Refined from Understanding by Design

Assessment Plan Blueprint

What understandings or goals will be assessed through this lesson?
Students will access prior knowledge in engaging with an
interactive map and annotating and analyzing their own
map to identify the two conflicting sides of World War II and
the main countries involved in the Battle of Midway.
Students will develop the narrative and progression of the
Battle of Midway through contextual and textual analysis, and
discussion, of randomly mixed events within the Battle of
Midway.

Students will interact with and collaboratively analyze a Students will develop critical analysis skills in document and
map, timeline, and document to understand the significance map analysis, as well as with regards to how to place events
of the Battle of Midway as a turning point in World War II. in proper chronology using context clues and prior knowledge.

What criteria are implied in the standards and understandings regardless of the task specifics?
What qualities must student work demonstrate to signify the standards were met?
• Identify and locate the Allied and Axis powers Qualities students’ work must demonstrate to signify standards
• Major turning points of the war, the principal theaters of were met:
conflict, key strategic decisions, and the resulting war • Successful completion of all aspects of assignments
conferences and political resolutions • Answers align with given documents/texts/images
• Importance of geographic factors • Writing that cites evidence and draws from educated
inferences
• Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of • Understanding of content-specific words in questions
primary and secondary sources and reading
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the • Active interaction and collaboration with peers
development, organization, and style are appropriate to • Usage of content-specific, academic language in writing
task, purpose and audience and explanations
• Collaborate with peers to engage in increasingly • Completed work adheres to criteria and directions listed.
complex grade-appropriate written exchanges and
writing projects
• Explain inferences and conclusions drawn from close
reading
• Write brief summaries of texts and experiences
• Justify opinions or persuade others by making
connections and distinctions between ideas and texts
• Apply knowledge of familiar language resources for
linking ideas, events, or reasons throughout a text

Through what authentic performance task will students demonstrate understanding?

Task Overview:
• Battles in the Pacific Map Analysis: This is an informal assessment that will be implemented at the beginning of class and is
to be done in pairs. Students will color the map in accordance to the two sides of World War II, then answer questions in the
back that will ask them to draw information out of what they marked on the map.
• Battle of Midway Timeline Scramble: Students will be placed in groups and given events within the Battle of Midway in
random order to sort into proper chronological order using prior knowledge and contextual clues. They will be given 5 minutes
to place the events in the order they think is correct. They will then share their results and justifications with another group.
The correct order will be revealed in the end by the teacher.
• Battle of Midway Document Analysis: Students will engage in critical document analysis of an excerpt by a Japanese
admiral regarding the Battle of Midway. As a group, students will read the excerpt and engage in analysis considering
perspective and time, as well as drawing observations and inferences.
• Battle of Midway Writing Assignment: The writing assignment is a formal assessment that will be administered towards the
end of class after the activity and document analysis. With the rubric provided before completion of the assignment, students
are able to undergo self-assessment throughout their writing process and before they turn the assignment in. The question to
be answered in the writing assignment is from the “evaluate” level of Bloom’s Taxonomy and will require students to cite
evidence from the reading and activities, while drawing from prior knowledge past lessons. They will furthermore need to
provide explanations to demonstrate achievement of the lesson’s content and its relation to past content.
• Japan Strikes in the Pacific Guided Reading: The guided reading is a formal assessment with various guidance questions
of lower-level thinking that will be given at the end of the lesson for students to take home and work on over the next few
days, giving ample time for all students of all needs to complete the assignment. Questions ask students to identify and recall
key information from reading the textbook. Students can self-check and self-assess their answers in light of the information
they find in the textbook.
Refined from Understanding by Design
What student products and performances will provide evidence of desired understandings?
To determine if students are not meeting, meeting, or Further evidence of students not meeting, meeting, or
exceeding learning goals of the lesson, essential questions exceeding learning goals of the lesson include the quality and
across levels of thinking on Bloom’s Taxonomy will be asked the successful completion of the assignment packet and
through informal questioning and within activities and handouts, as well as students’ completed short writing
assignments. Questions will range from and include: What assignments, all of which will be checked for adherence to
happened at the Battle of Midway? What countries were instructions and demonstration of understanding.
involved and what sides were they on? Why was the Battle of
Midway an important turning point in the war? How does the
Battle of Midway contribute to the efforts of World War II?
Refined from Understanding by Design

By what criteria will student products and performances be evaluated?

Map Analysis Short writing assignment
• Complete, accurate coloring of main Axis and Allied • A topic sentence that clearly answers the prompt
powers on the map • A concluding sentence that summarizes and wraps up
• Identification of general area that Battle of Midway and the paragraph
Pearl Harbor took place • Evidence from map worksheet, document, and/or
• Identification and listing of Axis and Allied powers timeline with citations in parentheses
• Identification of main countries involved in Battle of • Clear, well explained, and well supported answer
Midway and Pearl Harbor throughout the paragraph
Timeline Scramble Guided Reading:
• Place most or all of the event cards in proper • Completion of all questions
chronological order with contextual and textual clues. • Answers in line with textbook reading
Document Analysis
• Completion of all questions
• Answers in line with information, implications, and
context of document