Continuum for Assessing Opinion/Argument Writing - The Reading ...

Level 2
Structure/
Genre
Elaboration/Develop
ment
A collection of representational pictures related to a single topic or
opinion with accompanying gestures toward writing.
• Treatment of Subject/Topic
o When given a small booklet of three to five pages and asked to
write on a topic or issue that he or she knows a lot about or that
he or she has strong feelings about, the writer uses a
combination of representational drawing, oral language, and
attempts at writing to convey an opinion. When asked to read
his or her piece aloud, the child produces an oral commentary
that encompasses the collection of pictures and pages of text.
o
The pictures and pages are all related to an opinion, or a topic
about which the writer has an opinion. That is, the pictures and
writing attempt to name what the child is writing about, though
probably not yet conveyed with supporting reasons.
• Awareness of Genre
o The writer has an early sense of genre. The text the writer
produces when asked to write an opinion piece is not the same
as a text the writer produces when asked to write a story or
informational piece.
• Organization/Focus/cohesiveness of the text
o The text suggests the writer has an early understanding that
opinion or essay writing is idea-based (“I like…” “I think…”)
• Amount and organization of detail
o Often the child “reads” the first page as if it contains one
sentence, then “reads” the next page as if it contains the next
sentence, etc.
o The oral “argument” that accompanies the pictures is
probably a summary.
o The topic or opinion expressed tends to come primarily from
personal experience (e.g. “I love my family.”) with little or
no elaboration or support.
• Elaboration
o If the writer elaborates by including details, he or she is apt
to do this by adding to the pictures or the oral text (and less
apt to involve more writing). This process of adding detail
often continues as a child “reads” the text—each new time
the child reads the text, he or she may add more details.
o The writer may gesture towards visually recreating an event
that demonstrates his or her opinion (e.g. a particularly fun
time had with his or her family). Sometimes there is an
object in the drawing and often the pictures of characters’
faces show emotions.
o With guidance and support from adults, the writer responds
K-8 Continuum for Assessing Opinion Writing - TCRWP 2011
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DRAFT
8