Learning Activity

The 15-Question Quiz Moonwalk - Because We’re Assessing Backwards!

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

7

Overview

Students will play a vital role as the “assessor” in this final, culminating activity. By going “backward” and not taking the quiz, but instead creating it, students will learn to shift their focus on the main events/major themes/main ideas of the excerpt. By doing this, they can become better assessment-takers, as they have learned the behind-the-scenes work of making an effective assessment - focusing on the most important vocabulary and plot points. Students will create a quiz with the following guidelines in mind:

Using the selected literary text, students will  make a quiz that includes Four (4) Multiple Choice questions, Six (6) Fill-in-the-Blank questions, One (1) Long-Answer Question, and Four (4) True/False questions where students have to provide a space for “fixing” the False questions = 15 questions total

This serves as a rich, comprehensive “check-in” for chapters, short reading excerpts, poems, etc. A rubric is included so students can know the guidelines for the assignment before beginning the work. The purpose of this is to finalize the vocabulary “walk,” chapter “trot,” and finally into the quiz-making (assessment) “moonwalk,” because it’s a “backward” way of obtaining a formative assessment of a text.

This learning activity was created as a result of the Struggling Readers Initiative Resource Development Project, in partnership with Dothan City Schools.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 7

ELA21.7.R2

Use context clues to determine meanings of unfamiliar spoken or written words.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.7.R2

Vocabulary

  • Context clues
  • Determine
  • Unfamiliar spoken words
  • Unfamiliar written words

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Context clues in speech or text can provide the meaning of unfamiliar words.
  • There are different types of context clues, including inference/general clues, definition/explanation clues, restatement/synonym clues, and contrast/antonym clues.
  • Context clues in text are often indicated by punctuation marks.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Use context clues to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words in speech.
  • Use context clues to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words in text.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • An author or a speaker use context clues to explain the meaning of unusual words or academic, domain-specific vocabulary.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 7

ELA21.7.3

Explain how the author’s choice of setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view contribute to and/or enhance the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry, using textual evidence from the writing.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.7.3

Vocabulary

  • Setting
  • Plot
  • Characters
  • Theme
  • Conflict
  • Dialogue
  • Point of view
  • Author's purpose
  • Prose
  • Poetry
  • Textual evidence

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Authors of prose and poetry use literary elements, such as setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view, throughout a text to develop and/or enhance the meaning of the text.
  • An author's use of literary elements can indicate the author's purpose for writing the text.
  • Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings, while prose is written in ordinary language.
  • Analysis of a text should be supported with text evidence from the writing.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view in prose and poetry.
  • Explain how literary elements contribute to and/or enhance the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry.
  • Support their explanations of literary elements with textual evidence.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Prose and poetry contain common literary elements, such as setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
  • Literary elements contribute to and/or enhance the meaning and purpose of poetry and prose.
  • When they analyze a text, they should include text evidence to support their claims.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 7

ELA21.7.4

Evaluate literary devices to support interpretations of literary texts using textual evidence, including simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, imagery, tone, symbolism, irony, and mood.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.7.4

Vocabulary

  • Literary devices
  • Literary texts
  • Textual evidence
  • Simile
  • Metaphor
  • Personification
  • Onomatopoeia
  • Hyperbole
  • Imagery
  • Tone
  • Symbolism
  • Irony
  • Mood

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Authors of literary texts, such as prose and poetry, often include literary devices and figurative language to create a particular tone and mood.
  • Evaluating literary devices that are used in a text can support a personal interpretation of a text.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify literary devices in literary texts, including simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, imagery, tone, symbolism, irony, and mood.
  • Evaluate how an author's use of literary devices supports an interpretation of the text.
  • Cite evidence from the text to support their evaluations.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Authors use figurative language and literary devices to develop tone and mood in their writing.
  • Literary devices contribute to the literal and/or figurative interpretation of a text.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 7

ELA21.7.29

Determine word meaning through the use of word parts, context clues, connotation and denotation, or print or digital reference tools.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.7.29

Vocabulary

  • Word meaning
  • Word parts
  • Context clues
  • Connotation
  • Denotation
  • Print reference tools
  • Digital reference tools

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The meaning of words can be identified by examining the word's morphological structure or its connotation or denotation.
  • Word meaning can be determined by using context clues within the text.
  • Strategies for using print and digital reference tools.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Use word parts, context clues, connotation, and denotation to determine word meanings.
  • Use print and digital reference tools to determine word meanings.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • If they encounter an unfamiliar or unknown word in text, they should use a strategy to discover the word meaning or consult a reference tool to find the word meaning.

Phase

After/Explain/Elaborate
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

Students will:

  • use context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar written words.
  • explain how an author’s use of literary elements contributes to the meaning and purpose of prose. 
  • evaluate literary devices to support their interpretation of the text.

Activity Details

At the start of this activity, have students review the related work they have already completed–the vocabulary slideshow and the chapter slideshow. 

The teacher will say: 

“I will show you two different assessments - what does that word mean, by the way, who knows? (Pause and discuss) Your assessments consist of formative and summative - formative are quizzes and things that are more minor like quickwrites, daily grades, etc. Formative assessments provide more immediate feedback even while you as the students are learning new information. A summative is done at the end of a unit - after learning! - and end of a learning topic/activity. Then we have summative assessments - tests, essays, projects, etc.! Let me show you two quizzes - which is what category of assessment? (Pause and discuss) Yep - a formative!

(Show students an effective and ineffective quiz)

An effective quiz is one that makes sure to really grasp student comprehension through a series of different strategies - like multiple choice, true/false (but the kind where you have to prove why something is false when it is), long-answer, fill-in-the-blank, short-answer, matching. You all have taken assessments where these have been on there.”

“Your job - today - is to create an assessment (only a quiz! minor assessment!) about the reading skills we have work on. You will need to incorporate the skills you have learned during the previous activities: using context clues to determine word meaning, explaining how literary elements contribute to the meaning and purpose of the text, and evaluating how literary devices can support an interpretation of the text. Your quiz will need to be made of 15 questions in total:

  1. Multiple Choice (4 questions)
  2. Fill-in-the-Blank (6 questions)
  3. One Reflection (Long-Answer) (1 question)
  4. True/False (4 questions)

   = 15 questions total.”

Give students time to create their quizzes and provide feedback throughout their work. 

As students create their quiz questions, they will also need to identify and/or create an answer key.

 

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

The teacher will use The 15-Question Moonwalk’ Rubric - Assess the Backward Way! to assess each student's completed quiz and answer key. The first five criteria are required to assess the aligned standards and stated learning objectives (Required Elements, Content - Context Clues, Content - Literary Elements, Content - Literary Devices, Answer Key). The teacher can choose to include the additional optional criteria, if desired. The teacher can select point values for each criterion. 

Acceleration

Include text evidence finding requirement for the long-answer question or increase the quiz to a 20-question  quiz with the missing 5 questions being added to each category of questions.

Intervention

Create a quiz template where students fill in their words/answer choices where the blanks are held.

Variation Tips

This instructional strategy (student-created assessment) can be used with any text selected by the teacher.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

46 to 60 Minutes

Related Learning Activities

Learning Activity (Before)

Let’s Take a [Chapter Vocabulary] Walk!

Learning Activity (During)

The Reading-Comprehension Trot

Learning Activity (After)

The 15-Question Quiz Moonwalk - Because We’re Assessing Backwards!

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

In this final learning activity, students and teachers need to be familiar with the selected literary text, the vocabulary list and slideshow work, and the chapter slideshow work. Students should have access to their complete vocabulary list, vocabulary slideshow, and chapter slideshow. Teachers should also go over with his/her class the “makings” of a good assessment, and what the word ‘assessment’ essentially means compared to the word ‘quiz’ that they know already. Teachers may need to ask their students, What makes a good test or quiz? When making a multiple-choice question, be sure to include a nonsense answer choice, a relevant answer choice, a good answer choice, and then finally the BEST answer choice. 

The class should look at a few sample quizzes (whether made by the teacher or not) to compare an effective quiz with an ineffective one. Students need to know about what a Multiple choice, True/False, Long-answer, and Fill-in-the-blank (with word bank) assessment questions are and what they look like. Students will need to practice developing an assessment question with the teacher in each of the associated Learning Activities. The teacher needs to make the rubric an essential and consistent part of the entire learning activity.

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

  • Pencils/Highlighters
  • Selected literary text 
  • Master vocabulary list for the selected literary text (printed or digital - example)
  • “Let’s Take a [Chapter Vocabulary] Walk!” Activity completed in the Before Activity (printed or digital - example)
  • “The Reading Comprehension Trot” Slideshow used in the During Activity (printed or digital - example template)
  • “The 15-Question Moonwalk" Rubric - Assess the Backward Way!” Rubric (printed or digital)
  • Computers/Laptops

 

Digital Tools / Resources

The 15-Question Moonwalk’ Rubric - Assess the Backward Way!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GVKGMX_58r5alHQVtsEkDfZGI3gDo2ZmmVbvjkVz5Rg…

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

taboneau
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