This task asks students to base their arguments on their own strong feelings within the context of having just read 12 Angry Men. ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

The ABC’s of Anne Frank performance based assessment is designed to help students develop informational writing skills with a specific audience and purpose in mind. Students must convey their knowledge of Anne Frank to younger students, specifically fifth graders, in a format that integrates writing, research, and design. The assessment promotes critical thinking by making students convey the tragic and often graphic nature of the Holocaust and life of Anne Frank in a way that is suitable for a young audience. The assessment gives each student depth of knowledge about World War II, the Holocaust, and the life of Anne Frank, promoting metacognition well beyond the reading of the play. It is the culminating activity in a unit on Anne Frank that includes readings in the genres of nonfiction and drama.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will analyze various poems by Langston Hughes and write a constructed response based on the readings.  This task can and should be completed in conjunction with 7th grade history lessons on the Harlem Renaissance.  ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will create a presentation including images and quotes from a select celebrity or a celebrity of their choice.  ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will plan, write, and submit a formal MLA formatted research paper regarding Checks and Balances from the VA Civics Curriculum. Students will research a topic, create a thesis statement, and include in-text citations in their final product. ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

This writing task works in conjunction with student-choice reading workshop classroom models. Students will use mentor texts to understand the characteristics of strong critical reviews. ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

The student will write a persuasive essay convincing the teacher of who is to blame for the witch hysteria and the subsequent deaths of innocent people.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

You are a homesteader who headed west with your family after the Civil War.  Write a diary entry that shows what life is like for you on the Great Plains.  Here are some guiding questions:Why did you move west? What were your motivations?  How did you travel?  What was your experience like?What is daily life like?What challenges have you faced?What are your hopes and dreams for the future?** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

The student will understand the importance of facing fears and be able to relate this in a narrative piece of writing.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

 Students will produce a narrative piece on fear, which will utilize dialogue and communicate their feelings.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will participate in a variety of activities to complete the experiment, and the student will produce written steps, notes, and results for each part of the experiment using the scientific method. For each part of the experiment, students will do the task two ways: sitting cross-legged on the floor to simulate what it would be like to be Kevin, and standing on a chair to simulate what it would be like to be Max** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

mini-From the beginning of the novel study, students will focus on what it means to be a hero, and who acts heroically in the story. At the conclusion of the reading, they will use the evidence they have gathered throughout their reading to determine who the hero in the story is. They will use this evidence to produce a five-paragraph essay to support their claim.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

The student will understand the importance of friendship and be able to relate this in a narrative piece of writing. ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will be defending the main character’s hero or villain status by analyzing the author’s choices within a text to create an analysis essay. Students may have the option of selecting the text/author/main character/villain or hero and will have the option of selecting the author’s choices to analyze.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will be writing a standard-format letter to the editor of a local newspaper using data and research on an issue they care about that affects others. While it must be a school-appropriate issue, students have the opportunity to select any issue of interest to them to rebut the original writer’s post.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will produce a persuasive analysis essay as a top psychiatrist assessing the mental health of a defendent accused of murder in order to see if he can avoid the death penalty by pleading insanity.  ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

The student will understand the historical importance of American explorers Lewis and Clark and be able to relate this exploration into a narrative piece of writing.  ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will gather, preserve, and interpret the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events.  They will record and videotape interviews with people having first-hand knowledge of events. They will produce a cumulative written and visual work based on their findings. ** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions. (Kulp added this to the overview)

The students in 5th grade have been tasked with creating a personal narrative or realistic fiction piece to share with younger students, in a format of their choice. The purpose of the story is to guide younger students by demonstrating how to overcome and/or prevent bullying in their world.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions. 

 Students will craft a persuasive presentation of information for a cause they believe needs to be improved to convince the citizens within their home community. Students are encouraged to explore pamphlets, petitions, and commercials to best find the way that they will present their information. Additionally, students will be selecting their own, school-appropriate, topics to address. The linking factor will be a persuasive outline for each assignment.** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.