Posted on: Thursday, January 20, 2005
EDUCATION SNAPSNOT
Checklist for kids can aid writing
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer
These days the standardized tests your children take don't just require them to bubble in an answer.
In addition to writing out reading and math answers, the Hawai'i State Assessment includes a writing section that asks students to write responses to prompts, such as the third-grade question: "Imagine that you are as small as a mouse. (Think about the things you could do and how things would look to you being that small.) Explain to a friend whether you like being as small as a mouse."
To figure out what is expected of your child's written responses, see these excerpts from the writing checklist that third- and fifth-graders use to revise and edit their first drafts.
Meaning and Ideas
• Does your meaning make sense? • Did you include only those details and examples that support your ideas? Voice and Audience
• Does the writing sound like you? • Did you say what you think and feel?
Clarity
• Do the words say what you mean? • Do your sentences begin in different ways?
Source: "Teacher's Guide for Interpreting the Hawai'i State Assessment: Fourth Edition"
