B1
English Language Arts (ELA)
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Aligned
PERFORMANCE WRITING TASK (PWT)
7TH and 8TH GRADE
2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
Overview of the Performance Writing Task
Title
Has social networking’s impact on society been more positive or negative?
Assessment
Type
Performance Task
SBAC
Assessment
Claims
Claim 1: Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly
complex literary and informational texts.
Claim 2: Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of
purposes and audiences.
Common
Core
Standards
W.8.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
a. Introduce claim(s), and acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and
demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
RI 8.1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports and analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI 8.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of
the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary
of the text.
RI 8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative,
connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and
tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
RI 8.6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author
acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Task
Description
In Part One, the planning tasks involve reading, note taking, speaking and listening. All of these
activities are designed to prepare the student for writing a successful argumentative essay.
Students will also complete a short answer Reading Assessment in the form of three Constructed
Response Items. Part one consists of three 50 minute sessions.
Session One: Activating prior knowledge. Statistics. Review of Video.
Complete relevant sections of My Notes Organizer. (50 min.)
Session Two: Review of Articles and Comic Strip. Complete My Notes Organizer. (50 min.)
Session Three: Students individually take Reading Assessment: Constructed Responses.
Complete the Pros and Cons Organizer. (50 min.)
In Part Two, the prewriting and assessment tasks involve drafting an argumentative essay. Part
two consists of two 50 minute sessions:
Session Four: Review the Formative Argumentative Writing Rubric. Orally rehearse student
arguments. Complete the My Arguments Organizer. (50 min.)
Session Five: Complete the Performance Writing Task. (50 min.)
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 2 of 9
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
LIST OF MATERIALS / TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part One/Session 1
 Evidence Cards
 My Notes Organizer
 Source A - Video: “Think Time: Teens and
Social Networks”
 DVD/ Flash Drive /Google Site
Part One/Session 2
 My Notes Organizer
 Source B - Article: “Social Media: The Muscle
Behind the Trayvon Martin Movement”
 Source C - Article: “When Bullying Goes HighTech”
 Source D - Article: “Social Networking Benefits
Validated”
 Source E - Political Cartoon: “Social
Networking”
Teacher Version
p4, 8
p5
p5
Student Version
p3
p4-5
p4
p5
p5
p4-5
p6
p5
P7
p5
p8
p5
p9
Part One/Session 3
 Reading Assessment: Constructed Responses
 Pros and Cons Organizer
p6
p6
p10
p11-12
Part Two /Session 4:
 Formative Argumentative Writing Rubric
 My Arguments Organizer
p7
p7
Last page
p13
p7
p14
Part Two /Session 5:
 Performance Writing Task
 Lined Writing Sample Booklet
Technology Help:
Videos are available to you in the following ways:
1. DVDs with the videos copied on them will be provided by your teacher leader.
2. A Flash Drive with the videos will be provided by your teacher leader so you can download them
onto your computer.
3. The following Google Site will have the videos: sites.google.com/a/ousd.k12.ca.us/ousdpwt/
If you are projecting the video from your computer, be sure you have checked that your projector and
speakers are properly set up before beginning the assessment.
Please let your teacher leader know if you do NOT have access to the video.
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 3 of 9
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
Directions to Teacher
This Common Core-aligned ELA Performance Task can be given over three to five sessions
depending on class schedules. The directions below outline the steps to follow for a five
session administration; however this may be adjusted to fewer sessions to meet the different
bell schedules at each site.
Part One: Prewriting and Planning Activities
(2 to 3 sessions for approximately 150 minutes total)
Introduction: Have students turn to page 14. Introduce the writing prompt to students.
Explain that they will spend the next 2 or 3 days investigating a variety of sources, analyzing
evidence, and discussing both sides of the argument before they write their essay. Inform
students that they will also complete a reading assessment to assess their understanding of
a source article. Make it clear to students that the goal of this performance task is for them
to use their notes to write an evidence-based essay.
SESSION 1
1. Activating Prior Knowledge
(Approximately 25 minutes)
Materials Needed: Student Booklet, pages 2-3
Activity 1: To activate prior knowledge, ask students, “In what ways has social networking
been positive? Negative?” (You might consider using this question as a warm-up question.)
• In pairs, have students brainstorm ideas to answer the question.
• Have pairs share one new idea with the whole class. Novel ideas only.
• (Make sure students understand what social networking sites are before moving on.)
Activity 2: Have students turn to page 3 to individually read the evidence cards with
statistics. While students are reading, distribute envelopes containing pre-cut evidence
cards to each pair of students.
• Once all envelopes are distributed, have pairs sort the pre-cut cards into two categories:
Social networking’s impact has been positive. OR Social networking’s impact has been negative.
•
•
As they sort, have students explain their thinking to their partner. Encourage students
to use the suggested sentence frames provided in the T-Chart.
Once sorting is complete, have students turn to page 2 to complete the Activating Prior
Knowledge T-Chart individually. Encourage students to add at least two new pieces of
evidence for each side of the argument.
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 4 of 9
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
2. Gathering Source Evidence
(Approximately 25 minutes)
Source A - Video: “Think Time: Teens and Social Networks”
Materials Needed: DVD/Flash Drive/Google Site, Student Booklet, page 4
Activity 1: To start gathering source evidence, explain to students they will watch Source A,
a short video.
• Encourage students to listen for important information about the pros and cons of social
networking as they prepare for the writing task.
• Have students watch the video to understand the gist of the arguments presented.
• In pairs, have students discuss 2-3 observations.
Activity 2: Have students turn to page 4. Explain to students they will watch the video a
second time and take notes on the first row of the My Notes Organizer.
• Remind students to focus on important information about the pros and cons of social
networking.
• Have students watch the video and individually write down important ideas and quotes.
• Encourage students to use quotation marks when quoting the video verbatim.
• In pairs, have students share their notes for 2-3 minutes.
• Consider pausing the video intermittently to give students time to take notes.
SESSION 2
1. Gathering Source Evidence
(Approximately 50 minutes)
Source B - Article: “Social Media: The Muscle Behind the Trayvon Martin Movement”
Source C - Article: “When Bullying Goes High Tech”
Source D - Article: “Social Networking Benefits Validated”
Source E - Political Cartoon: “Social Networking”
Materials Needed: Student Booklet, pages 4-9
Activity 1: To continue to gather source evidence, explain to students that they will read
and examine three more sources.
• Have students turn to page 6 to individually read and annotate the article.
• Have students use the annotation plus sign (+) to code for arguments that support the
claim Social networking’s impact on society has been positive and a minus sign (-) to
code for arguments that support the claim Social networking’s impact on society has
been negative.
• In pairs, have students share at least 3 annotations each.
• Have students turn to pages 4-5 and individually complete the appropriate row of the
My Notes Organizer using annotations from the article.
• Repeat the steps above for each of the articles.
SESSION 3
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 5 of 9
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
1. Reading Assessment: Constructed Responses
(Approximately 20 minutes)
Materials Needed: Student Booklet, pages 10
Activity 1: Have students turn to pages 10. Explain this is a reading assessment that will
assess their understanding of the articles they’ve read.
• Have students read the directions independently and ask clarifying questions.
• Remind students that they should use examples and evidence from the text in their
responses when at all possible. Encourage them to refer to their student booklet
materials to help them answer the questions.
• Have students write their responses individually to the three questions listed using 2-5
complete sentences. Explain that they have approximately 15 minutes to answer all the
questions, about 5 minutes per question.
• Collect all student booklets. Review a few students’ answers to uncover possible
misconceptions. Plan to address any misconceptions before beginning Session 4.
2. Pros and Cons Organizer
(Approximately 30 minutes)
Materials Needed: Student Booklet, pages 4-9, 11-12
Activity 1: Have students turn to page 11. Explain students will reference their notes on
pages 4-5 and the sources on pages 6-9 to fill in the Pros and Cons Organizer.
• Have students read the directions to individually complete the ‘Reasons’ and
‘Supporting Evidence’ columns in the Pros and Cons Organizer.
• Remind students to re-visit their notes to help them cite the source of the evidence.
• In pairs, have students discuss the pros and cons they found in the sources provided.
Select students to report out their partner’s ideas.
• Have students individually write a draft claim on page 12 that they would like to support
in their writing task.
Activity 2: Have students divide into two groups based on their position/claim. Ask students
to share, in pairs or in groups of 3-4 students, the evidence they found to be the most
convincing and why.
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 6 of 9
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
Part Two: Pre-Writing and Performance Writing Tasks
(2 sessions for approximately 100 minutes total)
SESSION 4
1. Pre-Writing Tasks
(Approximately 50 minutes)
Materials Needed: Student Booklet, pages 13-16
Activity 1: Ask students to turn to page 14 and review the writing prompt in pairs. Have
students review the student friendly rubric and/or levels 4 and 5 of the Argumentative
Writing Rubric. Ask students to highlight/underline one or two phrases from each row to
indicate the writing skills they want to focus on in this writing task. Have students share
these writing goals/skill areas with a classmate.
Activity 2: Ask students to turn to page 13. Have students take time to organize their
thoughts using the My Arguments Organizer to outline their claims and the major
reasons/evidence they will use to support their claim. Ask students to pair up with one
other person with a similar position/claim. Have students orally rehearse the arguments
outlined in their My Arguments Organizer.
SESSION 5
1. Performance Writing Task
(Approximately 50 minutes)
Materials Needed: Student Booklet, page 14, and lined writing paper
Activity 1: Read the writing prompt to the students. Have students write an essay with a
minimum of 5 paragraphs. Let them know the amount of time they have to complete the
task. Encourage students to use the texts, notes, and organizers to inform their writing.
Writing Prompt
Currently, the Oakland Unified School District blocks access to social networking sites such as
Facebook. Principals and teachers have been debating the pros and cons of this policy.
Has social networking’s impact on society been more positive or negative?
After reading the provided texts and viewing the videos on the topic, write an argumentative essay
(at least 5 paragraphs) that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from
the texts and videos.
After 50 minutes, collect all student booklets and essays.
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 7 of 9
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
EVIDENCE CARDS
Use this page to copy one set for each pair
Over 50% of people learn about breaking news on social media.
Social networking sites are the top news source for 27.8% of
Americans, ranking close to newspapers (28.8%) and above radio
(18.8%) and other print publications (6%). Twitter and YouTube
users reported the July 20, 2012 Aurora, CO theater shooting
before news crews could arrive on the scene, and the Red Cross
urged witnesses to tell family members they were safe via social
media outlets.
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
A Summer 2012 Baylor University study examined Facebook
hate groups focused on President Barack Obama and found
racial slurs and stereotypes not seen in mainstream media in
decades: blackface images and comparisons of President
Obama to apes. Social networking sites allow hate groups to
recruit youth and to redistribute their
propaganda. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center,
the “Christian Identity” religion, a splinter faction of the
white supremacist group Aryan Nations, uses social media to
recruit.
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
49.5% of students reported being the victims of bullying online
and 33.7% reported committing bullying behavior
online. 800,000 minors were harassed or cyberbullied on
Facebook according to a June 2012 Consumer
Reports survey. Middle school children who were victims of
cyberbullying were almost twice as likely to attempt
suicide. Adults can also be victims of cyberbullying.
Social networking can worsen feelings of disconnect
(especially for youth with disabilities), and put children at
higher risk for depression, low self-esteem, and eating
disorders. The "passive consumption" of social media
(scanning posts without commenting) is related to
loneliness.
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
More than 80% of US college and university faculty use social
media; more than 50% use it for teaching; and 30% for
communicating with students. Educators from around the world
interact with each other and bring guest teachers, librarians,
authors, and experts into class via social networks like Twitter
and social networking tools like Skype. Edmodo, an educationspecific social networking site designed for students, teachers,
and parents, reached over ten million users on Sep. 11, 2012.
A mother was able to find a kidney donor for her sick child by
posting a video on her Facebook page. Crowdwise, a social
network devoted to volunteers and charity projects, raised
$845,989 (as of Nov. 20, 2012) for Hurricane Sandy victims.
Followers of Pencils of Promise on social media have helped
the non-profit build 74 schools (with 26 more in progress
and 7 more planned as of Nov. 19, 2012) and educate 4,500
children.
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
Social media can help improve life satisfaction, stroke recovery,
memory retention, and overall well-being by providing users
with a large social group. Additionally, friends on social media
can have a "contagion" effect, promoting and helping with
exercise, dieting, and smoking cessation goals.
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
Students who use social media had an average GPA of 3.06
while non-users had an average GPA of 3.82. Students who
used social networking sites while studying scored 20%
lower on tests. College students’ grades dropped 0.12 points
for every 93 minutes spent on Facebook per day above the
average. Two-thirds of teachers believe social media does
more to distract students than to help academically.
(socialnetworking.procon.org)
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 8 of 9
EVIDENCE CARDS #s
2
1
4
3
6
5
8
7
ELA 7 th and 8th Grade Performance Writing Task
ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS COVER SHEET
Directions: Please collect all student booklets, essays, and Scantron answer sheets by
class/period. Put the class set of assessment documents in a file folder, place a copy of
this cover sheet on top of the folder and secure it with a large rubber band or giant clip.
Turn in the folder to your site’s ELA teacher leader. Thank you.
School Name: _________________________________________
Teacher Name: ________________________________________
Room #: ________________ Class Period___________________
Date: ________________________________________________
PERFORMANCE WRITING TASK (PWT)
7TH and 8TH GRADE
2013-2014
OUSD_ELA-PWT_G7 and G8_B1_ 2013-2014
TEACHER VERSION
Page 9 of 9