Adapted Assessment Gr 11 U01 Rubric Level A
Curriculum and Assessment Writing Project: Grade 11
Unit 1 Assessment Level A
Grade 11
Unit 1 Adapted Assessment & Scoring Rubric
Unit standards:
 RL.11-12.2. Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how
they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
 RL.11-12.3. Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story
is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
 RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze
the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh,
engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
 RL.11-12.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a
story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
Question 1
(standard)
Level 4
Exceeds the standard
Analyze how the two main
In addition to 3:
themes, (understanding
 uses sophisticated
personal identity and
language
gratefulness), in "The Jacket"
by Gary Soto, connect or
interact to produce overall
meaning in the text. Use
relevant details from the text
to briefly summarize the text
and support the analysis.
Level 3
Meets the standard



Provides accurate
explanation of how
each theme is
developed.
Accurately
describes how each
theme connects to
produce one
complex account.
Uses details from
each theme to
support the
analysis.
Level 2
Approaches the standard



Provides unclear or
inaccurate
explanation of how
each theme is
developed OR only
provides ONE
explanation.
Provides unclear
explanation of how
each theme connects
to produce one
complex account.
Uses at least 1 detail
per theme to support
the analysis.
Level 1
Does not approach
standard
 Unable to identify
how each theme is
developed.
 Cannot identify
details with
accuracy to
support analysis.
Adapted Assessment Gr 11 U01 Rubric Level A
1. Example of a 3:
Two main themes interact with each other to produce the overall meaning of the story, “The Jacket”, by Gary Soto. The themes of understanding
personal identity and the gratefulness work together. The short story opens with a memory of the author wearing a green coat in fifth and sixth grade.
His mother buys him, “a jacket the color of day-old guacamole.” He feels disappointed as he touches, “the vinyl sleeve, the collar, and the mustardcolored lining.” He searches through his room, hoping that the jacket was not meant for him, and thinking about how he would be judged at school
for wearing something that felt like “an enemy”. While trying to make his mother happy, he puts on the jacket and looks at himself, hoping to
change his opinions, but realizing that no matter how he posed or did his hair, he looked “ugly”. He wears the jacket in his yard, and to make matters
worse, he tears it while playing with his dog, leaving an “L-shaped rip” in the sleeve. It is in school the next day when he allows all of his fears
around the jacket to affect him and the theme of understanding identity arises. His perception of looking “ugly” made him uncomfortable around his
peers. He assumed that his identity was based on what he was wearing and not on his personality. He feels like the girls and even the teachers are
whispering about him. He is so distracted, he gets “D on a math quiz,” and when he gets “pushed to the ground” by the “playground terrorist” he
blames the jacket. Growing years are difficult, everyone feels awkward, outcast and different. And even a little disappointment as not getting the
right clothes can change our outlook. Soto believes that his jacket was the cause of many years of disappointment shame and loneliness. However, he
continues to wear the jacket for three years, even when the “L-shaped rip on the left sleeve got bigger, the elbows began to crack, and whole chunks
of green began to fall off.” This shows the second theme of gratefulness, which is taught to him by his mother. When he complains about the jacket
she reminds him that there were, “children in Mexico who would love that jacket,” and he continued to wear it even though he wanted to cry. Clearly
his mother taught this lesson to all her children. They “gagged and made ugly faces at their glasses of powdered milk,” but did not complain and
drank it, feeling grateful to at least have something. The two themes interact to teach a lesson to the author. Sometimes people do what they have to
because of their needs, not because of their desires to be accepted by everyone else.
Question 2
(standard)
How does the author use
characterization, the
character's actions, over the
course of the story to reveal
the main character's internal
struggle? Include relevant
details from the text to
support the analysis.
Level 4
Exceeds the standard
In addition to 3:
 uses sophisticated
language
Level 3
Meets the standard


Uses relevant
details from the
story to describe the
author's use of
characterization to
develop the main
character
Accurately
identifies the main
character's internal
struggle.
Level 2
Approaches the standard


Uses unclear details
to describe the
author's use of
characterization to
develop the main
character.
Identifies some
attributes of the
main character's
struggle.
Level 1
Does not approach
standard
 Unable to describe
the author's use of
characterization.
 Unable to identify
the main
character's
struggle.
 Conveys confused
or no
understanding of
text.
Adapted Assessment Gr 11 U01 Rubric Level A
2. Example of a 3:
The author uses characterization over the course of the story to reveal the main character’s internal struggle. At the beginning of the story, the reader
learns that the author has a desire to fit in as he describes the coat he wants his mother to buy him as, “something like bikers wear: black leather and
silver studs, with enough belts to hold down a small town.” He then experiences fear and disappointment when receiving a new jacket that he
considers to be ugly. The author’s skill in using characterization to reveal his internal struggle comes when he states that he “put the big jacket on,”
and began to try different ways to make himself look acceptable. He states, “I zipped it up and down several times and rolled the cuffs up so they
didn't cover my hands. I stood in front of the mirror, full face, then profile, and then looked over my shoulder as if someone had called me. I sat on
the bed, stood against the bed, and combed my hair to see what I would look like doing something natural. I looked ugly.” But even though he feels
strongly about his appearance, he “slipped it on and went out to the backyard, smiling a "thank you" to mom as (he) passed her in the kitchen.” This
reveals his inner struggle, as he works so hard to fit in and yet please his mother. He continues the struggle in school as he takes the jacket off during
lunch and while playing kickball, so no one would see him in it, but feels forced to put in back on when he grew so cold, his arms felt “like braille
from goose bumps.” He then wears it outside during a fire drill, but feels rejected when he believes he being laughed at, stating he “heard the buzzbuzz of gossip and even laughter that I knew was meant for me.” However, he continues to wear the jacket for three years until he grows out of it.
The final line of the story shows, the lasting effects of his internal struggle when he shares that, “the green ugly brother breathed over my shoulder
that day and ever since.”
Question 3
(standard)
Analyze the author's use of
figurative language, word
choice or phrases, and
explain how the words or
phrases reflect the main
character's feelings or
experience in the story. Use
relevant details from the text
to support the analysis.
Level 4
Exceeds the standard
In addition to 3:
 uses sophisticated
language
Level 3
Meets the standard



Identifies figurative
language from the
text that reflects the
main character's
feelings or
experience in the
story.
Uses details from
the text to support
the analysis.
Uses relevant
details from the text
to support the
analysis.
Level 2
Approaches the standard


Identifies words that
describe the main
character.
Partially connects
the words to the
main character's
experience.
Level 1
Does not approach
standard
 Provides minimal
or limited
understanding of
the story.
 Provides no
connection
between words and
meaning of the
story.
Adapted Assessment Gr 11 U01 Rubric Level A
3. Example of a 3:
The author uses word choice as a way to show the main character’s feelings in the “The Jacket” by Gary Soto. An example of word choice is when
the author refers to the jacket as “that green ugly brother who breathed over my shoulder.” This metaphor demonstrates how he feels about the
jacket. It is something he is stuck with and can’t break free from, drawing a comparison to how he would feel about a big brother. Another example
of word choice is when the author states: “with my hands in my pockets I kicked a ball against the fence, and then climbed it to sit looking into the
alley. I hurled orange peels at the mouth of an open garbage can, and when the peels were gone I watched the white puffs of my breath thin to
nothing.” This description of his actions is full of imagery that allows the reader to make a mind picture of how he felt after receiving the jacket.
“Kicking” at the ball and “hurling” orange peels show his anger at feeling forced into wearing something he knew would make him feel like an
outcast. While sitting on the fence and watching his breath, the reader can imagine he is thinking hard about how he is going to handle the situation.
The author continues to use word choice and figurative language to help the reader connect to his feelings. While in school he creates a visual of the
“guacamole-colored jacket” that divided him and his peers when “even the girls who had been friendly blew away like loose flowers to follow the
boys in neat jackets.” This simile creates a comparison between a flower losing petals and the author losing friends, helping the reader sympathize
with his sense of loss.
Question 4
(standard)
Analyze the structure of the
short story, the way that the
writer arranges the plot of a
story, and explain how the
beginning of the story and
the end of the story connect
and add overall meaning to
the text. Use relevant details
from the text to support the
analysis.
Level 4
Exceeds the standard
In addition to 3:
 uses sophisticated
language
Level 3
Meets the standard


Identifies that the
end of the story has
an unexpected
ending.
Accurate
connection of the
beginning and
ending of the story
Level 2
Approaches the standard


Identifies that the
end of the story is
surprising.
Lacks signification
connection of the
beginning and
ending of the story.
Level 1
Does not approach
standard
 Provides minimal
or limited
understanding of
text.
4. Example of a 3:
The structure of the story is that of a flashback to a memory of the author’s experiences in grade school. The first paragraph in the story states, “I
remember the green coat that I wore in fifth and sixth grade when you either danced like a champ or pressed yourself against a greasy wall, bitter as a
penny toward the happy couples.” This opening describes what life was like for the author in his earlier school years and allows the reader to make
connections to feelings of awkwardness from grade school and middle school. He goes on to tell the story of the first few days he received the jacket
in chronological order, using phrases such as “the next day” and “that afternoon” to create a sense of time. In between the beginning and ending of
the story, he develops his actions and emotions in great detail, first describing the shock and surprise over the looks of the jacket and then to the
perceived reactions of his peers in school which confirmed his disappointment at how he looked wearing it. The closing line helps the reader move
from the flashback to present day, where he still thinks about the memories of the jacket that have been with him “that day and ever since.”