SCOPE AND SEQUENCE (Week One): The Diagnostic Writing Sample

I am constantly being asked for a Scope and Sequence, and I've always been reticent to provide one, because I want teachers to have flexibility. Sometimes, an entity will put out a Curriculum, and then it becomes mandatory and leaves no room for teacher flexibility and creativity. Each week, I will provide a guide, and that's what it is -- a guide -- you know best what is good for your students. I am here to honor that and to provide assistance.

WEEK ONE - The Diagnostic Writing Sample

• Give the students one or two lined pages of paper, depending on the length of your assignment (make this a contained assignment -- you simply want to get to know the kids and their writing);
• So to make this more enjoyable for you and the students,give them three or four prompts from which to choose;
• Allow 40-50 minutes to complete the assignment;
• Tell them, "I want you to show me your best writing so that we do not have to review skills you learned when you were younger!"
• Do not score these. Rather, create a spreadsheet for each class (export from gradebook, if possible)

• For each student, list 1) overall strength (e.g., handwriting; punctuation; spelling; commentary; humor); 2) recurring errors (e.g., a lot; frags; run-ons; apostrophes; it's, s/v; p/a)
• For each class, can you assess overall strength; recurring errors?

EXPOSITORY PROMPTS

Career and Technology

• There are several personal qualities that make an employee a good worker. Think about those qualities. Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc),, explain one of those qualities that you possess. –Maria Smith, 10th Grade, Health Careers

English Language Arts

• Writing is a difficult but rewarding skill. Think about your own writing and its strengths and weaknesses. Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), describe your greatest strength and why that is important for you to understand and your greatest writing weakness and how I, your teacher, can help you improve this year. – Autumn Carberry, 11th Grade, English Language Arts
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), explain the characteristics (2+) of a former favorite (1) writing assignment. – Monica Murillo, 11th Grade, English Language Arts
• “Genre” is a word we use in English class to explain the different categories of reading. The most widely read genres in literature are

• drama (tragedy, comedy)
• novel (mystery, romance, adventure)
• poetry (epic, lyric, narrative, dramatic)
• essay (articles, creative nonfiction)
• short story (fiction that can be read in one sitting)

Recall your favorite texts. Then, demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), identify the genre you like most and why. – Kristin Gilbert, 9th Grade, English Language Arts

Mathematics

• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), explain why you like or dislike Math. - Araceli De La Torre, 9th Grade, Mathematics

Science

• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), explain one of the seven steps in the Scientific Method that you also use to solve a common problem in your daily life. - Sherry Peñaflor, 10th – 12th Grade, Science

Social Studies

• If you love history, then typically you have a favorite historical period. Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc.), explain a moment in history that you particular enjoy studying and write details of the period and why you especially like this part of history.

World LanguagesSpanish (or simply translate the following prompt into different languages):

• Tema de Escritura: Escribe un párrafo que describa algo que hayas hecho en tus vacaciones de verano, que refleje una costumbre de tu familia, cultura o comunidad. (Translation) Writing Prompt: Write a paragraph that describes something you did over summer vacation, that reflects a family, cultural or community custom/ tradition. -Salomón Álvarez and Ana Briceño, 9th – 12th Grade, Spanish

General Diagnostic Prompts

• Without naming anyone and demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), write a paragraph that names a weakness of an ineffective teacher. Provides examples that support that weakness and explain how a student is effected by that weakness. -Roger Perez and Eva Tafoya-Tapp, 10th Grade, English Language Arts
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), write a paragraph that explains your favorite subject. Provide examples of what activities you like in that subject and explain why you like those activities. – Brenda Lopez, 9th – 12th grade, English Language Development
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), write a paragraph that lists the activities that Honors English classes do and what insight into literature, writing, grammar, or thinking you hope to achieve by being in this Honors class. -Elisa Santillan, 10th grade, English Language Arts
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), write a paragraph that describes one characteristic that you believe a successful college student has. Provide an example of that characteristic and explain why that characteristic is important to success. – Monica Perez and Irma Martinez, 11th – 12th grade, English Language Arts
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), write a oparagraph that describes your favorite place in the world. – Annie Contreras, 9th grade, English Language Arts
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), write a paragraph that discusses the steps you plan to take to be successful after high school. – Tonisha Oliver, 12th grade , English Language Arts
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), write a paragraph that explains the greatest accomplishments of your freshman year and how those accomplishments have made you a better student and/or person. - Diosa Montes, 10th Grade, English Language Arts
• Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), Write a paragraph that describes your best moment in ____ grade. Explain why that moment stands out in your mind. – Dio Zavala, 9th Grade, English Language Arts
• During middle school you had several different teachers. One or two of them made learning easy. Think back over your middle school classes to determine which teacher was the best. Then, Demonstrating your best writing (paragraphing, transitions, spelling, punctuation, etc), Write a paragraph that describes him or her. Provide a classroom experience, activity, or strategy and explain how that example positively affected you. – Keri Arrage, 9th grade, English Language Arts

NARRATIVE PROMPTS (Elementary, Middle School, and High School)

• Write about a time you learned something important about life and discuss how it affected you.
• Much of what we learn happens outside of school, not in class. Write about a time when an outside-of-school person, sport, experience, or vacation helped you learn something important and why.
• Write about a time when you respected or disliked someone for something he or she did and say why.
• Write about a time when you did the right thing and how you felt about it.
• Write about a time when you appreciated something or someone.
• Write about a time when it was important to appreciate your heritage.
• Write about a time when you made a good decision regarding money.
• Write about a time when you did something you’re proud of.

LITERARY ANALYSIS PROMPTS (Middle School and High School)

Go to our Response to Literature Guide (Grades 6-12) and look at the easy writing prompts on p. 59 and the passages in the packet. If the students are not familiar with JSWP terminology, remove the ratio and chunking descriptors. Ask the students to write on one of those passages. For middle school students, limit the writing to Graham's short story, having the students write on the first half of the story. They will be able to do it in one class period.