Explaining the Author’s Point of View
Teachers can assess their students’ skills to explain authors’ points of view, support replies with text-based evidence, and use acceptable academic terminology and discourse by adopting a writing technique that creates explicit criteria for analysis. For instance, in primary school, a kid succinctly summarizes the author’s point of view by saying, “The author believes that the beginning of the story is important because it sets the stage for what happens next” (Characteristics of Good Student Feedback). This answer explains the author’s perspective and its importance to the story. Another student, however, finds it challenging to convey the author’s point of view and instead says, “The story starts.” This comment needs to be more superficial and explain the author’s goal.
Using Textual Evidence to Support Responses
A secondary-level student excels in justifying responses using information from the text by providing a well-supported argument: “The author’s use of vivid imagery and descriptive language conveys a positive mood in the passage. For example, the author describes the beautiful sunset and the joyful laughter of the characters.” This response justifies the positive mood and cites specific textual evidence to substantiate the claim.
Conversely, an elementary-level student struggles to justify their response and merely states, “I think the character is sad.” This response lacks textual support and fails to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the passage. The student work samples show varying levels of competency in utilizing academic terminology. Students are proficient at using terms like “change,” “beginning,” and “feelings” to convey their ideas at the primary school level.
As an illustration, a student can write, “The character goes through a change in the beginning, which excites me about the story.” These phrases successfully express the student’s understanding and reaction. At the secondary level, students effectively communicate their views by using terms like “attitude,” “positive,” and “convey” from an advanced academic vocabulary. For instance, a pupil writes, “The author’s use of vivid descriptions conveys a positive attitude towards nature” (Brookhart 72). The student correctly recognizes the author’s attitude and uses the proper terminology to describe it, which displays an excellent command of academic language.
Academic Terminology and Discourse Proficiency
The student work examples show different levels of ability in employing pertinent academic discourse or grammar. In primary school, students may efficiently order their thoughts using ordinal terms like “first,” “then,” and “before.” They also employ rationalization phrases like “because” and “so” to support their assertions. As an illustration, a student may write, “First, the character is afraid due to the thunderstorm. When the storm finally blows over, the character feels relieved.
At the secondary level, pupils are adept at using example language like “for instance,” “such as,” and “for example” to present precise evidence from the text (Brookhart 63). To offer opposing or extra views, they also employ comparison terms like “however,” “although,” “also,” and “but” effectively. As an illustration, a student may write, “The character exhibits bravery throughout the novel.”
Works Cited
“Characteristics of Good Student Feedback.” YouTube, uploaded by Gavan Watson, Web.
Brookhart, Susan M. How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008, pp. 61-73