Grades 4–6 Level A Writing Assessment Exemplar

Look at the pictures. Write a story.
Student Example

Student writing assessment exemplar:

the fish can run
an run an run

fish an cat

no fish no cat

 

Level A: Uses survival words (run, no), basic utility words (the, fish, cat, can), and social greetings (-)

Level A: Uses words in one- to three-word utterances that convey meaning (fish an [and] cat)

Level A: Connects two to three words (an [and])

Use the checkboxes below to display the corresponding Benchmarks 2.0 indicators.

 
A
 
A
 
A
Writing Benchmark Level
A


Next Steps

After determining English proficiency levels, teachers can refer to the Supporting Competency Indicators found in Benchmarks 2.0 for strategies to inform programming and instruction of EAL learners in all subjects. Once a student demonstrates Level A indicators, the teacher refers to Level B for planning instruction.

Example: Providing opportunities for the student to fill in one or two words in a patterned sentence by using multilingual word banks and visuals (Writing Supporting Competency: Strategic Writing Characteristics).



How to Use This Writing Assessment Exemplar

This collection of writing assessment exemplars provides teachers of English as an additional language (EAL) learners with examples of student writing at each English proficiency level and grade range.

Teachers can use these interactive exemplars to build their understanding of Benchmarks 2.0 competencies (vocabulary, sentence structure, and connections and transitions) and proficiency levels in writing.

  1. Click on “View full size” to see the original student writing.
  2. Select the competency you wish to view. Boxes in the corresponding colour will highlight the text in the exemplar and display an explanation of the competency below.
  3. Click on one or more competencies to view at a time.
  4. Review “Next Steps” for examples of how to use the Benchmarks 2.0 writing assessment to inform programming and instruction in all subject areas.

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