Missouri Pre-Service Teacher Assessment (MoPTA)
Library of Examples – Task 4 Non Video
MoPTA Non-Video Task 4, Step 1, Textbox 4.1.1
Below are two examples of written responses to Textbox 4.1.1 as excerpted from the portfolios of two different
candidates. The candidate responses were not corrected or changed from what was submitted. One response was
scored at the Met/Exceeded Standards Level, and the other response was scored at the Did Not Meet/Partially
Met Standards Level. This information is being provided for illustrative purposes only. These excerpts are not
templates for candidates to use to guarantee a successful score. Rather, they are examples that candidates can
use for comparison purposes to see the kinds of evidence that they may need to add to their own work.
The work you submit as part of your response to each task must be yours and yours alone. Your written
commentaries, the student work and other artifacts you submit must all feature teaching that you did and work
that you supervised.
Step 1: Planning the Sequence of Lessons within the Unit
Textbox 4.1.1: Standards, Goals, Student Background, and Content Focus for the Sequence of Lessons
Met/Exceeded Standards Level
a. The content focus of the unit I created is social studies/geography. The collection of lessons goes along with
a unit I created on Missouri. Throughout the unit students will learn about the state they live in. We will focus
on the geography of Missouri the first week, and the history of Missouri the second week.
b. The unit I created on Missouri spanned over a three week period, so there were a lot of standards that I
touched on. The standards I selected were part of the Missouri Standards (Missouri Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education). The first standard I chose was; SS.5.A.4 Construct and interpret maps. This
standard will guide the majority of my lessons for the week. The second standard I chose was; SS.5.B.4 Locate
the cities of Kansas City, Springfield, St. Louis, Jefferson City, Columbia and St. Joseph. The third standard I
chose was; SS.5.B.3 Locate and identify the states bordering Missouri on a map. The fourth standard I chose
was; SS.3a.b.4 Identify and describe the individuals from Missouri that have made contributions to our state
and national heritage.
c. For the sequence of lessons I created there are many different learning goals. Students will be able to locate
various cities in Missouri on a map. Students will be able to identify the states that border Missouri on a map.
Students will be able identify and describe various individuals from Missouri and the contributions he/she
made to society. I believe these goals are appropriate for my students because they are learning about the
state they live in, Missouri and they support the states framework because they align with the Missouri
Learning Standards, for 4th grade.
d. I created this unit because my students had very little prior knowledge on the state of Missouri. I realized
this a few weeks prior to creating the unit while they were working on another activity and I had several
students ask questions about the states that border Missouri. When this happened I began asking students
what they knew about Missouri, and it turned out they knew very little about the state as a whole in general.
This particular group of students have also worked very well in groups in the past, so I wanted to create a unit
where the main focus of the lessons were on group projects.
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e. As I began the unit on Missouri I conducted an informal assessment on the students. I showed them a blank
map of Missouri and asked if they could identify cities such as; St. Louis, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Springfield,
and St. Joseph. Most students could identify where St. Louis was located but did not know where the other
cities were located. I also asked students if they could identify any states that border Missouri. Most students
knew that Kansas and Illinois bordered Missouri but did not know where they were located. At the end of the
unit I measured student growth by asking them to write a paragraph describing the maps of Missouri we made
earlier in the week. Every student was able to name at least 5 of the 7 cities we identified and name at least 6
of the 8 states that border Missouri.
Refer to the Task 4 Non Video Rubric for Textbox 4.1.1 and ask yourself:
In the candidate’s description of planning the sequence of lessons within the unit, where is there evidence of
the following?
 Identification of the content focus of the unit and the Missouri or national standards for the sequence of
lessons
 A rationale for the selection of the learning goal(s), appropriate to the students, for the sequence of
lessons
 An explanation of how students’ prior knowledge and background information influenced the planning
process
 Whole-class data used to establish a baseline to measure student growth
 Why is the evidence clear and appropriate?
Step 1: Planning the Sequence of Lessons within the Unit
Textbox 4.1.1: Standards, Goals, Student Background, and Content Focus for the Sequence of Lessons
Did Not Meet/Partially Met Standards Level
a.The content focus of this unit is Social Studies, specifically understanding and explaining the events that
led up to the Revolutionary War, and using the knowledge gained to explain different perspectives of
those present during the various events throughout history.
b.This matches up with the GLE standard
3a.D.5 - Explain the American Revolution, including the perspectives of patriots and loyalists and factors
that explain why the American colonists were successful.
c. Throughout this unit, my learning goals are as follows, and are visible on the unit plan outline that is
attached as well:
1. The student will be able to explain the reason for the early taxation and growing frustration in the
colonies.
2. The student will be able to compare and contrast opposing perspectives as to what happened at the
Boston Massacre.
3. The student will be able to explain the causes of the Boston Tea Party.
4. The student will be able to identify and explain the Intolerable Acts.
These goals are very appropriate for the class
I am in.
d. These lessons are also very interactive and discussion based, which is very important for fifth graders.
Although fifth grade is the oldest grade level at my building, fifth graders are still kids, and shouldn’t be
expected to sit for hours on end. Because of this, the lessons implemented incorporated role playing,
skits, foldables, and other activities to keep the students engaged. Before beginning my unit, I distributed
a pre-assessment to gauge how much the students knew on the various topics.
e. After they completed the assessment, I looked at what the students knew and did not know, and used
that information to base my instruction. By looking at the scores, I was able to assess whether or not I
needed to go to the basics of each event and teach from the beginning, which I did. Had I not known
where the class was in terms of understanding the historical events.
Refer to the Task 4 Non Video Rubric for Textbox 4.1.1 and ask yourself:
In the candidate’s description of planning the sequence of lessons within the unit, where is there evidence of
the following?
 Identification of the content focus of the unit and the Missouri or national standards for the sequence of
lessons
 A rationale for the selection of the learning goal(s), appropriate to the students, for the sequence of
lessons
 An explanation of how students’ prior knowledge and background information influenced the planning
process
 Whole-class data used to establish a baseline to measure student growth
 Why is the evidence limited and partial?
Suggestions for Use
After writing your own rough-draft response to the guiding prompts, ask the question, “Which parts of these
examples are closest to what I have written?” Then read the 4 levels of the matching rubric (labeled with the
textbox number) and decide which best matches your response. Use this information as you revise your own
written commentary.
Lastly, using your work and/or these examples as a reference, consider what you believe would be appropriate
artifacts for this textbox.