CAP: WSUL Cover Page
Evidence + Narrative Upload Cover Page
Directions: This document must accompany each and every piece of evidence you upload. This cover page will ensure you are
creating a narrative with your evidence, and it will allow DESE to better understand what evidence you are uploading. When
uploading this evidence, please make sure to utilize proper naming conventions.
Name: Nolan Sheridan
Evidence Components
What are you uploading
as your evidence? (A
lesson plan, student
materials, a unit
overview, etc.). Adjust as
needed.
Evidence Description
Please describe what this
evidence is so that DESE
has a baseline
understanding of what
they are looking at.
Justification of Evidence
Answer each bullet point
to the right to
demonstrate your level of
proficiency in this
element.
Date 12/30/2020
Uploaded:
Well Structured Units and Lessons Evidence Narrative
Exhibit A (required): Unit Plan Outline (4th grade life science)
Write a basic overview of your evidence component(s) here.
Attached is an outline of the unit plan for the fourth grade standard on plant and
animal anatomy and physiology. Each section of the unit is broken down by
activities, potential interventions, and extended learning opportunities for
students who achieve mastery early on.
(Required) Answer ALL these questions:
Quality:
- Is there a clear objective in this lesson or unit?
- Yes. The unit objective is clearly outlined in the top section of the artifact.
- Is the objective aligned to standards or competencies? What are those
standards or competencies?
- Yes, the objective is aligned with standard 4-LS1-1: Construct an argument
that animals and plants have internal and external structures that support
their survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
- How did you measure whether the objective was mastered?
- Multiple assessments were used throughout the unit, including quizzes,
tests, slideshow projects, and lab activities to ensure multifaceted
understanding of the content.
- What were your CFUs to measure student progress towards mastery of
the objective?
- Checks for understanding early in the unit included naming the needs of
plants and animals to establish differences. The next series of CFUs came
in the form of “pop quiz” questions in daily slide shows to which students
would respond in a Zoom poll or the Zoom chat. These mini quiz
questions focused on plant anatomy and function, and asked things such
as “I am a plant structure that soaks in water. What am I?” Finally,
toward the unit’s end, questions focused more on broader understanding
- “A plant has ample water and carbon dioxide, but it did not undergo
photosynthesis. What was missing?”
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- How did you sequence the learning activities in this artifact and why?
- I built this unit in three phases. First, we learned what resources a plant
needs vs those of an animal. We had just come off of our natural
resources unit, so this felt like a strong transition. Second, we began
taking on the specific anatomies of various plants, learning the names of
roots and stems, legs and lungs, etc. Once firm mastery over the functions
of the different parts was achieved, we moved on to the greater
application of these. What are the essential functions of plants
(photosynthesis, reproduction), and animals (movement, respiration,
ingestion, etc).
- How did you ensure that you were able to execute all parts of the lesson
or unit in the given time frame?
- The district provides a pacing guide for this. I made sure to build in days
that allowed for review / flexibility of content to adjust for
misconceptions, but overall kept to a pretty strict schedule.
- What are the different groupings that students are in (independent, pair,
whole group)?
- Learning activities, such as lab activities, “what do you think?”
assignments, etc, are completed in small groups or partners to allow for
student discussion and discourse. Review assignments (debates, kahoot,
etc) are typically done as a whole class. Assessments (quizzes, tests,
slideshows) are typically done independently.
- What engagement strategies did you utilize in this lesson or unit, and why
did you choose those engagement strategies? (Are students raising
hands? Are you cold calling? Did you have students turn and talk first?)
- Several student facing questions are imbedded throughout each day’s
lesson to gauge student growth. The unit also begins with a “Big
Question” and an investigative phenomena video to hook students in and
demonstrate the growth of their understanding over time.
- What technology or digital media did you utilize in this lesson or unit and
why?
- Zoom, Google Classroom, Gizmo activities, Phet simulations, etc were all
used, as they are the best options for hands on science in a virtual setting.

Scope:
- Were all students able to master the objective? How do you know?
- We have not yet completed this unit, but of the completed benchmark
divisions, it is clear that 92% of students mastered the Plant and Animal
Resources objective. 4% of students did not complete their quiz OR
slideshow due to absences, 2% completed the slideshow but not the quiz,
and 2% completed the quiz, but not the slideshow. Of the 4% that
completed one or the other, 3 out of 4 students demonstrated mastery
based on what they had completed, while the fourth student was just
below mastery, and I am confident they would have demonstrated
mastery upon completion of the slideshow.
- Were all students engaged during the lesson or unit? How do you know?
- This unit demonstrated the highest percentage of student work turned in
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of any unit so far this year (81% of all assignments completed and
submitted). That said, there were many students who were sparse in their
submissions, or who were off camera / muted during group discussions in
class.
- What is your rationale for the student groupings you created?
- This is a difficult question to summarize, as different groupings are made
for different topics or activities. For example, groups made during a
reading assignment are focused primarily on reading level and reading
comprehension level. In contrast, groups made during a lab activity might
be focused more on the subject’s demonstrated mastery to allow more in
depth discussion for groups at that level, and more baseline
understanding discussion for students still reaching for mastery.

Consistency:
- How frequently do you adapt and/or develop and execute lessons and
units with all components described in the proficiency rubric?
- I believe that all of my planned lessons meet the components described in
the proficiency rubric. Adaptations to units tend to not need to happen,
but when they do, it is generally a quick fix - a few adjusted Do Now’s, an
adjustment to breakout groups, or a more heavily scaffolded
- How does this artifact show growth as compared to previous
submissions? (Cycle 2 & 3 only)
- My previous submission was a lesson plan, not a unit plan, so it is a bit
difficult to compare the two. However, I will say that the lesson from
which my last upload came was a bit less thoroughly planned than this
unit. Partially, it has to do with better grasp over the online learning
platform, and partially due to more expertise in life sciences than in
geology.

Attach your Evidence:

Copy and paste the evidence below so that you are uploading only one document to the CAP Online Platform. Please make sure all
pictures/evidence are legible. If you are not able to copy and paste your evidence below because it is a complex file, please upload
this document first as the narrative, and your subsequent documents as evidence.
Exhibit A: 4th Grade Plants and Animals Unit Plan (Page 1).
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