Posted: February 26th, 2023

Argument Essay (Formative)

Educational psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth argues that intelligence and talent are overrated as determinants of long-term success and that the most important predictor of achievement is a trait called grit, which she defines as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” Duckworth further notes that the “gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina.”

Write an essy that argues your position on the degree to which grit determines one’s ability to achieve.

In your response you should do the following:

• Respond to the prompt with a thesis that presents a defensible position.
• Provide evidence to support your line of reasoning.
• Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
• Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

Assignment 6

· Read the legend “How the Chipmunk Got Its Stripes” and the student retelling of that story. Using your knowledge 
of reading comprehension (e.g., literal comprehension, inferential comprehension, engagement of schema, self-monitoring), write a response in which you:

      Using your knowledge of 
reading comprehension (e.g., literal comprehension, inferential comprehension, engagement of schema, self-monitoring), write a response in which you:

· Identify and discuss one of the student’s 

strengths
 relating to reading comprehension;

· Identify and discuss one of the student’s 

weaknesses
 relating to reading comprehension

· See Appendix B for the scoring rubric.

You are to prepare a written response of approximately 350 – 500 words. Your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge of the field. You are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding by applying your knowledge rather than by merely reciting factual information.

Your response will be evaluated based on the following criteria.

·
Purpose: the extent to which your response achieves the purpose of the assignment.

·
Subject Knowledge: the appropriateness and accuracy in the application of the subject knowledge

·
Support: quality and relevance of supporting evidence

·
Rationale: soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject

Descriptions of each criteria.

Purpose

· Your response focuses on reading comprehension and explains both strengths and weaknesses.

· You cite specific evidence from both the passage and the retelling of the passage.

Subject Knowledge

· The application of subject knowledge is accurate and substantial, including the use of terminology.

· The distinction between inferential and literal comprehension is clearly stated.

· Areas where the student needs intervention are clearly identified and addressed.

Support

· You provide examples from the text and/or retelling that are both relevant and important to the discussion.

· Support is sound and the examples are of high quality.

· The examples and the discussion of the examples are clearly related and in context.

Rationale

· Your response is ably reasoned and relates each part of the discussion to the whole picture of the student’s comprehension.

· The choice of strength/weakness to discuss, the explanations given and the examples all show a comprehensive understanding of reading comprehension.

· The conclusions brings the threads of the discussion together.

How the Chipmunk Got Its Stripes A Legend of the Iroquois

Long ago, the Earth was covered in darkness. None of the creatures living there knew what daylight looked like.

One day, all of the animals of the forest gathered together in a clearing. They wondered if it would be better to remain in darkness, or if it would be better to also have light. Deer, Chipmunk, Raccoon, Wolf, Bear, and many other creatures climbed to the top of the highest mountain. The mountain stood so tall that there were no trees on its top, and it was covered only with rocks. Millions of stars blinked in the dark sky overhead. The biggest and most powerful animal in the forest was the bear, and he was the first to reach the mountaintop. Bear stood on the highest peak, looked out over the forest below, and argued for remaining in darkness. He said that the creatures of the forest would be able to sleep better in darkness because there would be no light to keep them awake. Most of the other animals were afraid, and they agreed with Bear. Raccoon said that he did not mind the darkness because he was so smart that he could find plenty of food, even in the dark. Wolf was easy to please, too. She didn’t mind the darkness because she could howl in darkness or in light.

But one animal did stand up to Bear. Chipmunk, the smallest of the animals, argued that it would be better to have both light and dark. Chipmunk was very clever. As Bear continued to argue for darkness, she made many good arguments for light.

Slowly, the night passed. Bear grew tired of talking, but Chipmunk chattered on and on, as if she had all of the energy in the world. As the other animals dropped off to sleep, one by one, Chipmunk kept arguing. Finally, the first sunrise ever seen by the animals appeared over the top of the mountain. They woke up and were amazed by what they saw.

Chipmunk began to dance from rock to rock. Bear became angry because he didn’t get his way. He roared loudly and ran after Chipmunk. He chased Chipmunk all the way down the mountain. Bear was fast, and he reached out his giant paw to grab Chipmunk. Chipmunk got away, but not before Bear managed to scratch her

back with his long claws. And that is why, to this day, you can see stripes on

Chipmunk’s back!

22

How the Chipmunk Got Its Stripes A Legend of the Iroquois

A 4th-grade student’s retelling of the legend and answering the prompt “What is the message of this story?”

The start of the earth was dark and all the animals could talk to each other. Lots of animals climbed a mountain. They saw stars but the ground was dark. The raccoon liked the dark. The bear was big and a bully. The chipmunk was the smallest animal but he wasn’t afraid of the bear. He talked and talked and talked. Everyone got tired and fell asleep but chipmunk started to dance. The bear chased the chipmunk and grabbed it with its paw. Chipmunk got away. Now chipmunks have stripes on their backs.

The main message of the story: If someone is mad at you, make sure you can run fast.

NOTES TO STUDENTS

When analyzing this retelling, focus on:

· Overall impressions of the accuracy and completeness of the retelling.

· What is one strength and one weakness in this student’s retelling?

· What does this strength/weakness tell you as a teacher what the instructional needs are for this student?

· Identify key reading and comprehension skills that are and are not utilized by this student. (KEY FOCUS OF PAPER)

· Identifying key passages from both the text and the retelling to support your position.

· Analysis of Reading Comprehension – Grading Rubric

Criterion

Advanced – 4

Proficient – 3

Basic – 2

Minimal – 1

Purpose

InTASC 4
CAEP R.1.2

Your response focuses on significant reading and comprehension skills.
A significant strength and weakness are identified and supported thoroughly with specific evidence from both the passage and the retelling of the passage (32 pts)

Your response focuses on reading and comprehension skills.
A strength and weakness are identified and supported with specific evidence from both the passage and the retelling of the passage (27.2 pts)

Your response focuses on reading OR comprehension skills.
A strength and weakness are identified and supported with specific evidence from the passage OR the retelling of the passage
(22.4 pts)

Your response is vaguely focused on reading comprehension.
A strength and weakness are identified but supported with little or no specific evidence (17.6 pts)

Subject

Knowledge

InTASC 4
CAEP R.1.2

The application of subject knowledge is accurate and substantial, including the use of terminology.

The distinction between inferential and literal comprehension is clearly stated.

Areas where the student needs intervention are clearly identified and addressed (32 pts)

The application of subject knowledge is accurate, including the use of terminology.

The distinction between inferential and literal comprehension is apparent.

Areas where the student needs intervention are identified and addressed. (27.2 pts)

The application of subject knowledge is mostly accurate, including the use of terminology.

Some distinction between inferential and literal comprehension is made.

Areas where the student needs intervention are identified. (22.4 pts)

The application of subject knowledge is minimal or inaccurate, and terminology is lacking.

Little to no distinction between inferential and literal comprehension is made.

Areas where the student needs intervention are ignored. (17.6 pts)

Support

InTASC 4
CAEP R.1.2

Examples from the text and retelling are both relevant and important to the discussion.

Support is sound and the examples are of high quality.

The examples and the discussion of the examples are clearly related and in context. (32 pts)

Examples from the text and/or retelling are both relevant and important to the discussion.

Support is sound and the examples are of high quality.

The examples and the discussion of the examples are clearly related. (27.2 pts)

Examples from the text or retelling are relevant to the discussion.

Support and examples are present.

There is discussion of the examples. (22.4 pts)

Examples from the text or retelling are minimal or missing.

Little to no support or examples are present.

There is little to no discussion of the examples. (17.6 pts)

Rationale

InTASC 4
CAEP R1.2 Learner and Learning

The response is ably reasoned and relates each part of the discussion to the whole picture of the student’s comprehension.

The choice of selection of the strength/ weakness, the explanations given and the examples all show a comprehensive understanding of reading comprehension.

The conclusion brings the threads of the discussion together. (32 pts)

The response relates each part of the discussion to the whole picture of the student’s comprehension.

The choice of selection of the strength/ weakness, the explanations given and the examples all show a good understanding of reading comprehension.

The conclusion neatly summarizes the discussion. (27.2 pts)

The response focuses on the student’s comprehension.

The choice of selection of the strength/ weakness, the explanations given and the examples all show a basic understanding of reading comprehension.

The conclusion restates the main points. (22.4 pts)

The response minimally focuses on the student’s comprehension.

The choice of selection of the strength/ weakness, the explanations given and the examples all show little to no understanding of reading comprehension.

The conclusion is minimal or lacking. (17.6 pts)

APA-

compliant

formatting

Consistently follows APA format. There is a properly formatted and accurate reference page (NO errors) (10 pts)

Consistently follows APA format. There is a properly formatted and accurate reference page (1-2 MINOR errors). (8.5 pts)

Limited (3-5) APA errors in APA format including title page, running heads, citations, quotations or references. (7 pts)

More than 5 APA errors in format including title page, running heads, citations, quotations or references.(5.5 pts)

Mechanics

The presentation demonstrates exceptional use of standard
English conventions (mechanics, usage, grammar and syntax). NO
ERRORS. (12 pts)

The presentation demonstrates consistent use of standard
English conventions (mechanics, usage, grammar and syntax). (1-2 MINOR errors). (10.2 pts)

The presentation demonstrates inconsistent use of standard
English conventions (mechanics, usage, grammar and syntax). (3-5 errors). (8.4 pts)

The presentation does NOT demonstrate use of standard English conventions
(mechanics, usage, grammar and syntax). (More than 5 errors). (6.6 pts)