Get S.M.A.R.T.! 
ELA Collaborative Teacher Team Project
Baseline
Thesis Mini-Lessons
Body Paragraph
 Mini-Lessons
Pre-writing
Essay Assessment
S.M.A.R.T. Goal
Diagnostic Literary Essay Observations:
Difficulty creating strong thesis
Meandering Focus
Weak Examples (Summary not analysis)
Inability to write clear topic sentences
Lack of sentence variety
Reliance on simple sentences
Sentence Combining
Sentence Structure
Final
Assessment
Critical
Lens
Essay
Do Now Critical Lens Quotation Interpretation
Transition Mini-Lesson
Critical Lens
Mini-Lesson
Class Discussion:
Textual Analysis
Connection to Lens
Mini-lessons and Activities will include:
using text and notes to devise a thesis statement
finding relevant quotations and evidence
outlining
What is a good thesis?
How can you test a good thesis?
Identify good thesis statement?
Create thesis statements.
Strategy Development using mnemonic devices:
(PIE - Point, Illustration, Explanation SPA - Statement, Proof, Analysis)
Targeted practice using questions from class discussion and homework
Mid-year Essay assessed students' progress.
Teach students how to cope with a critical lens quotation and use it to form a strong thesis statement.
Strategy development using mnemonic device (ROIL - Restate, Opinionate, Interpret, Literature)
Encourage collaborative practice and deeper analysis of literature through discussion about quotation and practice applying lens to literature (class reading).
Explicit instruction in sentence structure (simple, compound, complex, compound/complex.
Guided and independent practice using different structures.
Explicit instruction and practice in sentence combining. This helps students create more complex statements that elevate level of analysis in writing.
Mini-Lessons to help students navigate through development of an idea.
100% of our freshman will write a literary essay and move up one level according to the criteria on an adapted Regents rubric in June. (2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6)