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Get Ready…

You need: a file folder – write your first and last

name on the tab with your class period pen or pencil

RANDOM FACT OF THE DAY: The sentence “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English alphabet!

ELA STAAR - ReadingOpen-Ended Responses (OERs)

Analytical Writing Portion of the Test

TEST BLUE PRINT

The Reading Test

The reading part of the test is made up of: 2 – 3 single selections with multiple choice questions

and 1 short answer question (OER) AND

2 paired selections that are thematically linked with multiple choice questions and 1 “crossover” short answer (OER)

The reading selections will be a mixture of literary and informational texts. Literary = fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, drama, media literacy (embedded)Informational = expository, persuasive, procedural (embedded), media literacy (embedded)

Field Test The reading portion of the ELA

STAAR test includes an additional reading selection with multiple

choice questions and a short answer

OR paired selections with multiple

choice questions and a “cross-over” short answer.

These “field” questions do not count against you; however, you will not know which prompts/questions are “field” questions and which are “real” questions

IT’S IMPORTANT TO DO YOUR VERY BEST

FROM START TO FINISH!!

SHORT ANSWERS or OPEN-ENDED RESPONSE QUESTIONS

These are questions that require the student to infer something from the text and then form a complete answer by addressing the question, providing text evidence to support their response and explaining how the evidence supports their thinking…

ALL IN 10 LINES!

The Prompt

Before reading or writing anything, know your assignment— READ THE QUESTIONS!

*Note the OER questions on the corresponding selections so that you are reminded of what type of text evidence to be looking out for while you read.

Answering the OERs

It’s a 3-Step Process:

1 – Claim – answer/analytical statement2 – Evidence – quotation(s); from the text3 – Reasoning – analysis; explanation

Read the question & know what you’re being asked to do

Question: Is the third little pig very wise in “The Three Little Pigs?”

What are you being asked to do?Determine and prove whether the

third little pig is wise

Step 1

C – Make a CLAIM…answer the question completely

Your first sentence should reiterate the question and present your idea

REMEMBER T.A.G. – Title, Author, GenreIn the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs” by Mother Goose, …

Sample “C”

CLAIM:In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs” by Mother Goose, the third pig is very wise.

Step 2

E – EVIDENCEbring in text evidence to support the

idea presented in your CLAIM

Text Evidence = Supports your answer - (facts, quotes, examples, etc. from text)

Text Evidence can’t be argued with—a quotation is evidence that supports your point and comes straight from the story.

Step 2 continued

EMBED your evidence Each piece of quoted material in a

paragraph must have an introduction that gives the context and background for the quotation

Embedding quotations helps quoted material flow naturally and coherently into your paragraph

Sample “EVIDENCE”

Remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he “builds his house out of sturdy brick.”

The sentence begins with an introduction and there is a quotation from the actual story that flows with the context of our answer.

Listen to It!

When written properly, the reader should not be able to hear where the quotation marks are when the sentence is read aloud.

A properly embedded quotation creates a seamless transition from the background information to the quoted material.

How do you make it flow?

You may need to change words within your quote so that the sentence is grammatically correct and coherent.

When changing words in a sentence, indicate the change by placing brackets [ ] around the change in the word or the changed word.

What does it look like?

The third little pig decided to “[build] his house out of sturdy brick” when he remembered his mother’s warning about a wolf.

The original line in the story is “builds his house out of sturdy brick” but because the student uses past tense, the verb needed to be adjusted in order to flow and be grammatically correct.

How do you make it flow?

You may need to omit a word or words in the middle of a long quotation to condense it or embed it in your thoughts.

To omit words, use ellipses (…) Ordinarily, do not use the ellipsis at the

beginning or at the end of a quotation. However, if you have cut some words from the end of the final sentence quoted, you must use an ellipsis.

What does it look like?

Learning from his brothers mistakes, he “built his house out of sturdy bricks…and [the wolf] huffed and puffed…[and] couldn't blow this third little pig's house down.”

The writer removed parts of the text and changed “he” to “the wolf” and “but he” to “and” in order for the evidence to make sense and flow within the sentence.

Step 3

R – REASONING Connect your evidence to the answer…

start your sentence with a reiteration or summary of what is happening in the quotation (be specific)

*Explain how the text evidence supports your answer

Sample REASONING

By building his house out of brick, the third pig demonstrates that he is smarter than his brothers, who built their homes out of straw and sticks, because the wolf was unable to destroy his property.

Does It Flow?

Prompt: Is the third little pig very wise in “The Three Little Pigs?”In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise. Remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he “builds his house out of sturdy brick.”By building his house out of a stronger material, the third pig demonstrates that he is smarter than his brothers, who built their homes out of straw and sticks, because the wolf was unable to destroy his property.

Crossover Question (3rd OER)

This questions requires the student to make a connection between thematically paired texts

You will need text evidence from BOTH selections

Use the same C-E-R strategy…with a twist

C – E1 – E2 - R

One “C” & Two “Es” BUT the key is the “R”

C: Answer the question as it pertains to BOTH selections

E1: Bring in quotation (s) from the first selection to support the answer

E2: Bring in quotation (s) from the second selection

R: Connect BOTH pieces of evidence to the answers

Grading the Short Answers

Scored on a four point scale 0 = Insufficient 1 = Partially Sufficient 2 = Sufficient 3 = Exemplary

Your score for each response will be based on your ability to write a reasonable answer and support it with evidence from the selection

Evidence = direct quotation

Why do students score a “1”?

The third little pig is wise because he built his house out of brick.

***The student does not understand the difference between a general text reference and text evidence.


The third little pig is wise because he built his house out of brick and the wolf couldn’t blow it down even though “he huffed and he puffed.”

**The student’s choice of text evidence may have some relationship to the idea but does not clearly support it.


The third little pig is very wise because he builds his house out of brick and offers shelter to his two brothers whose houses were blown down by the roof. He also puts a large pot of water on the fire for the wolf to fall into when he climbs up the chimney.

***The student includes multiple ideas but does not provide textual support for all of them.


In the fairy tale “Three Little Pigs”, the third little pig is very wise. Remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he built his new home out of “brick.”

***The student’s text evidence is too partial to support the idea. Partial text evidence is usually a result of the student’s use of “snippets” (short phrases) only or omission of essential information through the inappropriate use of ellipses.


In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs”, the third little pig is very wise because he builds a better house.

***The student does not explain the idea even though the question requires that he do so. Because of this, the response cannot be considered a sufficient answer.


In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise. Remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he “builds his house out of sturdy brick.”By building his house out of a stronger material, the third pig demonstrates that he is smarter than his brothers, who built their homes out of straw and sticks, because the wolf was unable to destroy his property. By seeing what his brothers’ experienced with their homes, the third pig chooses the best material even though it means more work for him.

***The student introduces a new idea by including a summary or commentary in the last sentence of the response.


The third pig is very wise because he learned from his brothers’ example’ and made a brick house showing the reader that the third time is a charm.

***The student’s idea needs to be clearer and more specific – the idea may be general or somewhat vague.


The third little pig is very wise because he “built his house out of sturdy bricks.” I can relate to being wiser than siblings because, like the third little pig, I am a third child and have learned from my siblings’ mistakes over the years.

***The student is not focused enough on providing a clear idea and text evidence; instead, he might waste space by relating his idea to people or things outside of the text.


In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs”, the third little pig is very wise because he is called “the wise little pig.”

***The student includes both an idea and text evidence, but instead of supporting the idea, the text evidence merely repeats, or “ECHOES,” the idea.


In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs”, “the third little pig met a man with a load of bricks. The little pig said to him, "Please, man, give me those bricks to build me a house." This the man did, and soon the little pig had built a house with them” which shows that he is wise.

***The student’s idea is not as strong as his text evidence. His idea may be too surface-level or too briefly explained to show a deep understanding of the selection.

“IDEA-LIGHT”


In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs”, the third little pig is very wise because he learns from his brothers’ examples and builds his house out of brick so the wolf is unable “to blow his house down.” By seeing what his brothers’ experienced with their homes, the third pig chooses the smartest material to build an indestructible home.

***The student’s text evidence does not support the idea strongly enough to show a deep understanding, usually because there is not enough evidence presented

“TEXT-LIGHT”


***Both the student’s ideas and choice of text evidence are strong. It is this combination that demonstrates the student’s depth of understanding.

In the fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs,” the third pig is very wise. Remembering his mother’s warning about a wolf, he “builds his house out of sturdy brick.” By building his house out of a stronger material, the third pig demonstrates that he is smarter than his brothers, who built their homes out of straw and sticks, because the wolf was unable to destroy his property.

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