CORE Assessment Module
Module Overview
Background and Purpose:
During instruction around a complex text, teachers plan a series of lessons on successive days that
call upon students to engage in a variety of tasks (e.g., read silently, discuss, listen to, take notes, engage
in discussion with peers, write informally and formally, etc.). These lessons would align to specific
standards, include a myriad of instructional strategies and formative assessments, and center on textdependent activities and tasks to illicit deep understanding of the targeted text.
This assessment module is a briefly-conducted performance activity to assess how well students
can examine complex text and then demonstrate their understanding through writing. Teachers can
employ additional instructional strategies beyond what is listed here when administering this assessment.
However, discuss with colleagues which ones you choose to use so you are conducting this assessment
under similar conditions.
Usage:
Teachers can utilize this module as a pre-assessment or formative assessment 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. It does not replace a formalized series of lessons as
described above, but rather provides a “dipstick” to get a sense of where teachers should focus instruction.
We encourage teachers to administer this assessment with colleagues and discuss results together to
ascertain next steps in an instructional plan.
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
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Grade Level
Grade 4
Target Area
Text Dependent Questions, Writing Performance Task (Opinion Piece)
ELA Common
Core State
Standards
RL 4.1
RL 4.3
RL 4.4
W 4.1
Module Overview
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama,
drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words
or actions.)
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology
(e.g., Herculean).
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with
reasons and information.
a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an
organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support
1
SBAC
Assessment
Claims
Task
Overview
Module
Components
the writer’s purpose.
b. Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.
c. Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance,
in order to, in addition).
d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion
presented
W 4.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis,
reflection, and research.
*SL 4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in
groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
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 two parts. The prewriting/planning in part
one will involve reading, plus note-taking and speaking and listening in response to
text-dependent questions. In part two, students will be asked to draft an opinion
piece.
1) Directions to Teacher
2) The Secret Garden Text Passage
3) The Secret Garden Active Reading Notes
4) Text-Dependent Questions and Peer Discussion
5) Independent Writing Task
*Standard addressed but not explicitly assessed.
Module Overview
2
The Secret Garden Text Passage
Directions to Teacher
This Common Core-aligned ELA Performance Task can be given over two to three days
depending on class schedules. The directions below outline the steps to follow for a three-day
administration.
Text: Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New York: HarperCollins, 1985. (1911)
From “There Is No One Left”
Materials
 The Secret Garden Text Passage
 Small “sticky notes” strips for text tagging (3 per student)
 The Secret Garden Active Reading Notes
 Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer
 Writing Task
 Lined Paper
DAYS 1-2
1. Reading
(Approximately 15 minutes)
Copy and distribute The Secret Garden Text Passage to students. Instruct them to read it
independently the first time through. Provide them with three small, sticky-note” strips so
students can “tag the text” as they read. Instruct them to place the “sticky-notes” on what
they consider to be the three most important points of the passage. Then allow them time
to share and discuss their three VIPs (Very Important Points) with a learning partner and
listen to what the partner thought were the VIPs.
2. Active Reading
(Approximately 15–20 minutes)
Distribute The Secret Garden Active Reading Notes and ask students to reread the
passage and complete the 2-column graphic organizer. In the “Notes” column, ask
students to use the following codes next to particular parts of the text. Give them time to
discuss their thinking with a partner after they read and make their notations.
+ next to words and phrases that show Mary’s personality trait(s); write down the
trait(s)
? next to parts that confuse you
* next to something important you want to remember
3. Note-taking Around Text-Dependent Questions
(Approximately 20—30 minutes)
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
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Distribute the Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer sheet. Instruct students to
complete the “My Responses” and “Evidence From the Text” sections only that are
predicated on text-dependent questions. Encourage students to expand their thinking
beyond literal responses.

Word Meaning (RL 4.4) – In the first paragraph the text states, “. . . when Mary was
born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah.” What is an “Ayah”? Why does
Mary’s mother hand her over to the care of an Ayah?

Key Details (RL 4.1) – How does Mary treat her Ayah and the other servants in the
house? How do these characters feel about Mary?

Central Ideas (RL 4.1, RL 4.3) – What are Mary’s parents like? What can you infer
about Mary’s behavior from what you know about her parents?

Reasoning/Evaluation (RL 4.1, RL 4.3) – In the first paragraph of the story, Mary is
described as “selfish a little pig as ever lived.” Why does the author use this phrase to
describe Mary? What words and phrases in the text describe Mary’s actions?

Reasoning/Evaluation (RL 4.1) – The last paragraph states: “There was something
mysterious in the air that morning.” What does the author lead you to think based on
this quote?
4. Speaking/Listening Exercise
(Approximately 20 minutes)
In pairs or groups of three, conduct the “Give One, Get One” strategy to give students
time to discuss their responses to the questions on the graphic organizer along with
textual evidence. After a designated period of time, instruct students to independently
complete the “My Thoughts Now” section of the graphic organizer. Tell them they will
respond to a writing prompt and can use this graphic organizer along with their notes
while writing.
Give One, Get One Strategy
 Students bring their graphic organizers to meet in pairs or trios.
 Instruct them to collect one new and different idea from these classmates.
 Then they are to give one new and different idea.
 If the pair or trio does not have a new and different idea, tell them to brainstorm
responses to particular questions on the graphic organizer and try to create one.
DAY 3
Performance Task (Writing Prompt)
(Approximately 20–30 minutes)
Distribute the writing prompt and let students know the amount of time they have to respond to
it. Encourage students to use their notes and graphic organizer that includes responses to textdependent questions to inform their writing.
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Text Passage From “There Is No One Left”
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody
said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true, too. She had a little thin
face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. Her hair was yellow, and her face
was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another.
Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill
himself, and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse
herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she
handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please
the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when she was a
sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way, and when she became a sickly,
fretful, toddling thing she was kept out of the way also. She never remembered seeing familiarly
anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants, and as they always obeyed
her and gave her own way in everything, because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was
disturbed by her crying, by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a
little pig as ever lived. The young English governess who came to teach her to read and write
disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months, and when other governesses
came to try to fill it they always went away in a shorter time than the first one. So if Mary had
not chosen to really want to know how to read books she would never have learned her letters at
all.
One frightfully hot morning, when she was about nine years old, she awakened feeling
very cross, and she became crosser still when she saw that the servant who stood by her bedside
was not her Ayah.
“Why did you come?” she said to the strange woman. “I will not let you stay. Send my
Ayah to me.”
The woman looked frightened, but she only stammered that the Ayah could not come and
when Mary threw herself into a passion and beat and kicked her, she looked only more
frightened and repeated that it was not possible for the Ayah to come to Missie Sahib.
There was something mysterious in the air that morning. Nothing was done in its regular
order and several of the native servants seemed missing, while those whom Mary saw slunk or
hurried about with ashy and scared faces. But no one would tell her anything and her Ayah did
not come. She was actually left alone as the morning went on, and at last she wandered out into
the garden and began to play by herself under a tree near the veranda. She pretended that she was
making a flower-bed, and she stuck big scarlet hibiscus blossoms into little heaps of earth, all the
time growing more and more angry and muttering to herself the things she would say and the
names she would call Saidie when she returned.
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New York: HarperCollins, 1985. (1911) From “There Is No One Left”
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
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The Secret Garden Active Reading Notes
Directions: In the Notes column, use the following codes. Be prepared to discuss what you
recorded with a partner:
+ next to words and phrases that show Mary’s personality trait(s); write down the trait(s)
? next to parts that confuse you
* next to something important you want to remember
Text
Notes
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to
live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeablelooking child ever seen. It was true, too. She had a little thin face
and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. Her
hair was yellow, and her face was yellow because she had been
born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. Her
father had held a position under the English Government and had
always been busy and ill himself, and her mother had been a great
beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay
people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was
born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made
to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she
must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when she
was a sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way,
and when she became a sickly, fretful, toddling thing she was kept
out of the way also. She never remembered seeing familiarly
anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native
servants, and as they always obeyed her and gave her own way in
everything, because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was
disturbed by her crying, by the time she was six years old she was
as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived. The young
English governess who came to teach her to read and write
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
6
disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months,
and when other governesses came to try to fill it they always went
away in a shorter time than the first one. So if Mary had not
chosen to really want to know how to read books she would never
have learned her letters at all.
One frightfully hot morning, when she was about nine
years old, she awakened feeling very cross, and she became
crosser still when she saw that the servant who stood by her
bedside was not her Ayah.
“Why did you come?” she said to the strange woman. “I
will not let you stay. Send my Ayah to me.”
The woman looked frightened, but she only stammered that
the Ayah could not come and when Mary threw herself into a
passion and beat and kicked her, she looked only more frightened
and repeated that it was not possible for the Ayah to come to
Missie Sahib.
There was something mysterious in the air that morning.
Nothing was done in its regular order and several of the native
servants seemed missing, while those whom Mary saw slunk or
hurried about with ashy and scared faces. But no one would tell
her anything and her Ayah did not come. She was actually left
alone as the morning went on, and at last she wandered out into
the garden and began to play by herself under a tree near the
veranda. She pretended that she was making a flower-bed, and
she stuck big scarlet hibiscus blossoms into little heaps of earth,
all the time growing more and more angry and muttering to
herself the things she would say and the names she would call
Saidie when she returned.
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
7
Text-Dependent Questions Graphic Organizer
Directions: After rereading the text, write answers to each question below in the “My Response”
section. Support each response by recording textual evidence from the story in the “Evidence
from the Text” section. After you are given time to talk to a classmate and share ideas, complete
“My Thoughts Now” based on your conversation.
1. In the first paragraph the text states, “ . . . when Mary was born she handed her over to the
care of an Ayah.” What is an “Ayah”? Why does Mary’s mother hand her over to the care of
an Ayah?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
2. How does Mary treat her Ayah and the other servants in the house? How do these character
feel about Mary?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
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3. What are Mary’s parents like? What can you infer about Mary’s behavior from what you know
about her parents?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
4. In the first paragraph of the story, Mary is described as “selfish a little pig as ever lived.” Why
does the author use this phrase to describe Mary? What words and phrases in the text
describe Mary’s actions?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
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5. The last paragraph states: “There was something mysterious in the air that morning.”
What does the author lead you to think based on this quote?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
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The Secret Garden
Writing Task
Directions: Please respond to the prompt below in writing. You may use your
notes and graphic organizer to inform your writing.
Writing Prompt
After reading Frances H. Burnett’s The Secret Garden, use evidence from the
excerpt to write your opinion about whether or not Mary is justified (or right)
in the way she acts.
Be Sure To:
 Include an introduction.
 Give an opinion about whether or not Mary is justified (right) in her
behavior.
 Group related information into paragraphs.
 Include reasons and examples from the text to support your opinion.
 Use words and phrases to link your opinion with your reasons (e.g.,
another, for example, for instance, also, in addition).
 Provide a conclusion related to the opinion presented.
 Check for proper grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
ELA Grade 4: The Secret Garden
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