7 th Grade Assessment Timeline

Transcription

1 7 th Grade Assessment Timeline Assessment Period: Supporting Resources First Quarter Being a Writer Unit 1: The Writing Community Unit 2: The Writing Process Second Quarter Being a Writer Expository Nonfiction Third Quarter Genre Unit Thura s Diary Ghost Canoe The Westing Game Fourth Quarter Being a Writer Student Writing Topic or Genre Narrative Writing Informative/ Explanatory Writing Argument Writing Student Choice * Second and Third quarter pieces are interchangeable

2 Narrative Writing 1 st Quarter Assessment 7 th Grade Narrative writing conveys experience, either real or imaginary, to tell a story. It has a beginning, middle and an end. It can be used for many purposes such as to inform, instruct, persuade or entertain. You will be assessed on your ability to write a Narrative Piece. You may choose a piece you have already written or create a new story. Your story should: Capture the reader s attention (beginning) Have a clear sequence of events (middle) Provide a conclusion (end) Include relevant, descriptive details Incorporate dialogue Use sensory details Utilize transition words and phrases Your response will be graded according to the Chippewa Valley ELA Narrative Writing Rubric.

3 Informative/Explanatory Writing 2 nd / 3 rd Quarter Assessment 7 th Grade Explanatory writing conveys information accurately. It has an introduction, body and conclusion. It is used to provide readers with the information needed to better understand a concept. Informational/explanatory writing conveys information accurately. This kind of writing serves one or more closely related purposes: to increase readers knowledge of a subject, to help readers better understand a procedure or process, or to provide readers with an enhanced comprehension of a concept. You will be assessed on your ability to write an Expository Nonfiction Piece based on a topic of your choice. Your piece should: Contain a logical organization Clearly introduce the topic (introduction) Include relevant facts, details, definitions and examples (body) Provide a conclusion (conclusion) Include appropriate text features (charts, pictures, graphs, headings, etc.) Use vocabulary relevant to your topic Utilize transition words and phrases Maintain a formal style Contain a bibliography (MLA format) - see 7 th Grade Bibliography page Your response will be graded according to the Chippewa Valley ELA Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric.

4 Argument Writing 2 nd / 3 rd Quarter Assessment 7 th Grade The purpose of argument writing is for the reader to accept the writer s logical explanation of a concept or point of view on an issue or problem. An argument is supported by clear reasons and relevant evidence. It has an introduction, body and conclusion. An argument is a reasoned, logical way of demonstrating that the writer s position, belief, or conclusion is valid. You will be assessed on your ability to write an argument based on the prompt listed: In the novel you just read, the main character took a risk. Some people believe risk taking is necessary for reaching goals. Write an argumentative essay explaining whether you agree or disagree with this belief. Support your claim with evidence from what you have read, viewed and experienced. Teacher Note: Article: Risk- taking: Lessons in creativity from Lady Gaga Poem: The Road Less Taken Robert Frost Article: After a Century- Long Wait, Stage is Set for Man Daring to Cross the Falls Supporting Video: (4 minutes) Preparing to Walk a Wire Over Niagara Your argument should: Contain organization Clearly introduce the topic and your position (introduction) Include logical reasoning, credible sources, and relevant evidence to support your claim (body) Rely on facts rather than emotions (body) Provide a conclusion (conclusion) Utilize transition words and phrases Maintain a formal style Your response will be graded according to the Chippewa Valley ELA Argument Writing Rubric.

5 Choice Assessment 4 th Quarter Assessment 7 th Grade The purpose of this assessment is to provide students with an opportunity to showcase their skills as a writer. This piece must not have been published yet this school year. The piece may be a narrative, explanatory/informative, or argument piece. Narrative writing conveys experience, either real or imaginary, to tell a story. It has a beginning, middle and an end. It can be used for many purposes such as to inform, instruct, persuade or entertain. A Narrative story should: Capture the reader s attention (beginning) Have a clear sequence of events (middle) Provide a conclusion (end) Include relevant, descriptive details Incorporate dialogue Use sensory details Utilize transition words and phrases Explanatory writing conveys information accurately. It has an introduction, body and conclusion. It is used to provide readers with the information needed to better understand a concept. An Informative/Explanatory piece should: Contain a logical organization Clearly introduce the topic (introduction) Include relevant facts, details, definitions and examples (body) Provide a conclusion (conclusion) Include appropriate text features (charts, pictures, graphs, headings, etc.) Use vocabulary relevant to your topic Utilize transition words and phrases Maintain a formal style Contain a bibliography (MLA format) The purpose of argument writing is for the reader to accept the writer s logical explanation of a concept or point of view on an issue or problem. An argument is supported by clear reasons and relevant evidence. It has an introduction, body and conclusion. An argument is a reasoned, logical way of demonstrating that the writer s position, belief, or conclusion is valid. Your argument should: Contain organization Clearly introduce the topic and your position (introduction) Include logical reasoning, credible sources, and relevant evidence to support your claim (body) Rely on facts rather than emotions (body) Provide a conclusion (conclusion) Utilize transition words and phrases Maintain a formal style

6 7 th Grade Bibliography What is a bibliography (bib-li-og-ra-phy)? A bibliography is a list of the books of a specific author or publisher, or on a specific subject. Why do I need to make a bibliography? A bibliography helps you know where you got your information from and it lets your teacher know you are giving proper credit for your sources of information. What do I include in a bibliography? You should list every source you use such as a book, a movie, a website, an interview or any information that did not come from you. In 7 th grade, we are responsible for creating a MLA Bibliography that includes multiple sources such as books, internet, articles, etc. Where do I put the bibliography for my assignments? The bibliography goes at the end of your assignment. The title of this page should be Bibliography or Works Cited.

7 How do I make a Bibliography? Alphabetize by author s last name. If no author, go by the first main word of the title. Use the bibliography style that your teacher requests. Book with one author Book with more than one author Article in magazine Author. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, copyright date. Holiday, Laurel. Children of Israel, Children of Palestine: Our Own True Stories. New York: Pocket Books, Same information as above. Use the first author s name that appears on the title page as the first author, other names follow by first name then last name. Elwood, Ann, and Linda C. Wood. Windows in Space. New York: Walker, Author. Article. Magazine Title. Date: pages. If there is no author s name at the beginning or end of the article, begin with the title. Article in a newspaper Article in an encyclopedia Video or Film Radio or television program Interview Information from the Internet Daglish, Brenda, A Matter of Interest. Maclean s, February 15, 1993, Author. Title of Article. Newspaper Title, Date: section, pages. Smith, Beverly, Canadians Skate to Gold Medal, The Globe and Mail, March 11, A1. Author. Article. Encyclopedia, copyright date. Humber, William. Bicycling. The Canadian Encyclopedia, Title. Medium. Producer, copyright date. Shooting Stars. Videotape. National Film Board of Toronto, Title. Title of Broadcast. Network, Date of Broadcast. Haida Gwaii Islands of the People. Nature. PBS, December 19, Name of subject. Personal Interview. Date of Interview. Delaney, Daphne. Personal Interview. April 10, Author. Title of Page. Site. Date accessed. <url>. Death toll mounts in Palestinian-Israel clashes. CNN. October 2, < tml>.

8 Risk-taking: Lessons in creativity from Lady Gaga Posted on March 18, Gaga arrives at the Grammy Awards 2011 Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So he familiar adage goes. Just when we thought Lady Gaga s outfits couldn t get any more bizarre, she arrived at the 2011 Grammy Awards encased in a giant silver egg carried by a semi-naked entourage. Not so outrageous for a pop star who has worn outfits made entirely of Kermit the Frog dolls or raw meat, yet her entrance sparked worldwide coverage and flooded social media with conversations about her new single and upcoming album, Born This Way. Obviously, much of Lady Gaga s commercial success is due to the fact that she is unusual and provocative. Gaga is game changing, deliberately pushing the boundaries of acceptable celebrity behaviour. Yet she is clearly calculating, taking outrageousness only to the point of inciting discussion, never a full on, career stumbling backlash, a la Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen. She knows when to push and when to hold back. In other words, she applies risk-taking as a strategy and it pays off, big time. We must remember that like many good campaigns, Gaga s approach wasn t instantly successful. Stefani Germanotta didn t try her new look and name for one or two public appearances only to abandon it when she wasn t immediately trending on Twitter. She had a novel idea, she had creativity and talent, but most importantly, she was determined enough to take a risk and see it through. She saw a gap in the post-madonna market and filled it. And now she has 29 million Facebook fans.

9 Gaga s brand of outrageous individualism is also successful in part because she intelligently balances confidence with humility, boundary pushing with accessibility. Despite her highly constructed persona, she doesn t pretend not to be human. On the contrary, she openly admits to feeling insecure about her appearance and talent. Gaga may look super-human, may play the part of tormented tyrant or fearless inmate in her clips, but she hasn t let her characters override her person. She appears humble when accepting awards, she can take a joke in an interview, and she invites pre-teen fans to sing on stage with her. Gaga might have incomprehensible videos and be the most outrageously dressed person on the planet, but she is still accessible a valuable attribute in these ad-saturated, consumer-driven times. Love her or hate her, it s hard not to admire Lady Gaga s courage. Her commitment to both the message and the medium goes a long way in convincing us that she s worth watching, worth listening to and, perhaps most importantly, worth talking about. There are many reasons why we don t take risks. Fear is high up Gaga doing her bit for PETA on the list. As is ego. Clearly, calculated risks are better than rash decision-making and no one is suggesting a world of Gordon Geckos is preferable. Equally, it s important to remember that not all creative ventures are high-risk. But examples like Gaga show us that there is room for risk-taking in our society, and that stepping into the unknown every so often can yield remarkable results. Gaga ranked 7th in Forbes list of the World s 100 Most Powerful Women 2010

10 The Road Not Taken BY ROBERT FROST Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

11 After Century-Long Wait, Stage Is Set for Man Daring to Cross the Falls By Danny Hakim - June 14, A family from Sweden on Thursday visiting Niagara Falls, which is abuzz about Nik Wallenda s stunt. NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. The last time a man walked across the Niagara Gorge, Grover Cleveland was president. Utah had just become a state. And, that same year, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens. Now Nik Wallenda, whose acrobatic lineage stretches back seven generations, will try late Friday night to become the first person since 1896 to walk from one side of the Niagara to the other on a wire. I m facing Niagara Falls the wind and the mist and the dark and the peregrine falcons and I m going to stay focused on the other side, Mr. Wallenda, 33, said Thursday afternoon at a news conference where he gamely fielded questions from news organizations as far away as Japan. Niagara Falls, in both New York and Ontario, was already buzzing with activity Thursday sidewalk vendors hawked daredevil dogs and souvenirs, as packs of children clamored for Mr. Wallenda s autograph. There was much debate about the return of the 19th- century

12 tradition of wire walking. Is Mr. Wallenda crazy? (Maybe.) Is he a tourist gold mine? (Yes.) Would he make it across? (Hopefully.) He s one of the last daredevils, said Paul Stein, 59, on Thursday, as he looked out from an observation deck at the haze- encircled wire strung across the falls. I don t know how he s going to do it. Nearby, Adam Myers, 11, observed that it seems neat but, like, scary, because we just took the Maid of the Mist referring to the boat that traverses the falls and went under where he s going to tightrope, and you can barely stand on the boat. In some ways, Mr. Wallenda s walk is more audacious than those of his 19th- century predecessors. His rope has been set right above the falls, which throw off enough spray to drench those on the shoreline. By comparison, walkers like Jean Francois Gravelet, better known as the Great Blondin, walked across a tamer part of the gorge. But the early walkers took other risks. Blondin once carried his manager across on his back. A female funambulist, Maria Spelterini, on various occasions tightrope- walked across the Niagara Gorge with peach baskets on her feet, blindfolded, or manacled. Mr. Wallenda is a scion of the Flying Wallendas family of circus performers, started by his great- grandfather, Karl Wallenda, who died in 1978 after falling from a wire in Puerto Rico. I do everything I do to pay tribute to my great- grandfather, Nik Wallenda said. And he is walking in his mother s shoes she made special moccasins with a suede and leather bottom that are supposed to keep him from slipping when the wire gets wet. Mr. Wallenda said he had dreamed of conquering the falls since his first visit, at age 6. I m sure there will be some tears involved, he said, adding, It s coming down to the wire, no pun intended. Karen Lane, 46, who brought her two sons to an autograph signing by Mr. Wallenda on the Canadian side of the falls, was more dubious. I think he s absolutely crazy, Ms. Lane, visiting from Manila, said. I can t believe anybody would do anything so unbelievably insane. Her 10- year- old son, Ethan Lane- Day, spoke with a bit more appreciation. I think that he has a lot of courage to do it, and not many people would be able to do that, he said. And yeah, I think it s part crazy. Ryan Lane- Day, 12, marveled, We just went behind the falls and it s really cold and wet, and I don t know how he s going to do it!