CORE Assessment Module
Module Overview
Purpose and Usage:
This assessment module is a performance activity to assess how well students can examine
complex text and then demonstrate their understanding through writing. All modules were developed by
practitioners for practitioners. Since the reading expectations are rigorous, some might find the text
selections challenging. Please note, however, that the text exemplars that are used as the basis for each
module are taken directly from Appendix B of the Common Core State Standards for targeted grades.
The expectations of the CCSS call on teachers to instruct around complex text so students read
closely to accomplish essential skills, such as make inferences, determine themes, and analyze
development of ideas. They do so using textual evidence from a targeted complex text. Much like
teachers engage students in the writing process to create optimal written products, teachers would
likewise plan and conduct a series of comprehensive lessons to help students meet these rigorous reading
standards. These lessons would align to specific reading standards, include a myriad of instructional
strategies and formative assessments (e.g., read silently, discuss, listen to, take notes, engage in discussion
with peers, write informally and formally, etc.), and center on text-dependent activities and tasks to illicit
deep understanding of targeted texts. This assessment module does not replace a formalized series of
lessons around complex text as just described, but rather provides a “dipstick” to get a sense of how well
students read complex text independently and proficiently. The results are meant to inform teachers about
future instruction.
Teachers should use their professional judgment and their district’s recommended guidelines to
administer this module as a pre-assessment or formative assessment in order to gather information about a
student’s ability to read complex text carefully and construct an organized writing piece that is grounded
in evidence from the text. Some teachers might decide to use two modules – one as a preassessment and
another as a formative assessment to check for understanding during the formalized instructional process
around complex text.
We encourage teachers to administer this assessment with colleagues and discuss results together
to ascertain next steps in an instructional plan. Teachers can employ additional instructional strategies
beyond what is included in this module when administering the assessment. However, discuss with
colleagues which ones you choose to use so you are conducting this assessment under similar conditions.
Scoring:
At this time, use the Smarter Balance rubrics available at this link:
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/TaskItemSpecifications/EnglishL
anguageArtsLiteracy/ELARubrics.pdf. Smarter Balanced does not have a rubric for each grade for all
three writing types; however, later, a more detailed rubric for all grades and types will be considered.
Content Area
English Language Arts
Text
Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean by Arthur Dorros
Grade Level
Grade 1
Target Area
Text-Dependent Questions, Performance Task (Informative/Explanatory)
Common Core RI 1.1
RI 1.2
State
RI 1.4
Standards
W 1.2
Module Overview
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
Identify main topic and retell key details of a text.
Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of
words and phrases in a text.
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply
some facts about the topic, and provide a sense of closure.
1
SBAC
Assessment
Claims
Task
Overview
Module
Components
*SL 1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about
grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
*SL 1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or
information presented orally or through other media.
*SL 1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to the task and situation.
Claim 1: Students can read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of
increasingly complex literary and informational texts.
Claim 2: Students can produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of
purposes and audiences.
This assessment task will be completed in three parts. The first two parts involve
reading, drawing visual images, and literature discussion. Additionally, students will
complete a graphic organizer, engaging in discussion with peers, in order to write
individual responses to text-dependent questions. In part three, students will be
asked to write an informative/explanatory text.
1) Directions to Teacher
2) Follow the Water From Brook to Ocean Text Passage
3) Sketch Sheet
4) Text-Dependent Questions and Peer Discussion
5) Graphic Organizer
6) Independent Writing Task
*Standard addressed but not explicitly assessed.
Module Overview
2
Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
Directions to Teacher
This Common Core-aligned ELA Performance Task can be given over three days depending on
class schedules. The directions below outline the steps to follow for a three-day lesson.
Text: Dorros, Arthur. Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
(1991)
Materials
 Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean Text Passage
 Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean Sketch Sheet
 Visual Prompts for Literature Discussion
 Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean Question List
 Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer
 Class-Generated Charts
 Writing Task
 Chart paper
 Lined Paper
DAY 1
1. Reading
(Approximately 15 minutes)
Distribute a copy of the text passage Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean by Arthur
Dorros. Read it aloud to the students inviting them to follow along as you read. Then
have them engage with the text by working in partners to read sections of the text, sketch
what is memorable, and share with their partners. Distribute Follow the Water from
Brook to Ocean Sketch Sheet for this exercise. If you have not used this strategy in the
past, model for students how to sketch memorable points quickly from a text passage.
Invite a few partners to share their sketches with the class.
2. Speaking and Listening Exercise (*SL 1.1, *SL 1.2, *SL 1.6)
(Approximately 15 minutes)
In pairs have students respond to the following questions one at a time. Teachers can
instruct students to turn and talk with a neighbor to discuss answers to each question.
Encourage them to speak in complete sentences and use the text as the source for their
information. Invite some students to share their answers with the whole class.
 In the first paragraph, why does the author use the phrase, “watch it gush out of
the drainpipes”?
 In paragraph four, the author writes, “Water always flows downhill. It flows from
high places to low places, just the way you and your skateboard move down a
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
3



hill.” Why do you think the author chooses these words to describe how water
flows downhill?
What is a brook?
Why doesn’t all water end up in the ocean?
Locate the questions in paragraph six. Why does the author write two questions in
paragraph six?
DAY 2
1. Rereading
(Approximately 10 minutes)
Instruct students to reread Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean passage independently.
Review the symbolic summaries from the first day. Review the answers to the questions
from the speaking and listening exercise around text-dependent questions.
2. Model Responding to Text-Dependent Questions
(Approximately 20 minutes)
Model the process for how to respond to text-dependent questions using textual evidence.
To do so, show the sheet Visual Prompts for Literature Discussion on a document
camera, reproduced on chart paper, in a handout, or on an interactive board. Then lead a
classroom discussion using one or more of the questions on the sheet Follow the Water
Question List (also reprinted below). If students are having difficulty speaking in
complete sentences, model how to take information off the Visual Prompts sheet using
language frames, such as “Today I learned ________.” and “Another thing I learned was
____.”








What is the main idea of the text?
Where does water start?
What do you learn about how and where water flows?
What surfaces would repel and which ones absorb water? Give examples from the
text.
Discuss the flow of water. What types of things would speed up, slow down or
change direction of the water?
How does water form a puddle, pond or lake?
How does water reach the ocean?
Why is there so much water in the oceans?
Teacher-Directed Charting Activity
During discussion aligned to text-dependent questions, teachers can create graphic
organizers with students’ input to help them better understand concepts (see Class
Generated Charts).
3. Note-taking Around Text-Dependent Questions (RI 1.1, RI 1.2, RI 1.4)
(Approximately 20-30 minutes)
Distribute Follow the Water Question List. Explain to students that they will
individually select at least three questions to answer from this list and record their
answers on the Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer. Explain that they will
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
4
complete the “My Responses” and “Evidence From the Text” sections only. Remind
them to use complete sentences and review any sentence frames used in the speaking and
listening exercise, if needed. Encourage students to expand their thinking beyond literal
responses. Distribute at least three Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer
sheets to each student for this exercise.
4. Speaking/Listening Exercise (*SL 1.1, *SL 1.2, *SL 1.6)
(Approximately 20 minutes)
 In pairs or groups of three, give students time to discuss their responses to the
questions on their graphic organizers along with textual evidence.

After a designated period of time, instruct students to independently complete the
“My Thoughts Now” section of the graphic organizer. Again, remind them to use
textual evidence and write in complete sentences. Tell them they will respond to a
writing prompt and can use their graphic organizers along with their sketches
while writing.
DAY 3
Performance Task (Writing Prompt)
(Approximately 20 minutes)
Distribute the writing prompt and lined paper. Let students know the amount of time they have to
respond to it. Encourage students to use their sketches and graphic organizers that include
responses to text-dependent questions to inform their writing.
EXTENDED LEARNING:
Display a local map that has bodies of water labeled. Ask: What water is near our school? Point
out the correct body of water on the map. Follow it to the next largest body of water and keep
going until it reaches the ocean or terminal lake. Record each body of water on chart paper, in
the order in which they are encountered.
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
5
Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean Text Passage
After the next big rain storm, put your boots on and go outside. Look at the
water dripping from your roof. Watch it gush out of the drainpipes.
You can see water flowing down your street too. Water is always flowing. It
trickles in the brook near your house. Sometimes you see water rushing along in a
stream or in a big river.
Water always flows downhill. It flows from high places to low places, just
the way you and your skateboard move down a hill.
Sometimes water collects in a low spot in the land – a puddle, a pond, or a
lake. The water’s downhill journey may end there. Most of the time, though, the
water will find a way to keep flowing downhill. Because water flows downhill, it
will keep flowing until it can’t go any lower. The lowest parts of the earth are the
oceans. Water will keep flowing until it reaches an ocean.
Where does the water start? Where does the water in a brook or a stream or a
river come from? The water comes from rain. And it comes from melting snow.
The water from rain and melting snow runs over the ground. Some of it soaks into
the ground, and some water is soaked up by trees and other plants. But a lot of the
water keeps traveling over the ground, flowing downhill.
The water runs along, flowing over the ground. Trickles of water flow
together to form a brook. A brook isn’t very deep or wide. You could easily step
across a brook to get to the other side.
The brook flows over small stones covered with algae. Algae are tiny plants.
They can be green, red, or brown. Green algae make the water look green.
Plop! A frog jumps into the brook. A salamander wiggles through leafy
water plants. Slap! A trout’s tail hits the water. Lots of creatures live in the moving
water.
COPYRIGHT © 1991 BY ARTHUR DORROS. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
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Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean Sketch Sheet
Text
Read one section of the
text at a time.
Quick Sketch
What do you find memorable
about this part of the story?
Sketch it!
After the next big rain storm,
put your boots on and go outside.
Look at the water dripping from your
roof. Watch it gush out of the
1
drainpipes.
You can see water flowing
down your street too. Water is always
flowing. It trickles in the brook near
your house. Sometimes you see water
rushing along in a stream or in a big
river.
Water always flows downhill.
It flows from high places to low
places, just the way you and your
skateboard move down a hill.
Sometimes water collects in a
low spot in the land – a puddle, a
pond, or a lake. The water’s downhill
2
journey may end there. Most of the
time, though, the water will find a way
to keep flowing downhill. Because
water flows downhill, it will keep
flowing until it can’t go any lower.
The lowest parts of the earth are the
oceans. Water will keep flowing until
it reaches an ocean
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
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Where does the water start?
Where does the water in a brook or a
stream or a river come from? The
water comes from rain. And it comes
from melting snow. The water from
rain and melting snow runs over the
ground. Some of it soaks into the
ground, and some water is soaked up
3
by trees and other plants. But a lot of
the water keeps traveling over the
ground, flowing downhill.
The water runs along, flowing
over the ground. Trickles of water
flow together to form a brook. A
brook isn’t very deep or wide. You
could easily step across a brook to get
to the other side.
The brook flows over small
stones covered with algae. Algae are
tiny plants. They can be green, red, or
brown. Green algae make the water
look green.
4
Plop! A frog jumps into the
brook. A salamander wiggles through
leafy water plants. Slap! A trout’s tail
hits the water. Lots of creatures live in
the moving water.
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
8
Visual Prompts for Literature Discussion
QUESTION
MY THOUGHTS
EVIDENCE
MY THOUGHTS AFTER
DISCUSSION
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
9
Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
Question List
Directions: Choose some of these questions to respond
to on your graphic organizer.
 What is the main idea of the text?
 Where does water start?
 What do you learn about how and where water
flows?
 What surfaces would repel and which ones
absorb water? Give examples from the text.
 Discuss the flow of water. What types of things
would speed up, slow down or change direction
of the water?
 How does water form a puddle, pond or lake?
 How does water reach the ocean?
 Why is there so much water in the oceans?
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
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Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer
Question
My Thoughts
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts After Discussion
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
11
Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
Examples of Class-Generated Charts
What did you learn about how and where water flows?
How Water
Flows
How does water reach the ocean? Explain how water forms into a puddle, a pond, or a lake.
Where does water start? Show where in the text it says that. Why doesn’t all water end up in the
ocean?
Sometimes water...
Then…
soaks into the ground
is soaked up by trees
and plants
After that, water…
Water starts from.. .
rain
melting
snow
collects in a low
spot
flows from high
places to low places
rushes into a brook,
a stream or big river
becomes a
puddle, a pond,
or a lake
water’s
journey
ends
will keep
flowing until
it reaches
an ocean
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
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Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
Writing Task
Directions:
Please respond to the prompt below in writing. You will use what you
have read and discussed about how water flows. Use your text and
graphic organizers to help you with your writing. Write on the lined
paper your teacher gives you or in a journal.
Writing Prompt:
Think about everything you have read and discussed about how water
flows. Explain in detail how water reaches the ocean. Also include in
your writing why only some water ends up in the ocean.
Be Sure To:
 State your topic.
 Write facts and details about your topic from the text passage.
 Include vocabulary from the text.
 Give an ending sentence.
 Use capital letters where you should.
 Spell words correctly.
 Use correct punctuation.
 Write in complete sentences.
ELA Grade 1: Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean
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