This assessments fulfills the requirement for a VAAP local alternative assessment for writing 5-reporting category- research, plan, compose, and revise for a variety of purposes. 

Shared narratives can be found in art from many cultures and throughout time. Use this resource to encourage students to explore diverse narratives, discover their own personal narrative, and express that narrative through their own work of art.Using provided engagment strategies students are able to hone Critical, Creative, and Communication skills using works of art in the Virginia Museum of Arts collection. Discussion prompts and activities offer instructional oppotunities for building Collaboration and Citizenship skills. 

Shared narratives can be found in art from many cultures and throughout time. Use this resource to encourage students to explore diverse narratives, discover their own personal narrative, and express that narrative through their own work of art.Using provided engagment strategies students are able to hone Critical, Creative, and Communication skills using works of art in the Virginia Museum of Arts collection. Discussion prompts and activities offer instructional oppotunities for building Collaboration and Citizenship skills. Symbols that we find in literature and the use of figurative language to describe artworks go hand in hand.  Find two pieces of artwork that move you one in Virginia and one in an international museum and create multiple examples of 10 different types of figuative language.

Natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires happen all over the world. Understanding how natural disasters happen and why helps children feel less anxious and more prepared. Therefore, this unit focuses on teaching students the science behind each natural disaster while also explaining what to do if they live in an area prone to a particular natural disaster. Over the course of the unit, students hear about many famous natural disasters, but the unit places more of an emphasis on how the disasters happen rather than exploring the devastation or destruction caused by previous natural disasters. The unit provides many opportunities for students to learn more about recent natural disasters, including a culminating research project.

The texts in this unit were chosen because of their wide variety of text features, content, and accessibility. Over the course of the unit, students will read texts that are very technical and rely heavily on text features, diagrams, and illustrations, as well as texts that are written as informational narratives. Students will be challenged to think about the structures the authors use to help the reader interact with and learn the content. Additionally, students will learn the importance of referring to specific details from the text and using those details to explain and teach back the newly learned material. This unit serves as the foundation for building strong reading habits and routines and setting high expectations for text consumption. Clear models should be included in the unit to help students build a deeper understanding of how to actively read and annotate informational texts for key ideas, text features, and vocabulary. This unit also serves as a launching point for strong discussions. Students will frequently be challenged to debate questions from the text; therefore, strong habits of discussion need to be introduced over the course of the unit.

This lesson remixes an original lesson plan created by Austin Meyer entitled: "Teach Design: New Choice." This will work well as an introduction to a storytelling unit or a creative writing class. It is also a fun and interactive anticipatory activity when introducing the idea of close-reading for authorial choice. Students will work in small groups to create an original story based on a whole-class prompt. Each group, however, will have a different literary element to change as the story continues (for example, character or conflict). When "new choice" is called, a new storyteller from the group takes over and adjusts the story as needed in order to meet the challenge of the new choice.

This lesson remixes an original lesson plan created by Austin Meyer entitled: "Teach Design: New Choice." This will work well as an introduction to a storytelling unit or a creative writing class. It is also a fun and interactive anticipatory activity when introducing the idea of close-reading for authorial choice. Students will work in small groups to create an original story based on a whole-class prompt. Each group, however, will have a different literary element to change as the story continues (for example, character or conflict). When "new choice" is called, a new storyteller from the group takes over and adjusts the story as needed in order to meet the challenge of the new choice.

This is a mini-lesson on nouns and verbs.  This is a prerequisite skill for composing simple sentences.

This lesson takes simple nursery rhymes and gives the students the opportunity to build on multiple use vocabulary and context vocabulary skills

In this unit, students explore the meaning of family, community, and identity by reading the core text One Crazy Summer. Through the eyes of eleven-year-old Delphine, readers experience life in Oakland, California, in 1968, the height of the Black Panther movement. Delphine and her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, spend a summer in Oakland visiting their estranged mother who sends them to spend their days at a camp run by the Black Panthers. Over the course of the summer, the girls learn about what it means to be part of a revolution, what the Black Panther Party was fighting for, and why the Black Panther Party was important during this time period. Through it all, they build confidence in themselves and their relationships with others as they learn to challenge and respond to social issues in the community. It is our hope that this unit, in conjunction with others in the series, will help students understand the way experiences shape our identities and beliefs, and how children can help bring about change in the community.

In reading, this unit continues to build on reading strategies and skills covered in previous units. It is assumed that students are able to quote or paraphrase accurately from the text, interpret figurative language, and summarize sections of the text. These skills should continue to be spiraled throughout the unit; however, the main focuses for this unit are determining theme and analyzing how it is developed over the course of the novel or poem, analyzing point of view and the impact it has on the way events are portrayed, and comparing characters and their responses to situations.

Words matter, and the words we say to ourselves matter most of all.Through a series of reflective questions, students find their "one word" of focus to encourage and inspire them in the coming months. Appropriate for the beginning of the school year, the start of a new calendar year, or anytime in between, this lesson plan includes ideas for incorporating personal goal setting with writing, digital learning integration, and a follow-up lesson integrating computer science. 

Students are taking everyday items, describing them, and using the proportions and conversion factors they will create a 3d model to replicate their description and create a 3d printed version. 

Using microbits have students write a simple code and then debug a similar one.  Then compare that to  editing their writing.

Create a fake social media page for a teacher in Spanish that students will then learn how to protect their information through playing an online simulation game.

This is a relay race to find parts of speech.  This activity allows students to compete against each other to find noun, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.  These parts of speech are hidden in sand (or any kind of material such as stroyfoam peanuts).  The team of students to fill in the most blanks will be the winners. 

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Alystra Barefoot teach about story elements.