The next assessment I would like to share was used as a pre-assessment tool, a revision tool

while students were writing, and an assessment tool after students were finished. In seventh grade,
students write a literary essay on a theme from their independent reading novel. I chose to create
a checklist rather than a rubric so that students could more easily use this to self-assess and peerassess, reflect, and revise.
Overall, the checklist experience was a positive one. After explicit modeling of how to use
it, students were about to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, after students
identified them, I was better able to cater my instruction to meet their particular needs. I look
forward to using this checklist again this year because giving students opportunities to evaluate
themselves and reflect on their progress, drastically helped to improve the quality of their work.

Literature Essay Grade 7: Analyzing Theme Across Texts

STANDARD

STRUCTURE

ESSAY ELEMENT

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.1.A
organize the reasons and evidence
logically.

Organization

I organized the essay into paragraphs that

build on each other in a logical order.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.1.A
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge
alternate or opposing claims, and
organize the reasons and evidence
logically.

Lead

After I hooked the reader, I stated the

theme and the titles of the two books.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.2.C
Use appropriate transitions to create
cohesion and clarify the relationships
among ideas and concepts.

Transitions

I used transitions to make my writing sound

fluent and to help the reader connect to the
sections of the essay.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.1.E
Provide a concluding statement or
section that follows from and
supports the argument presented.

Conclusion

At the end of my essay, I used a conclusion

that summarized/ restated the theme.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.9
Draw evidence from literary or
informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.

Text Evidence

I used four pieces of textual evidence (a

before and after from each novel) to
support my theme.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.2:
Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English
capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.

MUG

I used appropriate grammar and usage; no

MUG mistakes.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.2.B:

Not Yet

Starting
To

Yes

Spell correctly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.1:
Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English
grammar and usage when writing or
speaking.

Fluency

I wrote with fluency and clarity of

language.