Mulhern's English Site

FSA ELA Important Information: http://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/11/fsa-ela-important-information.html#more FSA ELA Question Stems: http://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/10/ap-english-and-freshman-english-fsa-ela.html#more Responding to the FSA Informative/Explanatory Writing Prompt: http://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/09/freshman-english-and-ap-english.html#more FSA ELA Writing Prompt Essay Rubric for the Argumentative Essay: http://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/11/fsa-ela-argumentative-writing-prompt.html#more FSA ELA Training Test on DOE Website--Synopsis: http://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/11/fsa-ela-training-test-on-doe-website.html#more FSA ELA Informative/Explanatory Essay Prompt--Strategies for Responding http://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/11/fsa-ela-informativeexplanatory-essay.html#more Practice Informative/Explanatory Essay Writing Prompt: Black Death http://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/11/fsa-ela-sample-informativeexplanat...

FSA Writing Practice Test Video (youtube.com) Bing Videos    https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/assessments/k-12-student-assessment/best/ Test Design Summary and Blueprint: FAST ELA Reading and B.E.S.T. Writing (fldoe.org) https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/search?q=fsa Test Design Summary and Blueprint: FAST ELA Reading and B.E.S.T. Writing (fldoe.org) https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/09/fsa-florida-standards-assessment.html https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2014/11/fsa-ela-informativeexplanatory-essay.html#more FSA ELA Writing Scoring Samplers (de7pp02vfgk7b.cloudfront.net) https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2017/03/fsa-ela-brainstorming-and-planning-for.html https://www.dmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/MULTIPLE-CHOICE-TEST-TAKING-STRATEGIES.pdf https://www.foundationlearninggroup.com/blog/multiple-choice-test-taking-strategies lumoslearning.com/llwp/teachers-speak/fast-assessment-practice-tips.htmlhttps://www. https://study.com/academy/popular/fsa-test-taking-strate...

I created this sample essay prompt, as well as some others on my website. They have not been approved by the DOE. Below is a sample FSA Informational Writing Prompt. See the attached links for the texts to accompany the prompt. The FSA Writing Component for ELA will have anywhere between two and four passages, with a maximum of 2000 words total. The first text you could cite from is "Rituals of Memory," in the  Collections  textbook for Grade 9.

(Some changes need to be made for the 2016-2017 year.) The information below was excerpted from the Florida Department of Education website. First, check out the following links for a calendar of important testing dates: Grades 9-11 FSA  Writing Assessment Grades 9–10 English Language Arts Item Specifications Florida Standards Assessments Text-based Writing Stimulus and Prompt Guidelines 

I created the following sample FSA Argumentative prompt for the ELA based on five  New York Times  articles written especially for students. It has not been approved by the DOE. See the following link for access to the articles for the prompt below:

Brainstorming/Planning Strategies for Answering the FSA ELA Writing Prompt— Note Taking While You Read and Highlight Know that this prompt  requires you to plan and revise.  You will be given a sheet of paper to take notes. All good writing requires planning. Below are some suggestions for the reading, note-taking, and planning process:

I created the following sample FSA Argumentative prompt for the ELA based on four  New York Times   articles written especially for students.  This sample prompt has not been approved by the DOE. See the following link for access to the articles for the prompt below:

Thinking, Nicholas Roerich (1918) The DOE sample prompt reads as follows:

(Information from Florida DOE website) Hot Text items  require the student to either click on a response option  or  drag a response option to another location. In the drag-a-response option, the student may be given five possible responses, for example. The student then must click on and drag one or more responses to a space in a chart, list, or graphic organizer. Hot Text items may also require students to select/highlight details from a text (words, phrases, or sentences).  Some Hot Text items are two part.  For example, Part A asks the student, "Which is a theme of the passage?" and Part B asks the student, "Which detail supports the development of the theme in Part A?"

ATC Students and Students from Any Other Secondary School or College: To help students prepare for the first "progress monitoring" session of the FAST, I will be tutoring during the summer months. Every Sunday, send your request for a time and day during the upcoming week in which you tell me when you would like to meet. I will do my best to meet your needs and then send you a link to an online Tutoring session. The first progress-monitoring part of the FAST will take place on September 17. 2024. Retakes will be given on September 24, 2024.

Two Lawyers Conversing, Honore Daumier (1860s) Writing Prompt: (from the Florida Department of Education website) I t’s no secret that sometimes great discoveries come as a result of really big mistakes. But are they always worth the problems they cause? Sometimes the mistakes lead to greatness, and sometimes they lead to disaster.  Are mistakes key to making discoveries? Write an essay in which you take a position on whether or not mistakes are a key part of discovery.  Use the information presented in the passages to support your points. Make sure to include information from all the passages in your essay. Manage your time carefully so that you can read the passages; plan your essay; write your essay; and revise and edit your essay. Be sure to include a claim; address counterclaims; use evidence from multiple sources; and avoid overly relying on one source. Your written response should be in the form of a multiparagra...

The Peer Editing Rubric below was adapted from the rubric on the Florida DOE website. **** Florida Standards Assessment Argumentative Writing Rubric For each of the following, answer yes or no. Also point out to your peer the sections of the essay that could be improved. Suggest ideas for improvement.

The Peer Editing Rubric below was adapted from the rubric on the Florida DOE website. **** Florida Standards Assessment Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric For each of the following, answer yes or no. Also point out to your peer the sections of the essay that could be improved. Suggest ideas for improvement.

Check out this link: http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5663/urlt/ELA-MathFSAFS1516.pdf

Use this handout to improve metacognition and familiarity with Reading Test question types. The information provided below is appropriate for  any  standardized Reading Assessment, as most such tests utilize the same question types. The SAT Reading Test 2016 (Information in this document was excerpted and adapted from  The Official SAT Study Guide  of the College Board, 2015.) Consider purchasing  The Official SAT Study Guide  for March 2016 and beyond. The book is an excellent resource. It is available through the College Board Store or Amazon.com.

I created this sample essay prompt, as well as some others on my website. They have not been approved by the DOE. Students should type their responses as practice for the exam. Although the directions from the sample test at  http://www.fsassessments.org/ do not specify parenthetical citations, I would have students cite any information they use in their essays (both paraphrased text and text that students choose to quote). I would advise students to write the title or an abridged version of the title within parentheses. For example, the first text below would be cited as (“Black Death”), the next text could be abbreviated as (“Sin”) and the third text could be abbreviated as (“Depopulation”).

The following opinions are mine, not necessarily those of the DOE. Unfortunately, there has not been the best communication about this new assessment and there is a lack of clarity on some issues. My recommendations are as follows: The rubric for the Argumentative Essay on the DOE website does not address the issue of whether students are allowed to include their own original examples to support their thesis. The rubric does state that students must reference  all  of the sources, however. I suggest that you refer only to the accompanying texts included with the prompt for your examples/support. Be sure to elaborate sufficiently with at least three sentences, demonstrating your thinking/logic. The test is timed; including original examples, while creative and insightful on your part, may take too much time. In addition, it is not clear at this point if your own examples will detract from your final grade, even if you include references to all the accompanying texts.

Thinking, Nicholas Roerich (1918) The DOE sample prompt reads as follows: Writing Prompt (from the Florida Department of Education website) Write an informational essay on the  relationship between clothing styles  and  developments in clothing creation.  Your ideas  must be based on ideas, concepts, and information from the passage set.

Guidelines for Responding to an Argumentative Prompt The format of the argumentative prompt on the English Assessment resembles the one below (see italics). Familiarize yourself with the wording and requirements:

The Florida Standards Assessment for Writing (March) will have either an informational essay prompt or an argumentative essay prompt. Both prompts require students to cite textual evidence from accompanying reading passages. Below are strategies for students to use for the informational essay prompt.