Austin Simpson

Dr. Coke
E401
01 Apr. 2015
Assessment Plan #2: During Reading
Say Something
Standard:
Speaking and Listening Comprehension and Collaboration:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative
discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse
partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on

others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that
probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range
of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas
and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative
perspectives.

Reading and Writing Craft and Structure:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.5
Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure
specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end
a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution)

contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its

aesthetic impact.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.6
Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires
distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really
meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).

Reading Focus:

My version of Say Something will help develop students

abilities to put in writing thoughts they have about a text while
they read it.
o This will also help them organize thoughts for post-reading

activities.
My Say Something strategy will also help students develop the
ability to make predictions, add commentary to a text, make
connections, formulate questions about the text, and reflect on
what others have said about the text.
o The ability for students to not only make their own
connections and form their own thoughts, but to also
understand the text from multiple perspectives is an

integral part of the Common Core Standards.

By the end of the lesson students will know:
o The importance of multiple outside perspectives when
talking about a text to reap a better understanding of what

is happening in the text.

By the end of the lesson students will be able to:

o Communicate their ideas about a text effectively both

orally and in writing
o Make connections and predictions about a text
o Ask questions, make comments, and clarify

misunderstanding related to a text.

o Talk about an authors intent with others.
I know this activity is needed in the 11th and 12th grade
classrooms because the ability to read, write, and speak with
grounded evidence in a text is an important and large change
that the Common Core Standards are bringing to the table
(corestandards.org Key Shifts in English Language Arts). This
short activity will allow plenty of practice for students to write
down their thoughts and claims supported by evidence and to
talk about them and defend them with their peers.

Instructional Strategies:

While reading a text, ask students to grab a notecard mid-read

and ask them to make a prediction about what will happen next
in the text, ask a question about the text, make a comment on
the text, and make a connection with the text. This should take
about 5-7 min to complete.
o Have a list of sentence starters that the students can use
to get them thinking (i.e. I predict that or I wonder
if, Whats this part about or Who is, This is
good because, This is similar to etc.).
o You will need to give them explicit instruction on what the
expectations are for the activity. To do that, use an

adjusted version of Kylene Beers Rules for Say

Something found on p. 107 of When Kids Cant Read:
1. When you say something, do one or more of the
following:
Make a prediction
Ask a question
Clarify something you misunderstood
Make a comment
Make a connection
2. If you cant do those five things, then you need to

reread.
Once students have finished putting their thoughts down on a
notecard, ask them to switch with a student near them. They will
then clarify something that their partner had a question about
and make a comment on something else their partner observed.

Should take another 2-3 min.

Variation: Turn it into a free write exercise or as a do now in
their notebooks. When the students come into class have them
free write in response to a prompt from the text, hitting the same
targets as in the Say Something exercise (i.e. make a prediction,
ask a question, etc.). Then talk about it as a class or have them
split into pairs to discuss what they wrote about.

Materials:

Notecard
Pen
Possible handout that includes sentence starters

Assessment Tools:

Picking up the notecards as a formative assessment and making

sure students are making informed thoughts about the text
would be the most effective way to assess their success with this
assignment and understanding of the text. Their grades will be
determined by how well they have referred to the text. In order
to get full credit on this assignment, they will need to complete
all areas of the Say Something activity (i.e. Make a prediction,
make a connection, etc.) and make claims that are accurate
according to the evidence they site.

Research Base:

Kylene Beers When Kids Cant Read: What Teachers Can Do is

the text that inspired this lesson plan. Note: great list of sentence
starters on pp. 108.