Key Assessment: Strategy and Technology Resource Guide
RDG 5040
Fall 2012
Dr. Bruster
Key Assessment: Resource Guide
1
Part 1 – Reading
1) KWL Strategy Sheet
2) Strategy is to be used before, possibly during, and after reading.
3) Objectives –
a. to recall prior knowledge on a subject
b. to generate interest in a subject
c. to record what was learned and what might still need to be learned
d. to create a reference for summary writing
4) Non-fiction Selection, Eleanor Roosevelt, by William Jay Jacobs.
K- What I Know
She was a U.S.
president’s wife.
W- What I Want to L- What I learned
Know
and Still Need to
Learn
Which president was FDR was her
her husband?
husband.
She did some kind of
reform work.
How old was she
when she married?
She did stuff later in
her life, too.
What was the work
she did?
Categories of
Information I Expect
to Use
A. Childhood
B. Marriage
Did they have kids?
What makes her
important to know
about?
She was married to
FDR when she was
nineteen years old.
Her work included:
working in the war
effort for WWI
soldiers, made fundraising speeches for
the Democratic
Party, worked for
the Women’s Trade
Union League,
worked for social
change for poor
children, women,
and families, fought
against racial and
religious prejudice,
helped the Red
Cross, visited
soldiers abroad
during WWII.
Eleanor and
President Roosevelt
C. Public Life
had 6 children and
one died while an
infant.
She didn’t have a
good relationship
with her mother-inlaw.
She helped FDR
recover and go back
into public life after
he was stricken with
polio.
How does polio
really work? What
is its history?
Eleanor worked
tirelessly for people
who couldn’t be
their own advocates.
She made people
aware of others’
sufferings and
needs. She didn’t
give up on her
marriage, husband’s
recovery from polio,
or the causes that
she adopted.
5) “KWL is an instructional strategy that engages students in active text learning. The
strategy begins with what students know about the topic to be studied, moves to what the
students want to know as they generate questions about the topic, and leads to a record of
what students learn as a result of their engagement in the strategy.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 206). Boston, MA:
Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide
3
1) Discussion Web
2) Strategy is to be used after reading, small or whole group, small groups could be given
different questions to share results with large group.
3) Objectivesa. to generate discussion, collaboration, and cooperation within small groups
b. to recall information from the text
c. to share opinions and ideas
d. to practice presentation skills
e. to develop empathy for animals
4) Fiction selection, The Call of the Wild, by Jack London.
Was Buck better off on the Judge’s estate or living in the wild?
Buck got to be his wild natural self
Buck got to experience the love of "toil
and trace"
Buck developed his mind and his
muscles as they never would have been
developed in California
Buck got to experience the relationship
between himself and John Thornton
Buck was beaten and terribly
mistreated
Buck was kidnapped from everything
and everyone he had known
Buck had to learn life and death rules
Buck only had enough food to survive
and eventually had to hunt for all his
own food
Buck had to learn to fight for his life
Buck had to learn that some people
could not be trusted
Conclusion: There were good and bad things about both, but Buck would have
been better off to remain with his rightful owner and to not have to go through all
the hardships of the wild north. After all, he didn’t know about the good parts of
being wild, so he didn’t know what he was missing anyway.
5) “The level of participation in discussion web lessons is usually high. The strategy
encourages students’ individual interpretations of what they are reading and also allows
them to formulate and refine their own interpretations of a text in light of the points of
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 4
view of others. As a result, students are eager to hear how other groups reached a
consensus and drew conclusions during whole-class sharing. The strategy works will
with informational or narrative texts and can be adapted to the goals and purposes of
most content area subjects.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 214). Boston, MA:
Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide
5
1) Intra-Act
2) Strategy is to be used in small groups after reading a text assignment, historical
document, newspaper or magazine article, narrative, or poetic material.
3) Objectivesa. to lay groundwork for reflective discussion
b. to assess personal values
c. to work cooperatively
d. to respect others’ ideas and values
4) Poetic Selection, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Game Sheet
Name_________________
Date__________________
Total Score_____________
Percentage of
Correct Predictions______%
Names
1. Land is to
be fought
over in wars.
It is worth
losing lives
in order to
keep/obtain
land.
2. Soldiers
should
follow
orders, no
matter what.
3. War is
glorious.
4. If wars
must be
fought, we
should still
fight with
swords and
cannons.
Jacorie

A__________D
Lindsey
Hemangi

A_________D


A__________D A__________D

A__________D A__________D
Tyler


A__________D A__________D


A__________D A__________D A__________D A__________D

A__________D A__________D A_________D

A__________D
+ Jacorie’s predictions were correct
X Jacorie’s predictions were incorrect
5) “Intra-act lays the groundwork for reflective discussion. Pivotal to the intra-act
strategy is the notion that students engage in a process of valuing as they reflect on what
they have read. Hoffman (1979) suggests intra-act to provide readers with “the
opportunity to experience rather than just talk about critical reading” (p. 608). According
to Hoffman, students are more likely to read critically when they engage in a process of
valuing. The valuing process allows students to respond actively to a text selection with
thought and feeling.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 218). Boston, MA:
Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide
1) Three –Level Comprehension Guide
7
2) Strategy to be completed after reading.
3) Objectivesa. to review information gained from reading
b. to cement comprehension from material read
c. to experience and gain a sense of the comprehension process
d. to use information gained from reading as a basis for making inferences
4) Non-fiction Selection, Immigrant Kids, by Russell Freedman.
I. Right There! What did the author say?
Directions: Place a check on the line in front of the number if you think a statement
can be found in the pages you read.
____1. Between 1880 and 1920, 23 million immigrants arrived in the U.S.
____2. All immigrants were poor when they arrived in America.
____3. About one immigrant out of every five or six was detained for
additional examinations or questioning at Ellis Island.
____4. It took most immigrants about 3 days to come through Ellis Island.
____5. Immigrants no longer come to America.
II. Think and Search! What did the author mean?
Directions: Check the following statements that state what the author was trying to
say in the pages you read.
____1. Immigrants came to America for many different reasons.
____2. America was and still is a land of opportunity for immigrants.
____3. The journey and getting through Ellis Island wasn’t very difficult for most
immigrants.
____4. The United States is called a nation of immigrants because most Americans’
came here from other countries.
III. On Your Own! Do you agree with these statements?
Directions: Check each statement that you can defend.
____1. Immigrants have added many cultures and ideas to America.
____2. Most Americans can trace their ancestry back to other countries.
____3. Immigrants have not been a very important part of America’s history.
5) “It is important to recognize that in reading, levels are probably interactive and
inseparable. Nevertheless, the classroom teacher attempts to have students experience
each aspect of the comprehension process as they read content material. In doing so,
students adapt strategies as they interact with the material. They get a feel for the
component processes within reading comprehension. They come to sense in an
instructional setting what it means to make inferences, to use information as the basis for
those inferences and to rearrange or transform acquired understandings into what they
know already in order to construct knowledge.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 229). Boston,
MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide
1) Concept Relationship Map
9
2) Strategy could be used to prepare readers before reading for clarification after reading.
3) Objectivesa. to establish working dogs as a category of dogs
b. to list several kinds of working dogs
4) Fiction Selection, “The Christmas Hunt,” by Borden Deal.
Working Dogs
DOGS
Herding Dogs
Hunting Dogs
Guide Dogs
5) “Concepts create mental images, which may represent anything that can be grouped
together by common features or similar criteria: objects, symbols, ideas, processes, or
events.” “…we would be overwhelmed by the complexity of our environment if we were
to respond to each object or event that we encountered as unique. Therefore, we invent
categories (or from concepts) to reduce the complexity of our environment and the
necessity for constant learning.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 241). Boston,
MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 10
1) Concept Circle
2) Strategy to be used as a post-reading exercise or as a part of test preparation.
3) Objectivesa. to relate words conceptually to one another
b. to list relative terms
4) Grammar Lesson-Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative Conjunctions
Directions: Using what you have learned about correlative conjunctions, fill in the empty
sections of the circle with identifying factors of correlative conjunctions.
Always
come in
Pairs
5) “One of the most versatile activities we have observed at a wide range of grade levels
is the concept circle. Concept circles provide still another format and opportunity t
for studying words critically – for students to relate words conceptually to one another.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 262). Boston,
MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 11
1) OPIN
2) Strategy to be used after reading.
3) Objectivesa. to use key vocabulary correctly
b. to demonstrate comprehension of reading material
c. to work independently and be able to justify answers to a group
d. to practice presentation skills
e. to express one’s opinion
4) Fiction Selection, “A Retrieved Reformation,” by O. Henry.
Name______________________ Date___________________ Group #______
Directions: Independently use selection vocabulary to fill in each blank and make a true
statement. Be prepared to justify your answers to your group members and present group
answers to the class.
phoenix
rehabilitate
compulsory
assiduously
unperceived
1. Ben Price worked __________________ at tracking Jimmy Valentine.
2. Jimmy Valentine was expected to ___________________ himself when he left prison.
3. Because the ________________ rises out of its own ashes again and again, it is
considered a sign of immortality.
4. It was _____________________ by the elders that May had shut Agatha into the
vault.
5. It is _______________________ that you attend school until you are 16 years old.
5) “OPIN is a meaning-extending vocabulary strategy developed by Frank Greene of
McGill University. OPIN provides another example of context-based reinforcement and
extension.” “OPIN encourages differing opinions about which word should be inserted
in a blank space. In one sense, the exercise is open to discussion, and as a result, it
reinforces the role of prior knowledge and experiences in the decisions that each group
makes. The opportunity to “argue” one’s responses in the group leads not only to
continued motivations but also to a discussion of word meanings and variations.”
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 12
1) Knowledge Rating
2) Strategy to be used before reading.
3) Objectivesa. to analyze what is known about a topic
b. to read known and unknown vocabulary words
c. to gain knowledge of any new vocabulary in order to enhance comprehension of
reading material
4) Non-fiction Selection, The O’Reilly Factor For Kids: A Survival Guide for America’s
Families, by Bill O’Reilly and Charles Flowers.
Name__________________________
Date_________________
Knowledge Rating
Directions: Read each word entry and place a check in the appropriate column.
How much do you know about each of these words?
A Lot!
Have seen/heard
Not Much
1. sitcoms
2. confided
3. virtue
4. groveling
5. destructive
6. psychological
7. empathy
8. compromise
9. toxic
10. escapism
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 13
5) “As the procedure implies, knowledge ratings get readers to analyze what they know
about a topic. Blachowicz (1986) recommends that teachers present students with a word
list of vocabulary in a survey-like format in which students must analyze each word
individually….” “Students should be encouraged within the context of the discussion to
share what they know about the words. In this way the teacher can assess and get some
idea of the state of knowledge the class brings to the text reading or a larger unit of
study.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 253). Boston,
MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 14
1) Closed Word Sort
2) Strategy to be used as an after reading activity.
3) Objectivesa. to sort characters and match them with the novels in which they are found
b. to work with a partner to check for accuracy
c. to participate in a study skill in preparation for final exam
4)
Character Sort
Directions: Sort the following characters by the novels in which they appear.
Little John
Jonas
Annemarie
Misha
Janina
Parvana
John Thornton
Much
Mr. Milgrom
Caleb
Inge
Hossein
Vivian
Talib
Peter
Mercedes
Marian
Hal
______________________________________________________________________
Robin Hood
The Call of
the Wild
Milkweed
Little John
John Thornton
Misha
Much
Mercedes
Marian
Hal
Number
the Stars
The
Breadwinner
The
Giver
Annemarie
Parvana
Jonas
Janina
Inge
Hossein
Caleb
Vivian
Peter
Talib
Mr. Milgrom
5) “Like brainstorming, word sorts require students to classify words into categories
based on their prior knowledge.” “A word sort is a simple yet valuable activity.” “A
word sort gives students the opportunity to teach and learn from each other while
discussing and examining words together.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 252). Boston,
MA: pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 15
1) Series-of-Events Chain
2) Strategy should be used during or after reading.
3) Objectivesa. to analyze and list sequence of events in a story
b. to work with a partner
4) Fiction Selection, The Giver, by Lois Lowry.
Name _____________________________________
Date______________________
Directions: Work with a partner to put the events from the story into sequential order.
Beginning
Jonas and Asher attend classes with the
other Elevens
Jonas and his family tell their dreams
Middle
Father brings home the newchild,
Gabriel
Jonas is named new Receiver at the
Ceremony of Twelve
End
Jonas learns the meaning of "Release"
Jonas flees the Community with Gabriel
5) “Graphic organizers are visual displays that help learners comprehend and retain
textually important information. The research base for graphic organizers shows that
when students learn how to use and construct graphic organizers they are in control of a
study strategy that allows them to identify what parts of a text are important, how the
ideas and concepts encountered in the text are related, and where they can find specific
information to support more important ideas (National Reading Panel 2000).”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 324). Boston, MA:
Pearson Publisher, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 16
Part 2 – Writing
1) Microtheme
2) Non-fiction Selection, Eleanor Roosevelt, by William Jay Jacobs.
Consider the most important information from Eleanor Roosevelt. You must be
conservative with your words. Write every valuable piece of information on the front of
your index card. You may abbreviate.
ER had sad ch.hood, often lonely. Lost parents and a bro. & had to live in dreary house
w/ g’mother. Not phys. attractive, many fears. Sent to Eng. for brdg. school at age 15.
Finally had friends there. Traveled, learned French. G’mother made her come home be4
final year to be a deb. Met FDR and married at age 19. Had to battle w/ m-in-law. Had 6
children. Nursed FDR back to health after polio. Encouraged him to stay in pub. life and
politics. Champ of soldiers, poor children, workers, women. Cont. wrkg. after FDR’s
death for human rights at home and abroad. Died 1962 at age 78. Loved by all.
3) “When students engage in WTL, they explore ideas and clarify what they are thinking
about in relation to a subject under study.” “More isn’t necessarily better when getting
students to think and learn by writing. In fact, brevity is the key to writing an effective
microtheme. A microtheme is a brief piece of writing that results in a great deal of
thinking (Bean, Drenk, & Lee 1982). Think of microthemes as miniessays.”
“Microthemes can be assigned for a variety of purposes, including analyzing and
synthesizing information and ideas encountered in reading, writing summaries, or taking
a stand on an important issue.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 284, 285).
Boston, MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 17
1) POVGs
2) Fiction Selection, Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli.
Directions: You are Stop Thief! Describe your life at the beginning of the novel,
Milkweed.
All my days are fun. I have no worries or cares. I have clothes and shoes to wear. I go
and get food when I am hungry, sleep when I’m tired, run when I am being chased.
People call me, “Stop Thief!” when they chase after me. I think they want what I have,
but I am too fast. I always get away from them. I think tomorrow I will get 2 loaves of
bread from a bakery I know. Then I will eat it and go back out to see what I can see in
town.
3) “A POVG (point of view guide) connects writing to reading in a creative,
nonthreatening manner (Wood 1988; Wood, Lapp, Flood, & Taylor 2008). POVGs are
designed to trigger thoughtful reading and writing by having students “get inside the
skin” of a character or a subject under study.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 286). Boston,
MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 18
1) Unsent Letter
2) Fiction Selection, The Call of the Wild, by Jack London.
Directions: You are Buck. Consider what all has happened to you since the eventful
night you were kidnapped by the Judge’s gardener. Write a letter to the Judge and
explain what has happened to you.
Dear Judge,
I know you have probably been worried about what happened to me. I didn’t just run off.
Manuel sold me to pay off his gambling debts! I wish I could get my teeth on that guy. I
trusted him and he took me to a man who took me to other men who took me to the Man
in the Red Sweater.
I suffered many injuries from him, but he taught me the Law of Club. You obey the man
with the club, or he will beat you senseless. As it turned out, that guy was only “breaking
me,” so I could be sold away again. I was sent way up north where it’s very cold, snowy,
and treacherous. I made friends with a dog named, Curly, but he was killed just for
making friendly advances on another dog! It was then that I learned the Law of Fang.
That is if you find yourself getting beaten in a fight with another dog and that dog gets
you down in the snow, you will be mauled and eaten by the whole pack.
I went through a whole succession of owners after that and I had many jobs, but I learned
fast and I learned to survive, no matter what. My favorite master was John Thornton.
We had the best form of human/dog love ever. I still miss him a little. Through a series
of events, I have come to live on my own. You might say I have returned to the
wilderness from which my ancestors came. I missed you horribly at first, and I want to
thank you for the cushy life you gave me when I was yours. I am now a part of the
wilderness, for I have answered the call of the wild. I am at peace on my own.
Your old dog,
Buck.
3) “Like POVGs, the WTL activity known as unsent letters establishes a role-play
situation in which students are asked to write letters in response to the material they are
studying. The activity requires the use of imagination and often demands that writers
engage in interpretive and evaluative thinking (Smith 2002).” “Unsent letters direct
students’ thinking with particular audiences in mind.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 289, 290).
Boston, MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 19
1) Double-Entry Journal
2) Fiction Selection, The Giver, by Lois Lowry.
In comparing the novel, The Giver to the movie, Pleasantville, complete the following
assignment.
________________________________________________________________________
What were some likenesses of the
How did the movie help you
movie and the and the novel?
better understand the novel?
*Everything was in black/white/
shades of grey.
*I saw how boring things were
without colors and I thought
about how Jonas would feel
being the only one with the
ability to see colors.
*All the people thought something
was wrong with you if you said or
did anything that wasn’t the same
as everyone else.
*I could better understand how
hard it would be to be different
even if you wanted to be.
*Some people liked “sameness,” while
others appreciated differences.
*I see how it would be hard to
give up the security of
“sameness” for the insecurity
of individuality.
3) “[Academic Journals] help students generate ideas, create a record of thoughts and
feelings in response to what they are reading, and explore their own lives and concerns in
relation to what they are reading and learning. Academic journals create a context for
learning in which students interact with information personally as they explore and
clarify ideas, issues, and concepts under study.” “As the name implies, DEJs allow
students to record dual entries that are conceptually related. In doing so, students
juxtapose their thoughts and feelings according to the prompts they are given for making
the entries.”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 294, 300). Boston,
MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 20
1) Learning Log
2) Grammar Class Log Entries for one Week
11/02/12
Conjunctions have one job. That is to CONNECT. They can connect nouns, pronouns,
verbs, or prepositional phrases. I don’t really get this, yet.
11/03/12
There are 2 kinds of conjunctions: coordinating (come in ones) and correlative (come in
pairs). Don’t be fooled by labeling a word as a conjunction, when it’s really a
preposition, or vice/versa. Remember- it depends on how a word is used in a sentence!
11/04/12
Conjunctions are helpful in combining sentences, like this:
Jan wants to be a doctor. Jan wants to be an architect.
Combination: Jan wants to be either a doctor, or an architect.
11/05/12
Interjections express strong or mild feelings. They are followed by an exclamation mark,
or a comma, depending upon the strength of the emotion conveyed.
11/06/12
Some examples of interjections are:
Whew! We barely made it.
Well, she’s usually home by now.
3) “Three types of journals in particular have made a difference in content literacy
situations: response journals, double-entry journals, and learning logs. Each of these can
be used in an instructional context to help students explore literary and informational
texts.” “It relieves teachers of the burden of correction so that they can focus on
students’ thinking, and it creates a nonthreatening situation for students who may be
hesitant to take risks because they are overly concerned about the mechanics of writing
(e.g. handwriting, neatness, spelling, and punctuation).”
Vacca, J.L., & Vacca, R.T. (2008). Content area reading. (10th ed., p. 294). Boston,
MA: Pearson Publishers, Allyn & Bacon.
Key Assessment: Resource Guide 18
1) Unsent Letter
2)