Alexander T. K. Elnabli
Development of student mastery of the standards of this unit will be assessed using the variety of formative assessments described by the teaching strategies and classroom activities below. Here I outline in greater detail the Key Performance Task, or summative assessment, that allow students to demonstrate their overall standards mastery by the end of the unit. Teachers may revise classroom activities in ways they think can better support their students in being able to show mastery of standards through these tasks.
I use the Goal, Role, Audience, Situation, Product, and Standards (GRASPS) model of Wiggins and McTighe in Understanding by Design (UBD) to outline each of these Key Performance Tasks. GRASPS is a useful framework because it helps teachers develop more authentic skill and knowledge performances for students that both motivate interest and connect thoughtfully to real-world applications of those skills for students. I use the 2nd person in order to be clear that this assignment description is student-facing.
Key Performance Task: Argumentative Mini-Essay
Goal: You will produce an argumentative essay that can be read aloud to an audience in order to persuade them of your argument using evidence and reasons.
Role: You are a 9th grade student at your school who wants to communicate his/her/their ideas clearly effectively in writing and speaking.
Audience: Your audience will be school leaders and teachers as well as your peers. You should assume they are able to understand common academic language, but they may not have read the specific stories you choose to write about. You will have to provide all the necessary information and quotations to make your argument clear.
Situation: Your school is hosting an essay contest. The winners will get to read their essays aloud to the school to make an argument answering the debate question: “What is the value of studying old texts?” You want to win!
Product: You will produce an approximately 600-word, MLA-formatted analytical mini-essay answering the question: How does an author use allusion in order to communicate an answer to a fundamental human question? Given this, conclude your essay by answering the question, “What is the value of studying ancient texts?” Your final product will be the result of a multi-stage drafting, conferencing, and revision process. Your essay must have an introduction, two body paragraphs with two pieces of evidence each, and a conclusion.
Standards: *Teachers may reference any argumentative writing rubric that is adopted by their department.
