Prose Constructed Responses

If you did not check in two weeks ago, I gave an update on when we will take our Performance Based Assessments (PBA's). We still do not have confirmed dates but as of now we are planning on taking the Language Arts PBA's on February 23rd, 24th, and 25th. The following week the students will take the two Math PBA's.

One of the new elements of the PARCC assessments is Prose Constructed Responses (PCR's). If you are not aware, teachers only communicate in acronyms. Here is a screenshot from PARCC that explains the different types of forms students might be asked to compose during a Prose Constructed Responses:

I don't know how that picture is going to show up but what this documents says is that students are going to be asked to write at the end of each of their Language Arts Performance Based Assessments. If you can see the document, you can see that the students can be asked to write a wide variety of forms.

The interesting thing about the above document is the line, "teachers should not plan to use this list a checklist of forms to be taught."

We have talked about and looked at and even written many of these forms of writing this year. The students have also seen many of these forms in Mrs. Sanford's room. Even with all of this work we still have not hit them all. In the coming weeks I do have a plan to expose more of these forms to the students. 

I know many of you might be looking for things that you could do to help prepare your children for these assessments. A way I might think about attacking these forms as a parent is to read. Our at home reading does not always have to be from a book. You could print articles or reviews or pamphlets or excerpts from diaries or anything you can find. Mix these different types of writing into the at home reading here and there and students will have more exposure to the different types of forms. Of course this is not required work.

Hope you are all having a great start to the week and I hope the Flyers can start holding on the ball.