ON-DEMAND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROMPT

Information Writing
Say to students:
“Think of a topic that you’ve studied or that you know a lot about. Tomorrow, you will have forty-five
minutes to write an informational (or all-about) text that teaches others interesting and important
information and ideas about that topic. Please keep in mind that you’ll have only this one period
to complete this, so you’ll need to plan, draft, revise, and edit in one sitting. Write in a way that
shows all that you know about information writing.

For students in grades K–2, you will add:

“In your writing, make sure you:
• Introduce the topic you will teach about.
• Include lots of information.
• Organize your writing.
• Use transition words.
• Write an ending.”

For students in grades 3–8, you will add:

“If you want to find and use information from a book or another outside source to help you with
this writing, you may bring that with you tomorrow.

“In your writing, make sure you:

• Write an introduction.
• Elaborate with a variety of information.
• Organize your writing.
• Use transition words.
• Write a conclusion.”

Use the teaching rubrics to assess and score these pieces of on-demand writing.

May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2014 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions,
Grades K–8 (Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH).
Name:  ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: _____________________________________

Rubric for Information Writing—Second Grade

Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3
(1 POINT) 1.5 PTS (2 POINTS) 2.5 PTS (3 POINTS) 3.5 PTS (4 POINTS) SCORE

STRUCTURE

Overall The writer told, drew, and Mid- The writer taught his readers Mid- The writer taught readers Mid- The writer taught readers
wrote about a topic. level about a topic. level some important points about level information about a subject.
a subject. He put in ideas, observations,
and questions.

Lead The writer told what his topic Mid- The writer named her topic Mid- The writer wrote a beginning Mid- The writer wrote a beginning
was. level in the beginning and got the level in which he named a subject level in which she got readers ready
readers’ attention. and tried to interest readers. to learn a lot of information
about the subject.

Transitions The writer put different things Mid- The writer told different parts Mid- The writer used words such as Mid- The writer used words to show
she knew about the topic on level about his topic on different level and and also to show she had level sequence such as before, after,
her pages. pages. more to say. then, and later. He also used
words to show what did not fit
such as however and but.

Ending The writer had a last part or Mid- The writer wrote an ending. Mid- The writer wrote some Mid- The writer wrote an ending
page. level level sentences or a section at the level that drew conclusions, asked
end to wrap up his piece. questions, or suggested ways
readers might respond.

Organization The writer told, drew and Mid- The writer told about his topic Mid- The writer’s writing had Mid- The writer grouped his
wrote information across level part by part. level different parts. Each part told level information into parts. Each
pages. different information about the part was mostly about one
topic. thing that connected to his big
topic.
TOTAL

May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2013 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing (firsthand: Portsmouth, NH).
 Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3
(1 POINT) 1.5 PTS (2 POINTS) 2.5 PTS (3 POINTS) 3.5 PTS (4 POINTS) SCORE

DEVELOPMENT

Elaboration* The writer drew and wrote Mid- The writer put facts in her Mid- The writer used different kinds Mid- The writer wrote facts, (X2)
some important things about level writing to teach about her level of information in his writing level definitions, details, and
the topic. topic. such as facts, definitions, observations about her topic
details, steps, and tips. and explained some of them.

Craft* The writer told, drew, and Mid- The writer used labels and Mid- The writer tried to include the Mid- The writer chose expert (X2)
wrote some details about the level words to give facts. level words that showed she was an level words to teach readers a lot
topic. expert on the subject. about the subject. He taught
information in a way to
interest readers. He may have
used drawings, captions, or
diagrams.
TOTAL

LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS

Spelling The writer could read his Mid- The writer used all she knew Mid- The writer used what he knew Mid- The writer used what she knew
writing. level about words and chunks (at, level about spelling patterns (tion, level about spelling patterns to help
The writer wrote a letter for op, it, etc.) to help her spell. er, ly, etc.) to spell a word. her spell and edit before she
the sounds he heard. The writer spelled the word The writer spelled all of the wrote her final draft.
The writer used the word wall wall words right and used the word wall words correctly and The writer got help from others
to help her spell. word wall to help her spell used the word wall to help him to check her spelling and
other words. figure out how to spell other punctuation before she wrote
words. her final draft.
* Elaboration and Craft are double-weighted categories: Whatever score a student would get in these categories is worth double the amount of points. For example, if a student exceeds expectations in Elaboration, then that student would receive 8 points instead of 4 points. If a
student meets standards in Elaboration, then that student would receive 6 points instead of 3 points.

May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2013 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing (firsthand: Portsmouth, NH).
 Kindergarten Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3
(1 POINT) 1.5 PTS (2 POINTS) 2.5 PTS (3 POINTS) 3.5 PTS (4 POINTS) SCORE

LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS (cont.)

Punctuation The writer wrote spaces Mid- The writer ended sentences Mid- The writer used quotation Mid- The writer punctuated dialogue
between words. level with punctuation. level marks to show what characters level correctly, with commas and
The writer used lowercase The writer used a capital letter said. quotation marks.
letters unless capitals were for names. When the writer used words The writer put punctuation
needed. The writer used commas in such as can’t and don’t, she at the end of every sentence
The writer wrote capital letters dates and lists. put in the apostrophe. while writing.
to start every sentence. The writer wrote in ways that
helped readers read with
expression, reading some parts
quickly, some slowly, some
parts in one sort of voice and
others in another.
TOTAL

Teachers, we created these rubrics so you will have your own place to pull together scores of student work. You can use If you want to translate this score into a grade, you can use the provided table to score each student on a scale of 0–4.
these assessments immediately after giving the on-demands and also for self-assessment and setting goals.
Number of Points Scaled Score
Scoring Guide
1–11 1
In each row, circle the descriptor in the column that matches the student work. Scores in the categories of Elaboration
11.5–16.5 1.5
and Craft are worth double the point value (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 instead of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, or 4).
17–22 2
Total the number of points and then track students’ progress by seeing when the total points increase.
22.5–27.5 2.5
Total score: ________
28–33 3
33.5–38.5 3.5
39–44 4

May be photocopied for classroom use. © 2013 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project from Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing (firsthand: Portsmouth, NH).