appendices d f provided in conjunction with content

1 (September 19, 2011 v19.0) – 2nd round DRAFT: Only for review/feedback from SBAC members and interested stakeholders

APPENDICES D – F

Provided in Conjunction with

Content Specifications with Content Mapping for the

Summative Assessment of the Common Core State

Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in

History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

REVIEW DRAFT – Second Round

Available for Consortium and Stakeholder Review and Feedback

September 19, 2011

Developed with input from content experts and SMARTER Balanced

Assessment Consortium Staff, Work Group Members, Technical Advisory

Committee

Project Facilitator and Principal Author

Karin Hess, Senior Associate

National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment

Dover, NH

www.nciea.org

http://www.nciea.org/


Table of Contents Page

Appendix D: Interim and Formative Evidence for ELA/Literacy Claims 3 – 7

Appendix E: Draft Guidelines for Development of Performance Tasks

8

Appendix F: Annotated Examples to Illustrate Assessment Types 9 – 53


Appendix D: Interim and Formative Evidence for ELA/Literacy Claims

The Assessment Targets and Score Reporting Categories in the main body of this document

focus on the Consortium’s summative assessment. Additional targets and possible score

reporting categories may be developed in concert with the Interim and Formative components of

the SBAC assessment system (see proposal pp. 57-58, SBAC 2010)

The contractor has included consideration of the implications that the Content Specifications

have on the interim and formative components. Draft interim and formative targets are provided

below.

Classroom-based learning Activities Evidence for ELA/Literacy Claim #1

Gr. 4: Classroom-based (Interim and Formative) Evidence for ELA/Literacy Claim #1

Read for a sustained time – LPF Habits & Dispositions

Reflect on flexible use of self-monitoring strategies for a variety of texts – LPF Habits & Dispositions

Demonstrate range of word solving strategies – word structure, word relationships, resources - Standards: RL-4; RI-4; L-4

Distinguish characteristics of different text genres - Standards: RL-5, RL-7; RI-5, RI-7, RI-8

Keep a reading journal/log to document range of texts read (with themes, topic summaries, etc.) Standards: RL-10, RI-10

Read texts accurately and fluently to derive meaning –Foundational Reading Standards

Identify and use to signal words and semantic cues to interpret and organize information for different text structures

(sequence, chronology, description, compare-contrast, cause-effect, problem-solution)

Use graphic organizers to organize information for analysis

Discuss and compose text-based responses using supporting evidence - Standards: RI-1; RL-1

Analyze texts for effect of visual information and author’s craft- Standards: RI- 7, RI-8; RL-2, RL-3, RL-4, RL-6, RL-9


Increase silent and oral reading accuracy and fluency for different reading purposes

Use technology and self-monitoring strategies to access a variety of texts, text formats/mediums, text genres

Analyze characteristics of different text genres and formats, including digital formats - Standards: RL-5, RL-7; RI-5, RI-8

Compare a range of texts read (universal themes, author techniques, discourse styles, etc.) Standards: RL-10, RI-10

Locate, analyze, and critique mentor texts that illustrate signal words and semantic cues used organize/present information

for different text structures (critique, argument, inductive-deductive reasoning)

Discuss and compose in-depth, short text-based responses using supporting textual evidence/ quotations - Standards:

RL-1 thru 7, RL-9; RI-1 thru 9

Analyze texts for impact and intent of visual information and author’s craft when presented using different media or

formats- Standards: RI- 7, RI-8; RL-2, RL-3, RL-4, RL-6, RL-9



Evaluate uses of technology applications for a variety of texts, text formats/mediums, text genres, and purposes

Analyze characteristics of complex text genres and formats, including digital formats - Standards: RL-5, RL-7; RI-5,

RL-8

Critique a range of texts read (universal themes, author techniques, discourse styles, etc.) Standards: RL-10, RI-10

Discuss and compose in-depth, short text-based responses using supporting textual evidence/quotations - Standards: RL-1

thru 7, RL-9; RI-1 thru 9

Analyze texts for impact and intent of visual information and author’s craft when presented using different media or

formats- Standards: RI- 7, RI-8; RL-2, RL-3, RL-4, RL-6, RL-9

Classroom-based Evidence for ELA/Literacy Claim #2


Demonstrate use of precise and domain-specific vocabulary

Use syntax and semantic cues to organize information and support underlying text structures

Select and use tools (technology) and strategies (e.g., graphic organizers) to plan, organize, and develop and

revise ideas to meet purposes for writing - Standards: W-6

Compose and publish a variety of genres of writing (poetry, stories, reports, memoirs, newspaper articles, etc.)

Distinguish between formal and informal discourse styles and purposes in writing of self and others

Locate , discuss, and compare exemplars of authors’ craft for a variety of writing types

Seek and use feedback from others to revise and improve writing - Standards: W-5


Locate and analyze examples of text features or presentation formats that enhance meaning of texts

Informally debate both sides to an issue prior to writing an argument (e.g., See Appendix A, SBAC “Video Cameras in the

Classroom” performance assessment)

Demonstrate increasing sophistication in use of language; domain-specific vocabulary, figurative language, literary devices,

semantic cues, and syntax

Select and use tools (technology) and strategies (e.g., graphic organizers) to plan, organize, and develop ideas to meet

purposes for writing - Standards: W-6

Compose and publish a variety of increasingly complex pieces (poetry, stories, reports, memoirs, newspaper articles, etc.)

Distinguish between formal and informal discourse styles and purposes in writing if self and others

Locate, discuss, and analyze exemplars of authors’ craft for a variety of writing types

Seek and use feedback from others to revise and improve writing - Standards: W-5



Locate and analyze examples of text features or presentation formats that enhance meaning of texts

Informally debate both sides to an issue prior to writing an argument (e.g., See Appendix A, SBAC “Video

Cameras in the Classroom” performance assessment)

Demonstrate increasing sophistication in use of language; domain-specific vocabulary, figurative language,

literary devices, and syntax

Select and use tools (technology) and strategies (e.g., graphic organizers) to plan, organize, and develop ideas to

meet purposes for writing - Standards: W-6

Compose and publish a variety of increasingly complex pieces (poetry, stories, reports, memoirs, newspaper

articles, etc.)

Distinguish between formal and informal discourse styles and purposes in writing if self and others

Locate, discuss, and analyze exemplars of authors’ craft for a variety of writing types

Seek and use feedback from others to revise and improve writing – Standards: W-5


Gr. 3-11: Classroom-based (Interim and Formative) Evidence for ELA/Literacy Claim #3

Under Construction



Integrate information from two texts on same topic to write or speak about it Standards: RI-9

Work with diverse partners on projects building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively

Standards: L-1

Report on a topic telling appropriate facts and using clear and coherent voice Standards: SL-4

Add visual displays to presentations with awareness of audience Standards: SL-5

Brainstorm ideas, concepts, problems, or perspectives related to a topic or concept (DOK 1) Standards: W-8




Standards: SL-1

Present information, findings, supporting evidence clearly and concisely with awareness of audience Standards SL-4

Integrate multimedia and visual displays to presentations Standards SL-5

Examine the accuracy, completeness, usefulness/relevance, or strengths/limitations of sources used and cited, as appropriate

to the task.



Standards: SL-1

Present information, findings, supporting evidence clearly and concisely with awareness of audience Standards SL-4

Strategically incorporate collaboration when useful in complex tasks Standards SL-1

Use digital media to enhance presentations Standards SL-5

Examine the accuracy, completeness, usefulness/relevance, or strengths/limitations of sources used and cited, as appropriate

to the task.



Identify real-life connections between words and their use Standards: L-5c

Conduct a word sort to build vocabulary Standards: L-5a, L-4b

Use visual images to learn new vocabulary

Use a variety of contexts to determine nuanced meanings and deeper conceptual understanding


Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech

Standards: L-4b

Use visual images to learn new vocabulary




Interpret figures of speech in context and analyze their role in the text Standards: L-5a

Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech

Standards: L-4b

Use and locate visual images to learn new complex vocabulary



Appendix D: Draft Guidelines for Development of Performance Tasks

As the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium begins development of performance tasks, guidelines

such as those listed below will be established…

Integrate knowledge and skills across multiple standards or strands – Tasks should encompass and/or

cut across multiple standards and multiple strands, although in ELA items may focus predominantly on

reading, writing, or speaking and listening.

Measure capacities such as depth of understanding, research skills and/or complex analysis with

relevant evidence

Require student-initiated planning, management of information and ideas, interaction with other

materials - In the reading and writing tasks, students have an opportunity to plan their responses and

manage and interact with information/data gained through reading or listening to/viewing texts.

Require production of more extended responses (e.g., oral presentations, exhibitions, product

development, in addition to more extended written responses which might be revised and edited

Reflect a real-world task and/or scenario-based problem - Performance tasks should incorporate real-

world, college- and career-related skills that require students to accomplish complex goals over a period of

time. Tasks should be multi-stepped and allow for reflection and revision.

Allow for multiple approaches - Writing tasks should encourage multiple approaches to develop and

organize ideas, (e.g., narrative writing might be used to support the presentation of an argument, while

analysis and synthesis might be used to convey ideas in a narrative).

Represent content that is relevant & meaningful to students

Allow for demonstration of important knowledge & skills, including those that address 21st century

skills such as critically analyzing, synthesizing media texts – Performance tasks should focus on fluent

and effective communication of content that reflects a student’s progression up to the current grade.

Performance Tasks are really evidence that a student has collected all of the relevant information necessary

across years to successfully engage in the current grade-level standards. These tasks will incorporate

knowledge of prior grades by necessity, even though the major focus is on the standards for the current

grade level.

Allow for multiple points of view & interpretations – Student responses should allow for more than one

valid interpretation or viewpoint: it is the quality of support that is marshaled in support of a position, for

example, not the particular position taken that is important in the success of items asking for a persuasive

response. Multiple viable arguments should be able to be made based on the prompts and texts included in

each performance task.

Require scoring that focuses on the essence of the task

Seem feasible for the school/classroom environment - Performance tasks are constructed so they can be

delivered effectively in the school/ classroom environment. Some considerations that require attention are:

student-teacher interactions, materials/technology necessary for completion of task, and allotted time for

assessment.

TasksSample Annotated Items & Performance Tasks


Appendix E: Annotated Examples to Illustrate Assessment Types

The following examples have been drawn from existing assessments that are publicly available.

They serve here to provide examples of how different Assessment Targets might be assessed.

Over the next few months, the Consortium will continue to look for and/or develop sample tasks

to be used as exemplar performance tasks.

Claim #1 – Reading

Examples of selected response and open-ended reading responses, Reading to Understand and

Learn: On Individual Responsibility, Grade 8 (Adapted from the Literacy Design

Collaborative/National Paideia Center adapted task (A Gates Foundation Project)

Claim #2 – Writing

Tooth Traditions for around the World, Grade 3 (Adapted from…need source) Narrative and

Informational Writing

Investigating Sharks, Grade 4 (Adapted from K. Hess, Local Assessment Toolkit: Persuasive

Writing - Opinion

Video Cameras in Classrooms, Grade 7 (Adapted from …need source) Persuasive Writing -

Argument

Interdisciplinary Writing: Biodiesel Production, Grade 11 (Adapted from CT Released Task)

Persuasive Writing - Argument

Claim #3 – Speaking & Listening

included in Tooth Traditions for Around the World, Grade 3: Narrative and Informational

Writing

Formative evidence included in Video Cameras in Classrooms, Grade 7: Persuasive Writing

- Argument

Study-Listen-Apply, Grade 11 (Adopted from the Council for Aid to Education/CAE)

Claim #4 – Research

Common Theme (War), Grade 11 (Adapted from Adopted from the Council for Aid to

Education/CAE)

Claim #5 – Language Use (included in other assessment examples above)


READING Claim # 1 – Students can read closely and critically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational texts. LANGUAGE Claim #5 - Students can use oral and written language skillfully across a range of literacy tasks. Title of Performance Task: Reading to Understand and Learn: On Individual Responsibility Grade Level: 8 Task Source: Adapted from the Literacy Design Collaborative/National Paideia Center adapted task (A Gates Foundation Project) with samples of technology-enhanced items

How these texts and items address the “sufficient evidence” for this claim: In order to complete the assessment, students must:

1. Answer comprehension questions about each text 2. Read both literary and informational passages of varying difficulty to apply reasoning

and textual evidence to justify interpretation of theme across texts. 3. Cite relevant information from sources to demonstrate understanding and answer

questions about theme

Intended Depth of Knowledge Level: DOK 2 (summarize key ideas); DOK 3 (analyzing one text using supporting evidence; DOK 4 (if analyzing multiple texts using supporting evidence) Scoring Focus/Reporting Categories (see page 16)

Claim 1 o Comprehension of Literary Texts o Comprehension of Informational Texts o Analysis and Synthesis of Literary Texts o Analysis and Synthesis of Informational Texts

Claim 5 o Understand & Apply Oral & Written Language

Standards Assessed with these Texts Reading Standards: RL.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. RL.8.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or humor. RI.8.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. RI.8.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. RL.8.4, RI.8 4, & L.8.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. L.8.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Reading Texts: Short Passages from The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, “Compassion and the

World” by H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Meditation XVII by John Donne, and an article and

graph on the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

Task Summary: This is an example of what a student might be asked to do as part of the CAT


assessment for reading, using several different short passages. Students read and answer comprehension questions related to each of the passages and also answer questions related to language use. Then analysis questions about theme, using one or more passages with supporting evidence are presented.

The texts for this reading testlet were chosen because they each comment on the role of the individual and responsibility, thus providing opportunities for assessing multiple texts with common themes. Students analyze each text for literal and interpretive meanings in response to a set of questions in the testlet.

Students read literary passages and an informational article about an oil spill

Students answer selected response questions related to each passage and open-ended questions that relate to the theme of individual responsibility across multiple texts.

Sampling of selected response and constructed response questions (this is not a complete set of CAT items, but examples of possible item types for each assessment target) Assessment Target 1 – selected response using a conventional multiple choice item 1. In “Mediation XVII,” which phrase best supports the idea that all people are connected?

A. “If a clod be washed away by the sea” B. “Europe is the less” C. “As well as if a manor of thy friend’s” D. “Any man’s death diminishes me”*

Assessment Target 2 – short constructed response using a drag and drop feature

2. Below is information from the passage, “The Meditations.” Organize the information by moving each

phrase from the passage into the proper section of the table: central idea, supporting details, and a

comparison used to make a point.

It was Zeus who framed society,

When a man separates himself from his neighbor, he becomes cut off from society.

Branches grow first on a tree, just as people grow first in society.

Often separation from society and others occurs.

Central Idea

Supporting detail

Supporting detail

Comparison used to make a point

Assessment Target 8 – multiple selected response item (more than one correct response can be selected)

3. Compassion is defined as: sympathy for the suffering of others, often including a desire to help.

In paragraph 4 of “Compassion and the World,” H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama states that the “key to a


happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion.” Click which actions from the passage are

examples of “growth of compassion.”

Having a need for love

Viewing others as a brother or sister

Meeting a new face

Dressing differently than others

Treating others as an old friend

Lacking a specific ideology

Assessment Target 9 – short constructed response using a drag and drop feature

4. Below are the events from “To the Rescue of Birds in Oil Spill: A Fifth-Grader.” Place the events in order in

which they occurred.

Donations are used to move birds to Florida.

Olivia limits her drawings to 500.

CNN and BBC feature Olivia’s story in the news.

11,000 fans join Olivia’s Facebook page.

Olivia talks to her grandparents about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Olivia sends a letter and drawing of a cardinal to the Audubon Society.

The sequence of events from “To the Rescue of Birds in Oil Spill: A Fifth-Grader”

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Constructed response examples: Assessment Target 4

5. Explain how the first person point of view in “Compassion and the World” influences the reader’s


impression of the author. Use evidence from the passage to support your response.

Assessment Target 5

6. The author of “Meditation XVII” and the author of “The Meditations” suggest that each individual is an

import part of society. Show how this idea is developed in those passages and also illustrated in the article

“To the Rescue of Birds in Oil Spill: A Fifth Grader.” Use evidence from the passages to support your

response.

Assessment Target 7

7. In “The Meditations,” the author uses symbolism with the information about the branch and tree. Analyze

the meaning of the symbolism and the author’s purpose for using it. Use evidence from the passage to

support your response.

4 TEXTS with a common theme – a short introduction would appear with each passage to give some context for when and why each was written Text 1: Meditation XVII by John Donne

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be

washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy

friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and

therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Text 2: From The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

A branch cut off from the adjacent branch must of necessity be cut off from the whole tree also. So too a

man when he is separated from another man has fallen off from the whole community. Now as to a branch,

another cuts it all, but a man by his own act separates himself from his neighbor when he hates him and

turns away from him, and he does not know that he has at the same time cut himself off from the whole

social system. Yet he has this privilege certainly from Zeus who framed society, first it is in our power to

grow again to that which is near to us, and again to become a part which helps to make up the whole.

However, if this kind of separation happens often, it makes it difficult for that which detaches itself to be

brought to unity and to be restored to its former condition. Finally, the branch, which from the first grew

together with the tree, and has continued to have one life with it, is not like that which after being cut off is

then ingrafted, but it is something like what the gardeners mean when they say that it grows with the rest of

the tree, but has not the same mind with it.

Text 3: “Compassion and the World” by H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

Individual happiness can contribute in a profound and effective way to the overall improvement of our entire human community.

Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever

circumstances, is a brother or sister. No matter how new the face or how different the dress and behavior,

there is no significant division between us and other people. It is foolish to dwell on external differences,

because our basic natures are the same.


Ultimately, humanity is one and this small planet is our only home. If we are to protect this home of ours,

each of us needs to experience a vivid sense of universal altruism. It is only this feeling that can remove the

self-centered motives that cause people to deceive and misuse one another. If you have a sincere and open

heart, you naturally feel self-worth and confidence, and there is no need to be fearful of others.

I believe that at every level of society—familial, tribal, national and international—the key to a happier and

more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to

believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities.

I try to treat whoever I meet as an old friend. This gives me a genuine feeling of happiness. It is the time to

help create a happier world.

Text 4: “To the Rescue of Birds in Oil Spill: a Fifth-Grader” By Stephanie Steinberg, USA TODAY, June 14,

2010

Americans nationwide feel helpless when it comes to aiding the birds smothered in oil from the Deepwater

Horizon oil spill.

Not 11-year-old Olivia Bouler.

A fifth-grader from Long Island, N.Y., Olivia has raised more than $70,000 for the National Audubon Society—

a non-profit dedicated to bird conservation — by drawing pictures of birds and sending them to people in the

USA and abroad in return for a donation.

Olivia has visited the Gulf of Mexico several times, where she has enjoyed fishing and feeding dolphins with

her grandfather. After the oil rig explosion, her grandparents in Orange Beach, Ala., called one night and

explained how the wildlife are struggling to survive.

Olivia says she "sobbed uncontrollably." But rather than continue to cry, she ran to her room for markers and

paper and wrote a letter to the Audubon Society. "It said: 'I want to help, and I want to make a difference and

show that the birds are important, and we need to preserve them,' " Olivia says.

The organization liked the drawing of a cardinal Olivia included in the letter and suggested she draw pictures

of birds in exchange for donations. Olivia, who aspires to be an ornithologist (a person who studies birds),

agreed.

Since she started in mid-May, Olivia has drawn and painted 150 original pieces. People have requested

various species, such as the brown pelican, heron and blue jay. Donations have ranged from $10 to $250.

AOL also got wind of her Save the Gulf campaign and offered to help by donating $25,000 and posting Olivia's

artwork on its homepage.

After (news media) CNN, BBC and The Huffington Post featured her story, requests for drawings flooded in.

"My hands were sore by the end of the day," Olivia says.

Her parents spend five hours a day mailing artwork, e-mailing donors and managing the Facebook page that

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/National+Audubon+Society

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Places,+Geography/Bodies+of+water/Gulf+of+Mexico

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Orange+Beach

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Brands/Consumer+Products/America+Online

http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Organizations/Companies/Publishers,+Media,+Music/Huffington+Post


has more than 11,000 fans.

Olivia's mother, Nadine Bouler, a teacher, says her daughter has proved that you really can do anything.

"I've always told students you can make a difference, and I pretty much believed it," she says. "But now I

know it is truly possible."

Drawing is time-consuming, however, and Bouler says she wants her daughter to continue with her

saxophone playing and to be able to participate in end-of-the-school-year parties.

As a result, Olivia has been limited to 500 requests for artwork, which have all been filled. Subsequent donors

will receive a printed copy of an original piece.

The donations are being used to clean oil-coated birds, transfer them to Florida to be released in safer

environments and cover food and motel expenses for volunteers, says National Audubon Society president

Frank Gill.

Gill says volunteers have found more than 800 dead birds — most of them pelicans — that have washed up

on the Gulf shores. About 200 birds have been found alive. Pelican offspring are in serious trouble because

they need to be fed four times a day, but the parents can't catch fish in oily waters, Gill says.

With no signs of the spill stopping, Olivia plans to continue drawing. She says the spill is a "depressing

tragedy."

"BP made a huge mistake. ... I want to make up for that mistake," she says. "I want to save those birds that

are dying."

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/LIFE/usaedition/2010-06-15-OliviaBouler15_ST_U.htm#

http://www.usatoday.com/LIFE/usaedition/2010-06-15-OliviaBouler15_ST_U.htm


WRITING Claim # 2 - Students can produce effective writing for a range of purposes and audiences. SPEAKING-LISTENING Claim #3 - Students can employ effective speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes and audiences. LANGUAGE Claim #5 - Students can use oral and written language skillfully across a range of literacy tasks.

Title of Performance Task: Tooth Traditions From Around the World Grade Level: 3 Task Source: Adapted from …

How this task addresses the “sufficient evidence” for this claim: In order to complete the assessment, students must:

1. Compose, revise, and edit text 2. Write a narrative and an informational text 3. Address Purpose and Audience (setting a context and establishing a focus) 4. Organize and Develop Ideas using a structure consistent with purpose (providing overall coherence 5. Use language effectively to provide supporting evidence/details/elaboration consist with focus 6. Apply Conventions of Standard English. 7. Demonstrate oral communication skills 8. Listen carefully to the ideas of others and integrate information from oral and written sources

Intended Depth of Knowledge Level: DOK 2, DOK 3 Scoring Focus/Reporting Categories (see page 16)

Claim 2 o Organize & Develop Ideas o Provide Evidence & Elaboration o Apply Conventions

Claims 3 & 5 o Understand & Apply Oral & Written Language

Standards Assessed with this Task Writing Standards: W.3.2. Write informative/explanatory pieces (a-d) W.3.3. Write narratives (a-d) W.3.5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing. (formative evidence) W.3.6. With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing. Speaking and Listening Standards: SL.3.2. Identify the main ideas and supporting details of information presented graphically, visually, orally, or multimodally. SL.3.4. Report on a topic or recount stories or experiences with appropriate facts and descriptive details.

Language Standards: L.3.1. Observe conventions of grammar and usage. L.3.2. Observe conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. L.3.3. Make effective language choices. a. Use words for effect.

Description of task setting: Phase 1, individual and group work writing and revising a narrative; Phase 2, individual work with informational text

Duration of the activity: Phase 1: 1 hour; Phase 2: 30 minutes; Total time: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)

Operational logistics and Materials Required: Tasks can be implemented in a regular classroom with computer access.


Writing Text Type: (1) Narrative, (2) Informative/explanatory

Listening Text Type: Informational

“Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World”

Task Summary: This task is to be completed over two parts. The prewriting/planning in phase 1 involve speaking, listening, and writing notes. Prewriting/planning provide an opportunity for students to explore, draft, edit, and revise an imaginary or real story about losing a tooth. In phase 1, students’ feedback and rationale forms are collected, as well as students’ final draft of a narrative text. In Phase 2 (could be administered on day 2), students complete an informative/explanatory text.

Phase 1 (1 hour)

Teacher introduces the task by talking about teeth, their purpose, and how they play an important role throughout humans’ lives. (LISTENING, 10 minutes)

Teacher asks students to plan an imaginary or real story about someone losing a tooth (a narrative text with a beginning, middle, and end). (WRITING, 20 minutes).

o Students work alone to draft their paragraphs and may use computers available with word processing software, and e-tools (e.g., dictionary) to draft paragraphs.

o Students produce a draft copy to exchange with a writing partner (determined by teacher) and provide feedback on how to improve the writing. (WRITING, 10 minutes)

o Students use an e-form to provide peer feedback. E-forms are printed for review.

Students use feedback provided to improve/revise their narratives. (WRITING, 10 minutes)

o Students may use computers, available word processing software, and e-tools (e.g., dictionary) to revise narrative paragraphs.

Final Draft of narrative response collected for scoring (NOTE: This summative task could also be used as a speaking task, audio recorded for scoring.) Teacher adds closure to the task by asking students to paraphrase some of the details from their stories. (LISTENING/SPREAKING, 10 minutes)

Phase 2 (30 minutes)

Students do the following to complete an informative/explanatory writing task (WRITING) Students will not get back their work from phase 1, but will be reminded of what they did in phase 1 (narrative writing) and are told they will now write an informational text after listening to some information and taking notes. (30 minutes)

o Students may use a computer and associated technology (i.e., video, word processing software, e-tools) to complete the task. (WRITING)

o Students view a video file of a teacher reading aloud the text, Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions From Around the World. (LISTENING)

o Students use a guided notes form to write down information about each world cultural tradition. (Students can replay the video as many times as they like during phase 2 In order to complete their notes.) (Not scored)

o Each student will create a Venn diagram comparing his or her tradition to one world cultural tradition he or she has chosen. (Not scored)

o Students use notes to write an informative/explanatory two-to-four-paragraph paper to describe and compare how traditions are the same and how they are different.


o Students draft, review, make edits, and generate a final version. (WRITING)

Final multi-paragraph response collected for scoring

Actual prompt for student

Phase 1 Directions: Write an imaginary or real story telling about someone losing a tooth. Be sure to have a beginning, middle, and ending. Phase 2 Directions: Using your notes, write two to four paragraphs describing and comparing different tooth traditions. Be sure to (1) tell some things that are the same about the traditions, (2) tell some things that are different about the traditions, and (3) explain something interesting that you learned OR tell about your tooth tradition.

Texts

Tooth Traditions: Read-Aloud Text Beeler, Selby. Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions Around the World. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. (1998) Has this ever happened to you? You find a loose tooth in your mouth. Yikes! You can wiggle it with your finger. You can push it back and forth with your tongue. Then one phase it falls out. There you are with your old baby tooth in your hand and a big hole in your mouth. It happens to everyone, everywhere, all over the world. “Look! Look! My tooth fell out! My tooth fell out!” But what happens next? What in the world do you do with your tooth? North America United States I put my tooth under my pillow. While I’m sound asleep, the Tooth Fairy will come into my room, take my tooth, and leave some money in its place. Mexico When I go to sleep, I leave my tooth in a box on the bedside table. I hope El Raton, the magic mouse, will take my tooth and bring me some money. He leaves more money for a front tooth. Yupik My mother wraps my tooth in a food, like meat or bread. Then I feed it to a female dog and say, “Replace this tooth with a better one.” Yellowknife Dene My mother or grandmother takes my tooth and puts it in a tree and then my family dances around it. This makes certain that my new tooth will grow in as straight as a tree. Navajo My mother saves my tooth until my mouth stops hurting. Then we take my tooth to the southeast, away from our house. We bury the tooth on the east side of a healthy young sagebrush, rabbit bush, or pinyon tree because we believe that east is the direction associated with childhood. Excerpt from THROW YOUR TOOTH ON THE ROOF: Tooth Traditions From Around the World. Text Copyright © 1998 by Selby B. Beeler. Used by Permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.


WRITING Claim # 2 - Students can produce effective writing for a range of purposes and audiences.

LANGUAGE Claim #5 - Students can use oral and written language skillfully across a range of literacy

tasks.

Title of Performance Task: Investigating Sharks

Grade Level: 4

Task Source: Adapted from Karin Hess (2009) The Local Assessment Toolkit: Persuasive Writing

How this task addresses the “sufficient evidence” for this claim:

In order to complete the assessment, students must:

1. Compose, revise, and edit text 2. Write a text in support of an opinion/argument in response to texts read 3. Address Purpose and Audience (setting a context – topic, question(s) to be answered, and establishing a

focus/opinion 4. Organize and Develop Ideas using a structure consistent with purpose (providing overall coherence 5. Provide supporting evidence/details/elaboration consist with focus/opinion 6. Use Language Effectively (including word choice, sentence variety, precise/nuanced language, domain-

specific language, and voice) 7. Apply Conventions of Standard English.

Intended Depth of Knowledge Level: DOK 3

Scoring Focus/Reporting Categories (see page 16)


Claim 5 o Understand & Apply Oral and Written Language

Note-taking page

United States Mexico Yupik Yellowknife Dene Navajo


Standards Assessed with this Task

Writing Standards

W.4.1. Write opinions (a-e)

W.4.4. Produce coherent and clear writing in which the organization, development, substance, and style are

appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.4.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

(formative evidence) W.4.6. With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish

writing.

Language Standards

L.4.1. Observe conventions of grammar and usage.

L.4.2. Observe conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

L.4.3. Make effective language choices.

Description of task setting: Phase 1 and Phase 2, individual work

Duration of the activity: Phase 1: 30-60 minutes; Phase 2: 30-60 minutes; Total time: 1-2 hours

Operational logistics and Materials Required: Graphic organizers and paper for note taking/prewriting and

writing; optional: use of computer to compose and edit; access to Internet to locate additional information on

topic using web link provided

Writing Text Type: Opinion piece

Reading Texts: Informational; dictionary or glossary; could also include Internet sources

Title: Investigating Sharks

Task Summary: This task is to be completed over two phases. Phase 1, students prepare for writing by reading

source materials and prewriting/planning activities. Prewriting/planning involves writing notes in graphic

organizers. (Optional: students may access Internet for more infomration about two sharks.) Students use fact

sheets to decide on a opinion as well as explore supporting and opposing reasons. [After phase 1, students will be

given a break.] In phase 2, students write an opinion piece to present their choice and the reasons for it.

Phase 1 (1 hour)

Student reads prompt and supporting resource material: facts about sharks


o Students may use Internet or other reference materials (e.g., dictionary) for additional information or to support vocabulary development

o Students read, take notes, and revise graphic organizer to ensure it includes: o Determination of the shark to study o Identify relevant evidence to support choice o Develop a plan for writing opinion piece o Graphic organizer (checked for completion, but not scored)

Phase 2 (1 hour)

Student drafts and revises opinion piece that includes:

o Introduction of topic/opinion o Body with supporting evidence o Accurate use of vocabulary, including domain-specific terms o Proper grammar and mechanics o An illustration that supports the opinion

The teacher collects students’ final drafts for scoring. All notes/organizers are collected and destroyed.


Scientists like to study animals in their natural habitat. That means that a shark scientist has to study sharks in the oceans where they live. Shark scientists are scuba divers who go deep into the ocean to learn more about sharks.

Read and discuss “Facts about Sharks” by Susanna Batchelor. Think about how these two types of sharks are the same and also how they are different. Which shark would you study if you were a shark scientist and why?

1. Decide which shark you would want to study if you were a scientist. 2. Find the best shark facts to support your reasons. 3. Explain your reasons. Be sure to use facts about hammerhead sharks and whale sharks

to explain why you would study the shark you chose and not study the other shark.

You can use a graphic organizer to help you plan your writing. Remember to pick the best facts to support your

opinion, and not every detail you can find. You must explain how the facts support your opinion and each of your

reasons.


Planning Your Writing

Use information from “Facts about Sharks” in your opinion piece. Pick some facts that will help you to compare the

two kinds of sharks and then decide which shark you would want to study. You may also add new facts you have

learned from other texts.

My opinion (the shark I want to study) is

Because (my reasons for choosing this shark):

List at least 2 Strong

Reasons why you choose

_______

Explain Hammerhead shark

facts that support my reason

Explain Whale shark

facts that support my reason

Be sure to:

o Have an introduction that tells the topic and focus (opinion).

o State your opinion: If I was a shark scientist, I would ___ because ____ .

o Have body paragraphs with topic sentences and details to support each new reason. Group your

facts to support and explain each reason.

o Use linking words that connect your opinion with your reasons and facts.

o Use interesting and descriptive words to connect your ideas.

o Write a conclusion that connects to your focus (opinion) and reasons.

o Use different kinds of sentences – statements, questions, and exclamations.

o Use complete sentences. Check for correct punctuation and spelling.

o Add an illustration that supports your focus (opinion).


Text

Facts about Sharks

by Susanna Batchelor

My name is Susanna Batchelor and I am a veterinarian from England. I dive with sharks to learn more about them.

I have dived with many different types of sharks all over the world.

There are about 400 different types of sharks. Many of them are named after the way they look or where they live.

For example, the hammerhead shark has a head shaped like a hammer; the whale shark is as big as a whale; and

the reef shark lives on coral reefs. Sharks range from a few centimetres to many meters in length. And they eat all

sorts of different foods - from tiny plankton, to fish, to larger mammals like seals.

I have collected some interesting facts about two different kinds of sharks – hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/shark-information-kids/seychelles-whale-sharks-pictures.html












Interesting Facts about Hammerhead Sharks:

1) have a head shaped like a hammer to help it detect electrical signals given off by its prey

2) swing their heads from side to side like a metal detector

3) their eyes and nostrils are at each end of the "hammer"

4) the position of the eyes allows it to look 360° - in a full circle

5) hunt alone at night 6) feed mainly on fish and squid 7) grow up to 4 meters long 8) get scared by the sound of divers’ bubbles

9) have been known to eat other sharks

Interesting Facts about Whale Sharks:

http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/shark-information-kids/cocos-island-hammerhead-shark-pictures.html


1) can grow to 18 meters long 2) are the largest fish in the world 3) feed on plankton that comes through

their massive gills 4) have 3,000 tiny teeth but they don’t

use them for chewing 5) are very curious and will often slow

down to inspect divers and even follow their bubbles

6) make long migrations across the oceans to find food

7) can live a long time 8) have a pattern of spots on their sides

(just behind the gills) like a fingerprint that is unique to each individual and can be used for identification

For more pictures and shark videos, you can go to http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/shark-information-

kids/interesting-facts-about-sharks-for-kids.htm

http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/shark-information-kids/interesting-facts-about-sharks-for-kids.htm

http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/shark-information-kids/interesting-facts-about-sharks-for-kids.htm

http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/shark-information-kids/cocos-island-hammerhead-shark-pictures.html


WRITING Claim # 2 - Students can produce effective writing for a range of purposes and audiences. LANGUAGE Claim #5 - Students can use oral and written language skillfully across a range of literacy tasks.

Title of Performance Task: Video Cameras in Classrooms Grade Level: Grade 7 Task Source: Adapted from …


1. Write short and longer arguments (about topics or texts)--establishing a claim, organizing

supporting evidence from credible sources, and providing a conclusion appropriate to purpose and

audience

2. Strategically use precise language, specialized vocabulary, and authoritative voice when writing

informational texts or arguments

3. Apply grade appropriate grammar usage and mechanics to clarify a message

4. Use content and knowledge of word structure (grade appropriate base words, word roots, and affixes) to learn and select new vocabulary

5. Select and use academic vocabulary in context to increase knowledge of content area or topic Intended Depth of Knowledge Level: DOK 4 Scoring Focus/Reporting Categories (see page 16)


Claim 5 o Understand & Apply Oral and Written Language

Standards Assessed with this Task Summative Assessment: Writing Standards: W.7.1 Write argument to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence (a-f) W.7.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience W.7.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed (formative) W.7.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources W.7.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Language Standards:

L.7.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage

L.7.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and

spelling.

Formative Evidence: Speaking and Listening Standards:

SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on each other’s ideas and expressing their own clearly SL.7.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of evidence.


Description of task setting: Phase 1, individual and group work; Phase 2, individual work

Duration of the activity: Phase 1, 1 hour; Phase 2, 1 hour; total time, 2 hours

Operational logistics and Materials Required: Paper for notes/prewriting; computer; access to word

processing tools such as spell check and a thesaurus

Writing Text Type: Argumentative Writing: Opinions about Texts

Reading Texts: Two news articles about Video Surveillance in Classrooms

Speaking/Listening: Collaborative group discussion

Title: Videos in Classroom

Task Summary: This assessment task is completed in two phases. The prewriting/planning exercises in

phase 1 involve speaking, listening, reading, and writing notes providing an opportunity for students to

decide on a claim as well as explore supporting and opposing arguments (notes not scored for assessment

purposes). For phase 2 of the task, students write their argumentative essays using notes from phase 1. The

argumentative essay will be scored as part of the summative assessment.

Phase 1

Students read two informational texts and take notes, listing the writers’ arguments for and against placing cameras in classrooms. Then, students review arguments from the texts and add their own arguments to their list of pros and cons.

Meeting in pairs, one student argues for video cameras in the classroom and the second will argue against having video cameras. Round 1: The first student gives an argument to support video cameras in the classroom, followed by the second student offering a counter argument. Then, the first student counters that argument if possible. Round 2: The second student starts the second round with a new argument against video cameras in the classroom, which is in turn countered by the first student. The debate continues in this manner for 15 minutes.

After the mini debate, students make any changes they wish to their lists of pros and cons. Then, the students weigh the pros and cons by asking themselves the following questions:

o How logical are the arguments for each side? o What evidence supports each argument? o Do you think placing video cameras in classrooms is a good or a bad idea?

Finally, each student writes a claim at the bottom of his or her notes. The teacher collects each student’s notes and students are given a break between sessions.

Phase 2

The teacher passes out the notes from phase I to each student and the students read the writing performance task prompt (see below). Students draft, revise, and edit their argumentative essays.

The students submit their final drafts for scoring. All notes are collected and destroyed.

Actual prompt for student Some schools have installed video cameras in classrooms to ensure student safety. Your district is considering installing them in your school. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Write an essay for your School Board persuading them to support your position (claim) by providing arguments, clear reasons, and relevant evidence to support your position (claim), citing information and sources using the articles you read. Be sure to revise and edit your draft before submitting your essay.

Day 1/Text #1


U.S. schools resort to security cameras

International Herald Tribune

A digital camera hangs over every classroom here, silently recording students' and teachers' every

move. The surveillance system is at the leading edge of a trend to equip U.S. public schools with

the same cameras that Wal-Mart stores use to catch thieves.

.

Fearful of violence, particularly in light of America's history of schoolhouse shootings, educators are

rushing to install ceiling-mounted cameras in hallways, libraries and cafeterias. But no other district

has gone as far as this community, which, flush with casino revenue, has hung the cameras not

only in corridors and other common areas but also in all of its 500 classrooms.

.

That has made virtually everything that happens at any of Biloxi's 11 public schools subject to

instant replay. So far, principals report, they have used such replays to solve only humdrum

problems like clarifying the disappearance of a child's ice cream money or ensuring that students

do not sleep in class.

.

"It's like truth serum," said Laurie Pitre, principal of North Bay Elementary, who frequently peeks in

on her classrooms from a computer monitor in her office. "When we have a he-said, she-said

situation, nine times out of 10 all we have to do is ask children if they want us to go back and look

at the camera, and they 'fess up."

.

Pitre and other administrators said the classroom cameras, which Biloxi started phasing in two

years ago, had helped improve discipline and, as a result, raise test scores, a view also voiced by

some teachers, parents and students. But teachers' unions and civil libertarians have called Biloxi's

system an Orwellian intrusion.

.

"Putting cameras on children trains them to believe that being watched every minute of the day is

O.K., that Big Brother is O.K.," said Steve Lilienthal, a director at the Free Congress Foundation, a

research group based in Washington. "They should be teaching them to behave not because a

camera is on them, but because it's the right thing to do."

.

The Biloxi school district is not the only one where surveillance cameras are provoking controversy.

In January, cameras at a school in Livingston, Tennessee, recorded 10- to 14-year-old boys and

girls undressing in adjacent changing areas in preparation for basketball, and stored the images on

a computer accessible through the Internet, according to a federal lawsuit filed by parents.

.

William Needham, the director of schools in Livingston, said in an interview that the camera system

had been installed in a utility room that was later converted to a locker area, and that after the

incident he removed it and delivered the images to law enforcement authorities. But the plaintiffs

accuse school officials of "callous indifference" to the children's privacy.

.

In many towns, though, cameras are becoming a routine schoolhouse fixture, installed above

drinking fountains and laboratory tables, with little or no public notice. No specific laws appear to

regulate their use in schools, some of which, as in Canton, Mississippi, are financing their purchase

with federal money.

.


When officials are drawing up plans for schools, "there's not one that doesn't want cameras," said

Todd Walker, chief financial officer of Camera Watch, a company that has installed surveillance

equipment in schools from North Carolina to California.

.

About 950 new public schools opened across the United States in 2002, and school architects

estimate that three-quarters were equipped with surveillance cameras.

.

School administrators are enthusiastic because digital technology makes the cameras far easier to

use than the analog cameras that recorded images to videotape when educators first began

experimenting with surveillance a decade ago. Today's digital cameras use computer hard drives,

allowing school principals to conduct a replay of a cafeteria food fight at the click of a mouse.

.

Most districts install cameras only in interior common areas such as hallways and in parking lots,

said Greg Chase, technology director for SHW, a Dallas-based architectural firm that specializes in

schools. Many districts deem cameras too invasive for classrooms, he said, and in any case the

costs can be prohibitive.

.

Civil libertarians and many educators have expressed outrage over Biloxi's surveillance

experiment.

"I shuddered," said Paul Abramson, a school-design consultant in Larchmont, New York. "Kids are

kids. What are we telling them when we put them under surveillance?"

Lee Tien, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which monitors legal issues related to

technology, called the Biloxi experiment "a Kafkaesque civil liberties nightmare."

But Allison Buchanan, head of the parent-teacher association at North Bay Elementary, said, "In

my two years on the PTA, I've not heard one parent say anything bad about the cameras."


Day 1/Text #2

Video Cameras in School?

A look at video surveillance in schools from the DOJ viewpoint.

Source: US Department of Justice

The peace of mind of both students and faculty at a school can often be

quickly enhanced by the installation of video cameras as part of a

closed circuit television (CCTV) system. This change of attitude may

result in even further-reaching effects on a campus than would be

expected by the use of cameras alone.

As mentioned in the introductory chapter of this guide, a sense of safety and authority will directly

influence people's opinions and impressions, which will ultimately contribute to the overall order

maintenance of a facility and how that facility is treated by occupants

and outsiders.

To the school's security personnel who must handle day-to-day security

issues, the best thing about cameras is the deterrence factor they

introduce to outsiders who do not belong on campus and to students

and employees who do.

Information regarding security measures, such as cameras at the local

school, will generally spread through a community. This type of reputation can make outsiders

reconsider an unwelcome visit to the historically easy mark of the neighborhood—the school. It can

be assumed that most kids are not going to step way out of bounds if they believe they will likely be

caught, which is often possible through the appropriate application of cameras.

In a school security system, the ideal goal should be to convince kids not to even attempt to do

something that is unacceptable. Addressing an incident after it occurs is good, but not as good as if

it had never happened. Once a perpetrator is caught, there is a chain of events involving

confrontation, denial, parental involvement, consequences, and perhaps even the involvement of

law enforcement and the legal system. School administrators will be forced to spend a great deal of

time on the matter, and all participants will find the process distasteful.

Another strength of cameras is the strong evidence they can preserve

on tape or digital video. Even if law enforcement is not brought in

regarding an incident, the recorded video can be invaluable to a school

administration. Many schools report that when students are brought into

the school office after an incident and shown a video of themselves in

an illegal or unacceptable act—even if the tape might not have been of sufficient resolution and

detail to use for prosecution purposes in a court of law—the student will usually admit to the

incident.

The ultimate usability of a video recording is dependent on many variables. It is possible for a

camera system to produce video on which individuals are unidentifiable or their actions are

indiscernible. Be certain that a camera system provides the kind of information you need before

you pay for it. These requirements should be clearly spelled out in the purchase agreement, along


with a specified time period during which the school can adequately test

it.

Video recordings are also beneficial for use with parents. Although

nearly all parents want to believe their children are innocent of

wrongdoing, some parents will deny their child's guilt despite the

credible testimony of others to the contrary.

However, as many school administrators and teachers have

discovered, parents quickly accept their child's role in an incident when shown a videotape of the

incident. Most parents want to do the right thing, but hard evidence is often required for some to

concede over a matter involving their own child. From a cost standpoint, the use of CCTV in public

areas on school grounds can free up manpower. If cameras are covering a large patio area where

students congregate during breaks, adults who normally would be assigned to oversee that area

can instead be made available to monitor other areas of concern.

Finally, the solid documentation that a video recording provides can be invaluable in situations involving liability claims. Although it is possible that this may occasionally work against a school, most schools welcome this concrete evidence so that testimony regarding an incident does not consist solely of hearsay.


WRITING Claim # 2 - Students can produce effective writing for a range of purposes and audiences.

LANGUAGE Claim #5 - Students can use oral and written language skillfully across a range of literacy tasks.

Title of Performance Task: Interdisciplinary Writing: Biodiesel Production

Grade Level: 11

Task Source: Adapted from CT Released Writing Task



1. Compose, revise, and edit text in proper format 2. Write a text in support of an argument in response to texts read 3. Address Purpose and Audience (setting a context – topic, question(s) to be answered, and establishing a

focus/thesis/claim 4. Organize and Develop Ideas using a structure consistent with purpose (providing overall coherence using

organizational patterns and transitions to connect and advance central ideas 5. Provide supporting evidence/details/elaboration consist with focus/thesis/claim 6. Use Language Effectively (including word choice, sentence variety, precise/nuanced language, domain-specific

language, and voice) 7. Apply Conventions of Standard English

Intended Depth of Knowledge Level: DOK 4 (integrating information from multiple sources)

Scoring Focus/Reporting Categories (See page 16)


Claim 5

o Understand & Apply Written and Oral Language Standards Assessed with this Task

Writing Standards:

11-12.W.1. Write arguments (a-e)

11-12.W.4. Produce writing in which the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to task, purpose,

and audience

11-12.W.5. Strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on

addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience

11-12.W.7. Perform short, focused research projects and more sustained research; synthesize multiple authoritative sources

on a subject to answer a question or solve a problem.

(formative) 11-12.W.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced

searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose and audience;


integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one

source and following a standard format for citation.

11-12.W.9. Write in response to literary or informational sources, drawing evidence from the text to support analysis and

reflection as well as to describe what they have learned.

Language Standards:

11-12.L.1. Observe conventions of grammar and usage

11-12.L.2. Observe conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling

11-12.L.3. Make effective language choices.

11-12.L.6. Use grade-appropriate general academic vocabulary and English language arts–specific words and phrases taught

directly and gained through reading and responding to texts

Description of task setting: Phase 1 and Phase 2, individual work

Duration of the activity: Phase 1: 1.5 hours; Phase 2: 1 hour; Total time: 2.5 hours (150 minutes)

Operational logistics and Materials Required: Graphic organizers and paper for note taking/prewriting and writing;

computer for independent research, composing, and editing

Writing Text Type: Argument/Persuasive Writing: Letter format

Reading Texts: Two newspaper articles and additional resources selected through student independent research

Title: Interdisciplinary Writing: Biodiesel Production

Task Summary: In Phase 1, students prepare for writing by reading source material provided, locating at least one additional

source*, and organizing notes. Prewriting/planning involves finding additional information on the topic and writing notes in

graphic organizers. Students decide on a claim, as well as explore supporting and opposing arguments. In Phase 2, students

write a letter either in support of or in opposition to biodiesel production based on the material presented in the two

newspaper articles and evidnce from the additional source.

*Novice version of task would provide the third source for students or be limited to two sources

Phase 1

1. Students read source material provided 2. Students locate additional source material through independent research 3. Students make notes in support of and in opposition of biodiesel production in graphic organizers


Phase 2

4. Students draft letter using evidence gathered from source materials 1. Revise letter using evidence gathered from articles


The purpose of this assessment is to determine how well you can establish and support a claim about a specific topic. In

Phase 1, you will read two short articles about a controversial issue, take a position on the issue, and find at least one

additional resource to support your position. You must support your position with relevant information from all of the

source materials. In Phase 2, you will draft and revise your persuasive letter.

Your score will be based on the following criteria:

1. Position-Did you take a clear position on the issue? 2. Comprehensiveness-Did you use information from all three sources to sy]upport claims or counter claims? 3. Support-Did you support your position with accurate and relevant information? 4. Organization-Did you organize your ideas in a logical and effective manner so that your audience can understand

and follow your thinking? 5. Clarity and Fluency-Did you express your ideass clearly and fluently using your own words? 6. Did you edit for grammar, usage, and mechanics?

Texts


BB


SPEAKING-LISTENING Claim # 3 - Students demonstrate effective speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes and audiences. LANGUAGE Claim #5 - Students expand and deepen their understanding of use of language across a range of literacy tasks.

Title of Performance Task: Study-Listen-Apply Grade Level: Grade 11 Task Source: Adapted from the Council for Aid to Education


1. Review a video lecture listening for relevant information and taking notes 2. Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (video and text documents

related to the topic) and evaluate the motives behind its presentation 3. Read informational text sources related to the video lecture 4. Summarize central ideas 5. Interpret impact or intent of figurative meanings of words and phrases used in context.

Intended Depth of Knowledge Level: DOK 2 & DOK 3 Scoring Focus/Reporting Categories

Claims 3 & 5 o Understand & Apply Oral and Written Language

Standards Assessed with this Task Reading Standards: 11-12.RI.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text Language Standards: 11-12.L.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Speaking and Listening Standards: 11-12.SL.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

Description of task setting: individual work

Duration of the activity: administered as part of the CAT portion of the assessment

Operational logistics and Materials Required: Paper for notes; computer; documents related to the video and video.

Writing Text Type: short, constructed response questions

Reading Texts: content specific informational text

Speaking/Listening: listen to a brief video lecture

Title: Study-Listen-Apply

Task Summary: Students are presented with a 5-7 minute video lecture related to a general education [English language

arts, mathematics, history/social studies, science/technical subjects] course and supplementary [text-based and/or

graphical] materials that [illustrate, explain, expand upon, and/or disagree with] the preceding lecture; students are

asked short response comprehension and application questions in order to elicit evidence of skills related to reading,

speaking and listening, and language that are required for processing new content in college courses.


Study-Listen-Apply - General Instructions

This task is designed to simulate an experience you may have as you encounter new information in the college courses you take. In this task you will do the following:

1. Watch a brief video lecture. 2. Read and examine documents related to the lecture. 3. Take notes about your understanding of the documents and lecture.

You may take notes on the lecture, but you will only be able to watch the lecture once. You may use the provided documents and your notes to help you to answer multiple choice and short response comprehension and application questions.

Text of Lecture (accompanying lecture slides not included):

Today we’re going to investigate the relationship between literal language and figurative language.

When we use language literally, we say what we mean directly. But when we use language figuratively, we express

ourselves indirectly—we use something that’s not really here, in order to explain an idea, a feeling, or an experience.

Language is, by definition, something that we all share. If I ask you to [first slide] close the door because it’s noisy

outside, it’s probably very clear to you what I’m talking about. We all know what a door is, and, if we’re sitting in a room

together, we know which particular door I’m talking about.

For communication to happen, we have to have this shared knowledge. We have to all share the common reference,

“door.”

As long as we stick to things like doors and can all point to the same thing, direct language works just fine. But we have a

lot more to say to each other than just things that we can easily recognize.

There are many things that we want to talk about that are not as obvious as doors. How do we refer to things like

feelings, that occur inside of us? How do we refer to ideas that that we may have thought up ourselves and haven’t told

anyone yet? How do we make each other understand what our intimate experience of life is like? This is where we make

use of figurative language. We use figurative language to talk about things that are not directly before our eye and ears.

We use figurative language to share the unique way that we each experience the world; and we use figurative language

to look deeply at how things work.

Using figurative language is something we instinctively know how to do. When we say [next slide] “It’s raining cats and

dogs,” we generally don’t literally mean that cats and dogs are falling from the sky; we mean to say that it’s raining really

hard. To use cats and dogs to describe the rain is to use figurative language.

We all know how to do this. Our question for today is why we might use figurative language. In order to understand this,

we need first to understand something about the way language works.

Again, this is something that we do all the time. If we say that [next slide] someone’s heart is an ice cube, we don’t

literally mean that there is a block of ice where we would expect cardiac muscle—but we say that to try to describe

something that we feel but can’t necessarily see. Sometimes we even feel that the word we want doesn’t exist. In these

cases, we have to choose something that we can use to describe it through resemblance.

Let’s look at a small example of figurative language in poetry.


The poet Emily Dickinson writes, [next slide]

“hope” is the thing with feathers--

That perches on the soul

We have to first figure out what image Dickinson is using. What is the “thing with feathers?” We know from the poem

that whatever it is, it perches. So when we put these two things together, something that has feathers that perches, we

might reasonably arrive at the image of a bird. So now we could think of the poem as saying something like, “Hope is a

bird.”

By attributing to the idea of hope the characteristics of a bird, something we might not normally do, Dickinson is using

the kind of figurative language that is called metaphor.

A metaphor attributes something familiar to something unfamiliar through resemblance, in order to make the unfamiliar

thing more clear. If a metaphor works, then the thing that’s being described becomes recognizable. In the process, we

might find that through a metaphor, we bring something new into the public domain—we can allow others to “think” our

thoughts.

But why not talk about hope directly? Hope is something that we all have, that we all feel inside ourselves. But

nonetheless, it’s difficult to say clearly what it is. Hope is not something that we can see, like a door to a classroom. The

door is something we all share; but the way you and I hope and what we hope for might be very different. So if we want

to talk about hope, we need to try to find something that that we can use to see it together. Hope is a feeling; we can’t

see it. But a bird is something concrete. We can see it. This is what a metaphor does. It carries over a feeling or an idea,

something felt intimately by someone, into the public view, through the use of something in the world that we can all

recognize.

But now we have to ask what it is about a bird that helps us to understand the idea of hope better. Here is where the

idea of resemblance comes in.

Birds, unlike people, can fly. If a bird wants to go from a branch to the roof of a house, it spreads its wings, and flies

there, seemingly effortlessly. When we hope for something, we imagine some place in our lives to which we haven’t

arrived yet. In our imagination, we’re not restricted, even though in our bodies we are. Hope can “fly” to where we want

to be in life, before we can actually get there. So Emily Dickinson invites us to see hope in the form of a bird, who flies

ahead of us into the life we haven’t lived yet. We can’t see hope, we might hope for different things, but Emily Dickinson

might give us a way to imagine it together.

“hope” is the thing with feathers--

That perches on the soul

Metaphor operates through resemblance. Emily Dickinson’s experience of hope can be communicated in the poem

because it resembles a bird, which is something that we all have experience with. We grasp the thing being described

because it works like something we already know. Using the familiar object, we reconstruct in our own minds the idea

that the writer is trying to convey.

In order for us to understand a metaphor correctly, we need to be able to distinguish between the two levels of reality

that it creates. When Shakespeare says, [next slide] “there’s daggers in men’s smiles,” we know right away that the men

whom he’s talking about don’t have knives in their mouths. We know that the daggers aren’t here the way the smiles are


here. The smiles are on the literal level. But we use the daggers in order to learn something about smiles: that smiles are

not always sincere; that smiles could hide an evil intention. With Shakespeare’s metaphor, we might even feel the danger

in the smile he describes. If we take it even further, we could understand from Shakespeare’s metaphor the idea that

things are not always what they seem to be.

The smile is literal, it’s what we see. The daggers are figurative: we use our familiarity with daggers, to understand what

Shakespeare wants to say about a smile.

To summarize: When we speak literally, we speak about things that we all know, and that we share together. We can

think of figurative language as a technology that we use to take something that all of us, or at least most of us, can share,

in order to precisely describe something that is not easily sharable, such as feelings, complex ideas, and our unique ways

of experiencing the world.

Supplementary Materials

The novelist Marcel Proust writes, “An hour is not merely an hour, it is a vase full of scents and sounds.” We can see here

how the use of figurative language causes words to diverge from their normal meanings in order to tell us something

new. When we use a word ordinarily, we are speaking on the literal level. Here, Proust uses the word “vase” in an

unordinary way, and in doing so, he assigns it a new meaning. We know that Proust is not talking about a “real” vase.

Rather, he is using the word “vase” to expand upon our understanding of what an hour is.

The literary critic I.A. Richards uses the terms “vehicle” and “tenor” to discuss the split in meaning that the use of

figurative language creates. In our example, the vase is not here as itself: rather, it is used as the vehicle that will be used

to give us a new understanding of what an hour is. The hour here, is the thing that is being described, and in Richards’s

terminology, it is the tenor.

The vehicle in a metaphor must be something that most readers have experience with. A vehicle, “takes” the reader all

the way through to the new understanding. The “vase full of scents and sounds” becomes our new idea of an hour.

In everyday speech, we often use figurative language without realizing it. When an offer comes with “no strings

attached,” for example, the strings serve as the vehicle for understanding the tenor, or real meaning, which is that the

offer comes with no further obligation.

Sample of selected and constructed response questions Conventional Multiple-Choice Questions – other selected response item types could be used 1. Which of the following is the best example of the literal use of language?

A. “Between Mobile and Galveston there is / A great garden filled with roses” (Guillaume Apollinaire)* B. “Love makes thinking dark” (Laura Riding) C. “The soul selects her own society / then shuts the Door—“ (Emily Dickinson) D. “I kissed the summer dawn.” (Arthur Rimbaud)

2. Which of the following situations would most likely provide the occasion for using a metaphor?

A. The representative of a jury detailing to a judge the reasons for a conviction. B. Someone asking for, and getting, directions to a restaurant. C. Writing an entry in an encyclopedia about tropical fish. D. A physicist, explaining to non-scientists, the structure of atoms.*


3. Choose the response that best describes the following excerpt from Claude McKay’s poem, The Harlem Dancer.

She sang and danced on gracefully and calm,

The light gauze hanging loosely about her form.

To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm

Grown lovelier for passing through a storm.

A. The main idea is that the light gauze resembles a palm tree. B. The speaker would like us to understand the particular way in which he sees a woman dancing.* C. The main idea is that people become stronger by weathering the storms of life. D. The speaker would like us to understand how a storm can be graceful and calm.

Read the following excerpt from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and answer the following two questions.

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

4. Which of the following would best describe one of the ideas in Shakespeare’s metaphor? A. The theater offers many different possibilities for actors and actresses. B. A good play will have many different actors entering and exiting. C. Because the world itself is a great stage, there is no need to produce plays. D. We play many different roles over the course of our lives.*

5. In Shakespeare’s metaphor: A. The tenor is daily life, and the vehicle is the theater.* B. The tenor is the theater, and the vehicle is daily life. C. The tenor is the exits and entrances, and the vehicle is “one man.” D. The tenor is the stage, and the vehicle is the men and women.

Constructed response: In complete sentences, thoroughly answer the following questions related to the video and the document using examples/supporting evidence from each source when possible. 1. Why do we use literal and figurative language when we communicate? Give one example from the video lecture

and one example from the documents you read to illustrate what you learned from the two sources. You may use your notes from watching the video to help you with your answer.

2. Which source presented the information about literal and figurative language more clearly in your opinion? Why/How? Defend your answer.


RESEARCH Claim #4 - Students engage strategically in collaborative and independent inquiry to

investigate/research topics, pose questions, and gather and present information.

LANGUAGE Claim #5 - Students skillfully use oral and written language across a range of literacy tasks.

Title of Performance Task: Common Theme (War)

Grade Level: 11

Task Source: Adapted from the Council for Aid to Education



1. Review two sources of information to critically analyze each piece for relevant information 2. Synthesize information from multiple sources and across content areas to determine perspective for

argument 3. Cite relevant information from sources to support argument 4. Organize ideas to communicate effectively 5. Use domain-specific vocabulary (Language Use) 6. Observe conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics appropriate for grade level

Intended Depth of Knowledge Level: DOK 4

Scoring Focus/Reporting Categories (see page 16)

Claim 4 o Conduct research (related to a topic, issue, or problem presented)

Claim 5

o Understand & Apply Oral and Written Language Standards Assessed with this Task

Writing Standards:

11-12.W.2. Write informative/explanatory texts (a-e)

11-12.W.4. Produce writing in which the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to task,

purpose, and audience

11-12.W.5. Strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach,

focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

11-12.W.7. Perform short, focused research projects and more sustained research; synthesize multiple

authoritative sources on a subject to answer a question or solve a problem.

11-12.W.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced

searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose and

audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and

overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.


11-12.W.9. Write in response to literary or informational sources, drawing evidence from the text to support

analysis and reflection as well as to describe what they have learned.

Language Standards:

11-12.L.1. Observe conventions of grammar and usage

11-12.L.2. Observe conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling

11-12.L.3. Make effective language choices. a. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style

manual.

11-12.L.6. Use grade-appropriate general academic vocabulary and English language arts–specific words and

phrases taught directly and gained through reading and responding to texts

Description of task setting: Phase 1, individual work of gathering information from multiple sources and drafting

informational/explanatory essay. Phase 2, individual work of revising informational/explanatory essay.

Duration of the activity: Phase 1: 1-2 hours; Phase 2: 1-2 hour; Total time: 2-4 hours

Operational logistics and Materials Required: Paper for notes/prewriting; computer for independent research,

Internet access

Writing Text Type: Informational/Explanatory Writing: Essay

Reading Texts: two poems, one illustration/cartoon, one speech; additional resource materials located through

student research

Title: Common Theme (War)

Task Summary: This task is to be completed over two phases. Phase 1, students must gather information from

multiple sources, conduct independent research*, and take notes for an informational/explanatory essay. In phase

2, students draft and revise the informational/explanatory essay to present findings.

*Novice task might not ask for additional sources to be located and used



This task is designed to measure your ability to read, analyze, and synthesize information from different sources

and perspectives. You will be provided with a “Document Library” consisting of several types of documents. In

addition, you will be asked to locate at least one additional resource to support your informational/explanatory

essay.

Read all of the documents on the following pages, conduct additional research, and write an essay response based

on the scenario described below. You may use the margins to take notes as you read and scrap paper to plan your

response.

Please write the essay solely on the basis of the scenario below. Although you may not be familiar with some of

the topics covered, you should be able to write the essay by carefully using and thoughtfully reflecting on the

information you have analyzed.

ELA Performance Task Example (Common Theme: War)

Performance Task Scenario

Your English and Social Studies teachers have teamed up to teach a joint unit on war. As a project for this joint

unit, you have been asked to read a variety of documents concerning war in order to determine different

perspectives - whether they glorify, justify or condemn war. Your final task will be to write an essay that states how

you now see war, citing evidence from the documents used to explain your position.

Texts

Document 1: Jessie Pope, “Who’s For the Game” (c. 1916)

Who’s for the game, the biggest that’s played, 1 The red crashing game of a fight? 2 Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid? 3 And who thinks he’d rather sit tight? 4

Who’ll toe the line for the signal to ‘Go!’? 5 Who’ll give his country a hand? 6 Who wants a turn to himself in the show? 7 And who wants a seat in the stand? 8

Who knows it won’t be a picnic—not much— 9 Yet eagerly shoulders a gun? 10 Who would much rather come back with a crutch 11


Than lie low and be out of the fun? 12

Come along, lads— but you’ll come on all right— 13 For there’s only one course to pursue, 14 Your country is up to her neck in a fight, 15 And she’s looking and calling for you. 16

Document 2: George Cruickshanks, “The Recruit’s Journey” (date unknown)

Source: CartoonStock, www.cartoonstock.com

Document 3: George Harcourt, The Boer War (1900)

http://www.cartoonstock.com/


Document 4: Woodrow Wilson, address to Congress, April 2, 1917 It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the Congress, which 1 I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many 2 months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to 3 lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and 4 disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. 5 But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the 6 things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for 7 democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a 8 voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small 9 nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free 10 peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the 11 world itself at last free. To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our 12 fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the 13 pride of those who know that the Phase has come when America is 14 privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave 15 her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God 16 helping her, she can do no other. 17


Document 5: Wilfred Owen, “Dulce Et Decorum Est” (c. 1918)

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 1

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, 2

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs 3

And towards our distant rest began to trudge. 4

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots 5

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; 6

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots 7

Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines1 that dropped behind. 8

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling, 9

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; 10

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling 11

And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime… 12

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, 13

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. 14

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, 15

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. 16

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace 17

Behind the wagon that we flung him in, 18

1 5.9 inch artillery shells.


And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, 19

His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; 20

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood 21

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, 22

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud 23

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues— 24

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest 25

To children ardent for some desperate glory, 26

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est 27

Pro patria mori.2 28

2 Latin, meaning “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”

appendices d f provided in conjunction with content

Documents