Marking Period 1 Final Assessment: Persuasive Writing Project

On Task II of the NYS ELA Regents exam, your task is to persuade your audience with an organized argument so as to convince a skeptic. Your goal as a persuasive writer is to convince your reader with a logical, well organized essay that clearly argues your point to a specific audience. Please be sure to use all of your pre-writing/ planning activities like ARGUMENT TREES, IDEA WEBS & OUTLINES, Extended Anticipatory Guides & Chart Analyses.

Your Task:

Write a five (5) paragraph persuasive letter (business format) to you Congressman Jose E. Serrano (District 16 Representative) urging him to support or vote against legislation proposed by the Bush Administration. Cite evidence from your texts and charts to support your argument.

Project Requirements: Ø All assignments must be submitted on time for full credit! Ø Participation in Writer’s Workshops are not only essential to improve your

understanding of the writing tasks and English mechanics, it is also mandatory! Ø Submit ALL prewriting materials and drafts with your final draft. Ø Your final draft must be typed in 12 point TIMES NEW ROMAN font. Double

Spaced!

Project Due Dates: Ø Draft 1 o Due Monday, November

5th Ø Draft 2 o Due Wednesday,

November 7th Ø Final Draft o Due Friday, November 9th

Ø Reflection o Due with Final Draft

Personal Reflection: Ø Write a 1 page reflection (mandatory) in which you discuss the process you

underwent to complete your writing task. What did you learn from this experience? What parts did you like/dislike? How will this experience serve you on the Regents exam?

Apply: 9th – 12 th Grade Sample Task and Student Work Sample

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Task  Analysis  Tool  Understanding  Language  Initiative,  Stanford  University  

 Name  of  Task:  Persuasive  Writing  Task:  “A  Long  Way  Gone”   Grade  Level:  11th-­‐12th     Subject:    ELA/Social  Studies    

Task  Analysis  Step  

Guiding  Questions  and  Resources   Analysis  

Step  1:  Examine  and  

Identify  Appropriate  

Instructional  Task  

 

Guiding  Questions:  Is/does  this  task:  o Clear  in  its  expectations?    o Grade-­‐level  appropriate?    o Aligned  to  the  standards?    o Require  students  to  use  language  

and  analytical  skills  to  demonstrate  their  content  knowledge?    

Is  this  an  appropriate  task  for  analysis?  Why?    Yes.  The  expectations  are  clear;  the  cognitive  and  content  demands  of  this  task  are  on  grade  level.  It  is  aligned  to  standards.  It  requires  students  use  language  and  analytical  skills,  and  the  task  is  appropriately  complex.  

Step  2:  Identify  Task  Dem

ands  

 

Guiding  Questions:  • Write  down  everything  that  students  

need  to  demonstrate,  know,  or  do  in  order  to  successfully  complete  this  task.  

• To  do  this,  read  (or  watch)  the  task  instructions.  

 Resources:  • For  Content  Knowledge:  Common  

Core  State  Standards,  Next  Generation  Science  Standards,  or  other  relevant  standards  (e.g.,  district,  state,  etc.)  

• For  Analytical  Skills:  Depth  of  Knowledge  (DOK)  Levels  (Find  in  Resources)  

• For  Language:  Language  Functions  and  Forms  PDF  (Find  in  Resources)  

What  do  students  need  to  do  and  know  in  terms  of…?    Content  Knowledge   Analytical  Skills     Language    Anchor  Standard  1:  Write  arguments  to  support  claims  in  an  analysis  of  substantive  topics  or  texts,  using  valid  reasoning  and  relevant  and  sufficient  evidence    11-­‐12.WHST.1  Write  arguments  focused  on  discipline-­‐specific  content.    Anchor  Standard  9:  Draw  evidence  from  literary  or  informational  texts  to  support  analysis,  reflection,  and  research.    11-­‐12.WHST.9  Draw  evidence  from  informational  texts  to  support  analysis,  reflection,  and  research.                

• Analyze  and  interpret  graphical  information    

• Cause  and  effect  • Construct  an  

argument  • Critique  the  

arguments  of  others  

• Cite  evidence  • Reflect  on  a  process    

• Analyze  and  interpret:  “This  demonstrates_________”,  “The  source  tells  us  ________  

• Construct  an  argument:  “It  is  important  _______  because  ______”  

• Critique  an  argument:  “This  argument  is  valid/invalid  because  _________”  

• Cite  evidence:    “According    to  ____”  ,  “This  demonstrates  _____”,  “______  proves  that  ______”,  “The  source  tells  us  __________”  

 Standards-­‐related  task  vocabulary:  Argument,  proves,  justifies,  demonstrates,  persuade,  perspective,  point  of  view,  convince,  valid/invalid  

   

Step  3:  Identify  Disciplinary  Practice(s)  

 

Guiding  Question:  What  disciplinary  practice(s)  are  most  relevant  to  this  task?    Resources:  • Core  Disciplinary  Practices  PDF  

(Find  in  Resources)  • Interactive  Correspondence  between  

Practices,  Tasks,  and  Functions  PDF  (Find  in  Resources)  

What  are  the  relevant  disciplinary  analytical  practices  for  this  task:    EP1.  Support  analyses  of  a  range  of  grade-­‐level  complex  texts  with  evidence.    EP3.  Construct  valid  arguments  from  evidence  and  critique  the  reasoning  of  others.    EP4.  Build  and  present  knowledge  from  research  by  integrating,  comparing,  and  synthesizing  ideas  from  texts.    EP5.  Build  upon  the  ideas  of  others  and  articulate  his  or  her  own  ideas  when  working  collaboratively.    EP6.  Use  English  structures  to  communicate  context-­‐specific  messages.        

Step  4:  Identify  ELP  Standard(s)  

Guiding  Questions:  What  English  Language  Proficiency  Standards  are  reflected  in  this  task?    Which  of  these  ELP  standards  do  you  feel  comfortable  measuring  or  intend  to  assess?      Resources:  • The  ELP  Standards  • Alternative  Organization  of  

Standards  • The  K-­‐12  Practices  Matrix  (Find  in  

Resources)      

What  are  the  relevant  ELP  standards  for  this  task?  Please  include  your  reasoning  behind  selecting  these  standards.    ELP  Standard   Your  Reasoning  ELP  1   Students  must  be  able  to  construct  meaning  from  

several  grade  appropriate  informational  texts  in  order  to  provide  reasons  and  cite  specific  textual  evidence  that  supports  their  reasons  for  their  persuasive  letter  to  a  senator.  

ELP  4   Students  must  make  and  support  claims  about  ending  U.S.  weapon  supply  to  countries  that  recruit  child  soldiers  via  a  clear  and  coherent  letter  to  a  senator.  

ELP  5   Students  must  conduct  research  on  the  issue  of  child  soldiers  and  synthesize  evidence  from  various  types  of  texts  to  communicate  why  the  U.S.  should  stop  providing  weapons  to  certain  countries  that  recruit  child  soldiers.  

ELP  7     Students  must  create  a  letter  to  a  U.S.  senator  with  a  specific  persuasive  purpose  and  include  a  formal  writing  structure.  

ELP  8     Students  must  be  able  to  comprehend  the  vocabulary  related  to  the  issue  of  child  soldiers  to  develop  understanding  of  the  content.    

ELP  9     Students  must  be  able  to  produce  a  letter  to  the  editor  around  this  issue  that  is  clear  and  coherent.      

ELP  10     Students  should  be  able  to  write  a  letter  to  the  editor  using  accurate  standard  English.      

 We  would  address  and  measure  the  following  standards:    ELP  4  –  Construct  grade-­‐appropriate  oral  and  written  claims  and  support  them  with  reasoning  and  evidence:  The  students  have  been  working  on  persuasive  language  through  various  activities  (e.g.  propaganda  posters),  which  have  prepared  them  to  make  claims  in  their  summative  unit  assessment.    In  order  to  effectively  complete  the  unit  assessment  students  must  be  able  to  effectively  make  claims  about  why  the  U.S.  should  stop  providing  weapons  to  certain  countries,  and  support  them  with  reasoning  and  evidence  from  the  various  texts  they’ve  seen.  

 ELP  5  –  Conduct  research  and  evaluate  and  communicate  findings  to  answer  questions  or  solve  problems:  In  order  to  effectively  understand  the  issue  and  provide  a  solution,  students  have  to  conduct  research  on  child  soldiers  and  synthesize  those  findings  to  provide  a  solution  in  the  letter.    ELP  7  –  Adapt  language  choices  to  purpose,  task,  and  audience  when  speaking  and  writing:  Students  must  understand  task,  genre  and  purpose  in  order  to  make  choices  about  language  that  will  be  effective  in  writing  to  a  politician.    

 

Understanding Language/SCALE, Stanford University

Using ELP Standards Level Descriptors (PLDs) to Interpret Student Work

Understanding Language/SCALE, Stanford University

October 2016

Task: Persuasive Letter to Congressman Grade Level: 9-12

Step 1 Examine the Identified ELP Standard(s) and Corresponding Level Descriptors

Consulting ELP Standards and Level Descriptors

Examine the identified ELP Standard(s) and corresponding level descriptors for the task

If there are many applicable standards, choose one or two that relate to your students’ areas of growth.

Notes: ELP Standards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 were identified. Standards 4, 5, & 7 were deemed most relevant to the student’s writing. Standard 4 - Students must make and support claims about immigration legislation in a clear and coherent letter to a congressman. Standard 5 - Students must synthesize evidence from in-class readings to use in communicating their position on the legislation. Standard 7 - Students must write to a U.S. Congressman with a specific persuasive purpose using the formal writing structure of a business letter.

Step 2 Interpret Student Work Using the Standards Level Descriptors Using ELP Standards Level Descriptors as rubrics to interpret student work

Do the same standards apply when you examine your students’ output?

What level(s) most accurately describe your students’ work?

Remember that the interpretation only tells you the level of this specific piece of student work; your students’ levels might shift based on different tasks or learning objectives.

Identify patterns (similarities or differences) in your students’ work if you are interpreting multiple pieces.

Notes: Although some “research” is cited, it seems the focus of the teacher’s feedback is primarily on the persuasion and reasons behind the claim which is Standard 4. JG introduces the claim and provides logically ordered reasons and a conclusion, so the performance level is at least a 4. I don’t feel his writing is a 5, though, because he doesn’t address and refute a counter-claim. DG’s draft introduces the topic with (too much) information from the article rather than making a claim and supporting it. Finally, he states an opinion in the final

Understanding Language/SCALE, Stanford University

paragraph. Based on the information he has given previously, the opinion is somewhat surprising. While you could make a case for scoring this draft as a 2, I would give it a 1 primarily due to the lack of a clear claim, supporting reasons, and a conclusion.

Step 3 Identify strategies to support student needs Identifying instructional supports to improve student learning

Use the identified level (and perhaps the next level) to provide student with formative feedback.

Use the identified patterns in student work to plan for instructional adjustments.

Consult relevant state/district resources for suggested strategies.

Notes: JG is ready to work on counter-claims. Zwiers’ Pro-Con Improv or Argument & Evidence Scale might help him consider the counter-claim and how to address it. DG needs more support around the structure of a written argument including the introduction, clear statement of the claim, and then supporting reasons and a conclusion. An expanded outline (along the lines of the feedback provided by the teacher but with the help of some sentence frames) might be a good next step.