Scaffolded On-Demand Writing

•Adapted from Jeanette Gonzalez-Quiceno, Sweetwater UHSD

*To have these handouts emailed to you, send an email note to marnie@sdcoe.net

• Students will receive a 1, 2, 3 or 4 grade on the essay (Scoring Guide in Appendix A of Guide)

• Essays that are off-topic, illegible, unintelligible or not written in English will receive a score of NS (No Score)

• The students will not be asked autobiographical questions.

The CAHSEE Essay Prompt Will Consist of One of the

Following:

– Response to literature ~ literary analysis– Persuasive essay – Biographical essay– Expository composition– Business Letter (highly unlikely, but

possible)

Note: This is provided to students after all prompts during the CAHSEE, it is modified slightly depending on the writing

task. Read the description of the task carefully Organize your writing with a strong

Introduction Body Conclusion

Use specific details and examples to fully support your ideas

Use words that are appropriate to your audience and purpose

Vary your sentences to make your writing interesting to read

Check for mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence formation.

Checklist For Writing 1

Read the description of the task carefully

Vocabulary: task = your job

In other words ~o Be sure to pay attention to what the question

asking you to do!o Is it to persuade? Explain? Describe?

Checklist For Writing 2

Organize your writing with a strong ~o Introduction

oRestate prompt, use topic sentenceo Body

oThis is where you include the detailsoUse transition words between paragraphs

o ConclusionoRestate your topic sentence and leave the

reader with something to think about

Note: Your essay needs to PROVE that you are anorganized thinker and that you know the essay

“form~ula”

Checklist For Writing 3

Use specific details and examples to fully support your ideas

Vocabulary: Specific adjective a specific thing, person, or group is one particular thing, person, or group

- Rooney wouldn't comment on specific candidates for the job.

In other words ~Your ideas need “back-up”

Checklist For Writing 4 Use words that are appropriate to your audience and purpose

• Appropriate = adjective correct or right for a particular time, situation, or purpose

– The movie is appropriate for children age 12 and over.

• Audience = noun who is reading your essay? The CAHSEE test scorers?

– The audience danced and clapped and swayed to the music.

• Purpose = noun What you aim to do, what you want to achieve, or the job that something is supposed to do

– The purpose of this exercise is to increase your strength.

• In other words ~

– Write your essay for the CAHSEE scorers, use academic vocabulary or “college words”

Checklist For Writing 5 & 6

Vary your sentences to make your writing interesting to read

Vary = change

Check for mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence formation.

• In other words~oDon’t repeat the same words over and over

againoRevise & edit your work

Biographical NarrativeSample Prompt – Step 1

• Throughout your years in school, you have studied about many different people. Think about one of these people you have studied during your time at school. What make this person special enough to study?

• Write an essay in which you discuss a person you have studied in school. Explain what it is about this person that is special. Use details and examples to support your ideas.

Academic VocabularyTeacher front loads idioms, vocabulary, academic vocabulary, and cognates as

needed.

• discuss:to talk about something with someone or a group in order to exchange ideas or decide something

– I discussed what had happened with Pat.

• Biographical adjective: something that is about a person's life, written by someone else

– He revealed some biographical information about his mentor.

• narrative: something that is told as a story

– As the two narratives progress, the connections become evident.

• details: a fact, or piece of information about something

Scaffolded Writing Prompt Biographical Narrative

(Step 2: prompt is not changed, just chunked into smaller pieces…)

• Throughout your years in school, you have studied about many different people.

• Think about one of these people you have studied during your time at school.

• What make this person special enough to study?

Scaffolded Writing PromptStep 2 Continued…

(prompt is not changed, just chunked into smaller pieces…)

• Write an essay in which you discuss a person you have studied in school.

• Explain what it is about this person that is special. Use details and examples to support your ideas.

Step-by-Step Scaffolding How do I respond to the prompt?

• Throughout your years in school, you have studied about many different people.

repeat the prompt

Throughout my years in school, I have studied many different people, and the most interesting person was…

Step-by-Step Scaffolding

• Think about one of these people you have studied during your time at school. What makes this person special enough to study?

Give examples about the most interesting person to show why this person is the MOST interesting person that you studied.

Students list examples…

Teacher OverviewStandard 10.2.1

• Describe the person using description of appearance, sensory details, or images

Sights

Sounds:

Smells:

Movements:

Feelings:

Teacher OverviewStandard 10.2.1

• Relate a sequence of events and communicate the significance of the events to the audience

• Sequence = the order, (i.e. first, next, last)Each edition is numbered separately in sequence.

• Significance = the importance of an event, actionCity leaders are just starting to realize the

significance of the drug problem.

• Audience = the person or people that read your essayThe ad was inappropriate for a family audience.

Standard 10.2.1Sample Graphic Organizer for Biographical

Narrative CAHSEE Prompt

Important Events In the Life of…

Event 1…This was important because…

Event 2…This was important because…

Event 3…This was important because…

The Hamburger (Veggie Burger)Essay Formula

Topic Sentence: First, ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Next, _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Finally, ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In addition, ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In conclusion, _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction = include topic sentence.

The details or the “meat & cheese” are in the middle!

Conclusion = holds the essay together like a hamburger bun.

Essay scorers LOVE transitions!

The most interesting person that I have ever studied in history class is Napoleon Bonaparte. He did many great things for the European country France after the French Revolution. He used outstanding military strategies to conquer his enemies. He was also a great leader causing all of his men to be loyal and trustworthy to him. Another quality of Napoleon that made him a special person in history was his ability to control and command other countries once he had acquired them. These qualities alone make Napoleon Bonaparte special enough to study in school.

• Options:– Allow students to write answers in short

answer format in lieu of paragraph form initially

– Do the scaffolded writing prompt and write short answers as guided practice

– Repeat the scaffold with a new prompt and gradually decrease “guided” practice help

Persuasive Prompt Practice~

• Some students at your school have expressed an interest in making the school more attractive by getting rid of the trash on the school grounds.

• Write a persuasive essay for your school paper in which you convince the readers of the importance of getting rid of the trash and making the school more attractive. Convince your readers through the use of specific reasons and examples.

Step 1

Are there any vocabulary words or phrases (i.e. uncommon words, idiomatic expressions, figurative language, academic

content words, etc.) which need to be reviewed with the students?

Step 1Define the terms and follow the

AV sequence to teach these items:

• Idioms:

• Content Area Vocabulary:

• Figurative Language:

• Academic Vocabulary:

• Cognates:

Step 2

• Read the writing prompt carefully. Then, chunk the prompt by copying it into smaller “chunked” sections after each bullet.

• ~

• ~

• ~

• ~

Step 3

• Use each “chunked” section of the prompt, write guidelines for students as to the type of information their response should contain, use student-friendly wording

Your Turn to Try Step 3…

Write steps for the sample prompt here:

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• By the time students enter high school, they have learned about many moments in history that have influenced our world today. Think about a moment in history you studied and consider its importance.

• Write a composition in which you discuss a moment history. Share its importance in today’s world. Be sure to support the moment with details and examples.

• By the time students enter high school, they have learned about many moments in history that have influenced our world today. Think about a moment in history you studied and consider its importance.

Vocabulary:influence = power to have an effect on the way someone or something develops, behaves, or thinks without using direct force or commands

Sample sentence:Broderick used his influence with city hall to cover up the crime.

Graphic Organizer for Sample Expository Prompt (pg. 82 of TG)

Event/Description World before… *or at time of event

Why important in today’s world

Man on the moon -Many Unsuccessful attempts before

-Americans can do anything they want -respect-Gave Americans courage-Americans are great

Invention of automobiles

Horse-drawn carriages-took a long time to travel-people did not travel-trains

-People can live farther away from their workplace-Created urban/suburban society-highways, maps, freeways, toll roads-independence-pollution, “green-house effect”

• In the story “The Hiking Trip,” the reader learns about the main character, Jeff. Jeff’s personality and emotions are revealed through the actions and dialogue presented in the story.

• Write an essay in which you describe the personality and emotions of Jeff, the main character. How do his personal characteristics add to the events in the story? How does the author reveal this information about Jeff in the story? Use details and examples from the story to support your ideas.

• In the story “The Hiking Trip,” the reader learns about the main character, Jeff.

• Jeff’s personality and emotions are revealed through the actions and dialogue presented in the story.

• Write an essay in which you describe the personality and emotions of Jeff, the main character.

• How do his personal characteristics add to the events in the story?

• How does the author reveal this information about Jeff in the story?

• Use details and examples from the story to support your ideas.

• Restate the prompt~

• Jeff’s personality and emotions could be described as…-courageous-inspirational-loyal-worried

Steps for Analyzing the Question

– Underline key words– Circle negatives (NOT, NO, prefixes such as NON)

– Double Underline qualifying words____________________ (BEST, MOST, LEAST)

– Put an X by difficult or confusing words– Can you answer the question without

reading the whole test?

(Adapted from pg. S-41 of the CAHSEE LA SDCOE prep book)

In Conclusion…

• What words and concepts would you need to break-down for your students?