Tackling Complexity: Moving Up Levels of Nonfiction
Grade 5: Nonfiction, Unit 2
Postassessment Sample Responses
Following are sample responses for each question, at a range of levels. These samples will help students notice if they have done similar work in their
responses, and thus will be a helpful part of their self-assessment. These can also serve as mentor texts to help your students to identify specific ways
they can lift their work to the next level. We encourage you to invite students to underline the ways that a higher-level response differs from the lowerlevel response, and to think about (and put words to) the replicable work that was done in the higher-level response. For postassessments (Units 1 and
2), we provide sample responses for one level above grade level, in addition to the levels provided in the preassessments.
Question
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
1. Summarize “It’s No Walk in
the Park.”
This tells about how climbing
Mount Everest is hard work.
Only 4,000 people have ever
made it. I think it must be really
scary to climb Mount Everest.
You could be killed by an
avalanche.
“It’s No Walk in the Park” is about
how climbing Mount Everest
is hard work. People who
want to climb Mount Everest
take courses to learn about
equipment. They climb practice
mountains. They hire Sherpas
to help. But it’s still really hard.
Only 4,000 people have ever
made it. You could be killed by
an avalanche.
“It’s No Walk in the Park” has a
few main ideas. One main idea
is that climbing Mount Everest
is a lot of hard work. People who
want to climb Mount Everest
take courses to learn about
equipment. They also climb
practice mountains. Not only
that, they also hire Sherpas to
help. But it’s still really hard to
climb it. Only 4,000 people have
ever made it. You could be killed
by an avalanche.
“It’s No Walk in the Park” is about
all that it takes to accomplish
the dream of climbing Mount
Everest. Those who want
to climb may spend years
preparing. They take courses
to learn about equipment.
They do practice hikes. They
spend thousands of dollars to
hire Sherpas. But even with the
work, the cost and the years of
preparation, reaching the top
is an almost impossible dream.
Only 4,000 people have ever
made it. You could be killed at
any point. Still, standing on the
summit and feeling “the whole
of the planet beneath your feet”
is a dream that many are willing
to do anything to achieve.
I think climbing Mount Everest
must be very scary!
Main Idea(s) and Supporting
Details/Summary
Responses in this level name the
main idea of the text and also
provide details to support the
main idea. Summaries need to
be short! You will note that the
student has not separated her
own ideas from the summary
of the text, which is common at
level 3. At a level 4, if the student
includes her own ideas, she will
keep them separate from her
summary of the text.
Responses in this level name
the main idea of the text and
also provide details to support
the main idea. If the text being
summarized is structured in a
clear way, the summary often
reflects the structure. The main
ideas in the texts students read
may not have been explicitly
stated. You will note the student
has separated his own opinions
from the summary.
Another main idea is that
climbing Mount Everest is worth
the risk. Kenton Cool says when
you stand on the top of Mount
Everest, you can feel “the whole
of the planet beneath your feet.”
Responses at this level will refer to
multiple main ideas and will give
specific details from across several
parts of the text as support. The
ideas may be implicit ones. At this
level, readers often quote the text.
You will note that in this response,
one idea is supported more than
the other.
Responses at this level recognize
a second main idea or a central
idea. The student carefully selects
details, often quotes, from across
the text to support this central
idea. This may mean reorganizing
information from the text. At
this level, the response does not
include any of the student’s own
opinion.
May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH).
Question
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
2. In lines 27–29 from “The Race
to the Top of Mount Everest,”
the author uses a craft
technique. Explain the craft
technique(s) the author used
and why the author may
have used this technique(s).
Also, if the author had made
different craft choices, how
would that have affected the
text?
The author put an exact number
in. I think the author did this so
you would know exactly how far
the climbers were from the top.
The author used a comparison
to show that climbing Mount
Everest is very hard. The
comparison helps you picture
how close the climbers were to
the top. If the author just said
they were 300 feet from the top,
you might not be able to really
picture it.
The author used a comparison
to support a main idea that
climbing Mount Everest is very
hard. The comparison helps
readers picture how close the
climbers were to the top. This
supports the author’s point that
reaching the top is not easy and
many people don’t make it. If
the author just said they were
300 feet from the top, you might
not picture how close they were
to the top. When the author
wrote that they had to turn
around when they were “less
than the length of a football
field” from the top, you see that
they were VERY close to making
it!
The author included a
comparison to show how close
the climbers were to being the
very first people to reach the
top of Mount Everest before
they had to turn around. This
comparison helps you picture
what it must have been like for
the climbers to turn around
better. If the author just said
they were 300 feet from the top,
you might not be able to really
picture it. When the author
wrote “less than the length
of a football field,” the reader
gets to feel how close these
climbers were to being the first
to reach Mount Everest. They
just couldn’t make their dream
come true!
Analyzing Author’s Craft
Responses at this level tend to
identify when the author has
done something that stands out
and begin to discuss why the
author might have included it,
but may not use precise literary
language to name the technique.
Responses at this level can
identify the technique the author
uses and the goal the author is
trying to achieve. In addition,
responses in this level elaborate a
bit on the author’s goal.
Responses at this level use
academic language to discuss the
author’s goals and techniques.
Responses in this level also
discuss the goals and techniques
at length, considering how the
author’s choices affect the text.
The response might include an
explanation of how the text
would be different if the author
made different craft choices. The
student will tend to quote from
the text to support thinking.
Responses at this level will tend
to connect a discussion of craft
technique to main or central
idea(s) in the article. The student
will discuss specific word choices
made and the effects of those.
May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH).
Question
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
3. In the article “It’s No Walk
in the Park,” what is the
relationship between hiring
Sherpas and making it to
the top of Mount Everest?
Describe the relationship and
your ideas about it.
People hire Sherpas to help
them get to the top of Mount
Everest. Because of the Sherpas,
climbers don’t have to carry all
their stuff. As a result, people are
able to reach the top.
The relationship between
climbers hiring Sherpas and
making it to the top is that
one way climbers make it to
the top is because Sherpas do
an incredible amount of work.
They carry a ton of equipment.
They use ropes and ladders to
help climbers cross the most
dangerous parts. They tell
climbers when the weather is
too dangerous to keep going.
The relationship between
climbers hiring Sherpas and
making it to the top is that
the reason climbers make it to
the top of Everest is because
Sherpas do an incredible
amount of work. For instance,
Sherpas carry a ton of the
climbers’ equipment. They
might make 3 trips too, while
the climbers take just one. “They
attach ropes and ladders to
help climbers cross the most
dangerous areas.” They tell
climbers when the weather is
too dangerous to keep going.
The relationship between
people hiring Sherpas and
making it to the top of Mount
Everest is that climbers only
make it because Sherpas do
an incredible amount of work.
For instance, Sherpas may have
to make 3 trips, carrying the
climbers’ equipment, while the
climbers just make one trip.
“They attach ropes and ladders
to help climbers cross the most
dangerous areas.” They know the
mountain so they plan the route
and read the signs of danger.
The idea I have about this is that
people think the climbers are
amazing, but really the Sherpas
should get more credit.
Inferring Within Text/Cohesion
Responses at this level tell how
parts of the text are related,
using specific words to show
connections between ideas.
Responses at this level will name
the main relationship between
two things in a text, using
specific words from the text,
with examples to support their
thinking.
Responses at this level will include
ideas about the relationship
between two parts of a text, and
they will support those ideas with
specific evidence and academic
vocabulary. Then, responses
will move beyond the text, and
students will include their own
ideas.
People think the climbers are
amazing, but I think that really
the Sherpas should get more
credit. They are being taken
advantage of. That climb is
dangerous and the Sherpas do
it over and over—sometimes
even just to bring plastic vases
of flowers up to the climbers. Is
that fair to the Sherpas?
Responses at this level
will recognize and discuss
relationships that the author
may not have explicitly put forth.
The student will tend to have
more provocative ideas about
the relationships than seen at
previous levels. The student will
carefully select details to support
her ideas.
May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH).
Question
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
4. Compare and contrast the
two texts.
Both articles tell about climbing
Mount Everest but “It’s No Walk
in the Park” tells about how hard
the climb is for everyone, and “A
Race to the Top” tell just about
two climbers who were the first
to make it to the top. They had
learned from climbers before
them who didn’t make it and
they made it.
The two texts are similar and
different. The articles are the
same in that they both show
how hard it is to climb Mount
Everest.
The two texts are similar and
different. The articles are the
same in that they both show
how hard it is to climb Mount
Everest.
In “It’s No Walk in the Park,”
you learn about the work that
almost all climbers do before
they climb. In “A Race to the Top”
you learn about the special work
that the climbers who made it
to the top first did, like carrying
a new kind of oxygen tank. But
they both show the hard work
that climbers do to get to the
top.
In “It’s No Walk in the Park,”
you learn about the work that
almost all climbers do before
they climb. In “A Race to the Top”
you learn about the special work
that the climbers who made it
to the top first did, like carrying
a new kind of oxygen tank. But
they both show the hard work
that climbers do to get to the
top.
A big difference is that “It’s No
Walk in the Park” tells about a lot
of different climbers. But “The
Race to the Top” is just about the
first climbers to reach the top. It
shows their friendship.
A big difference is that “It’s No
Walk in the Park” tells about a lot
of different climbers. But “The
Race to the Top” is just about the
first climbers to reach the top. It
shows their friendship.
The two texts are similar and
different. What’s the same is that
both articles tell you about how
hard it is to climb Mount Everest.
Both texts offer the reader a
sense of what it is like to climb,
the danger involved, and the
feeling of triumph of those
who make it. “It’s No Walk in the
Park” does this in more of an
all-about way, letting the reader
know about the preparation
work involved, the cost to climb,
how you need others to help
you, and some of the dangers
involved. The author also puts
the reader in the shoes of
climbers at parts, so the reader
really feels the dangerous
experience of climbing. “Race
to the Top,” on the other hand,
is the narrative of one set of
climbers and their friendship,
which is a big reason why they
made it to the top. This text is
their story and lets the reader
know how hard it is to climb
through explaining what they
did and the failures of others.
The articles are also organized
differently. The first one is
organized by sections about
what you need to do to climb
Everest like learn skills and hire
Sherpas. The second article is
organized more like a story,
starting with Hillary and Norgay
making it to the top and then
backing up to say how they did
that when others couldn’t.
Comparing and Contrasting
Responses in this level zoom in on
information that is similar and
different in the texts.
Responses in this level show that
students are thinking not just
about the content, but about
treatment of the topic. They
may consider the focus, weight,
structure, or perspective of each
text.
Responses at this level include
specific details from the text when
comparing and contrasting.
Responses at this level will also
compare and contrast in different
ways. Students might discuss
specific differences in authors’
perspective, craft, or structure.
Responses at this level have
a more mature grasp of the
essential similarities and
differences and will tend to
sum these up more precisely.
Responses will also compare
and contrast in different
ways. Students might discuss
specific differences in authors’
perspective, craft, or structure.
The student will tend to especially
discuss craft techniques and how
these help make the message or
meaning more powerful.
May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2015 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study for Teaching Reading (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH).