Short-Answer Item:
Materials:
Excerpts from two informational texts about the same topic. Examples include the following:
- Kangaroos by Jolyon Goddard. Grolier, 2009. pages 10–11
Kangaroos by Sara Louise Kras. Capstone, 2010. page 6
- Guess Who Swoops by Sharon Gordon. Benchmark Books, 2004. pages 6–14
Baby Owl by Aubrey Lang. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2004. page 10
Read the excerpt from each book and share the illustrations with students. You may wish to display the pages on a document camera or overhead projector.
Have students write two ways the texts are alike and two ways the texts are different. As an alternative, have students complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the texts.
Short-Answer Scoring Rubric:
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Points
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Description
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4
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Student accurately identifies two similarities and two differences between the texts.
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3
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Student accurately identifies two similarities and one difference OR one similarity and two differences between the texts.
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2
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Student accurately identifies one similarity and one difference between the texts.
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1
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Student accurately identifies one similarity OR one difference between the two texts.
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0
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Student displays little or no understanding of the concept of comparing two informational texts on the same topic.
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Performance Assessment:
Materials:
Read the story The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse (any version) aloud to students or have students view a video of the story (for example: http://www.speakaboos.com/story/the-town-mouse-and-the-country-mouse)
Assign two or more of the following performance-assessment activities based on students’ ability levels. Provide students with a simplified rubric so they know what is expected of them.
- Have students draw a picture of the town mouse and another picture of the country mouse. Make sure the pictures show how the characters are alike and different. Students should also write a sentence to describe each character.
- Give students a copy of the Compare and Contrast Characters graphic organizer (L-1-4-1_ Compare and Contrast Characters.doc). Have them complete the graphic by describing how each character reacts to the growling dogs.
- Have students write a letter from one mouse to the other describing a specific event in the story and how they feel about it.
- Write the following list on the board or on chart paper: 1 narrator, 2 Town Mouse,
3 Country Mouse. As you reread the story or have students watch the video again, stop at various points and ask, “Who is telling the story?” Students respond by writing the correct number on a paper or by holding up a card with the correct number for you to see (without showing it to other students).
- Have students draw one or more scenes from the story. The pictures should show both main characters. The students should include speech bubbles to show what the characters are saying.
Performance Assessment Scoring Rubric:
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Points
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Description
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2
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Student demonstrates understanding of the concepts taught in this unit by successfully
- comparing and contrasting the experiences of characters in a story
AND
- identifying who is telling the story at various points in a text.
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1
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Student displays knowledge of the concepts taught in this unit by successfully
- comparing and contrasting the experiences of characters in a story
OR
- identifying who is telling the story at various points in a text.
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0
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Student displays little or no understanding of the concepts.
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Note: If you wish to have students self-assess their work, have them draw smiley faces to correspond with the number of points on the rubric.
