Grade 8: Performance-Based Task
Unit: Love and Friendship
2015-16
Overview
GRADE: Eighth
NAME OF ASSESSMENT: Performance-Based Task for Love and Friendship
DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT: The Performance -Based Task will consist of
multiple tasks covering three days. Day one consists of the student closely
analyzing a non-literary text, taking notes for comprehension, and answering 5 textdependent questions. Day two will offer the students mixed media selections that
reinforce the Love and Friendship Unit themes that are reflected in the article.
Students will take notes on all mixed media offerings . In Part 3, students will write
either an explanatory or argument essay (teacher discretion) . This essay will allow
students to apply their understanding of the THREE mixed media sources to the
anchor source.
Standards Assessed

Students will determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of
the text, including its relationships to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the
text. (RI.8.2)

Students will read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grade 8 complexity
band independently and proficiently. (RI.8.10)

Students will write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
(W.8.1)

Students will quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and
when drawing inferences from the text. (RI.8.1)

Students will integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or
speak about the subject knowledgeably. (RI.8.9)
Materials
Anchor Source: “Facebook Changing the Meaning of Friendship”
Select three of the following:

Video: Friendship in the Age of Facebook: Rory Varrato at TEDx

Poem: “Friendship” by Henry David Thoreau

Article: “Power packs: Teens today prefer friendship in groups”

Article: “Friendship Makes you More Successful”

Article: “True Love Transcends Prejudice”

Article: “Is True Friendship Dying Away” by Mark Vernon

Article: “You’ve Got to Have (150) Friends”
Task Details
 Duration of administration: Three class periods.
 Time of year when administered: In accordance with
the unit taught
Part 1: Anchor Source
 Suggested time frame for anchor source:
approximately 30-40 minutes
 Distribute copies of “Facebook Changing the Meaning of
Friendship” Have students use Cornell Notes to
summarize and synthesize the information.
 Students will then answer the five questions provided at
the end of this document. Teachers should administer this
portion with his or her discretion, but students should
complete this task independently.
Close Reading
 Step 1: Making Observations
 The process of writing an essay usually begins with the
close reading of a text. In most essays, especially
academic essays, begin with a close reading of some
kind of text—a painting, a movie, an event—and usually
with that of a written text. When you close read, you
observe facts and details about the text. You may focus
on a particular passage, or on the text as a whole.
 Step 2: Interpreting Observations
Part 2: Additional Sources
 Suggested time frame for each source:
approximately 10-15 minutes to understanding and
analyze.
Part 3: Essay
 Explanatory or Argument
 Choose one of the prompts to use in your class. It is
recommended to introduce the prompt to the students
before they begin reading and processing information
from the additional sources.