Continuum for Opinion/Argument Writing – Third Grade S tru cture

OverallLeadGrade 1(1 point)I wrote my opinion or mylikes and dislikes and saidwhy.In the beginning, I got myreader’s attention. I told thetopic (or text) I am writingabout and gave my opinion.Continuum for Opinion/Argument Writing – Third GradeGrade 2(2 points)I wrote my opinion or mylikes/dislikes and gave reasonsfor my opinion.In the beginning, I not onlygave my opinion, I also setreaders up to expect that mywriting will try to convincethem of it.Updated 11/7/122.5ptsGrade 3(3 points)I told readers my opinion andideas on a text or a topic andhelped them understand myreasons.In the beginning, I not only setreaders up to expect that thiswill be a piece of opinionwriting, I also tried to hookthem into caring about myopinion.1.5ptsMidlevelMidlevel3.5ptsMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelGrade 4(4 points)I made a claim about a topic or atext and tried to support myreasons.I wrote a few sentences to hookmy reader. I may have done thisby asking a question, explainingwhy the topic matters, telling asurprising fact, or givingbackground information.ScoreStructureTransitionsEndingOrganizationI said more about myopinion and used words likeand and because.I wrote an ending for mypiece.I have a part where I get myreader’s attention and a partwhere I say more.I connected parts of my pieceusing words like also, another,and because.The ending I wrote remindsreaders of my opinion.My piece has different partsand I wrote lots of lines foreach part.I connected my ideas/reasonswith my examples using wordslike for example and because. Iconnected one reason (orexample) using words like alsoand another.I worked on an ending. It mightbe a thought or commentrelated to my opinion.I wrote several reasons orexamples why people shouldagree with my opinion, andwrote at least several sentencesabout each reason.MidlevelMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelMidlevelI state my claim.I used words and phrases to glueparts of my piece together. I usedphrases like for example, anotherexample, one time, for instance (toshow when I was shifting fromsaying reasons to giving evidence)and in addition to, also, andanother (to show when I wanted tomake a new point).I wrote an ending for my piece.The ending restates and reflects onthe claim. It may suggest an actionor response based on what I’vewritten.I separated sections of informationusing paragraphs.I organized my information sothat each part of my writing ismostly about one thing.Total(Elaboration and Description are double weighted categories. Whatever score a student would get in these categories is worth double the amount of points. Ex. if a student exceeds expectations in Elaboration, then thatstudent would receive 8 points instead of 4 points. If a student meets standards in Elaboration, then that student would receive 6 points instead of 3 points, and so on.)©Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grade by Grade: A Yearlong Workshop Curriculum, Grades K-8,by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues (Heinemann, 2013/2014)For distribution only in TCRWP schoolsDRAFT

PunctuationGrade 1(1 point)I ended sentences withpunctuation.Continuum for Opinion/Argument Writing – Third GradeGrade 2(2 points)I used quotation marks to showwhat people said.Grade 3(3 points)I punctuated dialogue correctly,with commas and quotationmarks.1.5ptsMidlevelUpdated 11/7/122.5ptsMidlevel3.5ptsMidlevelGrade 4(4 points)When writing long, complexsentences, I used commas to makethem clear and correct.ScoreI used a capital letter fornames.When I used words like can’tand don’t, I put in theapostropheWhile writing, I putpunctuation at the end of everysentence.I used periods to fix my run-onsentences.I used commas in dates andlists lists.I wrote in ways that helpedreaders read with expression,reading some parts quickly,some slowly, some parts in onesort of voice and others inanother.TotalTeachers, when this is totally finished, each category will refer to “the writer” rather than “I”. We are giving out these assessments so they can be used immediately, after giving the on demands, andthey can be used with kids for self-assessment and setting goals. We have created these continua so you will have your own place to pull together scores of student work.Scoring Guide:In each row, circle the descriptor in the column that matches the student work. Scores in the categories of Elaboration and Description are worth double the pointvalue (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 instead of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, or 4).Total the number of points, and track students’ progress by seeing when the total points increase.(Elaboration and Description are double weighted categories. Whatever score a student would get in these categories is worth double the amount of points. Ex. if a student exceeds expectations in Elaboration, then thatstudent would receive 8 points instead of 4 points. If a student meets standards in Elaboration, then that student would receive 6 points instead of 3 points, and so on.)©Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grade by Grade: A Yearlong Workshop Curriculum, Grades K-8,by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues (Heinemann, 2013/2014)For distribution only in TCRWP schoolsDRAFT

Continuum for Opinion/Argument Writing – Third GradeUpdated 11/7/12Total score: ________If you want to translate this score into a grade, you can use the provided table to score each student on a scale from 0 – 4.Number of PointsScaled Score1-11 111.5-16.5 1.517-22 222.5-27.5 2.528-33 333.5-38.5 3.539-44 4(Elaboration and Description are double weighted categories. Whatever score a student would get in these categories is worth double the amount of points. Ex. if a student exceeds expectations in Elaboration, then thatstudent would receive 8 points instead of 4 points. If a student meets standards in Elaboration, then that student would receive 6 points instead of 3 points, and so on.)©Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grade by Grade: A Yearlong Workshop Curriculum, Grades K-8,by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues (Heinemann, 2013/2014)For distribution only in TCRWP schoolsDRAFT