Page 99 - ELA_CA_HighSchool_Sampler_Flipbook

EMBEDDED ASSESSMENT 1
Suggested Pacing: 2 50-minute class periods
1 Planning and Prewriting: As students respond to the prewriting questions, monitor their use of brainstorming strategies, their use of notes, and their creation of a list of the texts of the unit they might want to use in their definition of an American. These will become the basis of their textual evidence to support their definitions. You may want to allow them to work together during this stage of the
writing process.
2 Students can use the four focus questions for each of the definition strategies to help them rework their initial definitions of what it means to be an American. They should try to define the concept by function, classification, example, and negation. Remind students to use specific examples from the texts they have read, as well as their own personal experiences, to answer the four focus questions.
3 Drafting: In order to respond to the prompt in Embedded Assessment 1, students must first clearly articulate what functional definition of the word American they will be working with. Taking into account all of the questions, ask students to choose the definition they will be working with or create a new definition considering their responses. Have them write their definition and discuss their ideas in small groups.
4 EvaluatingandRevising:Consider using writing groups to help students examine and apply the “Use of Language” criteria to their drafts.
5 EditingandPublishing:Besure students have access to computers so they can edit and publish their essays in the most polished form possible.
6 You might want your students to turn in their brainstorming, notes, and drafts along with their final essay and use these items as part of a process grade.
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
W.11–12.2b: Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
W.11–12.2c: Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
Focus Standards:
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56 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 11
W.11–12.2a: Introduce a topic or thesis statement; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create
a unified whole; include formatting (e.g. headlines), graphics (e.g. figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. CA
56 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 11
EMBEDDED ASSESSMENT 1
Writing a Definition Essay
ASSIGNMENT
Your assignment is to write a multi-paragraph essay that defines your interpretation of what it means to be an American. This essay should use the strategies of definition and different perspectives from the unit to help you develop a complex and thoughtful definition. If possible, incorporate an iconic image into your essay.
Embedded Assessment Checklist
Use this Embedded Assessment Checklist to help guide your planning, drafting, revising, and editing.
Planning and Prewriting
Drafting
Evaluating and Revising
Editing and Publishing
Reflection
n What prewriting strategy will help you define what it means to be an American (free writing, webbing, graphic organizer)?
n What pieces of writing from this unit connected strongly with you? How can they help to add depth and dimension to your definition?
n How can you share your ideas with a peer to help you select the strongest material to include in your draft?
n How will you take the complex elements of your definition and work them into a clear, focused thesis statement?
n How can you sequence your ideas so that they work together to build a clear and convincing definition?
n What strategies of definition work well with your selected evidence and ideas?
n Does your essay have coherence—does it present ideas that tie together and flow smoothly, making the essay easy to follow for the reader?
n Does your essay have specific, varied diction and a variety of sentence patterns?
n Wherecanyouaddorrevisetransitionssothatoneideasmoothlyleads to another?
n How can you use the Scoring Guide as a tool to evaluate your draft or to seek out feedback from others?
n How will you check your writing for grammatical and technical accuracy? n What sort of outside resources can help you to check your draft (e.g., a
format guide, a dictionary)?
n What is an effective way to use the last read-through of your essay to
make final adjustments (e.g., read it out loud or have a peer read it to you)?
After completing this Embedded Assessment, think about how you went about accomplishing this assignment, and respond to the following:
• In what ways did the process of defining what it means to be an American cause you to rethink or reevaluate your own ideas?
• Did the material that you read in this unit have a role in this? Why or why not?
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.