Unwrapping the Benchmarks
Department/Grade ___________ Content Strand/Cluster:____________ Identifying Number: _____________
Text of the Learning Target: ___________________________________________________________________
Cognitive Level: (circle one) High Medium Low
Prerequisite Skills Vocabulary
What knowledge, understanding, or reasoning is required to achieve What vocabulary (academic and content) needs to be understood to
this learning target? (foundational skills, background information, achieve this learning target?
prior knowledge)
Mastery Criteria Differentiated Instruction
What performance skills or product skills are required to How will instruction be differentiated to extend the learning of the
demonstrate achievement on this learning target? What graphic learning target? (to remediate or extend)
organizer can students develop, or what product, summary frame?
Assessing Proficiency Benchmark Support Material
What test or performance will give you data about student progress What materials/chapters/pages directly provide instructional
toward achievement of this learning target? What mini-assessment support to teach this learning target? (alignment of resources)
might be used?
Technology Higher Order thinking Questions
What resources will provide support to teach this learning target? Higher order questions/task card questions teachers might use:
(FCAT Explorer, …)
Student Friendly Language
See Reading Item Sp0ecification Planning Guide for 10th Grade To ensure all learning targets are clear to students and written in an
understandable format.
Unwrapping the Benchmarks – High School Example
Department/Grade: 10th Content Strand/Cluster:____________ Identifying Number: LA.A.2.4.8
Text of the Learning Target: No Opportunity Gets Eclipsed, Get Serious! Eclipse Research, Measuring the Sun’s
Diameter.
Benchmark: synthesize Information from multiple sources to draw conclusions; constructs meaning from
Informational Text.
Cognitive Level: (circle one) High Medium Low
Prerequisite Skills Vocabulary
What knowledge, understanding, or reasoning is required to achieve What vocabulary (academic and content) needs to be understood to
this learning target? (foundational skills, background information, achieve this learning target?
prior knowledge)
Scientific/technical language ( ie.chromosphere, eclipse)
How to use footnotes, subheadings Diameter
Eclipse Draw conclusions
Corona, Multiple sources
Scientific measurements
Mastery Criteria Differentiated Instruction
What performance skills or product skills are required to How will instruction be differentiated to extend the learning of the
demonstrate achievement on this learning target? What graphic learning target? (to remediate or extend)
organizer can students develop, or what product, summary frame?
Use a video clip about the scientific topic; in small groups the
Drawing Conclusions Graphic Organizer students create pinball webs to illustrate predicted effects,
ripple effects, connections they discover.
Source: Info Tasks for Successful Learning by Carol Koechlin
and Sandi Zwaan
Assessing Proficiency Benchmark Support Material
What test or performance will give you data about student progress What materials/chapters/pages directly provide instructional
toward achievement of this learning target? What mini-assessment support to teach this learning target? (alignment of resources)
might be used?
Ask the students to complete a learning log entry that will require
them to reflect critically on the process of working in a group to
help clarify the meaning of new information.
Technology Higher Order thinking Questions
What resources will provide support to teach this learning target? Higher order questions/task card questions teachers might use:
(FCAT Explorer, …)
What leads the reader to believe that ___________?
Computer Activities for the Cooperative Classroom, Schwartz and People who read these articles learn to/that ___________?
Willing, 2001. What do these articles show about ____________?
HyperLearning: Where Projects, Inquiry and Technology Meet Based on all the information given, how does each part add to the
(Wilhelm, Friedemann and Erickson, 1998) idea that __________________?
What strategies did you use to compare your information?
Prepare a list of Web sites that will be useful to the students for
information tasks.
Student Friendly Language
To ensure all learning targets are clear to students and written in an
understandable format.
“I can blend information from several sources to draw
conclusions.”