What’s the next step? Is sometimes the question we ask ourselves once we receive reading and writing data on students abilities. Where are they? What are they able to do? Sometimes it’s difficult to tell whether a student needs either remediation or extended/enrichment activities. If this is the case, allow students to show-what-they-know by assessing their level of reading and writing skills, which are skills they’ll need in their daily life.
But again, once we know, we then ask ourselves, which resources do I use? I, personally have found that with the variety of student learning styles and ability levels that enter my classroom, it can be difficult to chose. Well, why not allow the students to chose and assess their own ability to read and write and then chose when they’re ready to move on to a higher level.
A great way to do this is to have students read a short story where they then respond to evidence-based questions on different levels of learning…in particular, the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels either independently or in a guided literacy station…
Reading and Writing Activities with 6 Traits Posters (Light the Way!)
This resource includes:
• 2 paired passages (one literary and one informational)
• 24 writing response task cards with sample answer response cards
• 3 writing prompts for narrative, expository, and persuasive writing
• Student Completion Chart
• BONUS: 6 Traits for Writing Wall Charts
Peek at the PREVIEW pages for pictures of this resource!
This product is Common Core aligned and focuses on reading and writing activities for grades 5 – 8. Students read a literary and informational paired set of passages and answer written response questions related to the topic of the paired passages. Each written response requires the student to cite textual evidence from the passages. Each task card focuses on a Common Core Reading Standard that covers Reading Literature (RL) Standards 1 – 6 and Reading Information (RI) Standards 1 – 6.
Each task card is written on a different Depth of Knowledge (DOK) level for each standard covered. This allows the students to focus on a specific standard to learn, remediate, or enrich. Use the DOK levels to scaffold the rigor of the written response tasks.
Students also write a narrative, expository, and/or persuasive essay where they respond to a prompt related to the literary and informational set of passages. As students complete the writing tasks, they fill in the task log on their Student Completion Chart. The teacher or student-pairs can grade the task cards using the answer keys.
Suggested Activities:
1. Diagnostic: use the written response tasks as a diagnostic to determine each students level of writing on a specific standard.
2. Guided (teacher-led) Literacy Station: use the written response tasks in a guided (teacher-led) literacy station to scaffold students’ reading and writing skills.
3. Reading and Writing Literacy Station: use the written response tasks in a reading and writing literacy station.
4. Formative or Summative assessment: use the writing prompts as a formative or summative assessment.
Happy Learning! Happy Teaching! Happy Learning!
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Literacy Art by Iris 