The document provides background information on a 10th grade English Language Arts assessment unit focused on the theme of resilience. It includes excerpts from poems and articles about resilience. The unit assessments examine students' understanding of the theme through multiple choice questions, close reading responses, grammar exercises, analytical essays, and persuasive writing prompts.

1. Learning Life’s Lessons Through Literature 10.3 Contemporary Realistic Fiction and the Great Depression: Resilience Macomb I.S.D. High School ELA Units January 25, 2008 Barbara Reed Nelson, Independent Consultant Cynthia Schofield, High School English Teacher www.healthleader.uthouston.edu/gfx/2004art/re.

2. Evolution of a Term: Resilience What the word meant to me when I was 16 -> -> What the word means to me now What the word means to me after reading excerpt: What the word will probably mean when I am ______ (pick an age) -> Ecosystem resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate disturbance without collapsing into a qualitatively different state that is controlled by a different set of processes. Reviving the Essay, Gretchen Bernabei

3. Theme Theme: Resilience is the ability to avoid, minimize, withstand, embrace, adapt, and recover from the effects of adversity.

6. Coral Dominance > > > > Algal Dominance

12. 10.3 Assessment: ACT Grammar ACT Format and Topics MISD ELA 10.3 Assessment – Grammar and Rhetoric Assessment DIRECTIONS: The following assessment consists of eight underlined words and phrases in context, or general questions about the passages. Most of the underlined passages contain errors or inappropriate expressions. You are asked to compare each with the four alternatives in the answer column. If you consider the original version best, choose the letter A : NO CHANGE. Read each passage through before answering the questions based on it. 1. A NO CHANGE B field five-thousand fans, C field 5,000 fans, D field five thousand fans * 2. A NO CHANGE * B amid the sidelines. C among the sidelines. D in the sidelines Passage 1 THE THRILL OF POSSIBILITY The hand-rolled cigarette dangled from his lips, and a string of smoke drifted up around his brown eyes as he nervously paced through the locker room at West Point. Dressed in a bowler hat and dark gray suit, Glenn “Pop” Warner was buried deep in his own thoughts. Out on Army’s football (1) field five-thousand fans filled the wooden bleachers and hundreds of others sat in folding chairs (2) along the sidelines. Warner could hear the crowd murmur with expectation as he took another drag from his usual pre-game cigarette, releasing more smoke from the orange glow of the burning tip. Time was running out before kickoff, and he was still searching for just the right words to spark a fire in the hearts of his Carlisle Indian School football players.

13. MISD ELA 10.3 Assessment Writing—Analysis Paper Resilience is evident in every era of American history. Read the following poems provided and the biographical sketches of the poets who wrote them. Note that the simple biographies reveal insight into the poets’ experiences and may provide the reader insight into their texts as well. You are encouraged to read the poems deeply, taking notes in the margins. Keep in mind the following theme statement: Resilience is the ability to avoid, minimize, withstand, embrace, adapt, and recover from the effects of adversity. Then select one of the poems and respond to the following question. DIRECTIONS: Write a well-organized essay in which you briefly summarize the poem’s content and discuss how the poet uses diction or imagery to emphasize the resilience of an era. Refer to the rubric provided. (Scored with an AP format poetry analysis rubric.)

15. Synthesis Rubric

18. MISD ELA 10.3 Assessment Persuasive Writing-Portfolio ACT Writing Prompt I Educators debate over the success of teaching life skills/character education in the school setting. Some educators support character education in the school setting because they think students need to be taught these traits (i.e., resilience, integrity, reliability, etc.) in an academic setting. Other educators do not support using class time on character education because they believe these traits are best taught at home. Write an essay, taking a position on this issue. You may write about either one of the two points of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.