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WritingFix: Resources to help better prepare students and teachers for the Nevada Writing Test
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WritingFix also recommends these websites for writing teachers:


Corbett's Website




Dena's Website



NNWP's website



NWP's Website

WritingFix: Preparing for Nevada's Writing Test
helping Nevada teachers and students authentically prepare for state writing assessments

In Nevada, student writing is tested at several grade levels: 5th, 8th, and 11th.  

Our 5th and 8th grade writing tests are scored on four of the six traits: idea development, organization, voice, and conventions.  Students receive four scores: from one to five points in each of the four traits scored.  A combined score of 12 points or more (20 is a perfect score) means the student passes his/her test. Teams of trained Nevada teachers score Nevada students' writing samples using analytic trait rubrics.

At the11th grade level, students' writing is assessed using a trait-based holistic writing rubric. If students do not pass in the 11th grade, they re-take the writing test in 12th grade.

WritingFix and the Northern Nevada Writing Project have been developing resources to help students authentically and strategically prepare for their upcoming writing exams. We work to convince teachers and administrators that "drilling" students with practice prompts before the test is not the right way to prepare students; this kind of test preparation can make students not only feel unnecesssary anxiety about upcoming tests, but it can also make them dislike the act of writing. WritingFix and the NNWP both believe a small amount of practice prompts should be balanced with authentic writing instruction.

In 2005, the NNWP began working with selected elementary schools to find out what this balance might and should look like. In our program, 4th and 5th grade writers write to practice prompts, and NNWP trained scorers read and return the tests within a week of receiving them. Teachers share the scored papers with student writers, individual goals are set based on the data, and authentic instruction is then crafted so that students can meet their goals by the next practice prompt.

Although we wish we could, the NNWP does not have enough scorers or funding to provide this service to every school (at present, we are providing it for 14 schools). For the 2008-2009 school year, we will have enough materials posted on this page to help any elementary schools build the capacity to score their own students' practice prompts as accurately as possible. For 2009-2010, we will have similar materials for Northern Nevada middle schools.

Below, you will find practice prompts taken from past Nevada writing exams. You will also find classroom resources and materials we have developed and use when helping teachers authentically help their students better prepare for their upcoming exams.

 

Practice Prompts from Past Nevada Writing Tests:

prompts for 4th, 5th, or 6th grade:

 


prompts for 7th, 8th, 11th or 12th Grade:

              

 


Classroom Resources when Preparing for State Writing Tests:

4th grade resources:

5th grade resources:

Spring Practice Prompt #1:

Three or four months before they "graduate" fourth grade, assign your fourth graders the following practice prompt, then use the anchor papers to determine students' scores.

Materials for writing the practice prompt

Materials for scoring the samples and reacting to the data


Spring Practice Prompt #2:

Two or three months before they "graduate" fourth grade, assign your fourth graders the following practice prompt, then use the anchor papers to determine students' scores.

Materials for writing the practice prompt

Materials for scoring the samples and reacting to the data


Spring Practice Prompt #3:

One or two months before they "graduate" fourth grade, assign your fourth graders the following practice prompt, then use the anchor papers to determine students' scores.

Materials for writing the practice prompt

Materials for scoring the samples and reacting to the data


 

 

 

Fall Practice Prompt #1:

Four months before the test, assign your fifth graders the following practice prompt, then use the anchor papers to determine students' scores.

Materials for writing the practice prompt

Materials for scoring the samples and reacting to the data


Fall Practice Prompt #2:

Three months before the test, assign your fifth graders the following practice prompt, then use the anchor papers to determine students' scores.

Materials for writing the practice prompt

Materials for scoring the samples and reacting to the data


Fall Practice Prompt #3:

Two months before the test, assign your fifth graders the following practice prompt, then use the anchor papers to determine students' scores.

Materials for writing the practice prompt

Materials for scoring the samples and reacting to the data


Fall Practice Prompt #4:

One month before the test, assign your fifth graders the following practice prompt, then use the anchor papers to determine students' scores.

Materials for writing the practice prompt

Materials for scoring the samples and reacting to the data

 

6 trait resources:
Trait songs:

Introduce WritingFix's 6-trait metaphor to make your test preparation more meaningful:

Click here to open and print our 7-page poster/handout set of this new Northern Nevada metaphor for the 6 traits.

6 Trait Songs for your Classroom:

In Nevada, students are scored on four of the six traits for their 5th and 8th grade state writing tests: idea development, organization, voice, and conventions. Students receive a score between 1 (low) and 5 (high) on all four traits, for a possible combined score of 20.

Northern Nevada teacher, Terry Stelle, has shared with us her original trait songs that she teaches her students to sing as they prepare to be tested. These songs mention both scores and strategies involved with each of Nevada's tested traits.


Rubrics used to assess Nevada's state writing tests:
The four analytic rubrics used to score
Nevada's 5th and 8th grade writing tests:
The holistic rubric used for the
Nevada high school writing exam:
Other test preparation resources we use in Northern Nevada:

Does your school have a staff set of the NNWP's Trait workbook? It should.

The Northern Nevada Writing Project's teacher workbook--the Going Deep with 6 Trait Language Guide--generously shares lessons, resources, and discussion tools that help classrooms and schools discover anew the language of traits. 

Click here to find out how to order individual teacher copies.

Northern Nevada administrators:  We offer a discount rate (just $6.00 per copy) when ten or more of these workbooks are ordered by a principal for his/her school.  Contact Corbett Harrison (charrison@washoe.k12.nv.us) to take advantage of this discount.

______________________________________

"I stumbled upon your website by accident - I just love accidents like that. The book on Writing Traits is AMAZING! I absolutely love it."
 
                       --Deepika Ahuja, Cranbrook Schools, Michigan

Barry Lane's Hooked on Meaning

On February 8, 2008, Barry Lane returned to workshop around his newest product
--Hooked on Meaning--which is designed to be shown and used with students who are preparing to take a state writing exam.

Quoted from Barry's Discover Writing Website:  "In this DVD/VHS, you will find 12 simple lessons teachers can show directly to students, grades 3-8, before the test. This material, and the entertaining way it's presented, will improve both the attitude toward the test and also teach aspects of the writers craft. Composed of short, entertaining three minute segments and simple exercises, and enhanced by a 120-page study guide filled with extra lessons, posters, and overhead-ready examples, Barry Lane's Hooked on Meaning is the perfect tool for incorporating prompted tests into a meaning-based writing program.  Show it directly to your class or use it as a professional development event for your faculty."

We don't advertise on the WritingFix site, but we believe this to be a marvelous tool to have available at your school.  Consider talking to your principal about paying for you to attend the February workshop as a representative of your school; by participating, you will receive a copy of Barry's Hooked on Meaning package, which contains a DVD, VHS tape, and lessons that are ready to be run off and used with your students.

Click here to find out more information (and to see a sample clip) from Barry Lane's "Hooked on Meaning."

   

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