Grade 8

Narrative

Writing Extended Response

Compose Full Texts

Geocaching

Conventions

Development/Elaboration

Organization/Purpose

There are some problems with sentence structure. For example, although some run-ons within dialogue may be purposeful (&#8220;&#8216;My feet hurt, how much longer do we have to walk for?&#8217;”), other run-ons are not for rhetorical effect (“My dad handed me the box, it was heavy”). Some fragments may also be purposeful (&#8220;The thrill of getting close to the cache site; the adventure trying to get around obstacles on my way, and the unforgettable prize at the end”), but other incomplete sentences, or parts of sentences, cause mild confusion (“I put a toy G. I. Joe action figure” and “Overall, geocaching is the best time I&#8217;ve ever had, so I think my friends in adventure club will too”).

There are errors with punctuating dialogue, including misplaced/incorrect punctuation after dialogue (e.g., “’We&#8217;re almost there.’ My dad said”). Other errors include an unnecessary comma (“I started geocaching when I was 5, and have gone once or twice a month since”) and an incorrect use of the semicolon (“The thrill of getting close to the cache site; the adventure trying to get around obstacles on my way, and the unforgettable prize at the end”).

There are no errors with capital letters.

There are a few errors with words, including an &#8220;an&#8221; that should be an &#8220;and&#8221; and frequently confused words (“to/too” and “threw/through”).

There are no errors with spelling (note that “wanna” is presumably purposeful).

Description of the actual destination (e.g., the “15 meter radius” somewhere in the “suburbs” of Chicago) is only generally developed, as are other details, including the actual location of the prize (e.g., “He had found the cache”). Overall, while development isn’t strong, it is adequate.

References to the source materials are clearly implied in some of the details (references to GPS; “the adventure trying to get around obstacles on my way, and the unforgettable prize at the end,” and the reference to leaving the G.I. Joe action figure). These details contribute to the realism of the response.

Dialogue reveals the narrator’s personality (eagerness: &#8220;&#8216;Hurry up, hurry up'&#8221;; and impatience: &#8220;&#8216;how much longer do we have to walk for?'&#8221;); the parents’ dialogue is more functional. Other descriptive details are somewhat general but adequate (e.g., “I looked everywhere. I overturned every stone I saw. I looked in tree stumps and threw leaves”). The use of backflash, however, is effective.

The language is often general (e.g., “This was amazing,” “I looked everywhere,” and “[I] worked my hardest”) but does not weaken the narrative.

The style is consistent and appropriate for a narrative.

There is an evident plot structure, with the narrator recalling a first experience geocaching. The conflict is inherent to geocaching (searching for treasure), there are various obstacles described (e.g., the length of the trip; the frustration of being unable to locate the treasure), and the setting is adequate to develop the plot.

There are various narrative elements used, including a well-established narrator who also describes themself as a child. The point of view is well-established (the story is told in hindsight). The mood is established (the child’s eagerness and frustration are both clearly shown).

Connections are uneven. The narrative shift from present to past to present is adequately connected (e.g., “I bring my first prize with me every time I geocache to remember how much fun it really is”). Some events, however, are choppy (e.g., “I wondered what the prize was. My dad handed me the box, it was heavy. I opened it up and saw my prize. It was beautiful. It was a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss matchbox car. This was amazing”).

The story adequately moves from the present, to the past, and back to the present. Minor lapses such as the details about stopping for pizza, which are not as critical to the narrative as other events, do not interfere with the overall unity of the narrative.

The narrative begins with the seemingly ordinary observation “My first experience geocaching is one I’ll never forget,” but this is followed by an explanation that sets up the action to come: “The thrill of getting close to the cache site; the adventure trying to get around obstacles on my way, and the unforgettable prize at the end.” The ending brings closure by bringing the purpose of the narrative full circle (to promote the adventure club), although it is somewhat repetitive.

Content Explorer

Sample Items Website

Tools for Teachers

Smarter Reporting

Remote Teaching and Learning

More Resources for Teachers

Privacy

Diversity, Inclusion & Equity

Web Accessibility Statement

Policy

Instagram

YouTube

Pinterest

Twitter

Facebook

Connect

An annotation is the educator’s explanation of how a portion of the student’s response relates to the rubric and contributes to that trait’s score. For example, the educator might explain how the response meets the expectations of a specific score point. An annotation can also describe aspects of a student response that relate to multiple score points on the rubric to demonstrate nuance when determining a score.

Annotation

One of three traits scored for the ELA performance task full write, this trait measures a student’s ability to demonstrate command of grade-level conventions of standard English: grammar usage (including sentence formation), capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

This trait measures students’ ability to select and integrate details that support, explain, illustrate, or develop ideas. Students should elaborate these details—that is, explain and connect them, guided by the writing purpose and audience needs.
For informative/explanatory and opinion/argumentative writing purposes, these details come from source materials.
For narrative writing, this trait is called Development/Elaboration, and students are expected to integrate and develop grade-appropriate story elements such as descriptive details and dialogue. For these tasks, events and experiences are inspired by source materials.

Evidence/Elaboration

This trait measures students’ ability to establish and sustain a focus for the writing. This focus should be consistent with the task’s designated purpose and the intended audience. Strong introductions and conclusions (or, for narrative writing, beginnings and endings) and transitions help to create coherence.

Performance tasks measure a student’s ability to demonstrate critical-thinking and problem-solving skills by challenging students to apply their knowledge and skills to complex, real-world problems. In the performance task, students are presented with a collection of questions and activities connected to a single theme or scenario. These activities ask students to demonstrate capacities such as depth of understanding, writing and research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with traditional assessment questions. Performance tasks are taken on a computer (but are not computer adaptive) and take students one to two class periods to complete.

Performance Task

The prompt is the text provided to the student that requests their response. It includes some contextual information, but also includes a specific task that students complete in their writing response.

Prompt

For a deeper dive into the content behind this student response, navigate to the Sample Items Website to access the writing prompt or visit the Content Explorer to learn more about this content area.

Prompt & Target

“Purpose” is the context for a piece of writing, or what the writer intends to accomplish. Students write texts with the following purposes:
<ul>
<li>Narrative (grades 3–8): tell a story</li>
<li>Informational (grades 3–5): present facts or data using source material</li>
<li>Explanatory (grades 6–11): explain a topic or concept by analyzing source materials</li>
<li>Opinion (grades 3–5): present and defend a position</li>
<li>Argumentative (grades 6–11): present an argument using research to form and support claims</li>
</ul>
Purposes have subtle differences depending on grade, and each writing purpose has its own scoring rubric.

Purpose

This text was written by a student in response to a Performance Task writing prompt.

Response

A rubric is a set framework for scorers to reference when determining the quality of student writing. Each trait has its own rubric, and every point value is defined in detail with examples of what to expect from student writing at each level.

Rubric

Donec sed odio dui. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lacinia quam venenatis vestibulum. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Sample Term One

Sample Term Two

Traits are different dimensions of a student response that educators evaluate when scoring. For example, an educator will assess grammar and spelling as part of the Conventions trait (maximum of two score points) but not take grammar or spelling into account when assessing the other traits. This approach ensures that scorers evaluate student writing from multiple angles.

Example for Grade 8: Narrative – Geocaching - ID: 5241

More Resources for Teachers

Connect

Policy