EQ: What is the 8th grade writing assessment, and how can I better prepare my child

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EQ What is the 8th grade writing assessment,
and how can I better prepare my child?
January 16, 2008
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Georgia Grade 8Writing Assessment
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How the Grade 8 Writing Assessment is Scored
Domains

• Four Scoring Domains
• Ideas
• Organization
• Style
• Conventions

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The Components of Ideas
Ideas The degree to which the writer
establishes a controlling idea and elaborates the
main points with examples, illustrations, facts,
or details that are appropriate to the assigned
genre.
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The Components of Organization
Organization The degree to which a writers
ideas are arranged in a clear order and the
overall structure of the response is consistent
with the assigned genre.
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The Components of Style
Style The degree to which the writer controls
language to engage the reader.
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The Components and Elements of Conventions
Domain Components Elements
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How the Grade 8 Assessment is Scored The Score
Scale

• Five score points in each scoring domain
• A score of 5 represents the highest level of
  competence in each domain.

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Weighting of Domains Weighting means that the
scores in some writing domains will be given more
weight than others in determining the total score
that a student receives.
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Domain Score to Total Weighted Raw Score
Conversion
The following table indicates the total weighted
raw scores for several domain score combinations.
Two raters score each student paper, assigning a
score of 1-5 in each of the four domains. The
range of total weighted raw scores is 10 50.
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What are students writing about?

• Grade 8 Writing Assessment
• Persuasive and expository genres are assessed.
• Students are assigned the genre.
• Teachers distribute prompts in the order in which
  they are packaged.
• Each student will be assigned either a persuasive
  writing topic or an expository writing topic on
  the same subject and must write in the assigned
  genre.

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What is expository?

• Expository Writing Writing that enhances the
  readers understanding of a topic by instructing,
  explaining, clarifying, describing, or examining
  a subject or concept.
• Method
• Provides facts, statistics, descriptive details,
  comparison, contrast, analysis, evaluation,
  definition, humor, and personal anecdotes

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What Expository Writing Is and Is Not
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What Expository Writing Is and Is Not
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What is persuasive writing?

• Persuasive Writing Writing that has as its
  purpose convincing others to accept the writers
  position as valid, adopt a certain point of view,
  or take some action.
• Method
• Provides logical appeals, emotional appeals,
  facts, statistics, narrative anecdotes, humor,
  and/or the writers personal experiences and
  knowledge

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What Persuasive Writing Is and Is Not
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What Persuasive Writing Is and Is Not
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What will my child see the day of the test?

• THE DAY WILL LOOK LIKE THIS
• HE OR SHE WILL TAKE THE TEST IN HIS OR HER
  HOMEROOM.
• HE OR WILL ONLY CARRY INTO THE ROOM A PENCIL AND
  A BLACK OR BLUE PEN.
• HE OR SHE WILL RECEIVE
• WRITING TOPIC
• PLANNING/PREWRITING PRACTICE PAGE
• ANSWER DOCUMENT (very important)

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What is the structure for the test?

• PREWRITING 15 MINUTES
• ROUGH DRAFT - 35 MINUTES
• REVISE 20 MINUTES
• COMPLETE FINAL COPY
• OF TESTING DOCUMENT 20 MINUTES
• FINAL PROOFREAD 10 MINUTES
• TOTAL OF 100 MINUTES.

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What can I do at home?Visit these websites.

• Website URL
• Colorado State Universities Online Writing Lab
• www.writing.colostate.edu
• Exemplars Developing Writers
• www.exemplars.com/materials/rwr/index.html
• Learning-Focused Writing Assignments K-12
• www.learningfocused.com
• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab
• www.owl.english.purdue.edu
• ReadWriteThink
• www.readwritethink.org
• Write Source
  
• www.thewritesource.com
• The Writing Site
  
• www.thewritingsite.org

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What can parents do to help?

• Provide writing materials. Provide plenty of
  writing materials-paper of all kinds, pens,
  pencils, post-its-whatever will invite your child
  to explore writing in original, colorful ways.
• Provide a print-rich environment. Fill your
  childs world with books, magazines, newspapers,
  and writing you have created.
• Write notes. Write a personal note and tuck it
  into your childs book bag or lunch box. This can
  be a wonderful surprise and perhaps you will get
  a note back.
• Choose some resources together. If you dont have
  a thesaurus or dictionary handy, shop for one
  with your child. Practice using the tools as
  well.
• Write together. Let your child choose the topic.
  Free write together for five minutes, and then
  share the results. See what different directions
  your writing took.
• Prepare invitations. If you have a special
  occasion coming up, let your child prepare the
  invitations or announcements.

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• Allow you child to write a persuasive or
  expository essay on something they have read. You
  pick the topic.
• Assess as a team. Use the Writing Tips Page. It
  is fun because you get to be the critics. Begin
  with something short and assess it together. This
  works with newspaper articles, magazine articles,
  or any piece of writing.
• Share how you write on the job. Do you write as
  part of your job? Almost every occupation writes
  something. Share how important writing is at your
  workplace.
• Be a writer yourself and get help form your
  child. Let your child see how you enjoy writing.
  Talk about the kinds of writing you enjoy the
  most. Have your child help you begin the writing
  process. Ask How should we begin? What should we
  say? Is this too long or wordy? Should we use
  this word here? Should we rewrite the ending?
• Share your childs writing (with his/her
  permission). This could mean helping your child
  publish a piece or simply sharing with a relative
  or friend. This broadens your childs audience
  but also sends the message that you are proud!
• Create a photo album or scrapbook. Create a
  scrapbook called a year in the life of and
  have your child write captions describing the
  photos. He or she can write stories to put in the
  scrapbook. Work with your child to create a
  short introduction to the book.
• Source
• A handbook for Parents of Six Traits Writing
  Students (1998). Portland, Oregon Northwest
  Regional Educational Library  

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Let us practice.

• EQ How does one become a level five writer?

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Understanding the Writing TopicThe Writing
Situation

• All Grade 8 writing topics contain two sections
  the Writing Situation and the Directions for
  Writing.
• The Writing Situation gives the background for
  the writing assignment.
• The first sentence of the Writing Situation
  introduces the general topic.
• The remaining sentences in the Writing Situation
  help students think about different ideas,
  realize that they do know enough about the topic
  to write, and then to focus their individual
  responses.

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The Prompts

• Situation
• Your class has been given the Sample Expository
  Writing Topic
• Writing opportunity to design a brand new
  television show for children. It could be a news
  show, a talk show, a game show, a cartoon, or any
  kind of show you want for children.
• Directions for Writing
• Write a report to be read to your class in which
  you explain your idea for the new childrens
  television show. Be sure to include specific
  details so that your classmates will understand
  what the new show will be like.

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What is important?

• Writing Situation
• Your favorite television show has been
  cancelled. The president of the television
  network has announced that he might change his
  mind about canceling the show if enough people
  write letters to complain about his decision.
• Directions for Writing
• Write a letter to the president of the
  television network to convince him or her to
  bring back your favorite show. Include specific
  details to support your position.

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What is next?

• Prewriting

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What is it?

• Pre-writing is a way of organizing your thoughts
  and beginning to put the information you have on
  paper.  It is best to do a pre-writing activity
  before you actually begin writing your paper or
  essay.

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How?

• BASIC PREWRITING STRATEGIES Develop Questions
• What do I know?
• What do I need to find out?
• What is the point of the paper?

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Example
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Other Ways To Pre-write

• Jot list
• Free writing
• Bubble graphic organizer
• Five fingers
• Outline
• Brainstorm

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Its your turn to pre-write.

• Using the topic below, spend a few minutes
  prewriting for your essay.
• Writing Situation
• Your favorite television show has been
  cancelled. The president of the television
  network has announced that he might change his
  mind about canceling the show if enough people
  write letters to complain about his decision.
• Directions for Writing
• Write a letter to the president of the
  television network to convince him or her to
  bring back your favorite show. Include specific
  details to support your position.

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Now lets start writing.

• What should an introductory paragraph look like?
• Hook ( Capture the readers attention)
• Quotes
• Statistics
• Situational statement
• Thesis ( What is your position)
• This is the driving force of your essay. The
  statement should be strong and have a definite
  tone.
• Why do you feel as you do?
• These should support your thesis.
• Transition into our first body paragraph
• This should make the paper flow smoothly.

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Example

• I would like you to know that I am extremely
  crushed to hear your decision to cancel the show,
  and would like you to bring it back on the air.
  Not only was this show entertaining, it was
  family appropriate, and brought many viewers to
  your network. This show enabled me to slow down
  and de-stress after a grueling day at school.

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Let us compare.

• Level 5 introduction (According to state grading
  rubric)
• Dear President of the television network
• I was shocked and greatly disappointed when I
  heard that my favorite show Wishes, Kisses and
  Pigs was cancelled. Although, I am only an
  eighth grader, I feel that you should bring back
  the show because this show has become a major
  part of my life. I do not adjust well to change,
  and I dont know what to do, now that my favorite
  show has been ripped out of my life. One thing I
  do know is that many others feel the same way.

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Why is this a 5?

• Ideas 5
• The controlling idea (My favorite show, Wishes,
  Kisses, and Pigs, should be brought back) is
  clear and fully developed. The writer provides
  relevant reasons to support this position (it
  teaches valuable lessons, its hilarious, it
  doesnt use offensive language). For each
  supporting reason, the writer includes specific
  examples and details to illustrate why the show
  should return. The writer addresses reader
  concerns by providing specific information about
  how the show affected his/her life.
• Organization 5
• The overall organizational plan (introduction,
  supporting reasons and examples, conclusion) is
  appropriate to the writers topic and the
  persuasive purpose. The introduction begins with
  the writers reaction to the cancellation of the
  show and sets the stage for the writers
  argument. Supporting ideas are presented in a
  clear, logical order. The conclusion provides
  closure and addresses the reader directly. Varied
  transitions effectively link parts of the paper
  and ideas within paragraphs.
• Style 5
• Word choice is effectively varied and engaging
  throughout the paper. The writer uses an
  extensive variety of sentence lengths,
  structures, and beginnings. The writers
  disappointment that the show was cancelled and
  the writers admiration of the show are evident
  throughout the paper (I was shocked and greatly
  disappointed). Carefully crafted phrases create
  a sustained tone and advance the writers purpose
  (Unlike most shows on television, this show
  captures your attention without using offensive
  language).
• Conventions 5
• The writer demonstrates a full command of
  sentence formation, usage, and mechanics. Usage
  is consistently correct, and the writer
  demonstrates correct formation of simple,
  complex, and compound sentences. The elements of
  mechanics are demonstrated in a variety of
  contexts.

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Another level 5 opener
I brushed a fluffy, white tissue against my
soft, brown face as a tear ran down the left side
of my cheek. I couldnt believe that my favorite
television show, Americas Next Top Model, has
been cancelled. The president of the television
network would be doing something terrible by
canceling this show because it helps young girls
plan for the future its a form of
entertainment, and can help young girls survive
in the real world.
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LEVEL 5
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LEVEL 3
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LEVEL 1
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FOR MORE INFORMATION

• http//www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?PageReqC
  ITestingWA8
• This is the Georgia DOE website which holds all
  the information and a more detailed power point
  about the 8th grade writing assessment.