1. November 7, 2011
Let’s beat the boys again!!!

2. November 7, 2011
• Please gather in groups of 8 – do not move chairs.
Each group should have white boards and
markers, as well as a paper towel.
• Appoint two people to be recorders and two
people to be spokeswomen.
• The remaining group members will be active
participants by contributing ideas and watching
the time.
• League members are requested to sit separately as
you will be moving about the room throughout
the afternoon.

3. Teacher’s Desk
Area
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Screen Screen

5. Georgia Eight Grade Writing Assessment
The purpose of the 8th Grade
Writing Assessment is to assess
student achievement in the
Georgia Performance Standards
in writing and to improve writing
and writing instruction. The 8th
Grade Writing Assessment
provides predictive information
to eighth graders about their
future writing performance in
advance of taking the Georgia
High School Writing Test
(GHSWT)
Taken from Cobb County Schools Web Site

6. •Assessment is based on a scaled score.
•The scale score range for the Grade 8 Writing
Assessment is 100 to 350. Writing scores are also
reported in the following performance levels:
•Does Not Meet - (100 – 199) = 73% or less
•Meets - ( 200 – 249) = 74% - 79%
•Exceeds – ( 250 – 350) = 80%+
•Taken from Cobb County Schools Web Site

7. •Will demonstrate limited focus on the assigned topic or genre
and may lack an introduction or conclusion
•A controlling idea may be unclear, or the controlling idea
may not address the assigned genre.
•Development of the topic is minimal, and supporting
ideas are listed rather than developed.
•Ideas may not be grouped or sequenced appropriately, and
transitions may be lacking.

8. •The writing shows little awareness of audience or reader
concerns.
•Word choice and sentences are simple and/or repetitive.
•The writer’s voice is inconsistent or not apparent.
•Frequent errors in sentence formation, usage, and mechanics
may interfere with or obscure meaning.
•Demonstration of competence may be limited by the brevity of
the response.

9. Meets the Standard
 Writing samples that meet the standard are generally focused on
the assigned topic and genre, and contain a clear
introduction, body and conclusion.
 Expository compositions have a controlling idea that explains or
describes the assigned topic.
 Persuasive compositions have a clear position on the assigned
topic.
 Supporting ideas are relevant and developed with some examples
and details, but some parts of the paper may be more developed
than others.

10. Meets the Standard
 Ideas are presented in a clear sequence. Related ideas are grouped
together and connected with some transitions.
 Word choice is generally engaging, and there is some variation in
sentence length and structure.
 The writer’s voice is clear, and the writing shows awareness of the
audience.
 Sentence formation, usage, and mechanics are generally
correct, and errors do not interfere with meaning.
 The text is of sufficient length to demonstrate effective writing
skills.

11.  Writing samples that exceed the standard are consistently focused
on the assigned topic, genre, and audience, and have an effective
introduction, body, and conclusion.
 Expository compositions have a clear controlling idea that fully
explains or describes the assigned topic.
 Persuasive compositions have a well developed controlling idea
that establishes the validity of the writer’s position.
 Supporting ideas are relevant and fully elaborated with specific
examples and details that address reader concerns.
 Ideas are logically grouped and sequenced within paragraphs
and across parts of the paper.

12.  Varied transitional elements are used to connect ideas.
 Word choice is varied and precise throughout the response, and
sentences are varied in length and structure.
 The writer’s voice is distinctive, and the writer demonstrates
sustained attention to the audience in the introduction, body, and
conclusion.
 Sentence formation, usage, and mechanics are consistently
correct in a variety of contexts.
 Errors are minor and infrequent.
 The text is of sufficient length to demonstrate effective writing
skills in a variety of contexts.

13. DNM –
Lacking, limited, inconsistent, unclear, unaware, e
rrors
M–
general, some, somewhat, generally, sufficient, mi
nor errors
Ex- consistent, effective, well developed, fully
elaborated, varied & precise, distinctive, minimal

14. 8th Grade Writing Exam is also scored based on individual
domains. The domain scoring ranges from scores of 0-5. The
domain areas are:
Ideas – controlling idea, supporting details
Organization – logical plan
Style – purpose, assigned genre, word choice
Conventions- sentence structure, grammar, punctuation.
Taken from Cobb County Schools Web Site
Don’t ask how they get from a 0 – 5 point scale to a scaled score of 100 – 350. It’s a mystery unknown to man.

15. •Total 8th grade student population taking exam
•420 (211 boys) (209 girls)
•Total 8th grade student population in exceeds category
•42 (14 boys) (28 girls)
•6% of boys with exceeds scores
•13% of girls with exceeds scores

16. •78% of total school population scored in the Meets category.
•Out of 420 students
•161 of boys scored in the meets category
•167of girls scored in the meets category
•79% of population of girls scored in meets
•76% of population of boys scored in meets
•This means over ¾ of total population just does o.k.
•WE NEED EXCEEDS!

17. Lovinggood Middle School 8th Grade Writing Scores
90.0
P
e 80.0
r 70.0
c
60.0
e
n 50.0 Series1
t 40.0 Series2
30.0
T
o 20.0
t 10.0 2009 Data
Series2
a
.0 2010 Data
l
s Series1
Percent in PL1
Percent in PL2
Percent in PL3
Levels of Performance - Does Not Meet, Meets, Exceeds

18. •Total 8th grade population scheduled to take
writing exam
•397 (approx.) (209 boys) (188 girls)
To achieve same percentage of exceeds scores, we
will have to do it with 21 less girls and 4 less boys.
Goal – increase exceeds percentage from 13% to
20% for girls.
- increase exceeds percentage from 6% to 15%
for boys.

19. •That means……
•At least 36 out of 188 girls will need to score in exceeds
category on the writing exam.
•At least 31 out of 209 boys will need to score in exceeds
category on the writing exam.
•BUT, WE WANT MORE!
•WE CAN DO IT!

20. W – Write with vivid verbs
O – Open with a hook
M – Make it believable
A – Always close with a restatement
N – Note the time

21. Remember your brush strokes and
literary devices. Don’t use the same old
boring verbs. Mix it up. Remember “said is dead.”
What fabulous vocabulary can you impart?

22. Propelled

23. Policed

24. Sarcastic

25. •Use a statement
•Use a description
•Use a statistic or fact
•Use dialogue
•Use a rhetorical question
•Use a quotation
•Use an unusual detail

26. Idling in an unending
line of smog infested
cars, Mrs. Brown waited
to pick up Molly, once
again asking herself
“Why don’t I just make
her ride the bus?”

27. Nose twitching, ears
listening, the koala
clung to the
eucalyptus tree.

28. Did you know that 72
percent of Emperor
Penguins dance as
part of their daily
exercise ritual?

29. “Give me your tired, your
poor,
Your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free;
The wretched refuse of
your teeming shore,
Send these, the
homeless,
Tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!”

30. Make up questions to consider before you write.
Grey squirrel 1. How many grey squirrels get hit by cars in suburban
neighborhoods each year?
2. How far can red squirrels fly when they leave the tree limb?
3. What do the local park rangers have to say about the grey
squirrel populations at the park?
4. Are red squirrels native to the USA?
Believable Answers to made up questions
1. 67.4% of all grey squirrels meet their
demise by being on the business end
Red Squirrel
of a motor vehicle.
2. Red squirrels are able to soar over 6
feet when they expand the skin flap
between their front and rear legs. This allows them to move
through high tree tops and avoid predators on the ground.
3. Ranger Ron said in a recent interview “Grey squirrel populations
have gotten so high that their existence has made it hard for patrons
to enjoy the picnic areas. Something needs to be done to control
them.”
4. Red squirrels are native to coniferous forests in England, Scotland
and Norway, and can be found at higher elevations in Ireland.

31. The big bad wolf…

32. Television violence…

33. •Remember it is just as important to end a paper strongly
as it is to begin one. You can do this by reminding the
reader what the paper was about.
Here are some ideas:
• Bring back some idea from your introduction
• Summarize your thoughts
• Ask a question
• Give a charge or Call to Action for a persuasive

34. You will have 100 minutes. You should take all of that time.
Here is the “suggested” time line, but yours can vary slightly.
•Prewrite – 15 minutes (Think about the topic, brain storm
ideas/supporting details, believable facts, etc).
•Draft – 35 minutes (Write your first draft. Include specific information
about the topic & make sure you are staying on topic).
•Revise – 20 minutes (Read back through your paper to make
corrections. Look at your word choice, can you make your transitions
better, did you address the appropriate audience, etc).
•Prepare Final Draft – 20 minutes (On the correct form, write your final
draft incorporating the corrections & changes you made in your
revisions).
•Proof – 10 minutes (Take the last few minutes to read your final draft
and do any little tweaking that needs to be done. You don’t have time to
start over, so don’t make big changes).

35. Expository Writing Persuasive Writing
-Introduction -Introduction
-Descriptive information -Supporting reasons
-Conclusion -Conclusion
-Introduction -Argument
-Description of events in -Address Counter argument
chronological order -Conclusion
-Conclusion
-Introduction -Introduction
-Comparison/contrast -One side of the issue
-Conclusion -Another side of the issue
-Conclusion
-Introduction
-Anecdote illustrating position
-Conclusion

36. Demonstrating Demonstrating Awareness
Awareness of the of the Persuasive Purpose
Expository Purpose
Establishes a clear
Establishes a clear position on the issue
controlling idea on the Provides relevant
assigned topic supporting ideas
Provides relevant Selects convincing details
details that explain or and examples appropriate
describe the writer’s to the audience assigned in
topic the writing prompt.
Defines any Anticipates and
technical terms the addresses reader concerns
reader may not know and counter-arguments

37. Weight of Domains
Scoring Domain Weight % of total
Domain score
Ideas 2 x raters’ scores 40%
Organization 1 x raters’ scores 20%
Style 1 x raters’ scores 20%
Conventions 1 x raters’ scores 20%
37

38. What Expository Writing Is and Is Not
An effective expository composition . . . An effective expository composition is
NOT:
Establishes a clear controlling idea Copying words or information from the
writing topic
Uses clear, complete descriptions and/or A list of facts, a story, and/or personal
explanations to develop the controlling idea anecdotes that are unrelated to the topic
Contains an appropriate organizational A response in which ideas are not
strategy for the purpose of explanation, presented in logical order
description, comparison and contrast, or
problem and solution
Is multi-paragraph writing A single paragraph
Fully develops the controlling idea with Formulaic writing or a repetitive, standard
specific details and examples five-paragraph formula that overshadows
the information instead of explaining it
Blends personal experience and knowledge An encyclopedic coverage of facts or an
to inform the reader about the topic abundance of facts that are unrelated to
the topic 38

39. What Expository Writing Is and Is Not
An effective expository composition . . . An effective expository composition is
NOT:
Uses a lively writing voice that develops the Flat, uninteresting writing
reader's interest
Uses engaging language and varied An essay that contains imprecise language
sentences and little sentence variety
Introduces the reader to the topic, fully Writing that provides information without
develops the topic, and provides a sense of introducing, developing, and/or concluding
closure the topic
May contain a short narrative in the Writing that consists entirely of a story that
introduction to engage the audience does not inform the audience about the
topic
Contains correct sentences, usage, Incorrect sentences, usage, grammar, and
grammar, and spelling that make the spelling that distract the reader from the
writer's ideas understandable writer's ideas
39

40. What Persuasive Writing Is and Is Not
An effective persuasive composition . . . An effective persuasive composition is NOT:
Clearly establishes a position on the issue Copying words or information from the writing topic
Fully develops an argument with specific details and Formulaic writing or a repetitive, standard five-
examples paragraph formula that repeats the writer’s position
and supporting reasons
Defends the writer’s position with relevant evidence A list of irrelevant ideas or supporting ideas that are
that is appropriate for the audience identified in the inappropriate for the audience identified in the writing
writing topic topic
Demonstrates that the writer can anticipate and Writing that fails to consider the audience’s position
counter the audience’s position on the issue on an issue
Uses specific facts, personal experience and A list of facts, a story, and/or personal anecdotes that
knowledge, and/or statistics to support the writer’s are unrelated to the writer’s position
position
Includes appeals to logic and/or emotion A chance for the writer to simply vent about a topic
Contains an organizational structure appropriate for
persuasion
40

41. What Persuasive Writing Is and Is Not
An effective persuasive composition . . . An effective persuasive composition is
NOT:
Contains an organizational structure Writing in which ideas are presented in an
appropriate for persuasion illogical or confusing order
Is multi-paragraph writing that supports a A single paragraph
specific side of an issue
Uses appropriate writing voice to engage the Flat, uninteresting writing
reader
Uses precise language and varied An essay that contains imprecise language
sentences and little sentence variety
Introduces the reader to the issue, fully Writing that presents ideas without
develops a position, and provides a sense of introducing, developing, and/or providing
closure closure
May contain a short narrative in the A story that does not address the persuasive
introduction or a skillful extended narrative purpose of the topic
that supports the writer’s position
Contains correct sentences, usage, Incorrect sentences, usage, grammar, and
grammar, and spelling that make the writer's spelling that distract the reader from the
ideas understandable writer's ideas
41

42. Sample Expository Writing Topic
Writing Situation: In order to save money, your principal is thinking
about canceling all field trips for the remainder of the year.
Directions for Writing: Write an expository essay explaining why
fieldtrips are an important educational experience. Be sure to
include important facts & details.
42

43. Sample Persuasive Writing Topic
Writing Situation: In order to save money, your principal is thinking
about canceling all field trips for the remainder of the year.
Directions for Writing: Write an essay persuading her to allow
students to continue attending field trips. Use specific reasons and
examples to support your response.
43

44. Sample Expository Writing Topic
Writing Situation: Childhood obesity is a real problem in America.
As a way to help combat this, school cafeterias are being
challenged to change their menu selections to include
healthier, non-processed foods.
Directions for Writing: Write an expository essay suggesting a
healthy menu you would like to see offered in our cafeteria.
44

45. Sample Persuasive Writing Topic
Writing Situation: Childhood obesity is a real problem in America. As
a way to help combat this, school cafeterias are being challenged
to change their menu selections to include healthier, non-processed
foods.
Directions for Writing: Write an editorial for the local paper arguing
whether or not school lunches should be reformed. Be sure to
include specifics to support your argument.
45

46. Sample Expository Writing Topic
Writing Situation: Your school is going to add new connections
classes next year. The choices include drafting, self defense, wood
shop, or dance.
Directions for Writing: Write a letter to your principal to explain
which of these classes would be the best selection. Be sure to
provide support for your explanation.
46

47. Sample Persuasive Writing Topic
Writing Situation: Your school is going to add new connections
classes next year. The choices include drafting, self defense, wood
shop, or dance.
Directions for Writing: Write an essay persuading the committee to
select a specific class. Be sure to provide statistics and evidence to
support your argument.
47

48. Sample Expository Writing Topic
Writing Situation: Many of the schools in Cobb County went to
required school uniforms this year. The school board is discussing
whether or not to make this a county wide policy.
Directions for Writing: Write a report to the school board explaining
the pros/cons of school uniforms.

49. Sample Persuasive Writing Topic
Writing Situation: Many of the schools in Cobb County went to
required school uniforms this year. The school board is discussing
whether or not to make this a county wide policy.
Directions for Writing: Write a speech to present to the school board
arguing either for or against the move to uniform all students.

50. Writing Situation: Everyone has thought
Get into groups with about what it would be like to travel through
elbow partners and time and visit the past or the future.
talk about these
papers as they appear Directions for Writing: Before you begin
writing, think about where and when in time
on the screen. Decide you would like to travel and why you would
on the four domains like to go there.
what score the paper
Now write an essay telling where you would
would receive. To like to go in time and explaining why you
the right is the topic would like to visit there. Support your ideas
information. with specific examples and details.

51. Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

52. Part 1

53. Part 2:
Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

54. Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

55. Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

56. Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

57. Part 1:
Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

58. Part 2:
Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

60. Part 2:
Ideas:
Organization:
Style:
Conventions:

61. Competition
 For Lovinggood, one in every three men failed the
writing test, where one in every ten ladies failed.
 Let’s keep up the good work! The men don’t have to
fail; we just have to do better than they do! Our goal is
to see more ladies in the exceeds standards group this
year.
 It is my challenge & expectation that every young lady
sitting in this room today will exceed on the writing
test.
 The group that shows the greatest improvement on the
writing test (moving from does not meet to meets
and/or from meets to exceeds) will be rewarded in the
spring after scores come back.

63. We are quietly going
to go and join the
rest of the ladies to
hear some
inspirational words
and music by local
talent. Please stack
chairs in stacks of 8
each before leaving.
Pick up all trash and
move quietly to the
café.