Teacher's Resource - Nelson Education

Copyright © 2008 by Thomson Nelson
Copyright © 2008 by Thomson Nelson
LINKING INSTRUCTION TO
ASSESSMENT
Throughout the unit, the
instructional goals are linked to
assessment in the following ways:
• Oral Language—You can use
BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking
Sheet during this lesson and again
whenever students are given the
opportunity to discuss content,
skills, and strategies related to this
unit. Taking multiple
opportunities for assessment
allows you to focus on a
manageable number of students at
a time.
BLM 2
Oral Language Tracking Sheet
Observation Period: Beginning of unit Middle of unit End of unit
Observe and record students’ ability to
• access and discuss prior knowledge they may have about the topic
• listen and respond to the ideas of others
• use content-specific vocabulary
Student Name Observations Follow-up
• Self-Assessment and Personal
Goals—As you review the
instructional goals with students,
you may wish to introduce BLM 4:
Self-Assessment Checklist and
Personal Goal Setting. Explain to
students that they will have the
opportunity to assess their own
progress as they learn new strategies
using BLM 4. At the end of the unit,
students reflect on the strategy that
helped them the most and set a
personal goal for future learning.
BLM 4
Name: ________________________________________________
Unit: __________________________________________________
Strategies Always Sometimes Not Yet
1. I use visualizing to help me understand what I read.
2. I identify which details are important to the main
idea to help me in my writing.
3. I visualize while listening to help me understand
what I hear.
4. I identify characteristics of a poster to help me read
and understand the poster as a media form.
5. I identify characteristics of descriptive text pattern
to help me understand what I read.
Reflecting Back
Self-Assessment Checklist and Personal Goal Setting
Date: ________________________
The strategy that has helped me the most is ____________________________________________
because __________________________________________________________________________.
Looking Ahead
My new personal goal will be _________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________.
SMART Goals
Specific: My goals are well defined and easily understood by everyone.
Measurable: I can tell if I have achieved my goals.
Action-oriented: My goals can be achieved through doing.
Realistic: My goals will challenge me but I can meet them.
Timely: I have a time frame in which I will complete my goals.
• Performance Task—Explain to
students that they will demonstrate
strategies they are learning in this
unit in a final task. In this task,
outlined on BLM 20: Performance
Task—Design a Creature and Its
Habitat, each student will imagine
that he or she is an environmental
expert who has discovered a new
creature. Students will share
important information about their
creatures and the habitats they live
in with the class.
BLM 20 Performance Task: Design a Creature and Its Habitat
You are an environmental expert. You have been invited by a Grade 4
class to give a presentation about a new creature that has been
discovered. You will be writing a paragraph and then reading it to the
class. Your presentation can only be 1 to 2 minutes long.
What To Do
Plan
• Brainstorm a creature and a habitat. Draw pictures to help you visualize.
• Jot down words to help your audience visualize the creature.
• Decide on a main idea for your paragraph.
• Does your information support your main idea Cross out any information
that does not.
• Add detail.
Draft
• Write a draft of your paragraph.
• Use your brainstorming notes and your pictures.
Revise
• Read your paragraph out loud.
• Think about your purpose and your audience.
– Why is it important for you to share your information
– Is your main idea clear
– Did you include details to support your main idea
– Did you use language that will help your listeners visualize
• Cross out information that is not important to the main idea. Add detail.
• Change words to create powerful pictures.
• Read your paragraph out loud. Can you read it in 1 to 2 minutes If not, go
back and look for things you can cut.
Edit
• Read your paragraph out loud. Correct grammar, spelling, and
punctuation.
• Have a classmate read your edited draft for errors.
Publish
• Copy out your paragraph neatly, or input it on a computer and print it.
Present
• Read your paragraph to the class clearly and with expression.
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76 Nelson Literacy 4 Teacher’s Resource: Habitats and Communities
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74 Nelson Literacy 4 Teacher’s Resource: Habitats and Communities
NEL Launching the Unit 13