An instructional unit focusing on reading nonfiction literature will be assessed by the following targets. The unit is designed for third graders and will introduce them to the characteristics of the nonfiction genre, as well as, various formats of poetry. The students will focus on summarizing the text, developing an understanding for how to sequence events in the text, and recognizing the characteristics of several forms of poetry.
Learning Target
After reading a nonfiction piece of text, the student will be able to compose two paragraphs. The first paragraph should be a summary of what was read with the main idea and support from the text. The second paragraph should be the student’s reaction to the information presented in the text.
The types of learning found in the first instructional target are cognitive and affective. The learning target is a content standard that will assess the student’s ability to evaluate the main idea of the text and summarize the supporting details into a paragraph, both skills required to measure the comprehension of text. These skills are representative of the application and analysis stages of Bloom’s Taxonomy. The assessment target could also be classified as requiring cognitive strategies according to Gagne’s “domains of learning.” This learning target can be differentiated to meet the academic needs of the students in the classroom by allowing those students who struggle with written expression to use number notes (an outline format) to record their information.
After reading a nonfiction piece of text, the student will be able to demonstrate through visual representation or written composition an understanding of how to sequence the correct order in which items occur in the text.
The type of learning found in this instructional target is a cognitive content standard that represents the analysis and synthesis level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This target requires that the students use higher-order thinking to sequence the events in the story in the correct order. This is a necessary skill for third graders as they experiment with and perfect their writing in a narrative model. The students must be able to sequence the events in a story so that the reader thoroughly understands the events and their significance. The learning target is in itself differentiated by allowing students to choose whether their final product will be written or visual, thus tapping into two areas of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.
Learning Target
After completing a nonfiction unit that introduced various forms of poetry, the student will compose an original poem in the format of their choice that summarizes the information in the text and illustrates their understanding of the poetic form.
The type of learning evaluated in this instructional target is a cognitive content standard that requires the student to apply the information learned in an analytical format based upon Bloom’s Taxonomy. This target requires that students analyze the various formats of poetry and develop an understanding for the characteristics of each. This target also focuses on identifying the student’s ability to summarize the text being read, allowing for the evaluation of comprehension of text and knowledge of poetic formats. Differentiation for this target occurs through student choice in the writing of one of the various formats of poetry. Students who have developed a more comprehensive understanding of poetic format can choose one of formats that contain more in-depth characteristics and require a better command of language.
Contributed by Erin Patterson (Spring '04)