Bedford Elementary SchoolDRAFT – 12-06-2012
NOTE: If you would like to teach and assess the Persuasive Reviews 3rd grade unit in
writing, please use the 2011-2012 3 rd
grade performance assessment, which is more closely
aligned with that unit. This assessment will align with the Writing to Make a Real World
Difference 3 rd
grade writing unit.
GRADE: Third Grade
Assessment
STANDARDS ASSESSED:
Students will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring
explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers (RI.3.1)
By the end of the year, students will read and comprehend informational texts, including
history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text
complexity band independently and proficiently. (RI.3.10)
Students will write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with
reasons. (W.3.1)
Materials needed: Pre-Assessment:
Access to video (if possible): “Protecting Your Head” (click “Play Video”) link:
http://sni.scholastic.com/SN3/09_17_12_SN3/book#/2
at the top of the article.
Post-Assessment: Access to video (if possible): “Soda Ban Explained”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/opinion/soda-ban-explained.html
Copies of student reading response page for all students
Loose leaf paper for writing editorial article
DRAFT – 12-06-2012
Explanation of Standards Alignment: RI.3.1. Students will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring
explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers
Students will ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a grade-level
informational text, referring to text details in their answers.
RI.3.10: By the end of the year, students will read and comprehend informational texts,
including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text
complexity band independently and proficiently. (RI.3.10)
Students will respond to a grade-level complex text.
W.3.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and
information.
Students will write an opinion piece in the form of an article, supporting a point of view
(whether or not Michael Bloomberg was right to ban super-size sodas) with reasons and
information.
3
DRAFT – 12-06-2012
Administer prior to relevant unit(s) of study.
Suggested Teacher Prompts (tips in italics, possible language to kids in quotes):
**Note: please alter and make note of alterations based on your own conversational style and the
ways in which you’ve talked about reading and writing nonfiction in your own classroom. The
tasks below could be administered in many different ways.**
Suggested time frame: approximately 90 minutes total.
The two tasks could be administered in 1 or 2 chunks of time, in 1 or 2 days.
Preparation for the Assessment:
o Make copies of booklets – (see student booklet template at the end of this document)
o Have loose leaf paper available for article writing.
o Make copies for students of “Heads Up”:
o Chart questions that students might ask as they read:
What are the main ideas in this article?
What is the important information that helps me understand these main ideas?
o Chart expectations for opinion writing:
o Quickly plan how the article will go: how it will be organized?
o Introduce the topic and state an opinion
o Include reasons for the opinion
o Include information or details from the readings as evidence
o Use words that help the reader follow your thinking, such as for example,
because, therefore)
Introduction:
Take a few minutes to introduce the whole of the assessment to the kids. It might sound
something like:
“You’re going to have a chance over two class periods to show off your powers as researchers
and persuasive writers. Here’s how it’s going to go – you are going to have the opportunity to
study the issue of safety in football. Your job is to figure out how to convince readers that
football safety is important. You’re going to watch a video about how important it is to protect
your head when playing sports, then read an article about football and some ways to make it
safer.
“After reading the article, you will answer some questions that will push you to think about the
most important ideas and information that the article was teaching. You’ll write that down in a
graphic organizer to help you hold onto those ideas and key details.
Then, you’ll have a chance to write your own editorial article. An editorial is a piece of writing
that is based on an opinion the author wants to share with readers. You will decide how to make
4
DRAFT – 12-06-2012
it clear to your readers that football should be made safer. Imagine that people involved with
football teams, such as coaches and parents, will read your piece.
When you write, you’ll want to use what you know about persuasive writing: you’ll state an
opinion, give reasons to support that opinion, and use some of the evidence you gathered from
the article – you’ll be able to use your graphic organizer and look back at the article to help you
give specific evidence.”
Introduction: Video: “Protecting Your Head”
You may have the questions “What is a main idea in this video?” and “What is the important
information that supports this idea?” charted. You may also want to pre-teach the word
“concussion” to give everyone access to the way that word sounds and to talk a little about what
it means.
“We’re going to watch a short video called “Protecting Your Head.” We are interested in
gathering information to help us write an editorial about the importance of safety in football.
Let’s see what this video teaches us.”
Show video.
After video, you may choose to have either a turn-and-talk or a whole class discussion to process
the information from the video. This will build some background knowledge on the topic before
the grade-level reading experience.
Task 1: Independent reading and response to “Heads Up”
“Now you’re going to read an article that teaches us more about the importance of safety in
football. As you read, you will want to ask yourself key questions that help to think through
informational texts. [point to chart with questions] After reading, you will answer some of these
key questions in a box and bullets outline to show that you understood ideas in the text and some
of the key details that the author used to support those ideas.”
Task 2: Opinion writing: Editorial Article
“Readers, you’ve done some research now by watching a video and reading and studying this
article. Now imagine that your local newspaper is publishing articles on safety. Write an
editorial article arguing that football needs to be made safer for players. Remember that as
opinion writers, you’ll want to be sure to:
(Refer to chart – above)
DRAFT – 12-06-2012
Task 1:
The article “Heads Up” teaches us why football should be made safer and some
ways that it could be made safer. What details from this article help us understand
why football should be made safer? What details from this article help us
understand how it could be safer?
Use the graphic organizer below to write details from the article to answer these
questions. Write at least one text detail for each question.
Text detail: ____________________________________________________________
Why do we need to make football safer for players?
How are some football teams making football safer for players?
6
DRAFT – 12-06-2012
Imagine that your local newspaper is publishing articles on safety. Write an
editorial article arguing that football needs to be safer for players.
Remember that as opinion writers, you’ll want to be sure to:
Quickly plan how the article will go: how it will be organized
(you may do this below in a box and bullets outline)
Introduce the topic and state an opinion
Include reasons for the opinion
Include information or details from the readings as evidence
Use words that help the reader follow your thinking, such as for example,
because, therefore)
DRAFT – 12-06-2012
Administer following relevant unit(s) of study.
Suggested Teacher Prompts (tips in italics, possible language to kids in quotes):
**Note: please alter and make note of alterations based on your own conversational style and the
ways in which you’ve talked about reading and writing nonfiction in your own classroom. The
tasks below could be administered in many different ways.**
Suggested time frame: approximately 90 minutes total.
The two tasks could be administered in 1 or 2 chunks of time, in 1 or 2 days.
Preparation for the Assessment:
o Make copies of student reading response sheet – (see end of this section)
o Have loose leaf paper available for article writing.
o Make copies for students of “Sugar Overload”:
o Chart questions that students might ask as they read:
What are the main ideas in this article?
What is the important information that helps me understand these main ideas?
o Chart expectations for opinion writing:
o Quickly plan how the article will go: how it will be organized?
o Introduce the topic and state an opinion
o Include reasons for the opinion
o Include information or details from the readings as evidence
o Use words that help the reader follow your thinking, such as for example,
because, therefore)
Introduction:
Take a few minutes to introduce the whole of the assessment to the kids. It might sound
something like:
“You’re going to have a chance over two class periods to show off your powers as researchers
and persuasive writers. Here’s how it’s going to go – you are going to have the opportunity to
study the issue of the soda ban in New York City. Recently, Mayor Bloomberg decided that
super-size, or extra-large, sodas have too much sugar in them and cannot be sold in New York
City. You will watch a video and read an article that teaches you about sugar and soda.
After reading the article, you will answer a question that will push you to think about the most
important ideas and information that the article was teaching. You’ll write down some key
details from the article. Some of these you may want to use in your own writing.
Then, you’ll have a chance to write your own editorial article supporting the soda ban. An
editorial is a piece of writing that is based on an opinion the author wants to share with readers.
8
DRAFT – 12-06-2012
You will decide, based on your reading, whether or not you agree with Mayor Bloomberg’s
decision to ban extra-large sodas in New York City.
When you write, you’ll want to use what you know about opinion writing: you’ll state an
opinion, give reasons to support that opinion, and use some of the evidence you gathered from
the article – you’ll be able to use your graphic organizer and look back at the article to help you
give specific evidence.”
Introduction: Video: “Soda Ban Explained”
You may have the questions “What is a main idea in this video?” and “What is the important
information that supports this idea?” charted. You may also want to pre-teach the word “ban”
to give everyone access to what that word means.
“We’re going to watch a short video called “Soda Ban Explained.” We are interested in
gathering information to help us write an editorial about whether or not we agree with Mayor
Bloomberg’s decision to ban large sodas.”
Show EXCERPT from the video.
**NOTE: Only show from 1:00 in until 2:10 minutes in** DO NOT SHOW ENTIRE VIDEO.
After video, you may choose to have either a turn-and-talk or a whole class discussion to process
the information from the video. This will build some background knowledge on the topic before
the grade-level reading experience.
Task 1: Independent reading and response to “Sugar Overload”
“Now you’re going to read an article that teaches us more about sugar and soda. As you read,
you will want to ask yourself key questions that help to think through informational texts. [point
to chart with questions] After reading, you will answer some of these key questions in a box and
bullets outline to show that you understood ideas in the text and some of the key details that the
author used to support those ideas.”
Task 2: Opinion writing: Editorial Article
“Readers, you’ve done some research now by watching a video and reading and studying this
article. With this information, do you think that the mayor was right or wrong to ban super-size
sodas in New York City? Imagine that your local newspaper is publishing editorial or opinion
articles about the soda ban. Write an editorial article arguing whether the mayor was right or
wrong, using evidence from your reading and watching to support your opinion. Remember that
as opinion writers, you’ll want to be sure to:
(Refer to chart – above)
Task 1:
The article “Sugar Overload” gives us some information about why Mayor
Bloomberg banned extra-large (supersize) sodas in New York City. The article
also explains why some people don’t agree with the mayor’s decision.
Use the graphic organizer below to write details from the article that help explain
the mayor’s decision and why some people don’t agree with it. If you have more
details than fit here, please use the back of the page.
One reason from the article:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Name: ____________________________________________ Class: _______________
2
Imagine that your local newspaper is publishing opinion writing about the soda
ban. You will use this time to plan and write an editorial that will either agree or
disagree with banning extra-large sodas in New York City.
Think about the evidence you saw in the video and read in the article. Based on
that evidence, decide whether you want to write to support the soda ban, or to
disagree with the soda ban. Either way you will need to use evidence from the
article to back up your opinion.
Remember that as opinion writers, you’ll want to be sure to:
Quickly plan how the article will go: how it will be organized
(you may do this below in a box and bullets outline)
Introduce the topic and state an opinion
Include reasons for the opinion
Include information or details from the readings as evidence
Use words that help the reader follow your thinking, such as for example,
because, therefore)
1
Draft – TCRWP – October 2012
Reading Rubric Scoring Instruction: Use the rubric below to holistically score reading response (Task 1).
3rd Reading
R. Standard 3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers
Score
include specific details or
examples from the provided
personal, rather than text-based,
example from the provided
responses are inaccurate or not
text-based.
example from the provided
sources. Most references are
sources.
the text.
Total:
Writing Rubric Scoring Guide (use rubric on the following pages to score Task 2):
Circle the descriptor in each row that best describes the students work in this category. If the work falls between two descriptors, check a mid-point box to indicate this.
Use the scoring box to the right of the table to record the score for each category.
For the category “Development: Elaboration,” double the points and record in the box to the right, as indicated by the “x 2.” This is because elaboration counts more
towards the overall success of the piece than other individual categories.
Finding an Overall Reading/Writing Scaled Score:
Add the total points from the reading and writing rubrics to come up with a raw score. Use the following table to calculate a scaled score.
To look closely at growth between pre- and post-assessments, keep this rubric with the circled descriptors.
You will want to track growth across sub-sections, not just in the scaled score.
Total Points Scaled Score
2
W. Standard 3.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons. Score
P o
si ti
o n
the topic.
does not take up a particular side
of the issue. May introduce the
general topic rather than stating an
opinion about the topic.
given topic. The claim may not
make clear which side of the topic
the writer will support.
to the given topic.
conclusion is apparent.
claim.
slight tangents from the main
claim, relating to the topic
generally but not addressing the
main argument.
which may not connect closely to
the claim.
restate the claim.
inspire readers to care about the
topic and/or claim.
claim.
sections.
or merely list reasons in a way
that makes it hard to connect
them to the opinion of the writer.
Organizes reasons into a list –
either through a preview of the
reasons in an introduction or by
creating body paragraphs or other
internal sections that list reasons
supporting the writers opinion.
Some sections are better defined
than others.
Sections are mostly well defined.
Uses paragraphing to group
evidence.
been organized.
S tr
u ct
u re
inconsistently, overuse them, or
because.)
another)
different parts of the piece
together: to demonstrate shifting
point (e.g. “in addition”).
3
W. Standard 3.1
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
Score:
supporting the claim.
The writer provides at least one
reason supporting the claim.
sentence(s) or supporting
the claim.
writers reason(s) or to connect the
reason(s) to the claim.
reason, including relevant
examples and information.
generally used appropriately.
capitalizes the beginning of
sentences and uses ending
mostly accurate.
sentences lengths.
R. Standard 3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as a basis for the answers.
D ev
el o
p m
en t:
R ea
d in
g /R
es ea
rc h
the provided text(s).
personal, rather than text-based,
example from the provided
irrelevant to the argument.
example from the provided
sources. Most references are
Demonstrates an accurate
argument.
the text.
and hamburgers, is
Many Americans have
put on unhealthy
amounts of weight.
restaurants, movie
help people get
be. For example, in
available at many
restaurants was 7
than 30 ounces. The
average burger has also
the size that it used to
be! Experts say that
eating too much food
can lead to obesity. The
number of Americans
years. Obesity can
cause serious health
problems. They include
idea. Some say that
teach people to make
not fair to focus on soda.
Milkshakes and fruit
sugar, but large sizes of
these drinks are still