2 Which resource would be the most helpful to Megan in writing and editing her paragraph?

1. Grandma Balsamo In English class, Megan has been asked to write a descriptive paragraph about someone special to her. Megan wants to write about her Grandma Balsamo. 2 Which resource would be the most helpful to Megan in writing and editing her paragraph? F a book of rhyming words G an encyclopedia H an atlas J a computer word processor • Which of these would best help Megan write a description of Grandma Balsamo? • A making a list of all the things she loves about Grandma Balsamo • B calling Grandma Balsamo to ask her to bake some cookies • C thinking about all the things she could do to help Grandma Balsamo • D asking about Grandma Balsamo at the library provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

2. Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use Notes to Teacher: Planning is an important stage of the writing process. Fifth grade students should plan and organize information for a variety of purposes. Students should be asked to complete a prewriting exercise prior to building a draft. Students will be successful on this part of the Standards of Learning assessment if they can group like ideas, identify unneeded information and sequence events. They must be familiar enough with the writing process to understand the steps a writer goes through when creating a draft. provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

3. Here is the first part of Megan’s rough draft. Use it to answer the questions below. (1)One of my favorite people is Grandma Balsamo. (2)I visit her every Sunday. (3)She always gives me a big hug when she sees me. (4)On Sunday is when I visit Grandma Balsamo. (5)Grandma cooks all day to get ready for my visit. (6)When we walk into her house we can smell something cooking in the oven. • How can sentence 6 be revised to include more specific description? • F When we walk into her house we can smell it cooking in the oven. • G When we walk into her house we can smell stuff cooking in the oven. • H When we walk into her house we can smell things cooking in the oven. • J When we walk into her house we can smell fresh bread cooking in the oven. • Which sentence can be removed because it repeats information already provided? • A sentence 1 • B sentence 3 • C sentence 4 • D sentence 5 provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

4. Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use Notes to Teacher: In the revising stage, students should improve their writing by selecting specific vocabulary and information. During this stage of the writing process the goal is to clarify writing so that the message is clearly communicated. To be successful on this part of the Standards of Learning assessment, students must be able to recognize unimportant information and revise to include more description and detail. provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

5. Here is the second part of Megan’s paragraph. Use it to answer the questions below. (7)My mouth starts to water right away. (8)I ask for a taste of pasta. (9)I ask for a taste of sauce. (10)My grandma laughs and sneaks me a taste. (11)She pulls me close to her again. (12)I can smell her perfume. (13)She always wears the same perfume. (14)It smells nice. • How can sentences 8 and 9 best be joined without changing their meaning? • A I ask for a taste of pasta then I ask for a taste of sauce. • B I ask for a taste of pasta and sauce. • C I ask for a taste of pasta and then I ask for a taste of sauce. • D I ask for pasta, I ask for sauce. • A more descriptive way to write sentence 14 is – • F It smells really nice. • G It smells a lot. • H It smells like sweet flowers. • J It smells very very good. provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

6. Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use Notes to Teacher: In the revising stage students should improve their writing by selecting specific vocabulary and information. During this stage of the writing process the goal is to clarify writing so that their message is clearly communicated. To be successful on this part of the Standards of Learning assessment, students must be able to recognize unimportant information and revise to include more description and detail. provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

7. Here is the third part of Megan’s rough draft. Use it to answer the questions below. (15)After everyone eats dinner Grandma Balsamo takes my hand, we sit down at the old kitchen table. (16)She tells me stories about when she was a little girl. (17)I learn about her favorite toys and her favorite books. (18)She shows me some of her favorite books. (19)The books’ covers are so old. • Which sentence should be revised because it is a run-on sentence? • A sentence 15 • B sentence 16 • C sentence 17 • D sentence 18 • The phrase books’ covers from sentence 19 is best written – • F books covers • G book’s covers • H books cover’s • J as it is provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

8. Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use Notes to Teacher: In the editing stage of the writing process, students should improve their writing by using proper grammar, capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. The best place for students to practice these skills is in their own writing. Writer’s workshop conferences provide the opportunity to examine individual student skills. To be successful on this part of the Standards of Learning assessment students must be able to recognize incorrectly written sentences and make them correct. At the fifth grade level students should be able to punctuate apostrophes, commas, and quotation marks. Students should be able to identify run-ons, fragments and complete sentences. They should also understand plural possessives, adverb comparisons, and adjective comparisons. provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

9. Here is the final part of Megan’s paragraph. Use it to answer the questions below. (20)Grandma Balsamo picks up a copy of Box Car Children. (21)She says, “I have always loved a good mystery. (22)Although without her glasses. (23)She had difficulty reading. (24)I listened anyway. (25)Being close to Grandma Balsamo was special even if she couldn’t read all the words correctly. • Which sentence should be revised because it is a fragment? • F sentence 20 • G sentence 21 • H sentence 22 • J sentence 23 9 How is sentence 21 correctly written? A She says, I have always loved a good mystery.” B She says, I have always loved a good mystery. C She says, “I have always loved a good mystery.” D “She says, I have always loved a good mystery.” provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.

10. Answer Sheet – For Teacher Use Notes to Teacher: During the editing stage of the writing process students will edit for use of language, capitalization, punctuation and spelling. Students can earn 14 multiple choice points and 8 possible score from the direct-writing component by accurately editing. On Standards of Learning Assessments writing assessments students will edit for the use of: provided bySimply Achieve, Inc.