2 Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment: Administering and Interpreting Results
This binder details how to score and interpret the results of the Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (TMSFA). This course is Unit 4 of the Texas Adolescent Literacy Academy (TALA). These materials are available for view only; no credit or certificate is provided.
Escribir una carta persuasiva
This lesson was intended to be delivered in a face-to-face classroom environment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, this lesson has been modified from its original design to be executed in a virtual setting.
This virtual lesson was designed to prepare students to communicate familiar topics in the presentational writing mode in the target language. Students will act as a college advisor and respond to a prospective student’s email regarding housing options. Students will then peer evaluate each other’s writing and provide meaningful feedback using a rubric.
Analyzing Author’s Purpose: Argumentative Text
Students will read a pre-Civil War speech and write author’s purpose statements using the argumentative verbs explain, urge, convince, and encourage.
Teacher in Action
Uncovering Tone in Poetry
Students will interpret the tone of a poem, cite text evidence to justify their response, and research a synonym for the word they chose to expand their understanding of Tier 2 vocabulary.
Teacher introducing the poem
Syntax Shuffle
Students will analyze one of four ways to incorporate grammar and syntax into their everyday language through the use of technological instruction. Once students have comprehended their grammatical type, they will practice among their peers to master and share the lesson (grammar rule) in a Jigsaw activity.
Summarizing as a Reading Strategy
Students work collaboratively using reading and comprehension skills to demonstrate their mastery of summarizing a text or piece of literature.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Vertical Alignment
Click below to learn about the TEKS related to the unit and Research Lesson. The highlighted student expectation(s) is the chosen focus for the Research Lesson.
Evaluating Inferences
Students will evaluate a set of inferences to determine if they are valid or invalid and use text evidence to support their stance. The lesson incorporates best practices for English learners (ELs) and at-risk students such as the use of graphic organizers, anchor charts, and cooperative learning.
Santa Timeline Breakout
Students collaborate and critically-think to analyze resources from informational texts of various disciplines and unlock a breakout box. Once the box is unlocked, students receive a final text to summarize.
Reading and Writing to a Prompt (English III Reading and Writing)
You will learn skills necessary for reading and writing to a prompt.
Imagery (English III Reading)
In this lesson, you will be able to identify the imagery in a text and evaluate its effectiveness.
How to Read and Analyze a Poem (English III Reading)
You will be able to read and analyze a poem using your knowledge of literary and poetic devices.
Writing a Topic Proposal (English III Writing)
You will learn how to write a topic proposal that addresses your topic, purpose, and audience.
Developing a Thesis and Introduction (English III Writing)
You will learn how to write a thesis statement that explains your position about a topic.
Organizing the Structure of a Paper (English III Writing)
You will learn how to organize your essay with relevant evidence that supports your thesis.
Editing for Proper Voice, Tense, and Syntax (English III Writing and Research)
You will practice checking for proper voice, tense, and syntax.
Documenting Sources and Writing a Bibliography/Works Cited (English III Research )
You will learn how to cite your sources in the body of your research paper and write a works cited page according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style manual.
Paired Passages with a Purpose
Students will make inferences about the author’s purpose after reading paired passages involving the same subject.
Exploring Identity and Diving Deep into the Complex Meaning of Poetry
This lesson is designed to teach students to make complex inferences, choose specific text evidence that strongly supports the inference, and develop a coherent explanation of how the evidence strongly supports the validity of the idea within the genre of poetry.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Related to the Unit
Click below to learn about the TEKS related to this unit.
Compare/Contrast Themes and Genres in Literary Texts
You will learn how to analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support your understanding.
Edit Drafts for Grammar, Mechanics, and Spelling
You will learn how to edit a draft for grammar, mechanics, and spelling using editing strategies.