Unit: Test Taking Strategies and Grammar Unit Topics: AIMs prep test taking strategies and essential

l grammar/writing review Grade Level & Class: 8th grade ELA Best Time to Teach: January and February Length: 8 weeks Style: Calendar Guiding Question: What does it mean to be a good test taker? What skills, strategies, and methods will allow us to perform well on different types of exams and tests? Major Assignments: Worksheets, presentation, PSA poster Supplemental Material: Article, Videos, Guided notes, Handout worksheets Assessments: 1 Quiz, 1 Test Standards for Entire Unit: 8.RI.4 8.W.1 8.W.4 8.SL.1 8.SL.5 8.L.1 8.L.2 8.L.3 8.L.5

Prior Knowledge Students have been exposed to the bulk of this information before. The grammar and writing lessons are all review for the AIMs exam. Parts of speech, conventions, 6 traits rubric, word choice, and the like have been covered as parts of other unit, but this was at the start of the school year. Students should be familiar with the concepts, but the unit will allow them the time to master anything they did not initially master and refresh on essential skills that are testing on the AIMS. Test taking skills are completely new to the students.

Follow Up Following this unit, students will have a focused, intense academic writing unit. They will then complete two units based on a yet to be selected novel and a series of short stories. These units will be thematic. All of the skills taught in this unit will be referenced and review for the rest of the semester so as to continue to build up student learning.

January 2013 Monday 7 SWBAT list at least 4 test taking strategies for multiple choice test. Bellwork: When you take a test, what is the most nerveracking thing? Why? Sample multiple choice test, taken before & after learning skills Tuesday 8 SWBAT explain what multiple choice test taking strategies work best for them personally. Wednesday 9 SWBAT to utilize a variety of techniques to help Bellwork: Which of the strategies we have with test taking studied do you think will be most useful? Why? stress and anxiety. Review multi choice strategies, ask students to share any additional ideas they have to handle testing anxiety. Thursday 10 SWBAT to explain what prewriting strategies are best for constructed response exam questions. Friday 11 SWBAT to explain and utilize test taking strategies for writing and multiple choice test. Bellwork: None test Quiz: Test Taking Strategies I

Bellwork: Quick write write Bellwork: What do about writing! Write anything you do to chill out about your thoughts or feeling when youre stressed about academic writing. AIMS, or anxious? essays, anything! Discussion: What about testing makes it so stressful? Lecture: Overcoming testing anxiety Assignment: Create a personal test taking anxiety plan. Bring to class Lecture: Pre-writing matters Provide pre-writing worksheets and model using them with class. Activity: Write a 3 paragraph essay on given topic, use todays strategies. Turn in pre-writing and essay at end of class.

tomorrow to share.

14 SWBAT to verbally explain comma rules. Bellwork: Add commas to the following sentence

15 SWBAT to explain what a run on sentence is and correct them in their writing. Bellwork: What is a run on sentence? Take a guess! Lecture: Run On Sentences

16 SWBAT explain the function of each part of speech and correctly identify parts of speech in sentences.

17 SWBAT properly use quotation marks and write dialogue. Bellwork: Comma, grammar review. Correct the following sentences. I ran to bathroom. I am looking in the mirror when I see that my makeup is smeared. I needed to fix my lipstick foundation and blush

18 SWBAT identify a sentence fragment and correct them in writing. Bellwork: What parts does a sentence have to have in it? Why? Discussion: What makes writing good? Class will create a chart together.

Bellwork: Identify Video: Brain POP http://www.brainpop.com/ the part of speech of english/grammar/runonsentences/preview.weml each work in the Tommy had a following sentences. dog who was Assignment: Graphic Organizers, run on brown grey and worksheet Gridley is a great black and he school. I love the never took him Homework: Complete unfinished worksheets pizazz and spirit all on walks! of the students have! Lecture: Comma Review Homework: Comma worksheet Lecture: Parts of Speech Review Video: School House Rock Assingment:

Video: Brain POP dialogue http://www.brainpop.com/english/ Transition to writing/dialogue/preview.weml clauses and sentences. Assignment: Graphic organizers for video, review worksheet. Lecture: Fragments Assignment: Fragment Fixer

Worksheet

worksheet.

21 MLK DAY NO SCHOOL

22 SWBAT identify what good word choice is. Bellwork: Review what is work choice? Lecture: Strengthening Sentences with Word Choice. Create this of no no works (overused words) Classroom writing assignment w/ madlibs. Assignment: Write a paragraph about your favorite subject that utilizes good word choice.

23 SWBAT to define the different types of writing. Bellwork: What makes writing good? What is your favorite type of writing? Lecture: Review on types of writing. Assignment: Give students samples of writing, have them identify what type it is. Homework: Write a persuasive paragraph on why I should like your

24 SWBAT to utilize peer editing chart to improve a peers writing. Bellwork: What is the most important part of the writing process? Explain why. Review: Peer editing, editing marks, 6 traits Assignment: Exchange papers (yesterdays homework) and edit. Give back to peer and let them edit it. Share with class. Teacher will move around and conference with individual students.

25 SWBAT to utilize their knowledge of writing to create a well written piece of academic writing. In Class Essay Assessment

favorite singer or band.

28 SWBAT utilize test taking strategies. Bellwork: Name at least 3 testing strategies Test Taking Strategies Jeopardy Student survey: what parts of testing are you still struggling with? Monday

29 SWBAT utilize test taking strategies in a mock tasting environment. Bellwork: Write a paragraph highlighting your writing skills. Any topic you want! Mock testing: Students will take a mock AIMS exams, results will inform next two review days.

30 SWBAT to explain the importance of specific test taking strategies. Review day: based off of students mock AIMS results, todays lecture will review specific strategies students still need to perfect.

31 SWBAT to explain the importance of specific test taking strategies. Review day: based off of students mock AIMS results, todays lecture will review specific strategies students still need to perfect. MOCK AIMS writing

Tuesday

February 2013 Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

1 SWBAT analyze flaws in their own writing. Bellwork: what is your greatest testing strength? Explain to student they can use each other to help with their weaknesses. Assignment: grammar review packet (groups) Teacher will individually conference with students about their sample AIMS writing. 7 SWBAT translate 8 SWBAT translate their knowledge of their knowledge of basic basic grammar into PSA grammar into PSA posters. posters. Bellwork: why does our grammar matter? Assignment: Create creative PSA posters that address common Bellwork: NONE Assignment: Create creative PSA posters that address common issues. Students will

4 SWBAT successfully diagram a sentence. Bellwork: Define each part of speech. Lecture: Review of diagraming sentences Worksheet (guided and independent practice)

5 SWBAT identify what an idiom and clich are and explain what they do to writing. teacher will talk all in clichs for the first chunk of class to show students what it does to writing Lecture: idioms and clichs Video: Brain POP

6 SWBAT identify commonly mixed up words (homophones). Bellwork: What are the differences between their, there, and theyre? Show The Oatmeal posters (project) that show how silly it looks

diagraming sentences.

http://www.brainpop.com/english/writing/ to use the wrong form of issues. Tell class they idiomsandcliches/preview.weml words. are the grammar police. Show sample Graphic organizer and quiz from video Worksheet: Using poster. Provide rubric homophones correctly! (graded on effectiveness, creativity, message, effort) 12 SWBAT understand the parts of a poem. Bellwork: What is your favorite poem? It can be a poem by a poet or song lyrics by a singer. What about it sticks out to you? Lecture: Intro to poetry (AIMS topic) parts, famous poets, figurative language review. Assignment: Bio Poems poems about self 13 SWBAT begin a basic analysis of a poem. Bellwork: How do we know what a poet is saying? Lecture: An intro to poem analysis. Worksheet: how to break down a poem (step by step guide to starting a poem analysis). Homework: find a poem and write a one paragraph analysis. 14 SWBAT fully analyze a grade level poem, noting theme and imagery specifically. Bellwork: Define imagery and theme. Review lecture: imagery, theme, and figurative language how they connect to analysis. Worksheet: how to use re-reading to more deeply analyze a poem.

finish their posters. Start presentations. Students must take notes on the presentations.

11 SWBAT translate their knowledge of basic grammar into PSA posters. Bellwork: NONE Finish student presentations. Quiz: will cover the topics that students addressed in their PSAs.

15 SWBAT to create their own poem, utilizing figurative language, word choice, and specific structure. Bellwork: What is this poem about? Sum it up in 2 sentences. Where the Sidewalk Ends Silverstein Assignment: write your own poem and include an illustration (like those w/ Shel Silversteins poems) HW if not finished in class.

18 SWBAT listen to peers poems and provide constructive feedback. Bellwork: What was the easiest part of writing your poem? The hardest? Why? STUDENT PRESENTATIONS, students must fill out peer evaluation sheets as students present.

19 SWBAT listen to peers poems and provide constructive feedback. Bellwork: Have your feelings about poetry changed? Explain. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS, students must fill out peer evaluation sheets as students present.

20 SWBAT explain elements of poetry and how they help a reader analyze a poem. Bellwork: what is a metaphor? Simile? Give an example for each. Assignment: whole class poem read along and analysis. On butcher paper, teacher will lead a discussion and analysis. Students will have to defend their thoughts and ideas relate to their analysis and settle disagreements to come to a group consensus. 27 SWBAT to create a test taking portfolio that contains tips, tricks, and strategies for their use. Bellwork: What have you learned in this unit? List 2 thing you have learned, one question you have, and one thing

21 RODEO BREAK

22 RODEO BREAK

25 SWBAT to achieve a passing score on a FULL sample AIMS exam. Bellwork: none AIM prep: mock AIMS multiple choice. Will be graded, analyzed, and results given to students in a

26 SWBAT to create a test taking portfolio that contains tips, tricks, and strategies for their use. Bellwork: We are a few weeks out from the AIMS and we havent covered testing strategies in a couple weeks. How do you feel about testing? Do you think youll improve? Explain.

28 SWBAT take a minimock AIMS exam and score in the meets or exceeds category. Bellwork: none Final mock AIMS (computer generation benchmark exam)

conference.

Assignment: Portfolio students must create a creative, functional portfolio that highlights their learning for the unit. It must include cover sheet, table of content, one example of a writing strategy, two examples of multiple choice testing strategies, and three examples of how to handle test anxiety. It must be like a how to book that anyone could pickup and use. Student teacher conferences during work time.

that you really enjoyed doing. Assignment: Portfolio students must create a creative, functional portfolio that highlights their learning for the unit. It must include cover sheet, table of content, one example of a writing strategy, two examples of multiple choice testing strategies, and three examples of how to handle test anxiety. It must be like a how to book that anyone could pickup and use. Student teacher conferences during work time.

Score report to be shared with students, analyzed for next months exam.

Handout #1 Word Choice Name: _______________ Period:_______________ In the paragraph below, underline the words and phrases that DO NOT show good word choice. Then, replace them with a better word or phrase. On the line provided below, re-write the paragraph with the improved work choice. Remember, choose words that engage the reader and paint an easy to see picture of what is happening. Look out for clichs and over used words like very. Skate boarding is a very fun hobby. It is pretty cool, I guess. I think that everyone should go out and skate board. When I am skate boarding, I feel like I am out of this world. I do not think about school or homework or cleaning my room at all. Instead, I focus on how fun skate boarding can be. My friends and I really like to skateboard at the elementary school by our house. We want to start a fund to build a skate park in our neighborhood. That would be totally awesome. For now, Ill just keep working on learning new trick and becoming an even better skater. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Handout #2 Comma Practice Name: _______________ Period:_______________ Insert commas into the sentences below to make them grammatically correct. Some sentences may not need any commas to be added. Write correct next to those sentences. 1. Cookies my favorite sweet treat are not the best for your waistline! 2. Unlike cats dogs are friendly playful and can be great protectors of your home. 3. My favorite breakfast consists of pancakes because they taste delicious! 4. Ms. Freedman who is a student too likes to tell ridiculous jokes in class but I think my jokes would be funnier. 5. My friends Sophia Jessica and Bob want to audition for the X Factor this month. 6. I cannot believe that it is almost spring break. 7. I am going to go to a dance club and I will boogie all night long. 8. When it comes to school I really love English class. 9. Commas are a piece of cake and they can really help improve your writing.

Handout #3 Identify the parts of speech for each word in the following paragraph. Use the abbreviations listed below, and write the label ABOVE the word you are marking. Be sure to label each word! Noun N Pronoun PN Verb V Adjective ADJ Interjection INJ Preposition PREP Article ART Conjunction CONJ

Funny True Stories: The Boy and the Train An American teenager was taken to hospital to recover from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how close he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit. Source: http://www.e-jokes.net/true/016.htm

Handout #4 Quick Pronoun Review

Each sentence below contains a single pronoun. Underline that pronoun. Then write the noun that is referred to by that pronoun. The first two have been done for you. 1. Father asked Paul why he hadnt washed the dog. Paul 2. Jill and Jenna ate fifty cookies while they watched the movie. Jill and Jenna 3. The robot lifted the rock and put it on the table. 4. Michael denies the charge that he hit Christopher. 5. The boys were shocked when they heard the news. 7. The little pigs considered pickled prunes to be a treat, and squealed with joy upon finding them. 8. Sally angrily asked Lorrie why she had stolen the boat. 9. Patrick and Anne said, We are glad to be here. 10. The teachers made a sign that said, The students should treat us with kindness! 11. Each girl in this room should realize that she could be president someday. *Adapted from Ms. Moxeys Grammar Boot camp packet with permission

Handout #5 Word Choice Guided Notes

Word choice is defined as _________________________________________________. It is essential to writing because it helps to _______________ the reader and ____________________. There are many resources for fixing up your writing, including using thesauri or a peer editor to point out boring or ______________ words.

A Thesaurus is a _______________________________, similar to a dictionary. Word Choice No-Nos

This list, if you remember, was compiled in class and highlights some of the common words we over use in writing. It you see these in your own writing, which is automatically going to be a word you need to replace. Choose something that is more descriptive and engaging instead!

*Very *And/Or *A Lot *Cool *Bad *Good

*Basically

*Got *Fun * Pretty *Happy

*ANY CLICHES! *Quiet *Kind of

*Got *Amazing *Perfect

*Interesting *Lots *Interesting *Seems *Actually

*Fun *Just *Many *Bored

*Nice *Kind *Funny *Funny

Handout #6/Graphic Organizer Comparing and Contrasting Academic Writing and Personal Writing
Weve been learning about different types of writing. The main difference we have noticed is that some writing is academicfor schooland some writing is more personallike a journal, story, or blogbut what really makes them different? Below, use the venn diagram to explore the differences and similarities between personal and academic writing.

Assessment Test Taking Skills Quiz Name:________________ Period: ________ Answer the following questions completely. Please answer using complete sentences. If the space provided is not enough, you may use the back of this paper or an additional sheet of notebook paper. Good luck! 1. Explain AT LEAST 2 of the 4 strategies we learned about for taking multiple-choice tests.

2. When writing a time essay, what is the most important thing to remember? Explain why.

3. Your friend is very nervous about taking their AIMS. What advice would you give them? Think about the test anxiety strategies we learned about. Please answer in at least one well-developed paragraph.

Sources: Brainpop.com Educational Website for videos, lesson, and graphic organizers. Powerpoint presentation provided by Amy Quijada, accessed from jc-schools.net/tutorials/test-strategies.ppt
Grammar Boot camp Packet, provided by Teach for America corps member M. Moxy

Video links (require at least a free, temporary account to access):

http://www.brainpop.com/english/grammar/runonsentences/preview.weml http://www.brainpop.com/english/writing/dialogue/preview.weml http://www.brainpop.com/english/writing/idiomsandcliches/preview.weml