Analyzing and Evaluating Claim Test

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Objective

Students will be able to analyze and evaluate claims in Revolutionary literature by testing their skills.

Big Idea

Ready, set, test!

Lesson Author

Leah Braman

Dansville, MI

Grade Level

Eleventh grade

Subjects

English / Language Arts

Evaluation and Analysis

Standards

RI.11-12.2

Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

RI.11-12.8

Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).

RI.11-12.9

Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.

Do Now: Prepare for the Test

3 minutes

I save time via my Do Now today and ask students to clear their desks of all materials except a writing utensil. This gives students a reminder of what we are about to do, and they are able to sharpen pencils and clean up while I take attendance.

Test

42 minutes

Test Seating

I begin the test with the usual reminders:

no whispers (my 27-year-old ears aren't sharp enough to distinguish "what time is it?" from "what's the claim")
raise a hand for assistance
submit completed tests to my desk, not the drop box (too many eyes by the drop box)

That said, I call students up to retrieve their annotated texts and test questions. This gives me a chance to check for final make-up assignments. Only a few students have not completed their practice assignments; they will need to do so before taking the test, so their make-up work becomes their focus for the hour. They will need to schedule a time later in the week to take the test.

The test itself is both new and familiar. The text is new (aside from our reading a day prior), but the questions are the same. Analysis and evaluation questions look exactly as they did when we practiced; after all, the skills do not change. Students simply need to determine the central ideas, the supporting textual details, the connections between the central ideas, and the overall effectiveness of the text.

It's a quiet hour, full of pencil scribbling, eraser fluff, and my stealthy meandering to deter unwanted behavior and be near at hand for questions.

Check out one student's results:

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