1. Georgia Writing Assessment January 19, 2011 Essential Question: What do parents need to know about the 8 th grade writing test? If you have specific questions about how you can help promote writing at home, please email Mrs. Jablonski: Mandee_Jablonski@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

2. Details of the test All 8 th grade students must pass. Session Length: 100 minutes Main Administration: One day (January 19 th, 2011) Make-up Administration: One day (To Be Determined)

3. How is it graded? Two raters will read every paper and give it a score. Their combined scores will determine if a paper will pass or fail.

4. It Looks Like This Scoring Domain Domain Weight% of total score Ideas2 x raters’ scores40% Organization1 x raters’ scores20% Style1 x raters’ scores20% Conventions1 x raters’ scores20%

5. Rubrics5 Overview of Score Points 1-5 Five Levels of Competence Score: 1 Lack of Control (of the elements of the domain) Score: 2 Minimal Control (of the elements of the domain) Score: 3 Sufficient Control (of the elements of the domain) Score: 4 Consistent Control (of the elements of the domain) Score: 5 Full Command (of the elements of the domain) GREEN = The degree to which the writer demonstrates control of the components.

6. Ideas= 40% Controlling idea- Thesis Supporting Details Coherency Facts and Examples Awareness of Genre Completeness

7. Organization= 20% Logical and appropriate sequencing and/or grouping of ideas in the paper Introduction/Body/Conclusion Expository/Persuasive Strategies used Introduction is engaging Conclusion provides a sense of closure I Can Do This! This test will be a piece of cake!

8. Style= 20% Word choice Figurative language (similes, metaphors...) Varied sentence lengths Attention to audience Consistent voice Humor Declarative Exclamatory Interrogative Imperative

9. Conventions= 20% Capitalization Punctuation Spelling Indention of paragraphs Subject/Verb Agreement Formal Register Errors do not interfere with meaning Proofread!

10. How Can I Help My Child Succeed? Make it RealSuggest Note-takingBrainstorm JournalWrite TogetherPlay Games Make ListsCopy from MediaRead More Write NotesProvide MaterialsResources Be a Writer Use the Library Make it Fun See the handout “Things to Do at Home to Encourage Writing” for details on how these ideas can work for you!

11. Did You Know? Every 9 week grading period, every Language Arts class assigns at least one formal writing assignment. Students at Berkmar Middle School write in every class. The Write It Down! Club meets on Thursdays with Mrs. Moon in Mrs. Jablonski’s room to write for fun, to enter contests, to play word games, and to improve writing.

12. Great Writing/Vocabulary Websites Fact Monster Writing: http://www.factmonster.com/homework/writingskills1.ht ml http://www.factmonster.com/homework/writingskills1.ht ml Room 108 Kid’s Writing: http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/writing/Kids_Writin g.html http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/writing/Kids_Writin g.html Free Rice (Vocabulary Game): http://www.freerice.com/ http://www.freerice.com/ Teacher Vision Links: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/reading-and- language-arts/games/5831.html

13. Making it Work for You If you have specific questions about the 8 th Grade Writing Test, we have teachers here to answer your questions. Please raise your hand and we will direct you to those teachers at this time. If you would like to experience some writing activities that you can do with your child at home, please join us! If you have specific questions about how you can help promote writing at home, please email Mrs. Jablonski: Mandee_Jablonski@gwinnett.k12.ga.us