Austin Simpson

Dr. Coke
E401
01 Apr. 2015
Assessment Plan #1: Pre-Reading
Anticipation Guide
Standards:

Anticipation guides would develop standards 11-12.1-.3, which

deal with key ideas and details.
o CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text, including determining
where the text leaves matters uncertain.
o CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.2
Determine two or more themes or 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
produce a complex account; provide an objective summary
of the text.
o CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.3
Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how
to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g.,

where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the

characters are introduced and developed).

Reading Focus:

Im trying to get students in the mindset of thinking about a text

before they read it. Kylene Beers says that independent readers
search for any and all information about a text before they start
reading it, while dependent readers pick up the text they are
supposed to read and read it. Anticipation guides serve a
multipurpose: they help dependent readers understand the
importance of background knowledge as well as spark good
class discussion for readers of all skill levels before starting a

text.
By the end of the lesson, students will:
o know more about their own opinions on war
o understand how to work through agreeing or disagreeing
with vague and ambiguous questions through their own
head to form an opinion
o know the importance of coming into a text with
background knowledge of its contents
o know how to make predictions and anticipate a text
o understand that others may have different opinions about
a single textvarying perspectives and points of view

concerning a single text

By the end of the lesson students will be able to:
o make reasonable, thought out predictions before reading a
text

o anticipate texts before jumping into them, which allows a

reader to identify big ideas in a text as well as the authors
perspective, voice and style, a skill that is generally
accepted as a factor that separates skilled readers from
struggling readers.
o critically think about what they know/what they think they
know
Instructional Strategies:

I am mostly a moderator during the first part of this activity. I will

make a list of statements that revolve around a central theme in
Slaughterhouse-Five (see fig. 1) that each student will receive
and mark whether they agree are disagree with each statement
independently and especially without my help. You should give

them about 10 min. to fill out their sheet.

When all of the students have finished marking their lists, I will
ask them to raise their hands if they agreed or disagreed with

each sentence and take a tally of the totals. 3-5 min.

After that, we begin discussing each statement as a whole class
to see how other students responded. I see two tings potentially
happening here. Either 1) information will be brought up that
some students hadnt thought of, which may or may not sway
their opinion or 2) it will confirm students stand on the issue
even more than when they were filling out the sheet. Either way,

it will give students a chance to talk about what they put down
and why. (15-20 min.)
Assessment Tools:

This would be a good exercise to grade students on their ability

to debate in a respectful manner and by using factual
information, rather than throwing around statistics they pulled
together off the top of their head. I would use the attached
rubric to assess their debating skills, rather than the anticipation
guide itself.

Research Base:

Kylene Beers was my primary source for the Anticipation Guide. I

believe that it would be a good tool to get students to think
about a text before they start reading it. My end goal, which
Beers touches on in her book, is to get students to research or
ask questions about a text, rather than simply opening it and

starting to read.
Frederick A. Duffelmeyer asserts in his article Effective
Anticipation Guide statements for learning expository prose
that prior knowledge about a topic facilitates comprehension
and retention. Duffelmeyers text is not only peer reviewed but
has been cited extensively by articles concerning Anticipation
Guides since its publication in 1994. His claims throughout his

article substantiate Beers faith in Anticipation Guides as being

one of the best strategies to activate students prior knowledge.

Fig. 1

Name:
Date:
Anticipation Guide
Read each statement below and write down in the Before column
whether you agree or disagree with the sentence. You may write an A
for agree and a D for disagree if you please, but there is NO in
between. Either you agree or disagree fully with the statement. When
were done with the text, you will go back and reread each statement
and mark whether you agree or disagree in the After column. There
are no right or wrong answers!
Before

After

_________ 1. War is necessary.

_________
_________ 2. People who fight in wars and kill people are only doing
their

_________
job.

_________ 3. The end justifies the means when it comes to war.

_________
_________ 4. People, communities, and countries affected by war can
_________
rebuild themselves when the war is finished.
_________ 5. Wars can be fought for the wrong reasons.
_________

_________ 6. Wars can be fought for the right reasons.

_________
_________ 7. Some veterans can never cope with what theyve seen in
war.

_________

_________ 8. Citizens always know the full truth about what happens in
war.

_________