Becca Wilson

Assessment Plan #2 Synthesis

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a
question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem;
narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple
sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject
under investigation.

Concept Students Will Master:

After completing the following assignments students will master writing
theses and using outside sources to substantiate their claims.

Context:
This assessment was written for a 9th grade Honors English classroom
at RS Central High School. Classroom demographics include 12 females
and 18 males. Students are generally engaged in class and work well
independently.

Reading Focus:
The focus of this activity will be for students to delve deeper into books
they have chosen to read independently. The goal of this will be for
students to read a text independently and come up with an arguable
thesis concerning an issue in their chosen novel. Students will be
given ample time to complete this assignment because the reading will
take place outside of class. I anticipate that students will have
questions regarding the project; therefore a day will be devoted to
explaining the project, and showing student examples from previous
semesters to give students an idea of what their final project should
look like.

Instructional Strategies (What I will do/What students will do):

I will construct a PowerPoint and detailed rubric that outline the
content that should be included in the essay.
We will begin by discussing what a thesis is and how to create
one using a thesis starter outline. We will then discuss as a class,
how to make a thesis arguable.
Students synthesis essays will be five paragraphs in length.
Their introductory paragraph should be a brief summary of the
plot and their thesis. The three body paragraphs should be their
own claims to support their thesis, backed up with research. The
final paragraph should be a conclusion of their essay.
 Together as a class we will review examples of previous student
essays and I will provide them with feedback on what the student
examples did right or wrong.
Included in the lesson will be a part where I ask students to tell
me what they know about research and how to tell if a source is
credible. We will begin with student definitions and then students
will complete a web search for credible sources.

Assignment Sheet or Materials Needed:

A book that interests the student (from home or checked out from the
library cannot be a work the student has already read)
Computer (provided by the school) for online research that students
will use to back up the claim made in their thesis, and for typing and
turning in the essay.

Assessment Tools (Rubric):

To assess this essay I will look at the:
Correctness of punctuation and grammar
How well the student completed the assignment according to the
rubric (i.e. 5 paragraphs, intro, conclusion, etc.)
Strength of their thesis statement (i.e. was it arguable?)
Credibility of sources

Supporting Research:
Blooms Taxonomy is looked at as a hierarchy of learning. Learning
levels from the bottom are: knowledge, comprehension, application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This assignment will be based on
the synthesis portion of Blooms Taxonomy. Because this is an Honors
level English I class, students should be comfortable completing
assignments that involve objectives, such as synthesis, that is higher
on Blooms Taxonomy.

Woolfolk, Anita. Educational Psychology. Pearson, 2013.