Supplemental Content 1
(Westby, Culatta, Lawrence, & Hall-Kenyon, TLD 30:4, Oct-Dec 2010)
Assessment Passages
Wildfires Passage
Wildfires are fires that are large and out of control. People should do everything they can to prevent
wildfires. People need to be careful when using fire. If people start a campfire then a spark may spread
and catch dry grass on fire. People also need to be careful when lighting fireworks because the sparks
from the fireworks can also catch the nearby grass on fire. Sparks from campfires or fireworks can cause
a wildfire. Not all wildfires happen because of people. A thunderstorm may cause lightning to strike the
dry ground or a nearby tree. As a result, a wildfire can start. Whether a wildfire is started by people or a
storm, it can be very dangerous and may result in harm to people, plants, and animals.
Bears Passage
Bears are found throughout the world. Two main types are brown bears and polar bears.
Brown bears live in mountains and forests. Their fur is blonde, brown, or black. The tips of their fur are
gray, giving them a grizzled look. This is why they are sometimes called grizzly bears. It also helps
them hide in the shrubs and trees where they live. Polar bears live on frozen tundra by the ocean. It is
difficult to live there. It is mostly cold and dark and there are very few plants and animals. In order to
survive, the polar bear has adapted in special ways. The skin of the bear is black. This draws every bit of
possible heat from the sunlight. The bear’s hairs appear to be white, but they actually clear. Below these
hairs are orange or yellow, “underhairs.” Brown bears are omnivores. They eat some meat, but mostly
they eat plants. This includes grasses, bulbs, seeds, berries, and roots. They will also eat insects, fish,
and small mammals. Some bears eat large animals, including moose, caribou, and elk. Polar bears are
also omnivores. They eat some plants, but of all bears, the polar bear eats the most meat. Polar bears
hunt seals. Seals must make holes in the ice so they can come up to breathe. The bears will sit near these
holes for hours waiting to capture the seals.
Tigers Passage
Once, many different types of tiger roamed throughout Asia. Today, three types are extinct and several
others are rare. Wild tigers can still be found only in some parts of Southeast Asia and Siberia. Two
main factors have caused the decline of tiger populations. One factor is the destruction of tiger’s
habitats. In central Asia, for example, farmers burned wooded areas along waterways to clear the land
for farming. Thousands of acres of forest were also set on fire. As a result, much of the tigers’ natural
prey disappeared. Without enough food to support their roughly four-hundred-pound bodies, the tigers
have disappeared as well. Hunting is the second factor that has caused the decline of tiger populations.
With the loss of their habitats and natural prey, tigers began to hunt closer to people. Farmers shot them
to protect their livestock. Others hunted them for sport or for their fur. Today, efforts are being made in
many regions to protect wild tigers. India and Nepal have set aside reserves for them. Many countries
have outlawed the import or sale of tiger skins. Successful captive breeding programs in zoos are also
helping to ensure that the survival of these great cats continues.
1
Supplemental Content 2
(Westby, Culatta, Lawrence, & Hall-Kenyon, TLD 30:4, Oct-Dec 2010)
Macrostructure Rubric
Level
0
Characteristics
•
•
•
•
1
•
•
•
•
2
•
Examples
Random statements; not related to the
passage/topic
No clear topic
Statements do not link to a central topic or
to one another
Statements may have some content that has
a link to the text, but in no way attempts to
summarize the text
•
Combination of relevant and irrelevant
statements/ideas
Relationships not clearly represented;
summary too brief to indicate relationship
Statements that are not sentences;
fragments, key words from graphic
organizer
Nearly all statements/phrases taken from
graphic organizer
•
Listing of information but does not follow
in a sequential, logical order
• Sequential/logical order, but relationships
between sentences or between sentences
and topics are general (e.g., “and, then,
so”) rather than specific (e.g., because, as a
result, but, if…then….)
• Response may be brief but indicates some
understanding of relationship
• Not clear that student is aware of text
structures
Notes
• Cannot be above a level 2 if information is
misinterpreted, if overall gist is not
captured, or if the child copies only the
connectors from the graphic organize
•
•
•
•
If you’re trieing to start a fir by prepared to bring
sum water.
Polar bears diggin there to look for babi sils
Tigers are a tip of cat that wathing 400 pounds.
They live in Asia. Most of them died from
hunters.
People can start wildfires with campfires.
Wildfires harm people, plans and animals.
Wildfires can be started by lightning.
Brown Bears live in mountains and forests. There
fur is blonde, bown, or black. They eat meat.
Polar Bears live in the fozen tundra. There fur is
black or white. They eat meat like the Brown
Bears
Once many types of tiger roamed in Asia. Today
three types are extinct. Several others are rare.
With the loss of tiger habitats they began to hunt
near farms.
2
Macrostructure Rubric (continued)
3
•
•
•
•
•
•
4
•
•
•
•
Coveys the overall gist of passage
Clear sense of text structure, but may not
use explicit topic sentence that signals text
structure
May have inconsistent use of
organizational structure
May use only the connectors from graphic
organize, but uses them appropriately
May use some explicit links (when, but,
because), but limited variety/complexity
and some errors
Statements link to one another and to
overall topic, but passage length is limited
•
Use of explicit connectives in clauses that
make the relationships between ideas
explicit [e.g., before, because,
consequently, when, if…then, but,
although, in contrast, similarly]
Text structure is obvious in summary,
using topic sentence
Statements link to one another and to
overall topic; must have several
sentences/ideas linked together and to topic
Variety of explicit connectors used
correctly; dependent clauses used to
express relationships
•
•
The decline of the tigers is caused by people
hunting tigers or farmers burning their habitats.
There are people trying to protect tigers by
making reserves and zoos and stuff. Hopefully
tigers will have a comeback and start rising in
number again because three species of tiger is
already extinct.
Polar Bears and Brown bears are both alike in
some ways but they are also both different in
some ways. Brown bears live in the mountains
and desserts. Polar bears live in the frozen tundra.
Brown bears fur is blond, brown, or black. Polar
bears fur is white. But brown bears and Polar
bears both eat meat.
Brown Bears and Polar Bears are dislike and
alike in these way. Brown bears live in mountains
and forests however Polar Bears live in the frozen
tundra. Brown bears fur is blonde, brown, or
black. But Polar bears fur looks white but is
really clear. Although they are different in these
ways they are alike because they both eat meat.
3
Supplemental Content 3
(Westby, Culatta, Lawrence, & Hall-Kenyon, TLD 30:4, Oct-Dec 2010)
Means and Standard Deviations for Summary Microstructure Measures
Measure
MLTU
Condition
Treatment
Control
# clauses
Treatment
Control
Causal connectives
Treatment
Control
Temporal connectives
Treatment
Control
Grade
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
Mean
8.116
8.289
7.398
7.986
17.13
20.47
14.87
15.96
1.21
1.64
.70
.92
1.01
1.39
.83
.98
SD
1.746
1.552
1.524
2.042
6.541
2.219
7.106
8.066
1.462
1.644
0.908
1.049
1.095
1.496
1.098
1.102
Supplemental Content 4
(Westby, Culatta, Lawrence, & Hall-Kenyon, TLD 30:4, Oct-Dec 2010)
Means and Standard Deviations for Summary Holistic Scores
Passage
Wildfires
Condition
Treatment
Control
Bears
Treatment
Control
Tigers
Treatment
Control
Grade
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
Mean
1.99
2.41
1.81
1.97
2.10
2.47
1.74
1.84
1.65
1.87
1.41
1.66
SD
.712
.712
.587
.774
.704
.717
.580
.611
.771
.793
.712
.713
4
Supplemental Content 5
(Westby, Culatta, Lawrence, & Hall-Kenyon, TLD 30:4, Oct-Dec 2010)
Means and Standard Deviations for Total Six-Trait Rubric Scores
Passage
Wildfires
Condition
Treatment
Control
Bears
Treatment
Control
Tigers
Treatment
Control
Grade
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
Mean
11.50
13.66
10.44
11.40
12.21
14.99
9.50
10.96
7.09
8.39
5.34
7.22
SD
3.708
2.785
3.876
4.285
3.644
3.578
3.782
3.510
2.464
3.538
3.183
3.271
5