Valued Performance Project Standards

AL.SS.2.2 Identify national celebrations that exemplify fundamental democratic values,

including equality, justice, and responsibility of the common good.
AL.ELA.2.35 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage
when writing.
AL.ELA.2.36 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling when writing.
AL.ELA.2.22 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic they are writing about, state
an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also)
to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
AL.ELA.2.25 With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen
writing as needed by revising and editing.
Description of Valued Performance Project
The second grade students following instruction about Veterans Day will write a thankyou letter to a veteran that they select from a list sent by the local Veterans Affairs Department.
The letter will be handwritten and will include a thank-you message along with an explanation
about what Veterans Day means to them. The letter will be turned in for revision and then given
back to the students for them to edit and turn back in. I will deliver the letters on November 10th
to ensure the veterans can read the letters on Veterans Day.
Directions for Valued Performance or Product
You are going to select a veteran from a list sent by the local Veterans Affairs Department.
You will write the veteran a handwritten thank-you letter.
Start the letter with a formal greeting, for example: Dear John,.
In the letter, write a thank-you message to the veteran for his/or service to our country and tell
them what Veterans Day means to you.
Make sure you check your writing for appropriate capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
Make sure you use appropriate grammar.
Make sure you use neat handwriting to ensure that the letter can be read.
End the letter with a formal closing along with your name, for example: Sincerely,

Sarah Melvin
Turn in the letter by Friday November 6th for me to revise it.
After getting your revised letter back, edit it to correct any errors.
Turn the edited letter back in by Monday November 9th.
Assessment Rubric
Criteria

Content:
Understands the
significance of
Veterans Day
AL.SS.2.2

A thank-you is
written along
with the meaning
of Veterans Day.

Only the
meaning of
Veterans Day is
written.

Only a thank-you
is written.

Neither a thankyou nor the

meaning of
Veterans Day is
written.

Grammar Errors
AL.ELA.2.35

The letter has 0-3 The letter has 4-6 The letter has 7-9 The letter has
grammar errors.
grammar errors.
grammar errors.
more than 9
grammar errors.

Spelling and
Capitalization
AL.ELA.2.36

The letter has 0-2

spelling and
capitalization
errors.

Punctuation
AL.ELA.2.36

The letter has 0-3 The letter has 4-6 The letter has 7-9 The letter has
punctuation
punctuation
punctuation
more than 9
errors.
errors.
errors.
punctuation
errors.

The letter has 3-4

spelling and
capitalization
errors.

Opinion
AL.ELA.2.22

Revision and
Edit
AL.ELA.2.25

The letter was

turned in for
revision and all
errors were
edited.

The letter was

turned in for
revision, but not
all the errors
were edited.

The letter has 5-6

spelling and
capitalization
errors.

The letter has

more than 6
spelling and
capitalization
errors.

The letter is
written in your
own opinion.

The letter is
written from
opinions in the
textbook.

The letter was

turned in for
revision, but was
not edited.

The letter was

not turned in for
revision.

Validity Rationale
Validity Rationale for the Assessment
The third grade students will write a thank-you letter to veterans following instruction
about Veterans Day. The rubric will be used to assess the letter and determine the students
knowledge of the social studies content as well as their knowledge of the English/language arts
content. The students will benefit from this project in that adults write letters for many things.
The standards met by this project include the social studies content standard of identifying
national celebrations that exemplify fundamental democratic values, including equality, justice,
and responsibility of the common good. This standard is met through the expression of gratitude
and meaning of Veterans Day that is within the letter the students write. The English/language art
standards of correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization are demonstrated with the
expectation that the students write sentences that are free from grammatical, punctuation,
spelling, and capitalization errors. Also the English/language art standard: with guidance and
support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and
editing; is met when the students turn in their letters for revision and then edit them
appropriately. Writing the letter in their own opinions, the students are meeting the standard:
write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic they are writing about, state an opinion,
supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect
opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section. The rubric that is used
matches the standards that are listed.