Overview

In this performance assessment, students will be given 3 50-minute class periods to write a true or fictional narrative. Students will be given the prompt: 
Think about a moment that changed something for you or for a character you create. It could be a real event in your life (like learning an important lesson, facing a challenge, or trying something new), or an imagined event (a character’s adventure, mistake, or discovery).

Students will be asked to write a narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end. They will need to be able to use effective techniques to establish their purpose and goal. Students will need to ensure they are writing in a consistent tone and varying sentence patterns. 

Students may either handwrite or type their final responses: teacher’s preference.  
This assessment should be administered after students have understood the components of a narrative text and are able to write a multiple paragraph story. 

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Details

Big Ideas & Competencies

Big Ideas Competencies

C. Writing

Students can effectively communicate purpose to an intended audience through written language, using a variety of media.

C3

Students can write well-structured narratives using to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences (e.g., dialogue and pacing).

F. Style and Language

Students can apply conventions of grammar and use academic and domain-specific vocabulary.

F1

Students will maintain a consistent style and tone of writing that fits purpose.

F4

Students can vary sentence patterns to express relationships among ideas.

NOTE ABOUT ASSESSMENT RUBRICS

Below are analytic teacher rubrics. The column on the left shows the dimension that is being measured in the student’s performance. The levels across the top row indicate the performance level in the dimensions. Occasionally all dimensions and performance levels are exemplified by multiple students in a single recording.

Teacher Rubric

Dimensions Not Yet Meeting Expectations Meeting Expectations Exceeding Expectations

Focus/Organization
  • Creates a situation or sequence of events that lack a clear story focus or has a shifting story focus.  
  • Includes a series of disconnected or loosely linked events that do not clearly flow together. and/or it is unclear who is telling the story or which characters are involved in the situation.  
  • Use limited or basic transitional words, phrases, or clauses to sequence events and/or to connect experiences and events.
No exemplars at this time.
  • Establishes a real or imagined situation and sequence of events creating story focus.  
  • Establishes a progression of clearly linked events that unfold naturally and introduces the characters and/or narrator.  
  • Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to sequence events and to connect experiences and events.
No exemplars at this time.
  • Establishes a vivid, real or imagined situation and sequence of events, creating a distinctive story focus.   
  • Establishing a smooth progression of events that unfold naturally and introduce dynamic character(s) and/or believable narrator.  
  • Uses a variety of sophisticated transitional words, phrases, and clauses to sequence events, signal shifts in time and place, and to connect experiences and events.
No exemplars at this time.

Development/Comprehension
  • Use basic narrative techniques (description, dialogue) and choppy pacing to show character responses to situations or other characters.  
  • Use basic vocabulary and sensory details to describe experiences and/or events, settings, and/or characters.  
  • Use simplistic figurative language, word relationships, and/or word nuances to develop the plot.  
No exemplars at this time.
  • Use narrative techniques such as description and realistic dialogue to show characters’ responses to situations and to other characters and use a steady pace to move the story forward.    
  • Use precise descriptions and sensory language to describe the experiences, events, settings, and characters.  
  • Uses figurative language, word relationships, and word nuances to develop experiences and events.  
No exemplars at this time.
  • Uses sophisticated narrative techniques, such as description and realistic dialogue, showing internal thoughts to move the story forward.  
  • Use precise and vivid descriptions and sensory language to make characters, settings, and action come to life.  
  • Uses sophisticated figurative language, word relationships (analogies, synonyms, homonyms), and word nuances (shades of meaning), to develop experiences and events.  
No exemplars at this time.

Style/Conventions
  • Uses inconsistent grammar and conventions which detract from the quality of the narrative.  
  • Uses repetitive or ineffective sentence structures.  
No exemplars at this time.
  •  Demonstrates grade-level appropriate conventions; errors are minor and do not interfere with meaning and readability.  
  • Use correct and varied sentence structures.  
No exemplars at this time.
  • Demonstrates creativity and flexibility when using conventions (i.e., grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling).  
  • Uses sophisticated and varied sentence structures. 
No exemplars at this time.

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