ENGLISH 12 LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Twelfth Night Unit
Text: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Estimated Time to Teach Unit: 4 weeks
Lessons Learned I learned that I can hold students responsible for applying all terms related
to, say, comedy in a qualifying quiz or activity and then I can construct the
test with only a few terms. This saves time in assessing student work. I then
change the terms for the next form of the assessment because students have
to know all of the terms in order to qualify for the assessment.
 It is a good idea to keep “quote bank” for myself as I teach the unit. This
makes test construction go more smoothly. There are many wonderful
online texts that help in gathering quotes, as well.
 I post Form A as a practice form on my website as a PDF file. Students
download it, bring it to class, and we work on it together. I then administer
Form B as the assessment. Rarely do I have to go beyond Form C. If
necessary, the parallel forms are not difficult to construct.
Correctives plan
My correctives involve first correcting what was wrong on the assessment itself.
I then have other activities related to specific objectives that students complete.
These activities ask them to do a bit of textual research and application of what they
researched.
Rebecca Neville - Memorial High School - Eau Claire, WI
Chapter 12 - Classroom Assessment
339
ENGLISH 12 LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Corrective Activities for Twelfth Night Unit
Sample Activity: Analyzing Figurative Language Features
After selecting or identifying a quotation for analysis, students do the following:
 Explain the context of the quote. Who is speaking? Who is being addressed?
What is happening in the play when the quotation occurs?
 Paraphrase the quotation. Look up the unknown words and allusions and
paraphrase the quotation.
 Identify the elements of figurative language. Label the elements of
figurative language by reading or copying the text that includes each feature.
Remember that even single words should be in quotation marks.
 Explain the effect created by each figurative language feature. Figurative
language brings a variety of qualities to a text. Comparisons, like similes
and metaphors, usually create images. Hyperbole and puns often bring
humor to the text. One way to think about the effect of figurative language
is to paraphrase the quotation in everyday words and then contrast the
paraphrase with the Shakespearean version.
 Connect the effect to one or more thematic ideas. How does the figurative
language in the quotation help bring fuller meaning to an idea, as character,
or a problem in the play? Is the quotation part of a larger pattern of imager or
theme in the play?
The students’ work from above is assessed and corrective support is
provided in peer groups or with the teacher as needed.
This is just an example of one corrective activity. Others may include
completing diagrams that show contrasts in characters, all evidence
supported by text. Another might ask students to apply comedy terms to
quoted material. Yet another might ask students to make a contribution to
our classroom concept map
340
Teaching for Excellence: Language Arts
ENGLISH 12 LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Chapter 12 - Classroom Assessment
341
ENGLISH 12 LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
342
Teaching for Excellence: Language Arts
ENGLISH 12 LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Chapter 12 - Classroom Assessment
343
AP POETRY PARALLEL ASSESSMENTS FORM A & B
344
Teaching for Excellence: Language Arts