Links to Student Work
Student Work 1      

                  ELA_________

Performance Task

                1–5 final______

 

 

Standard(s):

 

E1b. Getting the Meaning:

E1b.2-Fluency

·         uses the cues of punctuation-including commas; periods, question marks and quotation marks-to guide them in getting meaning and fluently reading aloud.

E1c. Reading Habits

E 1c.1-Independent and Assisted Reading

·         read their own writing and sometimes the writing of their classmates.

E2a.1-Habits and Process

·         generate topics and content for writing.

·         solicit and provide responses to writing.

·         revise, edit and proofread as appropriate.

·         apply a sense of what constitutes good writing.

E2c.4-Punctuation, Capitalization and Other Conventions

·         capitalization of proper names and sentence beginnings.

·         use punctuation accurately

 

The Task:

Let’s write a Big Book!

 

Quite some time ago, all of you entered first grade. It was scary for some of you, some of you were nervous, some of you really wanted school to start, and some of you did not because you did not know what to expect in first grade, in our school, or perhaps even in our wonderful classroom. 

 

Well, we are going to write a Big Book for the kindergarten kids to read before they leave kindergarten or take home and read during summer vacation. In the Big Book, we are going to write all the information they will need to know about first grade in our school.  We might want to make several books so we can share them with all the kindergarten classrooms and put in the library or in the office where students come to register for school. All of you will become famous authors because your book will inform new first graders about life in first grade.

 

Before we begin writing , think back to the night before first grade started. What were you thinking? What did you wish you knew so you would not be nervous about first grade? [The teacher at this point would engage students in an activator about:

·        What they know now but did not know when school started [chart this]

·        What they know now and knew before school started [chart this]

·        What they know now and wish they had known before school started.[chart this]

 

[The teacher will guide the students through the analysis of the charts determining what students knew and what they wish they had known about school and first grade. These ideas will become the ideas for their books.]

 

[The teacher might say something like the following;]

·        Each of you will have to choose the information you wished you had known before school started. Think back to the charts and conversations we just had.

 

·        Then write as much information as you can about that. Let’s say for example, you wish you knew how you were going to get from your classroom to your bus at the end of the day. Well, you will need to write how we get from our classroom to the bus. How we have the walkers in one line and the bus kids in another line. We walk out the door and then I dismiss the walkers and escort all of you to your buses. You will need to write that information down. Then draw a picture to go with it.

 

·         Maybe some of you wanted to know whether you were going to sit in a desk or at tables. Maybe in our Ms. Castro’s first grade they sit at tables, but in our first grade classroom we sit at assigned desks. You would write about that.  You would then draw pictures that show our room and Ms. Castro’s room.

 

·        After you have written all of your information sheets and drawn your pictures, put your book in order. Make sure you write an introduction and an ending to your book.

 

·        We are publishing our books so there is a lot of work to do on these. Don’t forget to edit, proof read, revise and then get ready to  p-u-b-l-i-s-h.  You are now on the way to being a famous author.

 

Circumstances of Performance

The student work is produced under the following conditions:

X

alone

 

in a group

 

 

 

 

X

in class

 

as homework

 

 

 

 

X

with teacher feedback

X

with peer feedback

 

 

 

 

 

timed

X

extended project

 

 

 

 

 

no opportunity for revision

X

opportunity for revision

 

Criteria for Success: 

·        The student lists the facts that they needed to know about first grade before it began. (This is done via the activator and the charting done by the teacher).

·         The student effectively uses illustrations to retell part of the book.

·        The student demonstrates an understanding of the book through their choice of words and picture.

·        The final copy is published for distribution.

 

Related Standard(s):

Ela-1:  Knowledge of Letters and Their Sounds

E1a-2: Phonemic Awareness

E1a-3:  Reading Words