The purpose of this third informational Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) is to determine what students know about informational writing. Students respond to a writing prompt, and you will score results as a measure of progress in subsequent assessments. Then students will brainstorm what they want to communicate in their self-portrait and begin to outline their self-portrait.

What do students need to accomplish to complete this project? What part of their work will take the most time? They’ll start to create a planning calendar to establish the steps of their work plan. They’ll schedule due dates for themselves and get feedback on their outline and calendar.

What does a multimedia memoir look like? Students will continue to explore website-creation or portfolio platforms they can use to create and publish their self-portrait. They’ll take a close look at a multimedia story to examine its features and plan the media they will use to express their own work.

Students will spend time finishing the revision of their written chapter and reviewing possible extensions to include in their work—such as creating an image or writing a poem. They’ll share the ways in which their project work has gone well and any concerns they still have.

Time to write! Students will get started on the first draft of the written chapter of their self-portrait. They’ll spend time focusing on ways to create a strong and memorable opening to draw their readers in.

How can students enhance the written chapter of their self-portrait? They’ll review different types of artifacts that they can add to their written chapter, such as images, video, and audio. They’ll decide which artifacts they want to include and make plans to create them.

Today, you will demonstrate how much you know about writing an effective argument.In this lesson, you will administer a Benchmark Assessment (Cold Write) to determine what students have learned about argument writing. Students will respond to a prompt, and then you will assess each student’s argument using the scoring guide. Students have had the opportunity to write an argument earlier in the year; this final assessment will show their growth as writers and their mastery of the genre. To see individual students’ progress in argument writing, compare the scoring guides from previous Cold Writes.

What questions and concerns do students have with the first draft of their written chapter? They’ll spend time working with a partner to peer edit their draft and get feedback on their writing. They’ll then start planning the revisions they’ll make to their written chapter.

How will students explain their work? What do they want their audience to know about their creative process? They’ll look at examples of Artist’s Statements and start to plan their own statement. With the class, they’ll create a checklist of requirements for writing an Artist’s Statement.

Congratulations! Students have finished and published their final project. Now they will begin to share and present the chapter they included in the class anthology. As their classmates share, they should note what in the presentations stands out. What made a strong impression?

Students will write their Artist’s Statement and upload it as the final chapter in their self-portrait. They’ll review their entire project to make final edits and plans for completing their work. For homework, they’ll finalize any remaining details and publish their project.

The class will finish the presentations. What new things about the students did the presentations teach them? Were there common themes students noticed in all of the presentations? Did those themes help them draw conclusions about the experience of being a teenager?

Students will review their work, noting any changes that they still need to make. They’ll decide which chapter to include in the class anthology and share it with a peer, getting feedback and suggestions. Then they’ll continue to review and finalize their work.

It’s time to start pulling it all together! Students will work on creating, editing, and compiling the various chapters of their self-portrait.

In this lesson, students will wrap up all the chapters of their self-portrait. They’ll complete a File Map to record the name and location of each of their files so that the files are all accessible when they’re ready to upload them.

Students will continue to upload their chapters and artifacts. They’ll also have time to do another review of their work and go over any unresolved technical issues or questions that they have.

What project work so far are students most proud of? They’ll discuss their accomplishments with the class and continue to create, edit, and compile the various chapters of their self-portrait. They’ll also continue to update their planning documents to keep of track of their progress.

In this lesson, students will continue to create, edit, and compile the various chapters of their self-portrait. They’ll also continue to update their planning documents and keep track of the progress they’re making with their project work.

It’s time to begin the publication process! Students will learn how to upload their chapters and artifacts to their final self-portrait. As they begin to build their project, they’ll also keep a list of helpful tips for uploading, reviewing, and editing their work.

In this lesson, students will put the finishing touches on their project—either completing uploading their files or working on artifacts and enhancements to really make their self-portrait stand out.