Georgia Writing Assessments

for Grades 5 & 8

A Presentation to Help Parents Assist Their Children with Successfully

Passing the Georgia Writing Assessment

January 2013 Clayton County Public Schools, Language Arts Department

Dear Parents,

The Georgia Writing Assessment is administered each year to determine how well students can write on a given topic in a specified time frame. Students do not know their writing topic until the day of the test. Therefore, they must be prepared and equipped to write about many topics. We would like for you to partner with us to ensure your child is ready for success on the day of the writing assessment. This presentation will provide you with helpful tips and resources.

Thank you

What is the Georgia Writing Assessment?

•The Georgia Writing Assessment tests students on how well they can write in a given time frame on an unknown topic.

5th Grade 8th GradeStudents are assigned a topic from a prompt bank representing three genres: narrative (story), informational, and persuasive. Students are allowed 120 minutes to write their essays.

Students are assigned a topic from a prompt bank representing two genres: expository and persuasive. Students are allowed 100 minutes to write their essays.

What are the Writing Assessment Dates?5th Grade Writing Assessment 8th Grade Writing Assessment

Official Test Date Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Make-Up Date Thursday, March 7, 2013

*Students have 120 minutes to test.

Official Test Date Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Make-Up Date Thursday, January 24, 2013

*Students have 100 minutes to test.

*Be sure your child is well rested and ready for success on the writing assessment.

*Check with your child’s school to see if and when after school tutoring or Saturday Writer’s Workshops are being provided.

How are Students Evaluated?Writing Domains Key Details

Ideas

Counts 40% of Test

Controlling Idea/Focus Supporting Ideas Relevance of Detail

Organization

Counts 20% of Test

Introduction/Body/Conclusion Sequence and Grouping of Ideas Transition Words / Phrases

Style

Counts 20% of Test

Word Choice Audience Awareness Voice / Personality Sentence Variety

Convention

Counts 20% of Test

Capitalization Usage Punctuation Paragraphs Spelling

The 5 Steps in the Writing Process 1. Brainstorm &

PrewritePlan out the main points and supporting details for the topic

2. Produce Rough Draft

Write the first version of the paper

3. Revise and Edit

Check for errors in usage and mechanics and improve word choice, sentences, and ideas

4. Produce Final Draft

Produce the best version of the essay

5. Publish / Submit

Time to submit for scoring!

Example Writing Topic (Great Teacher)

Writing Situation• Many successful people have indicated that it was a

special teacher who motivated them to do well in life. They have shared that some were caring, others were strict, some were smart, fun and engaging, while others simply provided a listening ear.

Writing Directions• Write an essay to be read to a group of teachers,

during Teacher Appreciation Week, explaining what you perceive to be the characteristics of a great teacher. Be sure to provide specific examples and personal experiences to support your identified characteristics.

What is the Writing Topic Really Asking?

What is the Topic? The characteristics of a great teacher

Who is the Audience? A group of teachers

What is the Purpose? To explain

What is the Essay format?

Informational or Expository Essay

*It is important for students to know how to find the T.A.P.E. in the writing topic on the day of the writing assessment.

Writing DirectionsWrite an essay to be read to a group of teachers, during Teacher Appreciation Week, explaining what you perceive to be the characteristics of a great teacher. Be sure to provide specific examples and personal experiences to support your identified characteristics.

Ordinary Response to Writing Topic

• Great teachers take their time with us. They do not yell, get upset, or show anger at students who are talking. Also, they do not get mad just because a student does not know the answer to a question.

Extraordinary Response to Writing Topic

• Great teachers share a special quality; they are patient and not easily angered. For instance the other day, my friends and I dashed into the classroom with a lot of energy, laughing, pushing, shoving, and slapping each other on the back of the neck, Wap! Pow! However, unlike most teachers, Ms. Thompson did not fuss or belittle us. Instead, she calmly told us to take our seats and to begin our warm up. In addition, Ms. Thompson is not easily frustrated. When we are struggling to answer a question, she patiently guides us to the correct answer and praises us once we get it right.

What’s the difference between the two paragraphs?

Ordinary Paragraph

Extraordinary Paragraph

• Very simple word

choice• Mostly simple

sentences are used• Few examples used to

support main idea• Limited use of

transition words• Does not consider the

reader’s sight, hearing, or emotions

• Vivid and descriptive word choice

• Simple, compound, and complex sentences are used

• Specific examples included to support main ideas

• Intelligent use of transition words

• Addresses the reader’s sight, hearing, and emotions

Georgia’s Released Essays –

*Visit the websites below to read the released essays from last year. They include the students’ scores and explanations for the scores.

5th grade•http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Documents/2012%20Grade%205%20Topics%20and%20Sample%20Papers.pdf

8th Grade•http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Documents/Grade%208%20Topics%20and%20Sample%20Papers%202012%20Updated%20022912.pdf

Examples of How to Hook the Reader!Interesting Quote “A life without service is simply meaningless movement.” The memory of Mr. Barker’s words rings so vividly in

my mind.

Striking Statistic According to the president of Nickelodeon, students spend 8 out of 10 hours performing two main tasks. What could possibly consume so much of their time? Of course, it is watching television and talking on the phone!

Striking Fact or Statement62,208,000! That’s right 62,208,000! This is the astounding number of minutes the average student will spend throughout his / her elementary, middle, and high school years in the presence of a teacher.

Striking Question What kills more people than car accidents, alcohol, AIDS, murders, illegal drugs, and suicides all combined?

Anecdote (SHORT story)

Allan sat there nervously tapping his finger tips along the mahogany wood of the desk. A look of melancholy, disappointment, and fear covered his face. He was anxiously awaiting to hear the verdict that would forever change his life. He turned around slowly, scanning the courtroom to see if his dad had “bothered” show-up…nope. Finally, the door from the chamber opened. For a moment, it seemed as if everything went into slow motion.

Vivid description of a person, a moment, a day, a situation, etc.

Tom charged through the door like a bull ready to attack. His eyes were as red as a freshly polished apple, and observers could easily see the blazes of smoke surrounding him.

A Personal ExperienceI remember standing there, gazing at the motionless object. It didn’t take me long to realize that life as I knew it would be a thing of the past.

Brief Dialogue“Scott! Get down here on the double!” my father hollered.“Dad?” I yelled back. “Where are you?” I was sitting at the kitchen table eating pancakes the first morning of our trip, and from somewhere outside my dad was calling me.

How to Use the Released Essays…?

•Have your child read and score the essays prior to showing him/her the official scores

•Have your child read the explanations for why each essay received a certain score

•Have your child rewrite some of the essays to improve the paper based on the scorers’ feedback

•Have your child write a more exciting introduction for the essay

•Require your child to maintain a journal or folder of the rewritten essays so that they can revisit them

Improving Ideas from home • Go mute for a week! Have students write everything they need

for a week! Every idea should be expressed via writing. A dry

erase board may help you with this.

• Have students watch the news nightly and take a stand on

current events. What are their ideas on gay marriage,

healthcare, politics, educational reform? Encourage research to

shape that thought. Perhaps you could even engage in a debate

amongst various siblings.

• Have students interview your family. Encourage students to

write a funny story, report, or article about the person’s life

experiences.

Improving Ideas from home

• Have your students journal daily to express their activities,

feelings, etc. for the day.

• Turn watching television into an educational experience to

improve reading and writing skills! Have students retell

the story, or better yet, have students express the theme

or morals learned from the television show.

• When students are attempting to explain a particular

thought, ask them to provide or write an example to paint

a more vivid picture of what they are explaining.

Improving Organization from home

-Good writers always brainstorm using a graphic organizer. -Good writers ensure that paragraph(s) have a topic sentence, supporting details and a concluding statement. -Good writers ensure that an essay has an introduction, body and a conclusion.-Good writers ensure that every piece of writing whether a paragraph or an essay includes effective transitions.

Improving Word Choice from Home

Ask your child to come up with a list of ten words they "like," for whatever reason - sound, meaning, length, etc. Then have them categorize the words into groups.

Example words:wafting, hippopotamus, plum, flourish, anew, slippery, loneliness, yanked, foreign, pillar

Possible categories:Sensory words--slippery, plum, wafting Long words--hippopotamus, loneliness Feeling words--loneliness, foreign, slippery Two syllable words--wafting, flourish, anew, foreign, pillar

Then have them keep this list of words in a folder to use when they are writing. As they find new words they learn and/or like have them add the words to their the list. When they are revising their writing at home, have them see if they can use any of the words on the list to improve their writing piece.

Let’s Practice! Before Writing - Organize Your

Ideas Your teacher has asked the class to help third grade students learn about good manners. Think about why people should show good manners at home or at school.

Write a report for third grade students explaining why it is important to show good manners.

Organize Your Ideas By Asking Questions

What? Why? How? and So What?

Here’s a Sample Way to Organize Ideas Using Questions

What?Thesis Statement/Controlling Idea

Why?Reasons

How? So What?Supporting Details

Example of One Reason and Supporting Details

What? Why? How? So What?

Students should have good manners.

(1) Decrease fights or

disagreements

apologize for bumping or hitting people by accident (So What?- Don’t make a mistake into a conflict)ask before borrowing things (So What?- decrease accusations of stealing)use kind words (So What?-create a community of helping rather than hurting)

Review Your Writing to Check Conventions 1st Did you indent all of your paragraphs?

2nd Do all of your sentences begin with a capital letter?

3rd Did you capitalize proper nouns: names, locations, organizations, etc.?

4th Did you check for comma errors: items in a series, after introductory phrases/clauses, in compound sentences?

5th Are you sure you do not have two sentences running together?This is a common error.

6th Are you sure all of your statements are complete sentences?

7th Closely check your spelling. CLOSELY CHECK HOMOPHONES: (their, they’re, there, your, you’re, to, too, two)

8th Do your subjects and verbs agree? Remember “One thing, gotta have an ‘s’… Two things…no ‘s’!

9th Check your pronouns, especially the use of subject pronouns vs object pronouns

10th Did you avoid using slang and texting (ain’t, &, OMG, U, LOL)?

Now you are ready to write a solid essay using a controlling idea, reasons, and supporting details to

answer all of the questions your reader

may have.

Helpful Writing Websites• http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-

Assessment/Assessment/Pages/Writing-Assessments.aspx

• www.paperrater.com • http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/21740/ • http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Writing/index.html • http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/ • www.readwritethink.org• www.markothepencil.com• http://apps.educationnorthwest.org/traits/

lessonplans• http://www.ttms.org/PDFs/04%20Writing

%20Process%20v001%20(Full).pdf

Thank you for your valued partnership!