Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
CM Handouts – Soft-Copy Version Table of Contents
General Handouts (used by all CMs)
 Handout 1: Key Points for Session
 Handout 2: CFU Planning Tools
Differentiated Handouts – Exemplar Lesson Plans (used by sub-groups of CMs)
 Handout A1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – ECE Phonics
 Handout B1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – Elementary Reading Comprehension
 Handout C1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – Middle-School Math
 Handout D1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – Secondary U.S. History
Differentiated Handouts – ELABORATE Options (one option for application section)

Handout E1: CFU Planning Prompts
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Handout 1: Key Points for Session

OVERARCHING KEY POINTS
Relevant for all sessions on Checking For Understanding
No one is teaching if no one is learning. We must check for understanding to make sure we’re actually teaching!

Checks for understanding should occur throughout the lesson cycle to check student comprehension of the
key points and their progress toward success on the lesson assessment. Effective CFUs force students to:
o Process and check what they are learning by summarizing, connecting, demonstrating, asking and
answering questions, etc.
o Make their thinking visible to the teacher.

A CFU that accomplishes its purpose consists of a question or task that:
o Is directly linked to a key point (or group of key points).
o Lets the teacher know whether or not a student is “getting it.”
o Gives the teacher the option of probing deeper to understand student thinking.
o Can be flexibly executed to check the understanding of multiple students using various techniques.

In order to ensure that students learn more as a result of a CFU, successful teachers:
o Clearly tell the student whether they are right, wrong, or somewhere in-between (and why).
o Strategically choose whether to: 1) Continue with the lesson, 2) stop and re-teach, or 3) probe deeper.

Purposeful planning and effective execution go hand-in-hand – you can’t have one without the other.
Notes, Questions, and Reflections
DEEP-DIVE KEY POINTS
Unique to a single aspect of this content – planning strong CFUs
See also the 1st two key points from above.

Purposeful planning and effective execution go hand-in-hand – you can’t have one without the other. To
ensure they maximize their opportunities to CFU, successful teachers often:
o Explicitly script CFU questions and tasks into their lesson plans.
o Think through both possible student responses and additional probing questions for their CFU
o Reflect on the successes and challenges of their CFUs, noting areas for future development.
Notes, Questions, and Reflections
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Handout 2: CFU Planning Tools
This handout has 4 helpful resources for planning CFUs:
 Chunk-and-Chew Paradigm
 Types of Questioning
 Bloom’s Taxonomy
 Non-Question CFUs
All resources were pulled either from the “Teaching Tab” on TFANet (www.tfanet.org) or from the Teaching As Leadership
Online Navigator site (www.teachingasleadership.org). Check these sites out for more planning tools!
Chunk-and-Chew Paradigm
CFUs During the Introduction to Content
We use CFUs during the introduction to content to help students “chunk and chew” the information. Before we
release more responsibility to them for the whole objective, we need to deliver a chunk of content, let students “chew” on it
(and make sure they aren’t “choking”), deliver another chunk, let students “chew,” etc…
CFUs During Student Practice
We continue to use CFUs in the practice sections of the lesson, and gradually releasing responsibility means we’re
still “chunking and chewing” (particularly during the Guided Practice). The primary differences are that:
 Students are taking more responsibility for the content – we aren’t always watching them “chew” each and
every bite… but we still are watching (and coaching when necessary).
 Students are often working on more than one key point at a time – they are “chewing” bigger mouthfuls.
CFUs That Check the Right Amount of Information
At different points of the lesson we ask CFUs that check different amounts of information:
 Small-Chunks: Isolated and lower-level; linked to small pieces of new content; one key point at a time.
 Big-Chunks: Integrated and higher-level; linked to larger pieces of new content; several key points at once.
 Chunky-Chunks: Linked to pieces of content which are likely to cause students to “choke”; a key point that
represents the trickiest or most easily misunderstood content of the lesson.
Examples
Small-Chunk CFUs in the Introduction to Content
 “Try just Steps 1 & 2 on your own with the problem on the board.”
 “Give me an example of how you’ve seen a character in a movie or TV show develop and change.”
Big-Chunk CFUs in the Introduction to Content and/or Practice
 “Now talk your partner through all 5 steps for this next problem and write your solution on an index card to hold up
when you’re finished.”
 “Think back to when we read Bridge to Terabithia. What 2-3 words would you have used to describe Jess at the start
of the novel and what 2-3 words would you have used to describe him at the end? Why do you think the author had
him change in this way?”
Chunky-Chunk CFUs All Over the Place
 “Now that we’re pretty solid with these steps, I’m going to give you a problem with negative numbers. Work through it
carefully to show me how our rules for working with negatives still apply to simplifying expressions.”
 “Let’s keep thinking about Bridge to Terabithia. Leslie’s character didn’t change very much from start-to-finish. Would
we say that her character didn’t develop at all? Why or why not?”
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Types of Questioning
Closed and open questions are the two main types of questions that check for academic understanding.
Type
Closed
Examples
“Who were the
first three
presidents?”
“What is the least
common
denominator of
these fractions?”
“What are the
three states of
matter?”
Function
To check the retention
of previously learned
information; to focus
thinking on a
particular point.
Open
“What would life
be like if we were
all the same
color?”
“Given what we
know about
gravity on the
moon, how do
you think
basketball would
be different if
played there?”
“Why do quadratic
equations result in
curves?”
To promote
discussion or student
interaction; to
stimulate student
thinking; to allow
freedom to
hypothesize,
speculate, and share
ideas.
Advantages
Effective when
assessing specific
student knowledge
or comprehension.
Easier to integrate
into lessons than
open questions
Can be used to
build students up to
open questions
later in the lesson
or unit.
Demand more
complex, higherlevel thinking
Stimulate student
thought and
encourage
classroom
participation
Disadvantages
Only assess
lower-level ideas
Don’t push
student thinking
or encourage
discussion
Shouldn’t be the
sole means of
questioning
Can be confusing
or lead to
tangential
discussions
Take longer to
discuss
Rhetorical questions (e.g. This is correct, right? Does everyone understand?) are not good checks for academic
understanding and should rarely be used.
Socratic questions (e.g., I have a question that I thought about the other day when the wind was blowing. Does weather
influence what the earth looks like? And if so, how?) are questioning to teach. While this can be a very effective method
for introducing academic content, it is also not a good check for academic understanding and shouldn’t be used for this
purpose.
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Important Note: Bloom’s Taxonomy is an incredibly helpful descriptive tool that can help classify the types of thinking that might happen in the
classroom. Teachers sometimes run into trouble, however, when they try to use Bloom’s in an overly prescriptive manner to drive their thinking about
planning and rigor. Beware these pitfalls: 1) Starting Too Low: Bloom’s is NOT a ladder that must be climbed starting at the bottom rung – think about
the rigor of your objective and content, the prior knowledge of your students, and more when deciding on an entry point; 2) The Checklist Mentality: It is
NOT a mark of a good lesson that there are questions for every level of Bloom’s – this is an overly simplified way to plan.
Cognitive Level
Knowledge
Recognizing and recalling
information. (E.g., when shown
an exclamation point, a
student will identify it by
name.)
Comprehension
Understanding the meaning of
information. (E.g., the student
can describe the use of an
exclamation point.)
Application
Using information. (E.g., the
student can use an
exclamation point in a
sentence.)
Analysis
Dissecting information into its
component parts to see their
relationships. (E.g., the student
can identify an exclamation
point’s misuse in a paragraph.)
Synthesis
Putting components together
to form new ideas. (E.g., the
student can use exclamation
points, questions marks, and
periods appropriately in a
piece of writing.)
Evaluation
Judging the worth of an idea.
(E.g., the student can evaluate
the effective use of
exclamation points in creating
the mood in a descriptive
passage.)
Useful Verbs & Sample Question Stems
Verbs: tell, list, describe, relate, locate, write, find, state, name
Question Stems: What is . . . ? How is . . . ? Where is . . . ? When did…happen? How
did…happen? When did . . . ? Can you recall . . . ? How would you show . . . ? Can you
select . . . ? Who were the main . . . ? Can you list three . . . ?
Which one . . . ? Who was . . . ?
Verbs: explain, interpret, outline, discuss, distinguish, predict, restate, translate,
compare, describe, classify
Question Stems: How would you classify the type of . . . ? How would you compare or
contrast . . . ? Will you state/interpret in your own words . . . ? How would you rephrase
the meaning . . . ? What facts or ideas show . . . ? What is the main idea of . . . ? Which
statements support . . . ? Can you explain what is happening . . .? Why did…? What can
you say about . . . ? Which is the best answer . . . ? How would you summarize . . . ?
Verbs: solve, show, use, illustrate, calculate, construct, complete, examine, classify
Question Stems: How would you use . . . ? What examples can you find to . . . ? How
would you solve…using what you have learned ? How would you organize…to show . . .
? How would you show your understanding of . . . ? How would you apply what you
learned to develop . . . ? What other way would you plan to . . . ? What would result if . .
. ? What facts would you select to show . . . ?
Verbs: analyze, distinguish, examine, compare, contrast, investigate, categorize, identify,
explain, separate, advertise
Question Stems: What are the parts or features of . . . ? How is…related to . . . ? Why
do you think . . . ? What is the theme . . . ? Can you list the parts . . . ? What inference
can you make . . . ? What conclusions can you draw . . . ? How would you classify . . . ?
How is the function of . . . ? What evidence can you find . . . ? What is the relationship
between . . . ?
Verbs: create, invent, compose, predict, plan, construct, design, imagine, improve,
propose, devise, formulate, elaborate, estimate
Question Stems: What changes would you make to solve . . . ? How would you improve
. . . ? What would happen if . . . ? Can you elaborate on the reason . . . ? Can you
propose an alternative . . . ? Can you invent . . . ? How could you change (modify) the
plot (plan) . . . ? What could be done to minimize (maximize) . . . ? What could be
combined to improve (change) . . . ? Suppose you could…what would you do . . . ? How
would you test . . . ? Can you formulate a theory for . . . ? Can you predict the outcome if
. . . ? How would you estimate the results for . . . ? Can you construct a model that
would change . . . ?
Verbs: judge, select, choose, decide, justify, debate, verify, argue, recommend, discuss,
determine, prioritize, access
Question Stems: Do you agree with the actions . . . ? How would you prove . . . ?
disprove . . . ? Can you assess the value or importance of . . . ? Would it be better if . . .
? Why did they (the character) choose . . . ? What would you recommend . . . ? How
would you rate the . . . ? What would you cite to defend the actions . . . ? How would you
evaluate . . . ? How could you determine . . . ? What choice would you have made . . . ?
How would you prioritize . . . ? What judgment would you make about . . . ? What
information would you use to support the view …? How would you justify . . . ?
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Non-Question CFUs
These methods ask students to demonstrate their understanding through tasks rather than questions. You can use them
in different parts of the lesson as checks for understanding or as part of your formative lesson assessment.
Strategy and
Description
Minute Paper
A minute paper is a quick
summary of learning.
Each student writes for
exactly one minute on a
prompt that you give the
class.
Procedure
Give the students a writing prompt, such as, “List as many examples as you can of words
that include the phonetic blend ‘cr’.” If time permits, ask students to share their responses
with the class. Collect and review the responses to make modifications to future
instruction. To adapt for very young students or varied learning modalities, have them
draw a “minute picture” in response to a prompt.
Sticking Point
Provides feedback on
what was not achieved
during the lesson. You
should use this
information to inform
changes in your
instruction for the
following day.
Observational
Checklists and
Anecdotal Records
Make a Metaphor
Asks students to connect
what they have learned to
something else within
their knowledge base. It is
particularly effective for
closing a lesson in which
a difficult or complex
concept has been
introduced.
KWL Chart
KWL charts are commonly
used organizers of
information.
At the end of the lesson, each student provides you with a question left unanswered or a
concept left unclarified. Give the students a writing prompt such as, “What about
jurisdiction do you still have questions about after today’s lesson?” Alternatively, after
teaching your students the concept of a sticking point, you may just ask, “What is a
sticking point for you after today’s lesson?” If time permits, ask students to share their
responses with the class.
Teachers can use student observation to assess progress for either academic or social
development (in Pre-K and the lower grades). It is a non-obtrusive way to allow students
unimpeded activity which teachers can evaluate. Checklists and anecdotal records are the
tools you will create to track student development and record your observations.
Checklists offer a more standardized approach – you will simply create a list of criteria or
behaviors that would demonstrate mastery, witness the student in the process of applying
those behaviors, and then note which criteria were met and which weren’t. Anecdotal
records are written notes that simply describe your reactions that seem most relevant.
Anecdotal records allow for total freedom and flexibility for recording your observations.
Place students in pairs or small groups. Hand them a sheet of paper or some other object
that they can manipulate (such as Legos or pipe cleaners). Give them no more than 4
minutes to do something with that paper (or object) so that it serves as a metaphor for the
concept they have just learned. For example, you may assign each group of students a
different branch of government and ask them to use only that sheet of paper to represent
the various ways that their branch can impact an election. Each group then explains their
product and gives their rationale for the metaphor.
Ask students to get out their KWL charts. Direct them to find something in their
“Wondering” column that they can now answer in their “Learned” column. Alternatively,
ask students what other questions have arisen for them about this topic of study over the
course of the class period, and have them place this at the bottom of their “Wondering”
column.
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Handout A1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – ECE Phonics
Note: The exemplar lesson plans being used for this session are generally fairly detailed, and often include quite a bit of
scripting. This is because they have either been purposefully written for someone else to execute and/or because they
have been fleshed out to serve as an example for teacher professional development (like this!). When writing plans for
your own use, it likely won’t be necessary to include so much detail, through doing so can sometimes be helpful for
beginning teachers.
Directions
 Identify the 1-3 colleagues with whom you’ll be working. Please don’t work in groups larger than 4 people.
 Independently read the 1st section of the lesson plan.
 Stop to collaboratively annotate and discuss the plan, using the guiding questions directly under that section. You
don’t need to annotate the plan in any particular way – just “mark it up” to note where you’re seeing information that
relates to the guiding questions.
 Repeat the entire process for the 2nd section, etc… until you have annotated the entire plan.
 Discuss the summary questions found at the end of the entire lesson.
 If you still have time remaining, consider this plan not through the lens of CFUs, but through the lens of content from
previous sessions:
o What’s strong about this daily lesson vision?
o How does the teacher plan to effectively introduce academic content?
o Why does this plan set the teacher up to successfully facilitate student practice?
o Are there thing you would change (and why)?
Remember: CFU = Check For Understanding (just when you thought you had enough acronyms!) 
OBJECTIVE.
SWBAT identify the letter “Bb” by sight, and give its name.
SWBAT say the sound for letter “Bb.”
SWBAT identify words/objects that start with /b/.
Note: Students are already familiar with –
 Letter names and sounds for letters p, s, a, t, and l.
 Listening to and isolating the sound they hear at the
beginning of a word (although they sometimes struggle with
this skill).
KEY POINTS.
 “Bb” has a specific shape. We need to look
carefully at the shape of letters to be sure we can
tell them apart.
 “Bb” makes the /b/ sound.
 When we say /b/ we put our lips together and blow
out a little air, almost like we’re going to say /p/.
Feel your throat when you say /b/: you can feel a
vibration that you can’t feel when you say /p/.
 You can tell which letter a word starts with by
saying it to yourself, and listening to the sound at
the beginning – the first sound in the word. The
letter that makes that first sound is the letter the
word starts with.
LESSON ASSESSMENT & EXEMPLAR STUDENT RESPONSE.
We don’t expect students will completely master these objectives in one lesson – this series of objectives will be taught
over several days using various strategies to build students’ understanding.
For 1st objective (SWBAT identify the letter “Bb” by sight, and give its name):
 Observe students identifying printed letter “Bb”s during guided and independent practice.
 Prompts: “What is the name of this letter?” and “Which of these letters is a Bb?”
o Proficient: student will identify a “Bb” accurately by name when given a choice of letter symbols at least 80% of
the time.
o Developing: student will identify a “Bb” accurately by name when given a choice of letter symbols about half of
the time
o Beginner: student will not identify a “Bb” accurately by name when given a choice of letter symbols, or may
identify “Bb”s sporadically/inconsistently
For 2nd objective (SWBAT say the sound for letter Bb):
 Observe students saying the /b/ sound during the guided and independent practice.
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module

Prompt students by saying “What sound does this letter make?”
o Proficient: student will say /b/ when prompted “What sound does this letter make?” at least 80% of the time
o Developing: student will say /b/ when prompted “What sound does this letter make?” about half of the time
o Beginner: student will not say /b/ when prompted, or may say it sporadically/inconsistently
For 3rd objective (SWBAT identify words/objects that start with /b/):
 Review student work samples from the independent practice
o Proficient: student colors all pictures that start with /b/ and Xes out the rest. May get one picture incorrect.
o Developing: student gets about half of the pictures that start with /b/; may not be able to tell on some pictures
o Beginner: student colors 0 pictures or 1 picture that starts with /b/ and Xes out the rest; or colors all pictures
indiscriminately
CONNECTION TO THE BIG GOAL.
Letter-sound mastery is a component of students’ summer growth goal. Additionally, when students begin to connect letters
with their sounds, they will be taking a step towards learning to independently read and write.
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
Although this 1st section just contained the daily lesson vision, and not lesson methods:
 Are there ways this teacher has set herself up to be able to insert strong CFUs in the rest of the plan?
Note: Throughout the lesson methods –
 Italics = what the teacher says
 Gray highlight = exemplar student response
OPENING. (3 min.)
 Call students to the rug. Set behavior expectations.
 Friends, I am so excited to talk to you today about some more letters. Letters are so important to us. We use them
every day to read and write words in the world. I bet you already know some letters, but we’re going to learn some
more letters here in summer school so that you can get smart for kindergarten. Let’s sing our ABC song to get ready for
learning our letters.
 Lead students in singing the ABC song. Refer to posted alphabet while singing each letter.





Now we’re going to review the letters we already know!
Hold up letter key cards (printed in capitals, and a key picture) for previously-learned letters P, S, A, and T.
One at a time, say the name of the letter, then ask students these questions for each letter before moving on:
o What is this? (pointing to picture)
 pig, snake, apple, tree
o What sound do we hear at the beginning? (referring to picture)
 /p/, /s/, /a/, /t/
o So, what sound does [letter] make? (connecting beginning sound of picture to letter sound)
 /p/, /s/, /a/, /t/
Reinforce letter sound and picture associations by reciting chorally “P, pig, /p/” (or appropriate info for other letters)
after each card is reviewed.
Today we are going to learn a new letter, “Bb.” We are going play a game that helps us learn what words start with
“Bb”!
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Opening of the lesson? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
INTRODUCTION TO NEW MATERIAL. (12 min.)
Key Point #1 (4 min.)
 Here is our new letter for today: “Bb.” One of our friends has a name that starts with this letter…who is it? Brian
 First, let’s look at how “Bb” is shaped. The letter “Bb” has a specific shape. We need to look carefully at the shape of
letters to be sure we can tell them apart.
 Capital “B” has a long straight stick, and then two bubbles. Watch me as I write capital “B” and lowercase “b” on the
board. I’m going to write capital “B” first. I start at the top and go straight down. Then I come up and put two bubbles on
the “B,” to the right of the stick part…what letter is this? Capital “B”
 Let’s practice with our magic pencils in the air. Lead practice writing capital B in air.









If I want to write a lowercase “b” I start at the top and go straight down, but then I only put one little bubble on the
bottom. What letter is this? Lowercase “b”
Let’s practice with our magic pencils in the air. Lead practice writing lowercase b in air.
Now let’s look at another letter, which might be confusing because it looks a lot like “Bb.” Show “Pp” picture card.
Let’s look at this card. This is the letter “Pp.” P, pig, /p/. It looks a lot like a “Bb”…let’s investigate the difference
between “Bb” and “Pp.”
Point to “Pp” on the picture card. Which way is the “Pp” pointing? Forwards or to the right.
Point to “Bb” on the picture card. Which way is this “Bb” pointing? Forwards or to the right.
Uh-oh…how will we tell them apart? How are the capital “B” and capital “P” different? Capital B has two bubbles, but
capital P has only one. Repeat letter names while pointing to letters.
What about lowercase “p” and lowercase “b?” How are they different? The stick on p goes down from the bubble, but
on b it goes up. Repeat letter names while pointing to letters.
We need to look carefully at the shape of letters to be sure we can tell them apart…so what is the name of this letter
(pointing to “Pp”)? “Pp” And what is the name of this letter (pointing to “Bb”)? “Bb”
Key Point #2 (1 min.)
 Remember that all of the letters make sounds, and that’s how we read – by knowing the sounds the letters make.
 “Bb” says /b/. Try to make that sound with me—it’s almost like you’re bouncing a ball: /b/ /b/ /b/
 Point to letter “Bb” on the board. What sound does “Bb” make? /b/
 Do the capital “B” and lowercase “b” make the same sound? Yes! And what sound is that? /b/
Key Point #3 (2 min.)
 When we say /b/ we put our lips together and blow out a little air, almost like we’re going to say /p/. But feel your throat
when you say /b/. You can feel a vibration that you can’t feel when you say /p/.
 Let’s try it together: /b/ /b/ /b/. Feel that vibration on your throat. Try saying /p/- you can’t feel it!
 So again, when we say /b/ for “Bb,” we put our lips together and blow out a little air, almost like we’re going to say /p/.
But feel your throat when you say /b/. You can feel a vibration that you can’t feel when you say /p/.
 Let’s try it together: /b/ /b/ /b/. Do you feel that on your throat? Yes- the /b/ makes my throat vibrate
Key Point #4 (5 min.)
 You can tell which letter a word starts with by saying it to yourself, and listening to the sound at the beginning—the first
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module


sound in the word. The letter that makes that first sound is the letter the word starts with.
Now let’s look at some pictures. These pictures all start with the /b/ sound, which means they all start with the letter
“Bb.” If something starts with /b/, and we know “Bb” makes the /b/ sound, then we know that thing starts with the letter
“Bb.”
I have four cards here, and each one has a picture of something that starts with “Bb,” and the /b/ sound. Repeat after
me (hold up cards one by one, and say names of items on picture cards, having students repeat each one; post in
pocket chart or chalk ledge after students say names).

Go back to picture cards, starting with the first one again, and ask these questions for each picture:
o What is this? name of object in picture
o Listen carefully to the first sound…what sound do you hear at the beginning of /b/ /b/ /b/____? /b/
o What letter says /b/? “Bb”
o So if “Bb” says /b/, and ____ starts with /b/, then what letter does ____ start with? “Bb”

That’s right! We know ____ starts with the letter “Bb” because we hear the /b/ sound at the beginning, and we know
that “Bb” says /b/.
All of these pictures start with the /b/ sound, and that means that they all start with the letter “Bb.”



Show students the “Bb” picture card (same as previous set- with letter and key picture) with a ball on it. This is our “Bb”
card.
Let’s practice: “b”-ball-/b/. Say it with me: “b”-ball-/b/
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Introduction to New Material? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Opening?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
GUIDED PRACTICE. (8 min.)
 We know that letters make different sounds. We can tell which letter a word begins with by saying it to ourselves, and
listening to the sound at the beginning – the letter that makes that first sound is the letter the word starts with.






I’m going to mix up my picture cards, and then we’re going to say the thing in the picture one by one. When we say the
name of the thing in the picture, I want you to listen carefully to the sound you hear at the beginning. We’re going to try
to figure out if the picture starts with “Bb” or with a different letter.
What sound would we hear if the picture starts with “Bb”? /b/
That’s right. Everybody say /b/…put your lips together and blow out a little air, and feel your throat for the vibration… /b/
/b/ /b/.
So if we have a picture, and we hear a /b/ sound at the beginning, then we know the picture starts with which letter?
“Bb”
If we hear a different sound than /b/, does the picture start with “Bb”? No
Okay, we’re going to start now. When I hold up a picture, repeat the name after me. Then tell me what sound you hear
at the beginning, and whether you think it starts with a B, or a different letter.
o For pictures bat, ball, monkey, balloon:
 Say name, students repeat.
 What sound do you hear at the beginning of this word? /b/, /b/, /m/, /b/
10
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module


Does this thing start with the letter “Bb”? Yes, yes, no, yes
Sort the picture cards into groups of “Bb” and not-“Bb” on a pocket chart or chalk ledge.


Refer to the group with “Bb” objects: These pictures start with “Bb,” so let’s put a printed letter “Bb” next to them.
Hold up a capital “B” and a capital “P” on two cards. Which one is a letter “B”? the “B” Yes—this is letter “Bb,” so we’ll
put it with the things that start with “Bb.”

Now I’m going to challenge you. We’re going to say the name of the thing in the picture, and then I want you to tell me
whether it starts with the letter “Bb” or not.
o For pictures house, book, pinwheel, bear, beetle:
 Say name, students repeat.
 Does this thing start with the letter “Bb”? No, yes, no, yes, yes
 Sort the picture cards into groups of “Bb” and not-“Bb” on a pocket chart or chalk ledge.

Refer to the group with “Bb” objects: These pictures start with “Bb,” so can we keep this letter (referring to the capital
“B”) here? Yes Yes—this is letter “Bb,” so we can keep it with the things that start with “Bb.”

Look friends, we sorted the pictures by the sound that these things start with. When you say the word, you can listen
for the beginning sound and think about what letter makes that sound.
All of these pictures start with “Bb” – “Bb” says /b/ [say picture names]. We can hear the /b/ sound at the beginning of
each of these things’ names.

Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Guided Practice? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Introduction to New Material?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE. (20 min.)
CLOSING. (2 min.)
Note: This section gives just a high-level overview of what would happen during the rest of the lesson.
Independent Practice
Students will play a sorting game that mirrors the Guided Practice and looks something like this:
 Every student gets a bag of index cards with the following letters: Bb, Pp, Ss, Aa, Tt, Ll. The bag also has an index
card with a question mark: ?? They lay these cards on their table or on the carpet so that they make rows.
 Students get a bag of 5 picture cards. They say the word for each picture out loud and decide which row to put it in
based on the starting sound. If it’s a letter they don’t have, they put it in the ?? row.
 When they finish, students raise their hand for the teacher or paraprofessional to come check.
 Then students clean up the picture cards and get a new set.
This sorting game can be scaffolded and differentiated in the following ways:
 For students with lower mastery of prior knowledge objectives, or who were observed to be struggling with this lesson
during the Guided Practice:
o Some students might get index cards that only have the following: Bb and the Bb in the “No” symbol. These
students are only determining whether a letter starts with Bb or not.
o Some students might get index cards that have Bb and just 1-2 additional letters.
 Students could also do this sorting game in pairs, or do it independently and then ask their partner to check (rather than
11
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
waiting for an adult to check). This might be a good option for students who thrive on collaborative work and/or for
students at high levels of mastery.

As students are playing the sorting game, the teacher (and the paraprofessional) will circulate to:
o Check student work by looking at their rows and asking them to pronounce the words, make the starting sound,
and identify the letter that matches that starting sound.
o Re-teach selected students who were observed to struggle earlier in the lesson.
o Record anecdotal notes on her students’ proficiency with this objective (and with other previously-taught letter
sounds), using the leveled descriptors of student performance outlined in the lesson assessment.
Closing
The teacher will lead the whole-class in a quick game of “Jump-Up / Sit-Down” by:
 Pulling a picture card from one of the bags students have been using and holding it high.
 Asking students to silently “Jump-Up” if the word starts with the letter “Bb.”
 Cold-calling on a student to say the word.
 Repeating the process for 5-10 cards (or until every student has had a chance to say a word).
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Independent Practice and Closing? Why is it important to CFU at this point
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Guided Practice?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)?
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
Summary Questions
 Are there CFUs for every key point?
o Are some key points CFU-ed more than others? Why?
o Are some key points CFU-ed in a very different way than others? Why?
o Do some CFUs check multiple key points simultaneously? Why?
 How would you describe the “level of rigor” of various CFUs? Do some require a different level of thought than others?
Why do you think this is?
 Are there questions in this plan that at first glance might seem to be CFUs, but which actually serve a different
purpose? What is that purpose?
 How would students in this classroom feel about the CFUs in this plan? Are there specific ways the CFUs might
contribute to a strong culture of achievement?
12
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Handout B1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – Elementary Reading Comprehension (2nd-grade)
Note: The exemplar lesson plans being used for this session are generally fairly detailed, and often include quite a bit of
scripting. This is because they have either been purposefully written for someone else to execute and/or because they
have been fleshed out to serve as an example for teacher professional development (like this!). When writing plans for
your own use, it likely won’t be necessary to include so much detail, through doing so can sometimes be helpful for
beginning teachers.
Directions
 Identify the 1-3 colleagues with whom you’ll be working. Please don’t work in groups larger than 4 people.
 Independently read the 1st section of the lesson plan.
 Stop to collaboratively annotate and discuss the plan, using the guiding questions directly under that section. You
don’t need to annotate the plan in any particular way – just “mark it up” to note where you’re seeing information that
relates to the guiding questions.
 Repeat the entire process for the 2nd section, etc… until you have annotated the entire plan.
 Discuss the summary questions found at the end of the entire lesson.
 If you still have time remaining, consider this plan not through the lens of CFUs, but through the lens of content from
previous sessions:
o What’s strong about this daily lesson vision?
o How does the teacher plan to effectively introduce academic content?
o Why does this plan set the teacher up to successfully facilitate student practice?
o Are there thing you would change (and why)?
Remember: CFU = Check For Understanding (just when you thought you had enough acronyms!) 
OBJECTIVE.
Describe character traits of Dr. DeSoto and the fox (including physical traits & personality traits), by looking at the
illustrations and observing characters’ thoughts and actions in the story.
KEY POINTS.
 Character traits = physical traits (what the character looks like) + personality traits (a character’s behavior, using
adjectives)
 When we describe characters:
o We can identify their physical traits based on what we see in the illustrations and what the author tells us
about how they look.
o We can identify their personality traits based on their thoughts (what the author tells us they think and
what we can guess that they think) and actions (what they act like, what they say).
13
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
LESSON ASSESSMENT & EXEMPLAR STUDENT RESPONSE.
Reading Journal Prompt for Students: On the left side of the chart, write down 4 personality traits and 2 physical
traits for the fox. In the right-hand column, write down how you know—the part of the story that helped you identify that
trait (this could be the illustrations, or the characters’ thoughts or actions).
Rubric for Student Responses
1. Character traits are legitimate/believable.
2. Traits are supported by some evidence/example from the text or an inference (connection isn’t enough).
3. Quantity: 2 physical, 4 personality.
Possible Student Responses
The Fox’s Character Traits
Sneaky in a bad way
Wimpy/pathetic
Hungry
Loopy/goofy/delusional/dreaming/woozy
Reddish-orange, big, sharp teeth, stylish
dresser (suit, top hat), big mouth
Page
17, 22,
24
8, 10, 24
14, 24
14
9, 20
How do we know?
He’s making a secret plan to eat the
DeSotos after they fix his tooth.
He doesn’t like to be in pain.
He wants to eat the DeSotos.
He goes to “dreamland” when he gets
anesthetic gas.
Illustrations.
Additional One-on-One Questions for Students (student responses are italicized):
 What is a physical trait? What the character looks like. What is one physical trait of X (name character visible in
student’s book)? Student gives accurate physical trait. How do you know? By looking at the illustrations and what
the author tells you about the character.
 What is a personality trait? A character’s behavior, using adjectives. What is one personality trait of X (name
character visible in student’s book)? Student gives accurate personality trait. How do you know? By looking at
characters’ thoughts (what the author tells us they think and what we can guess about what they think) and actions
(what they do/say in the book).
TARGET VOCABULARY WORDS & STUDENT-FRIENDLY DEFINITIONS.
 delicate (p 4): small and gentle
 pitiful (p 8): sad, makes you feel sorry for him
 woozy (p 17): dizzy, half-asleep, not thinking clearly
 resist (p 22): keep yourself from doing something, hold back
 dignity (p 27): being able to hold your head up high, not being embarrassed, for the fox – walking straight and tall
and not seeming upset
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
Although this 1st section just contained the daily lesson vision, and not lesson methods:
 Are there ways this teacher has set herself up to be able to insert strong CFUs in the rest of the plan?
Note: Throughout the lesson methods –
 Italics = what the teacher says
 Gray highlight = exemplar student response
14
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
READ-ALOUD, PRE-READING. (7 min.)
 Introduce the story: Today we’re going to be reading a story about a mouse who is a dentist. His name, and the title
of the book, is Dr. De Soto. William Steig is the author and the illustrator.
 As we read this story, we’re going to be thinking about the characters—the animals in the book. We know there is a
dentist-mouse, and we’ll also meet his wife and one of their patients. As we’re reading, we’ll think about what they
look like, and also what their behavior is like. We call these descriptions “character traits” – what we know about a
character’s physical appearance and also their personality. Write KP #1 on board:
o Character traits = physical traits (what the character looks like) + personality traits (a character’s behavior,
using adjectives)
 If we know that we can describe a character through their traits, or things about them, what should we look for?
There are two types of traits, like I just said, so let’s talk about how to identify each kind of trait. Write KP #2 on
board:
o physical traits: what we see in the illustrations and what the author tells us about how the character
looks.
o personality traits: thoughts (what the author tells us they think and what we can guess that they think)
and actions (what they act like, what they say).
 When you are describing someone’s physical traits, you can do this just by looking at them.
 We can do this in real life too, not just in books. If I wanted to describe Yvette’s physical traits, we could look at her
and see that she has dark brown hair, two pigtails with curls, and a big smile. We could also look at her clothes—
she has on her uniform of blue shorts and a yellow shirt. She’s wearing black leather shoes and white socks.
 Those are all physical traits—things we can see when we look at Yvette.
 For a character in a book, we’ll look at the pictures the illustrator gives us, and anything the author writes about how
the character looks.
o Teach motion: when we see something in the book that will tell us about a character’s physical traits,
we should put our hands up like binoculars, because we’re seeing something about them
[demonstrate]. Let’s practice that [students practice putting hands like binoculars].
 When you are trying to describe someone’s personality traits, you need to know a little more about them. We can’t
describe Yvette’s personality traits just by looking at her. We can describe her personality traits if we know her
thoughts and actions. If Noah played with her during Center Time, he could say she is caring because she shared
the magnetic letters, and neat because she cleaned up very carefully. Those are words that describe her personality
traits—caring and neat. In a book, we can’t actually talk or play with a character in order to get to know them.
 We have to use what the book says about what the character is thinking and saying and doing to know what their
personality traits are.
 Sometimes we also make guesses about the character, based on what we know they think or do—we can guess
what they might do. For instance, since we know Yvette is neat, we could guess that she would also clean up her
desk. We can make guesses like that for characters in a book too.
o Teach motion: when we read something about what a character is thinking or doing, or we have a
guess about what they might think or do, we should tap our heads like we are thinking [demonstrate].
Let’s practice that [students practice tapping head like they are thinking].
 So let’s see…if I say Noah has black hair, is that a physical [do motion] or personality [do motion] trait? [students do
motion for physical trait] Yes! What if I say that Kiana is kind because she gave me a hug when I was sad—is that a
physical trait or personality trait? [students do motions] Good! Remember those motions for physical traits and
personality traits. We’ll use them again in just a minute.
 Introduce vocabulary words: In this story, there will be some new words for us. Refer to words already written on
board. Read words to students:
o delicate (p 4)
o pitiful (p 8)
o woozy (p 17)
o resist (p 22)
o dignity (p 27)
 Think about whether you already know any of these words. When we come to one of these words in the story, we’ll
stop and talk about what it means in that part of the book.
 Let’s start reading now!
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in this 1st part of the lesson? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her?
15
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module

o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
READ-ALOUD, DURING-READING. (20 min.)
 As we’re reading, we’re going to be looking for character traits—both physical and personality traits—that describe
Dr. De Soto. I’m going to start reading, and then at certain points I’ll stop and we’ll think about the physical and
personality traits we notice about him.
 Remember to listen for our vocabulary words, too—they’re on the board in the order we’ll hear them; raise your
hand if you hear one!
 Stop on page 4 to define “delicate”: small and gentle [write definition on board]
 Stop after reading page 5 and think aloud: Okay, so we’ve read the beginning of the story, so we already know
some things about Dr. De Soto. Let me think first about his physical characteristics. Remember, physical
characteristics are what the character looks like—I can know from looking at the illustrations and reading what the
author tells us about how the character looks. Let me look at these illustrations…I see that Dr. De Soto is a mouse,
just like the author told us before. He’s a grayish-brown color, and he’s wearing a dentist coat and glasses! Now…I
can write these down so that I remember what Dr. De Soto is like, using this chart. On the left, we’ll write down the
character traits we discover. On the right, we’ll write down how we know that the character is this way. So, for these
physical traits, let me write them down on the left [write on chart]. Now, how did we know? We looked at the
pictures, and we also read what the author told us, when he said Dr. De Soto was a mouse [write on chart].
 You know, I also have an idea of one of Dr. De Soto’s personality traits by now. Remember, personality traits
describe a character’s behavior—we know by reading their thoughts and actions, and making guesses about what
they might think or do, too. So far in the story Dr. De Soto has treated many types of animals. Lots of different
animals come to see him. I think we can define one of his personality traits as being experienced—he has lots of
experience as a dentist, and a good reputation. We can make a guess that the animals come to see him because he
is a good dentist. We can write down that he is experienced, because he has worked on so many different types of
animals. Let’s put that on our chart as a personality trait [write on chart]. We can write down that we know Dr. De
Soto is generous because of what happened in the story—many animals come to see him to have him fix their teeth
[write on chart].
 As we keep reading, we will learn more and more about Dr. DeSoto’s character traits! Go ahead and do your hand
motions for physical traits and personality traits whenever you discover something about Dr. De Soto.
 Prompt students for a personality trait on page 7: Dr. De Soto is cautious, because his sign says “no dangerous
animals” and he doesn’t want to let the fox in. Write on chart.
 Stop on page 8 to define “pitiful”: sad, makes you feel sorry for him [write definition on board]
 Stop on page 17 to define “woozy”: dizzy, half-asleep, not thinking clearly [write definition on board]
 Prompt students for a personality trait on page 19: Dr. De Soto is a hard worker: he says he wants to finish the job
he started on the fox. Write on chart.
 Stop on page 22 to define “resist”: keep yourself from doing something, hold back [write definition on board]
 Stop on page 27 to define “dignity”: being able to hold your head up high, not being embarrassed, for the fox—
walking straight and tall and not seeming upset [write definition on board]
 Prompt students for a personality trait on page 28: Dr. De Soto is sneaky, but in a good way, because he came up
with a plan for gluing the fox’s mouth shut. Write on chart.
 If students make motions for other traits, stop and discuss them and add to list.
Dr. De Soto’s Character Traits
Thorough/hard worker
Cautious/careful
Sneaky but in a good way
Experienced/prepared
Small, grey-brown, has glasses,
wears clothes (dentist coat)
Page
19
7
28
pp 1-5
Cover, 4, 9,
11
How do we know?
He wants to finish the job that he started on the fox
At first, he didn’t want to let the fox in
Plan for glue for fox’s mouth
Knows how to deal with many types of animals
Illustrations
16
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
READ-ALOUD, POST-READING. (5 min.)
 Well, that was a fun story! The DeSotos sure played a good trick on the fox in the end.
 The characters in this story were really what made it so entertaining. When we were reading, we were focusing on Dr.
DeSoto’s character traits. What did we learn about him? And how did we know? [take student responses—they could
be reading the chart; most answers should have been recorded]
 Great—now we have a list of Dr. DeSoto’s character traits, both physical and personality traits. Next we’re going to get
our own copies of the book, and focus on the fox’s character traits!
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed during the Read-Aloud and Post-Reading? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Pre-Reading?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
SHARED READING, PRE-READING. (10 min.)
 While I pass out your individual copies of Dr. De Soto, please take out your vocabulary notebooks and copy down the
title and author of today’s book, along with the vocabulary words and definitions from the board. [students copy
vocabulary while I distribute books]
 Thanks. Now please put your vocabulary notebooks away and take out your reading journal. You’re going to be working
on your own character traits chart now! Please open to a new, empty page in your reading journal and copy the chart I
have on the board. You should draw one line down the middle of the page to make the two columns, and then copy the
column titles: “Character Traits” and “How do I know?” [students copy chart into reading journals]
 Now, when we’re reading we’re going to be making our character traits chart for the fox. Write your character’s name—
the fox—at the top of your page so you won’t forget.
 Review/CFU: Raise your hand if you can remind me what two specific types of traits are part of our list of character
traits [answer: physical and personality]. What were our hand motions for those? [get all students to do hand motions
together for each type of trait] Now, raise your hand if you can tell me what a physical trait is [answer: what a character
looks like]. And where do we discover physical traits? [answer: illustrations or what the author tells us] Now, raise your
hand if you can tell me what a personality trait is [answer: a description of the character’s behavior]. And how do we
know what the character’s behavior is like? [reading about their thoughts and actions, and guessing about what else
they might do or think]
 Okay, so now we know what we’re looking for: physical and personality traits. As we’re reading, look for those traits for
the fox. Make your hand motions when you notice something.
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed during this transition to Shared Reading? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information than in the Read-Aloud section?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
17
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
SHARED READING, DURING READING. (20 min.)
 Provide instructions for echo reading to students.
 Remind them again of definitions of physical and personality traits and how we know.
 Read one page at a time, students echo.
 Stop on page 8 and prompt students to write down 1 personality trait and how they know (wimpy).
 Stop on page 9 and prompt students to write down 2 physical traits and how they know.
 Stop on page 14 and prompt students to write down 1 personality trait and how they know (hungry).
 Stop on page 24 and prompt students to write down 1 personality trait and how they know (sneaky in a bad way).
 If students identify other traits through hand motions, may stop and write those (time-dependent).
The Fox’s Character Traits
Sneaky in a bad way
Page
17, 22, 24
Wimpy/pathetic
Hungry
Loopy/goofy/delusional/dreaming/woozy
Reddish-orange, big, sharp teeth, stylish
dresser (suit, top hat), big mouth
8, 10, 24
14, 24
14
9, 20
How do we know?
He’s making a secret plan to eat the DeSotos
after they treat him
Doesn’t like to be in pain
He wants to eat the DeSotos
Gets anesthetic gas-“goes to dreamland”
Illustrations
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Independent Practice and Closing? Why is it important to CFU at this point
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was
during the Read-Aloud?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)?
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
18
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
SHARED READING, POST-READING. (10 min.)
 Students add 1 more personality characteristic after reading, and draw picture of character (the fox).
 Walk around asking 1-1 assessment questions
Additional Questions for Students (student responses Italicized):
 What is a physical trait? What the character looks like. How do you find one? By looking at the illustrations and what
the author tells you about the character.
 What is a personality trait? A character’s behavior, using adjectives. How do you find one? By looking at characters’
thoughts (what the author tells us they think and what we can guess about what they think) and actions (what they
do/say in the book).
Collect/store reading journals
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Independent Practice and Closing? Why is it important to CFU at this point
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Guided Practice?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)?
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
Summary Questions
 Are there CFUs for every key point?
o Are some key points CFU-ed more than others? Why?
o Are some key points CFU-ed in a very different way than others? Why?
o Do some CFUs check multiple key points simultaneously? Why?
 How would you describe the “level of rigor” of various CFUs? Do some require a different level of thought than others?
Why do you think this is?
 Are there questions in this plan that at first glance might seem to be CFUs, but which actually serve a different
purpose? What is that purpose?
 How would students in this classroom feel about the CFUs in this plan? Are there specific ways the CFUs might
contribute to a strong culture of achievement?
19
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Handout C1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – Middle-School Math
Note: The exemplar lesson plans being used for this session are generally fairly detailed, and often include quite a bit of
scripting. This is because they have either been purposefully written for someone else to execute and/or because they
have been fleshed out to serve as an example for teacher professional development (like this!). When writing plans for
your own use, it likely won’t be necessary to include so much detail, through doing so can sometimes be helpful for
beginning teachers.
Directions
 Identify the 1-3 colleagues with whom you’ll be working. Please don’t work in groups larger than 4 people.
 Independently read the 1st section of the lesson plan.
 Stop to collaboratively annotate and discuss the plan, using the guiding questions directly under that section.
o You don’t need to annotate the plan in any particular way – just “mark it up” to note where you’re seeing
information that relates to the guiding questions.
o The questions are numbered, however, so you could use the question #s to mark places in the lesson where
you find answers or clues.
 Repeat the entire process for the 2nd section, etc… until you have annotated the entire plan.
 Discuss the summary questions found at the end of the entire lesson.
 If you still have time remaining, consider this plan not through the lens of CFUs, but through the lens of content from
previous sessions:
o What’s strong about this daily lesson vision?
o How does the teacher plan to effectively introduce academic content?
o Why does this plan set the teacher up to successfully facilitate student practice?
o Are there thing you would change (and why)?
Remember: CFU = Check For Understanding (just when you thought you had enough acronyms!) 
OBJECTIVE.
SWBAT factor simple monomial expressions.
Example
4x + 8 = 4(x + 2)
Note: Leading up to this objective, students are already familiar with:
 The following terms: whole number, coefficient, monomial, factor.
 The process for distributing simple monomial expressions.
 How to find the GCF (though students have not yet mastered this skill – it needs constant review).
KEY POINTS.
Background Information Key Points
 Working with algebraic expressions (like monomials and polynomials) is a critical skill for all higher-level Math
classes.
 When working with algebraic expressions, sometimes we need to distribute and sometimes we need to factor.
 Factoring (taking numbers) is the opposite of distributing (giving numbers).
Process Key Points
 To factor a monomial expression:
1. Determine both the whole number and the coefficient.
2. Find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) of the whole number and the coefficient.
a) List all factors for each number (i.e., all whole numbers that can be divided equally into each of the
numbers).
b) Identify all factors the whole number and the coefficient have in common.
c) Identify the biggest number on both lists – this is the Greatest Common Factor.
3. Divide both the whole number and the coefficient by the GCF.
4. Write the factored expression in parentheses, with the GCF on the outside.
5. Check your work by doing the opposite – by distributing the GCF.
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
LESSON ASSESSMENT & EXEMPLAR STUDENT RESPONSE.
End-of-Lesson Exit Ticket: Students will factor 5 simple monomial expressions.
1. 3x + 18 Answer: 3(x + 6)
2. 2x + 12 Answer: 2(x + 6)
3. 35x + 15 Answer: 5(7x + 3)
4. 7x + 21 Answer: 7(x + 3)
5. 8x + 20 Answer: 4(2x + 5)
CONNECTION TO THE BIG GOAL.
This is one of several objectives connected to manipulating polynomials. All of these objectives represent necessary
pre-requisite skill for higher-level Math, including all Algebra courses.
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
Although this 1st section just contained the daily lesson vision, and not lesson methods:
 Are there ways this teacher has set herself up to be able to insert strong CFUs in the rest of the plan?
Note: Throughout the lesson methods, gray highlight = exemplar student response
OPENING (5 min. total)
Do Now (4 min)
 Students will independently distribute 3 simple monomial expressions as a review from a previous lesson:
1. 4(2x + 3)
2. 7(x + 4)
3. 2(5x + 1)

Review the answer to #1 by asking the following questions:
o What is this called? a monomial expression
o What did we just do with this monomial expression? distributed
o What number did we distribute in this expression? the 4
o What did we do to distribute this expression? multiplied both the 2x and the 3 by 4
o What is our answer? 8x + 12
o Is 8x + 12 still a monomial expression? Yes

Review answers for #2 and #3 – only ask series of questions if necessary. Answers: 7x + 28 and 10x + 2
Introduce Lesson (1 min.)
 When working with algebraic expressions like these, sometimes we need to distribute – we already know how to
do this. Sometimes we need to take the opposite action – we need to factor.
o Objective: SWBAT factor simple monomial expressions.
o Agenda
 We work through examples together to learn the process.
 You practice the process in teams by doing the “The Amazing Math Race.”
 You show me what you have learned on your exit tickets.
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Opening of the lesson? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)?
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
21
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
o
o
o
Most students answer correctly?
Most students answer incorrectly?
Student response is very mixed?
INTRODUCTION TO NEW MATERIAL (15-20 min. total)
Background Information Key Points (2 min.)
 We know that distributing means giving a number to all parts of the expression. In #1 from the Do Now, we gave
the number 4 to both the 2x and the 3.
 Factoring is the opposite of distributing – this means we’re going to be taking a number from all parts of the
expression.
o Distributing means what? Giving
o Factoring means what? Taking
 So if we look at #1 from the Do Now again:
o We gave the number 4 to all parts of the expression to distribute it. And we ended up with 8x + 12.
o What do you think we will do to factor this new expression? Take the number 4 away from all parts of the
expression
Process Key Point #1 (1 min.)
 We’re going to learn how to factor expressions using this same example: 8x + 12
 Step One: Determine both the whole number and the coefficient
o What’s the whole number in this expression? 12
o What’s the coefficient? 8
Process Key Point #2 (5 min.)
 Step Two: Find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF)
a) List all factors for each number (i.e., all whole numbers that can be divided equally into each number).
b) Identify all factors the whole number and the coefficient have in common.
c) Identify the biggest number on both lists – this is the Greatest Common Factor.
 I’m going to do this with our example expression: 8x + 12
a) To list the factors of 8, I start with 1 and write as many pairs as I can: (1,8) (2,4)
b) To list the factors of 12, I start with 1 and write as many pairs as I can: (1,12) (2,6) (3,4)
c) Now I circle all common numbers: 1 2 4
o The biggest number is 4. That’s my GCF

Finding the GCF is a really critical step – if we go wrong here, we’ll get the whole problem wrong. Let’s make
sure we’re all very clear on how to do this by practicing with a few more expressions:
1. 6x + 15
2. 14x + 28
3. 5x + 20

Expression #1
o What is the coefficient? 6
o What are the factors of 6? (1,6) (2,3)
o What is the whole number? 15
o What are the factors of 15? (1,15)
(3,5)
o What are the common numbers? 1 and 3
o What is the GCF? 3

Work through #2 and #3 (with the same question sequence if necessary). Answers: #2  GCF = 14, #3  GCF
=5
Process Key Point #1 (1 min.)
 We’re going to learn how to factor expressions using this same example: 8x + 12
22
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module

Step One: Determine both the whole number and the coefficient
o What’s the whole number in this expression? 12
o What’s the coefficient? 8
Process Key Point #2 (5 min.)
 Step Two: Find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF)
d) List all factors for each number (i.e., all whole numbers that can be divided equally into each number).
e) Identify all factors the whole number and the coefficient have in common.
f) Identify the biggest number on both lists – this is the Greatest Common Factor.
 I’m going to do this with our example expression: 8x + 12
d) To list the factors of 8, I start with 1 and write as many pairs as I can: (1,8) (2,4)
e) To list the factors of 12, I start with 1 and write as many pairs as I can: (1,12) (2,6) (3,4)
f) Now I circle all common numbers: 1 2 4
o The biggest number is 4. That’s my GCF

Finding the GCF is a really critical step – if we go wrong here, we’ll get the whole problem wrong. Let’s make
sure we’re all very clear on how to do this by practicing with a few more expressions:
4. 6x + 15
5. 14x + 28
6. 5x + 20

Expression #1
o What is the coefficient? 6
o What are the factors of 6? (1,6) (2,3)
o What is the whole number? 15
o What are the factors of 15? (1,15)
(3,5)
o What are the common numbers? 1 and 3
o What is the GCF? 3

Work through #2 and #3 (with the same question sequence if necessary). Answers: #2  GCF = 14, #3  GCF
=5
Review Process Key Points #3-#5 (4 min.)
 Let’s make sure we’ve got Steps 3-5 down before be put them all together. We’ll use the 3 examples for which
we found the GCF earlier:
1. 6x + 15 (GCF = 3)
2. 14x + 28 (GCF = 14)
3. 5x + 20 (GCF = 5)

Example #1
o I have the GCF. What do I do next? Step 3 – divide both the whole number and the coefficient by the GCF
o What is 6x divided by 3? 2x
o What is 15 divided by 3? 5
o So what do I have? 2x + 5
o What do I do to finish this factored expression? Step 4 – write the factored expression in parentheses with
the GCF on the outside
o So what’s my factored expression? 3(2x + 5)
o What do I do to check my work? Step 5 – distribute the GCF
o How do I distribute? multiply both parts of the expression by 3
o If I do that, what do I get? 6x + 15
o Is that correct? Yes

Work through #2 and #3 (using the same question sequence if necessary). Answers: #2  14(x + 2) , #3  5(x
+ 4)
Review ALL Process Key Points (3 min.)
 O.K. – before we move on the Amazing Math Race, let’s be sure we can put all the steps together for two
23
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
examples.
1. 12x + 24
2. 9x + 12

Example #1
o What’s my first step? identify the coefficient and whole number
o What are they? 12 and 24
o What’s my second step? find the GCF
o How do I do find the GCF? list the factors for each number
o What are the factors of 12? (1,12)
(2,6)
(3,4)
o What are the factors of 24? (1,24)
(2,12)
(3,8)
(4,6)
o What next? circle the common factors What are they? 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
What’s the GCF? 12
o Now what do I do? divide the coefficient and the whole number by the GCF
o What’s 12x divided by 12? 1 – or just x And 24 divided by 12? 2
o What do I do to finish this factored expression? put it in parentheses, with the GCF on the outside
o What do I end up with? 12(x + 2)
o How do I check it? distribute Why? because it’s the opposite action
o If I distribute the 6, what do I get? 12x + 24
Is this correct? yes

Work through #2 (using the same question sequence if necessary). Answer: 3(3x + 4)
Additional Examples for INM (0 min. – these are “just-in-case”)
1. 16x + 12 Answer: 4(4x + 3)
2. 2x + 18 Answer: 2(x + 9)
3. 9x + 27 Answer: 9(x + 3)
4. 22x + 11 Answer: 11(2x + 1)
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Introduction to New Material? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Opening?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
24
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
GUIDED PRACTICE – The Amazing Math Race (20-25 min. total)
Description of Practice Activity
 Students are grouped in teams of 4. Each student is assigned a letter (A, B, C, D).
 I post a problem (a monomial expression that needs to be factored).
 Each student gets 30-45 seconds to solve the problem independently on paper. The room must be SILENT!
 Each team gets 30-45 seconds to check all answers. During this time, they need to make sure of the following:
o The correct answer is written on their team whiteboard.
o Every teammate must be able to answer all “check questions” (which are specific to this objective). Teams
should quiz each other on as many questions as possible (because I will ask them in random order).
 I call on one student from each group (A, B, C, or D) to be the Captain for this round. All Captains stand up and
display their answer on the team whiteboard. All teams with the correct answer get 1 point.
o If 3 or more teams have the incorrect answer, I will stop at this point to talk through the entire problem.
 I ask a different “check question” of each Captain. The ONLY person who can speak is the Captain.
o If the Captain answers correctly, their team gets 2 points.
o If the Captain calls on a teammate to answer (because they aren’t sure), their team gets 1 point.
o If the Captain answers incorrectly, I either explain the answer, call on another student from another team, or
coach the Captain to the answer. No points are awarded to anyone.
 Repeat for the next problem.
 There are 8 possible problems to complete (i.e., 8 possible rounds of the Amazing Math Race). I will determine
how many to do based on:
o Student Mastery: I will stop to re-teach if:
 Students are consistently getting problems wrong.
 Students are consistently unable to answer the “check questions” correctly
 I observe numerous inaccurate responses during the team discussion time.
o Student Compliance: I will change this team activity to independent work (followed by whole-group review) if:
 Students are unable to comply with the guidelines of the team activity.
 Students are not using the team discussion time to discuss their answers and quiz all teammates on the
“check questions.”
Check Questions
 For the original expression (i.e., the expression that needs to be factored):
o What is the coefficient?
o What is the whole number?
o What are all the factors of the coefficient?
o What are all the factors of the whole number?
o What factors do the coefficient and the whole number have in common?
o What is the Greatest Common Factor?
 For the answer (i.e, the factored expression):
o Which number is the Greatest Common Factor?
o What did you do to arrive at the new coefficient?
o What did you do to arrive at the new whole number?
o How would you check this answer?
o What would this expression be if you distributed it?
Sequence
 (2-3 min.): I remind students of directions (we have done this activity many times before).
 (2-4 min. per round):
o I post problem.
o Individual work.
o Group discussion and check.
o Whole-class check.
o Questions for captains.
25
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Guided Practice? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Introduction to New Material?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (5 min.)
Closing (5 min.)
Note: This section gives just a high-level overview of what would happen during the rest of the lesson.
Independent Practice
Based on a self-assessment of how they did during the Guided Practice, students will self-select into these 3 groups:
1) Ready-for-More; 2) More-Practice-Please; 3) Need-Some-Help. For 5 minutes:
 Ready-for-More: Students will independently work a problem set that asks them to factor more complex monomial
expressions (i.e., involving negative numbers, fractions, etc.)
 More-Practice-Please: Students will work a problem set to factor additional simple monomial expressions (similar
to what they did in the Guided Practice). The answer for each problem is on the back of the sheet so that students
can do a self-check as they go.
 Need-Some-Help: The teacher will pull this subgroup of students for a quick re-teach mini-lesson.
Closing
Students will complete and turn in the lesson assessment exit ticket, noting in the top right-hand corner which group
they were in for the Independent Practice.
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Independent Practice and Closing? Why is it important to CFU at this point
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Guided Practice?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)?
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
Summary Questions
 Are there CFUs for every key point?
o Are some key points CFU-ed more than others? Why?
o Are some key points CFU-ed in a very different way than others? Why?
o Do some CFUs check multiple key points simultaneously? Why?
 How would you describe the “level of rigor” of various CFUs? Do some require a different level of thought than others?
Why do you think this is?
 Are there questions in this plan that at first glance might seem to be CFUs, but which actually serve a different
purpose? What is that purpose?
 How would students in this classroom feel about the CFUs in this plan? Are there specific ways the CFUs might
contribute to a strong culture of achievement?
26
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Handout D1: Exemplar Lesson Plan – Secondary Social Studies (U.S. History)
Note: The exemplar lesson plans being used for this session are generally fairly detailed, and often include quite a bit of
scripting. This is because they have either been purposefully written for someone else to execute and/or because they
have been fleshed out to serve as an example for teacher professional development (like this!). When writing plans for
your own use, it likely won’t be necessary to include so much detail, through doing so can sometimes be helpful for
beginning teachers.
Directions
 Identify the 1-3 colleagues with whom you’ll be working. Please don’t work in groups larger than 4 people.
 Independently read the 1st section of the lesson plan.
 Stop to collaboratively annotate and discuss the plan, using the guiding questions directly under that section.
o You don’t need to annotate the plan in any particular way – just “mark it up” to note where you’re seeing
information that relates to the guiding questions.
o The questions are numbered, however, so you could use the question #s to mark places in the lesson where
you find answers or clues.
 Repeat the entire process for the 2nd section, etc… until you have annotated the entire plan.
 Discuss the summary questions found at the end of the entire lesson.
 If you still have time remaining, consider this plan not through the lens of CFUs, but through the lens of content from
previous sessions:
o What’s strong about this daily lesson vision?
o How does the teacher plan to effectively introduce academic content?
o Why does this plan set the teacher up to successfully facilitate student practice?
o Are there thing you would change (and why)?
Remember: CFU = Check For Understanding (just when you thought you had enough acronyms!) 
OBJECTIVE.
SWBAT describe the economic, social, and political impact of the Great Depression.
Linked Assessment Item on Released State Test
_____ 26. Which economic indicator increased during the Great Depression?
A. Farm prices
B. Unemployment
C. Individual earnings
D. National income
Yesterday’s Objective: SWBAT list and describe the causes of the Great Depression.
Tomorrow’s Objective: SWBAT articulate how and why the Great Depression ended.
Overarching Objective*
SWBAT analyze cause-and-effect relationships in historical events.
* This objective is one which will be taught in conjunction with multiple daily objectives. It is being introduced for the
first time today.
27
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
KEY POINTS.
 The Great Depression was the longest and deepest economic downturn in the United States and the rest of the
world, and had lasting effects on the economy, society and politics both in the United States and globally.

Impact of the Great Depression:
o Economic (business) impact: High unemployment led to a decline in purchases, which led to businesses
closing, which led to more job losses.
o Social (people) impact: Job losses left many people without homes and unable to feed and care for their
families.
o Political (government) impact: The economic and social impact left people feeling hopeless and not very selfsufficient. As a result, they gave unprecedented authority to strong leaders like FDR to come up with
solutions.

When describing the impact of historical situations I must:
o Identify the main events leading up to the situation (CAUSE).
o Determine who was directly involved in the main events.
o Determine who was impacted by the situation.
Explain what happened as a result (EFFECT).
LESSON ASSESSMENT & EXEMPLAR STUDENT RESPONSE.
Quick-Quiz (will be given at the start of tomorrow’s class)
1. Which of the following sentences was true about the global society during the Great Depression?
a. A new middle class was created in several countries.
b. People were able to find new jobs in new industries.
c. People struggled to meet their basic needs and needed outside help.
d. There was a slow and steady rise in homeownership.
2. Which economic indicator decreased during the Great Depression?
a. Personal income
b. Unemployment
c. Bankruptcy
d. Homelessness
3. In a short paragraph (4-6 sentences), briefly describe:
o What the Great Depression was.
o How the Great Depression impacted the economy, society/people, and politics.
High-quality responses will include information about the main events and actors, who and what was
impacted, and what happened as a result.
The Great Depression was the longest and deepest economic downturn in the United States and the rest of
the world, and it had lasting effects on the economy, politics and American society. People all over the world
lost their jobs, which meant they couldn’t buy many goods and products. As a result, businesses selling those
goods and products closed down; this caused even more job losses. This high unemployment meant that
many people lost their homes and were unable to feed or take care of their families. The people of the United
States needed help, and they looked to the government, giving leaders like FDR a lot of authority to bring
about change.
CONNECTION TO THE BIG GOAL.
 This objective is linked to state standards for 8th-grade study of U.S. History. Our class big goal is for all students
to master 90% of those standards.
 Understanding the impact of the Great Depression will help students:
o Better understand the arc of U.S. History leading into WW II.
o Better understand the challenging economic times of the world today.
 Describing the causes and effects of situations and events is an essential “historian skill” that students will need to
use throughout their study of History in high school.
28
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
Although this 1st section just contained the daily lesson vision, and not lesson methods:
 Are there ways this teacher has set herself up to be able to insert strong CFUs in the rest of the plan?
Note: Throughout the lesson methods, gray highlight = exemplar student response
OPENING (8 min.)
Do Now (5 min)
 3-minute Quick-Write
o Do you know anyone who has lost their job recently?
o What are some of the problems a person encounters when he/she loses his/her job?
o Where could a person who has lost their job get help?
 2-minute Share-Around
o Call on 4-5 students to read 1-2 sentences from their Quick-Write (they can pick any 1-2 sentences they
want).
o Other students should raise their hands when they hear something similar to what they wrote.
Introduce Lesson (3 min.)
 As we all know, the United States and global economy has been struggling recently.
 We started talking yesterday about another time in U.S. history when there was an economic downturn even more
severe than what we are experiencing right now.
o What was that downturn called? The Great Depression
o What were some of the causes of The Great Depression? Bank failures; the stock market crash; tension
between the free market and government regulation, etc.

Today we’re going to continue talking about the Great Depression, and we’re going to shift our focus to how it
impacted the economy, society, and politics in the United States and all over the world.
Post objectives and agenda.
o Objective: SWBAT describe the economic, social, and political impact of the Great Depression.
o Objective: SWBAT analyze cause-and-effect relationships in historical events.
o Agenda
 We’re going to use our text to figure out some cause-effect relationships during the Great Depression.
 You’re going to demonstrate your understanding of some of these relationships by doing a RAFT.
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Opening of the lesson? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)?
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
29
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
INTRODUCTION TO NEW MATERIAL, Part One (11 min.)
Give students Guided Notes template for lesson.
Review of Prior Knowledge (1 minute)
 Let’s first re-visit our definition of this era of U.S. History:
o Great Depression: The longest and deepest economic downturn in the United States and the rest of the
world, lasting from 1929 until the late 1930s or early 1940s.
This definition is pre-written on the notes template.



We already know some of the events that led to the Great Depression.
Today we’re going to talk about the impact of this “economic downturn” on the United States and the rest of the
world.
We’ll do that by reading several sections of our text… and analyzing what we read in a very specific way.
Introduce “Historian Skill” (10 minutes)
 As historians, we often need to describe the impact of events and situations in terms of causes and effects.
Reveal “Describing Historical Impact” poster.
o Identify the main events leading up to the situation (CAUSE).
o Determine who was directly involved in the main events.
o Determine who was impacted by the situation.
o Explain what happened as a result (EFFECT).
Students should copy these steps into their Guided Notes.

Let’s work through what these steps look like with a very familiar situation – last year’s decision by the
administration to require all students to wear uniforms.
Record student answers in graphic organizer boxes on overhead – these match the boxes on the Guided Notes.
o What were the main events leading up to this decision? students wearing revealing clothing, shirts with
offensive messages, gang colors, etc.; parents complaining; lots of fights and discipline problems at the
school
o Who was directly involved in these events? students; parents; teachers; administrators
o Who was impacted by the situation? students (because they had to wear uniforms); parents (because they
had to buy them and make students wear them); teachers and administrators (because they had to enforce
the new rule)
o What happened as a result? most students are wearing uniforms every day, but there is a lot of anger at the
administrators because students weren’t involved in the decision; administrators are spending a lot of time
calling home to parents of students who break this rule

Now take 2-3 minutes with your partner to turn the notes in all those boxes into a short paragraph that describes
both the situation and the impact on the people involved.
Transforming notes into a coherent paragraph is an ongoing skill students are working on throughout this course.
Last year the administrators at Blair Middle School adopted a new rule that requires all students to wear a uniform.
This happened as a result of numerous complaints about inappropriate dress and poor discipline at the school. As a
result, this year students are forced to wear the uniforms. Most students do, but they aren’t happy about it, and this
rule makes them dislike the administrators even more. In addition, teachers and administrators are wasting a lot of
time calling the homes of students who don’t wear their uniforms – this is time that could be spent on more important
things.
Ask 2 pairs to share their paragraphs. Highlight how using the graphic organizer steps led to a clear statement of a
cause-effect relationship and of the impact of a situation. Share exemplar paragraph if necessary.
o Now we’re ready to work through this same process, but with more challenging material – the Great
Depression!
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Introduction to New Material? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
o

What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Opening?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
INTRODUCTION TO NEW MATERIAL, Part Two (7 min.)
Have students take out texts.
Text Analysis
 We’re going to use the next row of boxes on the graphic organizer to help us keep track of the information we’re
reading about the impact of the Great Depression. As we read, we’re going to focus on filling out the first box with
information about main events.
o Before we do that, however, I’m going to fill in our last box – the one that gives the effect of the events of the
Great Depression: People felt hopeless and they lacked self-sufficiency. They looked to strong
leaders like FDR for solutions, giving the President unprecedented authority.
Students should copy this onto their graphic organizer. Discuss the definition of “unprecedented” (never before
seen, unexpected).



We’ll start at the beginning of the section labeled “The Impact of the Great Depression” on p.79.
I’m going to read-aloud, stopping whenever I hear a main event that I think will help lead us to the effect statement
we have already identified – everything we are writing down in our graphic organizer should drive toward that
effect statement.
You should stay with me by following along in your text, and by recording the same information I do on your own
graphic organizers.
Read from text, stopping at the following places to record these notes in the graphic organizer:
 3rd-sentence: During the Depression, many businesses saw declining profits, as consumers no longer had
sufficient money to buy their goods, products, and services.
o This sounds like a main event that is going to trigger a lasting impact on the economy.
Record “declining profits for businesses” in 1st (causes) box on graphic organizer – make sure students are doing
the same.
 8th- sentence: As profits continued to decline, more and more businesses closed their doors for good.
o This sounds like another main event that I’m going to need later.
Record “businesses closing” in 1st (causes) box on graphic organizer.
o I’m going to keep reading, and I want you to raise your hand when you hear something else that you think we
should record in this first box.
 11th-sentence: Unemployment rates skyrocketed.
 14th-sentence: People were unable to pay their mortgages or to rent affordable housing.
Students should be able to pick out these sentences.

O.K. – we’ve reached the end of the first part of this section. Let’s take a minute to consider the questions in the
2nd and 3rd boxes of our graphic organizer.
o 2nd Box: Who was directly involved in these main events that we have listed? business owners; consumers;
employees
o 3rd Box: Who was impacted by this situation? business owners (because they had to close down);
consumers (because they didn’t have money to spend); employees (because they lost their jobs)
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in this 2nd part of the Introduction to New Material? Why is it important to CFU at this
point? Why do you think the teacher split the Introduction to New Material into two parts?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
o

What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Opening?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
GUIDED PRACTICE. (15 min.)
Directions (2 minutes)
 You’re going to continue reading this section until you get to the end of p.82.
 You will work with your partner in the following way – at the end of this time, both partners should have a
completed graphic organizer:
o Reading
 Partner A = Reader: Reads the text aloud in a “whisper voice.”
 Partner B = Identifier: Indicates whenever you hear something that should be recorded on the graphic
organizer. You will mostly be identifying events to put in the 1st box.
o Analyzing
 Fill in the 2nd and 3rd boxes on your graphic organizer:
- Who was directly involved in these main events?
- Who was impacted by this situation?
o Summarizing
 Discuss how what you have in the first three boxes would lead to the EFFECT of the Great Depression
(which we have already identified in the 4th box).
Text Analysis (7 minutes)
 Students will work with their partners. I have strategically selected partners while considering reading abilities and
which students work well together.
 As students work, I will circulate to ask the following questions:
o Basic-Level (to make sure students are identifying the right information)
 What did you identify as a main event?
 Where in the text did you find this information?
 Who was involved in this event? What evidence from the text suggests that?
 Who was affected by these events? What evidence from the text suggests that?
o Higher-Level (to push students to make higher-level connections)
 Why do you think this event led to our pre-stated effect?
 How does what happened in the Depression relate to what you see happening in the world today?
 If this particular event hadn’t happened, how do you think the situation may have been different?
Summary (6 minutes)
Bring class back together to share information and to describe impact.
 What main events did you list in the first box of your graphic organizer?
o Declining profits for businesses.
o Businesses closing.
o Job losses.
o Homelessness.
o People couldn’t feed their families.
o Higher rates of illness.
 Who were the people involved in these events?
o Business owners.
o Consumers.
o Employees.
o Investors.
 Who was impacted by this situation?
o Business owners.
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
o
o
o
Employees.
Homeowners.
Families.

Now, let’s see if we can put this all together into a clear statement about the impact of the Great Depression – a
statement that supports the effect I gave you at the start. I’m going to get us started with some lead-off
sentences:
Post each sentence starter and ask for students to finish them.
o Businesses were losing money because… people could no longer afford to buy goods and products.
o Because businesses were losing money… many of them had to close.
o When business closed, more people… lost their jobs.
o When people lost their jobs, they couldn’t… afford their homes, feed their families, take care of sick children,
etc.
These statements are our pre-determined effect.
o As a result, people felt hopeless and they lacked self-sufficiency.
o Because people felt this way, they looked to strong leaders like FDR for solutions, giving the
President unprecedented authority.

Great! We have just built a clear paragraph that tells us the impact of the Great Depression… and that will lead
us into tomorrow’s objective about exactly what FDR (and other world leaders) did to help bring this period in
history to an end.

Before we move on, however, I want to make one final point. Our objective says that we need to be able to
identify the economic, social, and political impact of the Great Depression. We’ve already done that, but I want to
make sure we can separate this out into those three categories. Looking at the notes on our graphic organizer:
o What economic impact have we identified? businesses lost money and closed, which led to more job loss
o What social impact have we identified? people lost their homes, couldn’t feed or care for their families, felt
hopeless
o What political impact have we identified? the people of the United States gave FDR a lot of trust and authority
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Guided Practice? Why is it important to CFU at this point?
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Introduction to New Material?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE. (14 min.)
Directions (3 minutes)
RAFT is a strategy my students are already familiar with, and I have explicitly modeled how to write a good RAFT in
previous lessons.
 Now you’re going to have the opportunity to take on the role of a specific person during the Great Depression, and
describe the impact the Great Depression has had on you. You have two options for how you can do this:
o RAFT #1
 Role: Mayor of Chicago during the Great Depression
 Audience: FDR
 Format: Formal letter
 Topic: You are writing the President to request help for the economic and social problems your city is
currently facing. You should describe, in detail, what is happening in your city and the impact the
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
o
Depression is having on Chicago’s economy and its citizens. You should also describe what you are
looking for in terms of government support.
RAFT #2
 Role: Person who just lost his/her job
 Audience: Personal reflection
 Format: Diary
 Topic: You are reflecting on your recent job loss and how it is impacting you and your family members.
Be sure to describe, in detail, how the Great Depression is affecting your family both economically and
socially, and also what you think the government should do to help.
Independent Work (11 minutes)
 There are 4 students in the class who significantly struggle to express themselves in writing. I will provide them
with pre-written prompts to get them started on their RAFTs.
 As students write, I will circulate to answer questions.
CLOSING. (5 min.)
 For homework you should:
o Finish your RAFT – when you turn this in tomorrow, I expect it to be complete, proofread, and written neatly.
o Re-read pp.79-82, along with your graphic organizer notes, to prepare for a “Quick-Quiz” at the start of class
tomorrow.

Let’s close out the class by previewing the kinds of questions you might see on that quiz with a quick round of
“Multiple Choice Mayhem.”
We play “Multiple Choice Mayhem” regularly as a CFU and test-prep strategy. Students already know the following
routine:
o Each student has 4 laminated cards attached to the side of their desk with Velcro strips. The cards are
labeled with A, B, C, and D.
o I will post a multiple-choice question related to today’s content on the overhead and give students 10 seconds
to silently read and consider.
o Then I’ll ask them to hold up their answers when I say “FDR.”
o I’ll usually ask a follow-up question to a student who got it right.
o Repeat.
We’ll do this for 10 multiple-choice questions about the events and impact of the Great Depression.

Ask a student to re-read the objectives. Highlight how those objectives were achieved in today’s lesson. Preview
tomorrow’s lesson.
Guiding Questions for Annotation of Previous Section
 What content is being CFU-ed in the Independent Practice and Closing? Why is it important to CFU at this point
 What do you notice about this teacher’s CFUs with regard to:
o What she’s asking students to say or do?
o What information the CFU gives her? Is she looking for different information in this section than she was in
the Guided Practice?
o Who she’s CFU-ing (i.e., individuals or groups)?
 This is just a written plan, and not a video clip of execution, but hypothesize about what the teacher might do if:
o Most students answer correctly?
o Most students answer incorrectly?
o Student response is very mixed?
Summary Questions
 Are there CFUs for every key point?
o Are some key points CFU-ed more than others? Why?
o Are some key points CFU-ed in a very different way than others? Why?
o Do some CFUs check multiple key points simultaneously? Why?
 How would you describe the “level of rigor” of various CFUs? Do some require a different level of thought than others?
Why do you think this is?
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Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module


Are there questions in this plan that at first glance might seem to be CFUs, but which actually serve a different
purpose? What is that purpose?
How would students in this classroom feel about the CFUs in this plan? Are there specific ways the CFUs might
contribute to a strong culture of achievement?
35
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Handout E1: CFU Planning Prompts
Ms. Burris’ Pre-K Math Lesson
Ms. Burris: Can you use your materials to add two more blocks to my pattern?
 Shows students the following pattern starter with color blocks: Red-Blue-Green-Red.
Exemplar Response: Red-Blue-Green-Red-Blue-Green. (The underlined colors are the blocks that should be
added.)
Additional Context for Lesson: This is happening very early in Ms. Burris’ lesson on A-B-C patterns – it is her first
CFU to see if students are able to continue patterns that have already been started.
Notes & Ideas
Mr. Byrd’s 2nd-grade Word Study Lesson
Mr. Byrd: How do you spell the word CAUTION?
Exemplar Response: CA U TIO N 
Additional Context for Lesson
 Mr. Byrd’s Word Study objective for the day is this: SWBAT accurately spell words with the /aw/ sound
spelled both as “au” and as “aw.” As part of this lesson, students have learned that:
o The “au” spelling usually comes at the beginning or middle of a word.
o The “aw” spelling usually comes at the end of a word.
 A few weeks ago Mr. Byrd taught a Word Study lesson about this objective: SWBAT accurately spell words
with the /shin/ sound spelled as “tion.”
Notes & Ideas
36
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Ms. Breen’s 4th-Grade Reading Lesson
Ms. Breen: Based on what we know about what’s happening in the book On the Banks of Plum Creek, is this a
strong cause-effect statement? (Teachers posts the statement and reads it out-loud.) Thumbs-up if you think
“yes” and thumbs-down if you think “no.”
 Statement: Laura and Mary are not going to school anymore because Nellie Oleson was teasing them and
making them unhappy.
Exemplar Response: No – this is not a strong cause-effect statement. Laura and Mary aren’t going to school
anymore because it is winter and they don’t have shoes that fit them for the long walk to town.
Additional Context for Lesson: There are three common misconceptions students might have about cause-effect
statements –
 Misconception #1: If both sides of the statement are true, then it must be a cause-effect statement (even if
the two statements don’t have a direct causal relationship).
o Ex. – Barack Obama is President because George W. Bush had already been President for 8 years.
 Misconception #2: If one side of the statement is true, then the other side must always be true (even when
there are other relevant factors at play).
o Ex. – It is below 32 degrees Farenheit outside, so it must be snowing.
 Misconception #3: If the statement is true for my own life, then it must be true.
o Ex. – I don’t want to go to school when people tease me, so this must be why Laura and Mary aren’t
going to school.
Notes & Ideas
Mr. Levine’s 5th-grade Math Lesson
Mr. Levine: Jenna, what did you get for #3?
 Problem #3: Alice has $200 in birthday money to spend. She wants to divide her money equally between her
3 favorite clothing stores at the mall and use the rest to buy candy… but she doesn’t want to think about
change. Everything needs to be in whole dollars. How much money will she have to spend on candy?
Exemplar Response: $2.00
Additional Context for Lesson: With problems like this, students frequently do the division correctly, but have
difficulty figuring out what the word problem is asking. The answer to a problem like this is always one of three
possible choices –
 The quotient (which would be 66 in this case).
 The remainder (which would be 2 in this case).
 The quotient plus 1 (which would be 67 in this case).
Notes & Ideas
37
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Mr. Wysocki’s Chemistry Lesson
Mr. Wysocki: Which has a bigger atomic radius, Ca (Calcium) or Mg (Magnesium)? (Pause and then cold-calls.)
Lamont?
Exemplar Response: Calcium has a bigger atomic radius (because it is located below Magnesium in Group 2 on
the Period Table).
Additional Context for Lesson
 Mr. Wysocki is focusing on the following key points with this CFU:
o Relative properties tell us if an element’s properties are bigger/smaller, higher/lower than another
element’s properties, but do not give us specific values for the properties.
 Atomic radius increases as you move down a group.
 Electronegativity decreases as you move down a group.
 Ionization energy increases going to the right in a period.
 This particular CFU was part of a series of rapid-fire whole-class questions. In this series, Mr. Wysocki was
asking questions not only about atomic radius but also about electronegativity and ionization energy. This
CFU is a culmination of the “I do” section of the lesson – students will be moving on to practice very soon.
Notes & Ideas
Ms. Cochran’s U.S. History Lesson
Ms. Cochran: Who can tell me one economic indicator of the Great Depression? (Pause and then cold-calls.)
Ginger?
 Exemplar Responses: individual earnings decreased, national income decreased, homelessness increased,
businesses closed down, etc.
Additional Context for Lesson
 Ms. Cochran’s overarching key point is this:
o The economic, social, and political indicators of the Great Depression were highly-interconnected, making
it difficult to break out of the downward spiral. Each indicator connected to another.
 Ms. Cochran is attempting to attach a low-level CFU (asking students to recall facts about indicators of the
Great Depression) to a high-level CFU (asking them to make a connection between two indicators). She has
already modeled doing this by working through the following chain:
o Job loss led to decreased earnings.
o Decreased earnings led to businesses closing (because people didn’t have as much money to buy
things).
o Businesses closing led to more job loss (because companies had to lay people off).
o And the cycle repeats.
Notes & Ideas
38
Checking For Understanding – Introductory Module
Ms. Perry’s Secondary English-Language Arts Lesson
Ms. Perry: Looking at the short passage we just read from The Lottery, do we have any evidence that the author
is foreshadowing the fact that something is not “quite right” with this lottery? Take a minute to talk about this with
your partners and then I’ll ask a few groups to share.
 Exemplar Response: Even though Tessie seemed excited about the lottery earlier (she was running to get
there and making lots of jokes), she panicked and seemed really upset when her husband won. She even
accused Mr. Summers of not running the lottery fairly. This makes me think that this lottery is not going to
end up the way I had originally expected – like maybe the prize is not something people really want to
receive.
Additional Context for Lesson
 Ms. Perry is using the Shirley Jackson short story The Lottery to teach multiple reading comprehension
objectives over a period of several days.
o Yesterday’s objective: SWBAT make predictions about the plot of The Lottery using both prior knowledge
and textual evidence to support their reasoning.
o Today’s objective: SWBAT identify examples of foreshadowing in The Lottery and explain how the author
juxtaposes this with details and descriptions that lead us to draw different conclusions.

Ms. Perry has defined predicting and foreshadowing for her students in the following way:
o Predicting: Making statements about what we think will happen in a story based on our prior knowledge
and on evidence from the text.
o Foreshadowing: The use of hints or clues about what will come next.
 This CFU comes early in Ms. Perry’s lesson. Prior to this CFU, she had:
o Defined foreshadowing.
o Read a short passage from The Lottery with her students.
o Modeled for students how she found evidence of foreshadowing in that passage. (This foreshadowing
and evidence also focused on the theme that something is not “quite right” with the lottery.)
o Read another short passage from the text.
o Asked the CFU (above).
Notes & Ideas
39