Some connections are made but more attention could be paid to making them personal, relevant and strongly tied to the text. Help was needed to develop connections

Much help was needed to make connections; more understanding of the text and how it might be relevant is needed.

Title: Viewing Name __________________





Demonstrates good viewing behaviours (before, during and after)


You are highly engaged in the viewing process. You clearly understand why you are viewing and how to get the most of your viewing experience. You ask good questions that enhance your understanding.

You are able to focus on viewing throughout, ready yourself for why you are viewing and ask questions or seek further information when you need to and at appropriate times.

You show good viewing behaviours most of the time. You need a little help getting and/or staying focused. You sometimes ask questions and seek more information but more time should be spent deciding the purpose of your viewing and acting on it

You seem unsure of why you are viewing and how to view in a way that meets your needs. You need to spend more time figuring out how to view well and for what reason.

Views purposefully


You have a very clear understanding of why your are viewing and you use many techniques for keeping track of your thoughts and your newly gained knowledge.

You note information as you see it in order to help you later. You are able to identify important information and apply it to your purpose for viewing.

You seem to have a sense of why you are viewing but more strategies are needed for keeping track of information as it is presented as well as your thoughts about that information.

You need to spend much more time thinking about why you are viewing and then deciding how to keep track of what you are learning and viewing

Interprets themes, messages and point of view


You can recognize the complexity of the text. You have a high level of understanding of theme, message and point of view.

You are clear about the theme or message of the text. You can identify the point of view.

You seem unsure of the theme or message of the text. You needed some help clearly recognizing these elements.

You are unsure of what you have seen and (heard) in terms of its theme, message or point of view. You need to spend more time with the text.

Makes connections


Connections are detailed, developed and varied; the link to the text is clear and relevant.

Connections are strong and personal; reasons are given for connections and there are links to the text.

Some connections are made but more attention could be paid to making them personal, relevant and strongly tied to the text. Help was needed to develop connections

Much help was needed to make connections; more understanding of the text and how it might be relevant is needed.

Poster Rubric Name_____________________

Category





Key information All key information is included

Most key information is included

Some key information is included

Very little key information is included. Review the information and add missing details.

Degree of detail Precise and descriptive details about the slaves

Accurate and somewhat descriptive details about the slaves

Partial details about the slaves

Vague details about the slaves. Review the chapter and highlight all the details on the slaves.

Visual Appeal The poster’s overall look is engaging and authentic to the time period

The poster’s overall look is realistic to the time period

The poster’s overall look is simple – some parts are true to the time period

The poster’s overall look is vague - few or no details are true to the time period. Research details to include that are true to the time period.

Design

The design is organized and efficient in displaying information effectively

The design is practical in displaying information effectively

The design is workable in displaying information effectively

The design is ineffective in displaying information effectively. How can you make the information effective in the display?

Mechanics Capitalization and punctuation are correct in the poster

There is 1 error in capitalization or punctuation

There are 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation

There is more than 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation. Have a peer proofread and edit your poster for capitalization and punctuation.

Title: Representing Grade Six Name ________________

Level

Criteria

Exceeding expectations

Meeting expectations independently

Mostly meeting expectations with assistance

Not yet meeting expectations, even with assistance

Key Information must be included

All key /important information is included.

Most key/important information is included.

Some important information is included.

Minimal information is included. Important info needs to be identified and organized.

Degree of detail. Descriptive details are accurate.

Precise and descriptive details are present. Mental picture is easily formed. Description represents deep thinking.

Accurate and descriptive details are present. Mental picture is formed. Description represents thought.

Partial and obvious details are presented. Take more time to organize and identify details.

Vague details. Needs to review organization and detail information. Ask questions, get clarification and review examples.

Visual Appeal. Poster will catch the attention of the intended audience.

The poster’s overall look is engaging and authentic to the time period. Authenticity makes poster clear and meaningful.

The poster’s overall look is realistic to the time period. The authenticity is noticeable and adds meaning to the poster.

The poster’s overall look is simple – some parts are true to the time period. Identify ways to make more authentic.

The poster’s overall look is vague – needs to review authenticity and examples of ways to increase meaning.

Design – Authentic to time period.

The design is organized and efficient in displaying information effectively.

The design is practical in displaying information effectively.

The design is workable in displaying information effectively.

The design is ineffective in displaying information effectively. Key information needs to be organized on the poster.

Grade Six Student Name ___________________________

RESPONDING – PEER/GROUP DISCUSSION

Level

Criteria

Great Work!

This is going extra well for

you.

You Did It!!

You did it on your own!

Good Start!

You are beginning to

make sense of this in

your own way

You Can Do It!!

Spend some extra time with the criteria and ask for help.

Is prepared to engage in discussion; has read, commented and reflected on the text

Has read text more than once, completely understands all themes, made through notes and written a thoughtful reflection.

Has read text more than once, understands purpose of discussion made notes on most questions and aspects, evidence of some reflection

Has read text and made some notes. Reflection is minimal. Peer discussion may be beneficial.

Has read text. Comprehension is questionable. Needs to reread and use focus questions to guide thinking.

Is willing to probe and question, to speculate and to take risks during discussio

Able to ask probing questions to purposefully move discussion forward. Takes risks with ideas and is able to justify own thinking with examples.

Attempts to ask probing questions. Moves discussion along. Takes risks in discussion with some justification.

Makes some attempt to go beyond surface ideas with questions and ideas. Not quite sure how to move discussion along independently

Does not go beyond basic ideas. Is unable to focus on purpose of discussion and therefore does not understand benefit of group discussion.

Student commenting and providing feedback on

All comments are clearly connected to the student and selection. Comments are challenging and

Comments are connected to the student and selection. Comments provide evidence that the student has considered

Some evidence of a connection. Reader is not convinced the student has thought deeply about the

Comments are out of place. Student needs to re-read and provide more evidence that they have read and understand the selection.

peer selection encourage further study of selection. Comments give meaningful feedback

the selection and based comments on those considerations.

response. The use of examples could achieve a more meaningful comment.

Rubric for Descriptive Text Name __________________________________





Mes

sage

/M

eani

ngOverall clarity of message and meaning.

Ideas and information are rich and detailed and strongly support the meaning of the text. Message is very clear.

Straightforward ideas and information; relevant, accurate and complete; message is clear.

More ideas and information may be needed; more thinking may help; support was required to create strong meaning in the text.

Much more thought and research would help; a great deal of help was required and pieces are still missing.

Org

aniza

tion

and

Cohe

renc

e

Logical order

The ordering of description is precise, unique and powerful; it invites strong mental images where impressions are layered in a way to enhance overall description.

Information is presented in a logical order (ie. Left to right, far to near). The scene being described is clear.

A general ordering of description leaves out some details. More attention needs to be given to deciding how best to layer descriptions for the reader.

It is difficult to make a mental connection to the writing based on the order details are shared. Much more time needs to be spent planning how to describe.

Styl

e an

d La

ngua

ge C

hoic

es

Five senses

Five senses are explained precisely and create a robust and complete mental image.

Five senses are represented through accurate details.

Some details representing the five senses are present but more time needs to be spent imagining and exploring the scene before writing.

Minimal use of the five senses. Spend much more time in the pre-writing stage, brainstorming ways to represent the five senses in your descriptions.

Descriptive words

Writing captivates the reader and significantly enhances the ability to create mental images. Descriptions are rich and detailed and vocab. is varied.

Descriptive words present a clear picture of the place. There is adequate variety in word choice.

Words are general. More attention needs to be paid to word choice, focusing on adjectives and figurative language.

There is little or no use of descriptive words. Much more attention needs to be paid to finding words that capture meaning.

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