Section IV

The following section of my teacher work sample dictates what pre- and postassessments I used in my unit. For this particular assessment, I graded them from the very
beginning of Romeo and Juliet and then again after they had finished. My goal in creating an
assessment like this one was to not only gauge their levels of understanding in my subunit that I
used for this work sample, but how well I taught them throughout the course of the text.
Pre- and Post-Assessment Grading Criteria:
For these assessments, my goal was to give students a range of questions that they would
find the answers to throughout the unit. Of course, I also wanted to see what they already knew
going into the unit so that my teaching wasnt redundant, but many students knew not a thing
about the play, so I had ample room in which to work to help them grow. Each question is only a
point, and the questions for both the pre- and post-assessment are the exact same. The reason for
this is twofold: one, I have a guide to help me construct my lessons around the questions that I
asked them, and two, students know what to expect from the unit and what they will be learning.
Here is a copy of the assessment:

Romeo and Juliet Pre-Test

Please answer to the best of your ability, but know that the grade you get on this
will not be going in the gradebook!

1. What does star-crossed mean?

2. What is a soliloquy and who gives one in Romeo and Juliet?
3. What is a pun? Give me an example of one from the play.
4. Whats an allusion? NOT illusion. Give an example from the play.
5. Who broke Romeos heart at the beginning of the play?
6. Why does Romeo hate his own name?
7. Why does the Friar finally agree to marry Romeo and Juliet?
8. What happens to Romeo when he discovers that Juliet is dead?
9. At the end of the play, what happens to the Capulets and Montagues?
10.
What type of play is Romeo and Juliet (i.e. comedy? romance?)
There were some other assessments I used throughout the unit, including a worksheet where they
engaged in a TED Talk about the adolescent brain as well as a Kahoot! about a particular scene
that they had to read on their own. Here is the sheet that they used for the TED Talk:
Formative Assessment
The Mysterious Workings of an Adolescents Brain
1. What are some ways that neuroscientists are mapping the human brain?
2. At what age to brain finally start to slow down their developments?

3. The prefrontal cortex is proportionately much bigger in ______________ than in any

other _________________.
4. What is a good way to tell what someone is feeling without actually having them tell you
what theyre feeling?
5. What area lights up in the mapping of a human brain when adolescents start engaging in
social interactions and decision making?
6. Were more mistakes made in the lab when there was a director or no director?
7. What Shakespearean example is used to indicate that adolescence is no new concept?
8. Theres an important drive to become _______________ from ones ____________.
9. Name one interesting fact about the limbic system:
10. Whats one connection we can make from this TED Talk to Romeo and Juliet?
There were several moments similar to this one that the students engaged in throughout the unit,
and it was a great way for me to see how much they were paying attention and how much they
could remember from the video and connect it to the play.
The assessments used for my Romeo and Juliet unit were aligned to the same standards
introduced in the Unit Topic and Rationale section of the teacher work samplestudents are
addressing the standards where they must analyze how complex characters develop over the
course of a text (CCSS: RL.9-10.3), how author choices concerning how to structure a text create
mystery, tension, and surprise by comparing them to characters actions (CCSS: RL.9-10.5), and
by the end of the unit, they will have a new type of text that they understand under their belt,
satisfying the standard demanding for a comprehension of plays and dramas (CCSS: RL.910.10). My general hope for the assessments in this particular unit were all centered around
trying to get students to think outside the box or the norm; I didnt want students to have to
engage solely with the text, but to have connections outside of the text. Here is another example
of an assessment I used when analyzing the poem We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence
Dunbar, where students were expected to analyze the poetry with a partner or individually and
then apply their understanding to this worksheet:
Using TPCASTT to Analyze Poetry

Title and
Author

Denotation:

Connotation:

Paraphrase

Do this on the poem

Connotation

What meaning does the poem have beyond the literal meaning? Use

the chart below.

Attitude

Shifts

Title

Form

Diction

Imagery

Point of View

Details

Allusions

Symbolism

Figurative Language

Other Devices

Theme