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Teaching Strategy for Georgia Writing Prompt
“TEACH THEM AND THEY WILL KNOW”
DON’T LET STUDENTS EXPERIENCE THE WRITING PROMPT SETUP FOR THE
FIRST TIME THE DAY OF THE ASSESSMENT
SAMPLE FROM GEORGIA EOG 7TH GRADE GUIDE: Writing and Language
DOK Level: 4
Standard: ELACC7W2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas,
concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
In this section, you will read about animal relationships and then write an informational essay
detailing the ways in which a dog that just had puppies might foster a litter of new kittens.
Before you begin planning and writing, read the two texts:
1. “Animal Roles and Relationships” 2. “Unusual Animal Friendships”
As you read the texts, think about what details from the texts you might use in your essay.
READING #1: Animal Roles and Relationships
Animal relationships are often surprising. In nature, it is important for animals to find ways in which
to work together for survival. Sometimes different species will work as partners. Other times,
members of the same species will develop helpful roles.
One example of a strange partnership is between the hermit crab and the sea anemone. In their
ocean environment, these two animals help each other. Hermit crabs use their pincers to tap sea
anemones. Once bothered, the sea anemones attach themselves to the hermit crabs’ shells. The crabs
then give the anemones rides along the bottom of the ocean. In exchange for the free ride, the
anemones protect the crabs from octopuses and other predators. The hermit crabs give sea
anemones protection from starfish and other attackers. Sea anemones also get free food by eating the
leftovers from hermit crab fare.
In some cases, animals take on certain responsibilities within their own families. Mammals are
known for developing roles within their natural order. In a pride of lions, lionesses are the hunters
while male lions are the protectors. Lionesses also have strong parental instincts. Not only do they
care for their own cubs, but they will take care of each other’s cubs as well. Lionesses take turns
“babysitting” and caring for the pride’s young cubs.
Wolf packs have a specialized social order as well. There are wolves that are in charge. They decide
essentially everything that the pack does. Most wolves in the pack are in charge of helping to find
food and making sure that everyone is safe. When female wolves have a litter of pups, they are
treated very well. Other wolf mothers or males will bring the mother food so that she does not have
to leave her young. Once the pups are old enough to walk, the mother joins in helping the pack once
more. In a pack of wolves, every member does his or her part to teach the pups. In addition, each wolf
is expected to help feed and protect the pack. Scientists believe that wolves have one of the most
complex series of relationships in the animal kingdom.
No matter how animals help each other, it is important for their own survival. The ability to work
together has kept things running smoothly in the animal world. Relationships are not unique to
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humans; they are critical to animals as well.
READING TEXT #2: Unusual Animal Friendships
There are some friendships so unusual that they cannot really be explained. There are
dozens of well- documented unique bonds between animals. These relationships are
particularly interesting when the two animals are from different species.
Suryia the orangutan and Roscoe the dog are two such friends. Suryia was orphaned after
losing his parents. He was moved to an endangered wildlife refuge in South Carolina where
doctors feared he would not live long. He would not eat and did not interact with any
person or animal. Then, on a walk around the refuge, Suryia saw Roscoe, a dog that lives on
the zoo’s land. Suryia rushed over to Roscoe and gave him a hug. From that moment on, the
two have been best friends. They sleep, eat, and play together every day. They enjoy
swimming, although Roscoe has to help Suryia get over his fear of the water. To thank Roscoe for his
help, Suryia always shares his snacks with his best friend. Although nobody would expect an
orangutan and a dog to be inseparable, they are truly a perfect pair.
Another odd pairing is between Bea the giraffe and Wilma the ostrich. Both animals live on a 65-acre
plot of land in Florida. Since Wilma was born, the two have been the best of pals. Bea likes to clean
Wilma with her long tongue and Wilma likes to cuddle close to her friend. Even though they have
plenty of room in which to roam, they stay close to each other every day. They prefer to wander the
land as a duo.
One final example of strange animal friendships is between Torque the greyhound puppy and Shrek
the baby owl. Shrek was taken away from his mother by her handler when Shrek’s mother refused to
care for him. The handler began feeding both Torque and Shrek in the same room and allowed
Torque to sniff the owl and lick his feathers. Within no time, the two became devoted companions,
watching television and taking walks together. The handler says that Torque is very protective of
Shrek.
These may be uncommon friendships, but they are examples of how animals bond with each other. It
seems that some animals enjoy the comfort of mutual affection even if the circumstances are
unexpected.
STEP 1:
THERE WILL BE 3 SELECTED RESPONSES: 1 FOR THE 1ST ARTICLE; 1 FOR THE 2ND ARTICLE;
AND ONE FOR BOTH.
STEP 2:
SAMPLE OF CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE:
What are two central ideas that can be found in BOTH “Animal Roles and Relationships” and
“Unusual Animal Friendships”? Use details from BOTH articles to support your answer.
STEP 3:
WRITING PROMPT:
Now that you have read “Animal Roles and Relationships” and “Unusual Animal Friendships,”
create a plan for your essay.
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Think about ideas, facts, definitions, details, and other information and examples you want to use.
Think about how you will introduce your topic and what the main topic will be for each paragraph.
Be sure to identify the sources by title or number when using details or facts directly from the
sources.
Write an informational essay detailing the ways in which a dog that just had puppies might
foster a litter of new kittens.
Now, write your essay. Be sure to:
Use information from the two texts so that your article includes important details.
Introduce the topic clearly, provide a focus, and organize information in a way
that makes sense.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, details, quotations, or other information
and examples related to the topic.
Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion.
Clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
Use clear language and vocabulary to inform about the topic.
Provide a conclusion that follows the information presented.
Check your work for correct usage, grammar, spelling, and capitalization.
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Seven Point Two-Trait Rubric
Description
Idea Development, Organization, and Coherence
This trait contributes 4 of 7 points to the score for this genre and examines the writer’s ability to effectively establish a
controlling topic and to support the topic with evidence from the text(s) read and to elaborate on the topic with examples,
illustrations, facts, and other details. The writer must integrate the information from the text(s) into his/her own words and
arrange the ideas and supporting evidence in order to create cohesion for an informative/explanatory essay.
Points
Criteria
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The student’s response is a well-developed informative/explanatory text that examines a topic in
depth and presents information clearly based on text as a stimulus.
Effectively introduces a topic
Effectively organizes ideas, concepts and information using various strategies
such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect
Effectively develops the topic with topic with multiple, relevant facts, definitions,
concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
Uses appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships
among ideas and concepts
Uses precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain
the topic
Establishes and maintains a formal style
Provides a strong concluding statement or section
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The student’s response is a complete informative/explanatory text that examines a topic and presents
information.
Introduces a topic
Generally organizes ideas, concepts and information using a few strategies such
as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect
Develops the topic with a few facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples
Uses some transitions to connect and clarify relationships among ideas, but
relationships may not always be clear
Uses some precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to explain the topic
Maintain a formal style, for the most part
Provides a concluding statement or section
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The student’s response is an incomplete or oversimplified informative/explanatory text that cursorily
examines a topic.
Attempts to introduce a topic
Ineffectively organizes ideas, concepts and information using strategies such as
definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect
Attempts to develop a topic with too few details
Uses limited language and vocabulary that does not inform or explain the topic
Uses few transitions to connect and clarify relationships among ideas.
Uses formal style inconsistently or uses an informal style
Provides a weak concluding statement or section
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The student’s response is a weak attempt to write an informative/explanatory text that examines a
topic.
May not introduce a topic or topic is unclear
May not develop a topic
May be too brief to group any related ideas together
May not use any linking words to connect ideas
May not use any precise language or domain-specific vocabulary to explain the
topic
Uses a very informal style
Provides a minimal or no concluding statement or section
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The response is completely irrelevant or incorrect, or there is no response.
The student merely copies the text in the prompt.
The student copies so much text from the passages that there is not sufficient
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original work to be scored.
The Art of Teaching Writing through Reading
Step 1: First work with the student on how to read for information. Try the
following:
1. Have the students to read the first article silently.
2. Then have a good reader (you or another student) read the article orally.
3. Use the Key Concept Organizer—Students can work in pairs, groups, or
independently.
Article 1:
Key Concept Synthesis
Directions: Use the following graphic organizer to identify the five most important
concepts (in the form of single words or phrases) from the reading. Think about
identifying the five most important concepts in this way: If you had to explain to
someone who had not read the text, what are the five most important concepts you
would want them to understand? (Use a highlighter and marginal notes to identify
important concepts as you read and then complete the graphic organizer once
you have completed the reading.)
Key Concept
Put the Concept into Your
Own Words
Explain Why the Concept
is Important AND Make
Connections to Other
Concepts
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Research supporting the Key Concept Organizer: Description: Key Concept Synthesis is an effective
strategy for allowing students to identify the central concepts of a text, and to put those concepts into
their own language
while making connections to other concepts.
How It Works: Key Concept Synthesis helps students to determine the key concepts in a piece of text
and then relate those concepts to broader ideas. Key Concept Synthesis requires students to first use
textual clues to determine the key concepts in a piece of text. These include looking for divisions or
sections within the text, determining which sentence in each paragraph is the topic sentence, and
learning to ‘forecast’ the main idea. Once a student is able to identify the central concepts of a text,
the student can restate those ideas in his or her own words and then make even broader connections
between those concepts and other ideas or knowledge. The practice of restating the idea in his or
own words allows teachers to spot fallacies and misunderstandings in the student’s representation of
an idea.
How It Can Be Used: Key Concept Synthesis can be used across multiple content
areas and is particularly useful with science and mathematics instruction.
♦ Key Concept Synthesis is best used with text that is at or below the student’s Lexile
measure.
♦ Some students may prefer to use an artistic or graphical device, like a mind map,
to establish the key concepts.
♦ Once students have completed the graphic organizer, they can share their ideas
with other students and identify how they determined the key concepts and how
they determined the relevant connections.
♦ Upon completion, it is advisable that students share their efforts with their peers.
Students are advised to discuss the methods they used to establish the key
concepts and how the identified the primary connections.
Step 2: Using a carousel approach or a sharing strategy, each group will share at
least one concept to share with the class. Students may add any information that
they hear from another group.
Additional comments I want to add:
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Step 3:
1. Have the students read the second article silently.
2. Then have a good reader (you or another student) read the article orally.
3. Use the Key Concept Organizer—Students can work in pairs, groups, or
independently.
Article 2:
Key Concept Synthesis
Directions: Use the following graphic organizer to identify the five most important
concepts (in the form of single words or phrases) from the reading. Think about
identifying the five most important concepts in this way: If you had to explain to
someone who had not read the text, what are the five most important concepts you
would want them to understand? (Use a highlighter and marginal notes to identify
important concepts as you read and then complete the graphic organizer once
you have completed the reading.)
Key Concept
Put the Concept into Your
Own Words
Explain Why the Concept
is Important AND Make
Connections to Other
Concepts
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Step 4: Using a carousel approach or a sharing strategy, each group will share at
least one concept to share with the class. Students may add any information that
they hear from another group.
Additional comments I want to add:
Step 5:
Each student will answer the following:
1. In “Animal Roles and Relationships,” the central message or idea centers on which of the
following:
a. Animal relationships are just as important and critical as human relationships.
b. Wolves have the most important relationships of all other animals.
c. Animals only form relationships with animals just like them.
d. The strongest members in a species control the relationships established.
2. In “Unusual Animal Friendships,” the central message or idea centers on which of the following:
a. Animals only bond with animals just like them
b. Dogs are more likely to be friends with other animals.
c. Two animals from different species can form a special bond and affection for each other.
d. Animals who bond with another species are rejected by members of their own species.
3. Both articles support the central message by using the following structure:
a. cause and effect
b. examples
c. comparison and contrast
d. definition
Then place the students in a pair/share and let them share lessons. They have to explain to each
other why they chose the answer.
After the pair/share, the teacher and the whole class will discuss the right answers and why each
answer is best.
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Answers:
1.
a. Animal relationships are just as important and critical as human relationships.
b. Wolves have the most important relationships of all other animals.
c. Animals only form relationships with animals just like them.
d. The strongest members in a species control the relationships established.
The answer is “a” because the statement summarizes the message for the entire passage. Each
example demonstrates the critical and important aspects of the relationships. For example, the lions
and lionesses each play roles that support each other; the hermit crabs give sea anemones protection
from starfish and other attackers, and sea anemones also get free food by eating the leftovers from
hermit crab fare; and wolves take on different roles when needed. “B” is too narrow and only
pertains to one paragraph. “C” is not correct because of the example with the hermit crabs and the
sea anemones. “D” is too narrow because all the examples do not focus on the strongest members
being the most important.
2.
a. Animals only bond with animals just like them
b. Dogs are more likely to be friends with other animals.
c. Two animals from different species can form a special bond and affection for each other.
d. Animals who bond with another species are rejected by members of their own species.
The answer is “c” because of the word “can” and the examples given. “A” is disputed by the examples
given. “B” is not supported in the article. “D” is not supported because there is only one example of
rejections and it is not related to the bonding with another species.
3.
a. cause and effect
b. examples
c. comparison and contrast
d. definition
The answer is “b” because it is dominant in both articles. Giving examples is the main mode of
discourse in relaying the central message. There is evidence of “a,” but it is not prevalent throughout.
“C” is not the answer because there are no contrasts and limited comparisons. “D” is not supported
by any details in the articles.
Step 6: With the whole group, model how to answer the following constructed response. Write with
them.
What are two central ideas that can be found in BOTH “Animal Roles and Relationships” and
“Unusual Animal Friendships”? Use details from BOTH articles to support your answer.
1. After discussing the three selected responses, brainstorm on two ideas that a reader can
find in both articles.
Example: Both articles support unusual relationships. Both articles support the need that
animals have to help each other and to show affection to each other.
2. Have the students to use their “Key Concept Synthesis” charts and find the supporting
details they can use to support both central ideas.
3. The teacher will ask students to share their supporting details. The teacher will list at
some of the key concepts on the board.
4. Then the teacher will model (by writing on the board) a constructed response using the
supporting details.
5. Students will give feedback on the writing.
Step 7: Give the students another constructed response to write independently.
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How do the examples in both articles support the importance of animals working together to
survive?
Step 8: Share with the students the guidelines for the following writing prompt: Write an
informational essay detailing the ways in which a dog that just had puppies might foster a
litter of new kittens.
1. Give students the rubric and discuss the expectations.
2. Be sure to define the terms in the rubric: effectively, generally, ineffectively, etc. Provide
writing as a model to benefit the students, or give examples to help
students understand the concepts like “effectively.”
3. Stress the need to refer to some of the examples from the articles to support the rationale
behind the concept of a dog helping foster a litter of new kittens.
4. Stress the need for editing.
Step 9: Students are to write to the prompt.
Step 10: The teacher may want the students to participate in some peer editing before turning in the
paper.
Step 11: The teacher will collect the papers and provide EFFECTIVE feedback on at least three key
components of the rubric. Then the teacher will give back the papers and let the students work on
improving the paper in those three areas.