Test Information Guide

Field 56: Sheltered English Immersion
Sample Open-Response Item

The following materials contain:

Description of an Open-Response Item

The open-response item is an assignment that includes five parts to allow candidates to show their knowledge of sheltering content. Candidates will use one of 10 mentor texts for the basis of their response. Each mentor text is an informational text that is representative of the kind of content and academic language features a student might encounter in texts in a given content area. Candidates will read the test directions, read the assignment, and select a mentor text for the basis of their response.

After choosing a mentor text as the focus of your lesson, you will be expected to show evidence of a detailed, working knowledge of Sheltered English Immersion strategies and how to employ those various strategies to create a well-developed SEI lesson plan. In your response to each of the five parts of the open-response item, you will be expected to demonstrate:

Sample Test Directions for Open-Response Items

This section of the test consists of an open-response item assignment that consists of five parts. You will be asked to prepare a written response for each of the five parts and your five responses together should total approximately 1,500 words. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to each part of the assignment. You must write responses to each of the five parts.

For this assignment, you are an SEI teacher who is designing a content lesson for a class that includes English language learners. You will be presented with mentor texts in the following subject areas: Biology (8–12), Chemistry (8–12), Early Childhood (PreK–2), Earth Science (8–12), Elementary (1–6), English (8–12), Mathematics (8–12), Physics (8–12), Social Science (8–12), and Technology/Engineering (5–12). You will need to select ONE of these mentor texts and then use your knowledge of SEI instruction and the mentor text to write a response to each of the five parts of the assignment. You must use the same mentor text for all five parts of the assignment. The WIDA ELD levels will also be available for your reference.

Your responses must describe key processes involved in planning one SEI lesson that integrates the components of vocabulary development and oracy, reading comprehension, and written discourse to support English language learners' content and academic-language development with respect to the mentor text you selected. Be sure to support all your responses with specific examples from your selected mentor text.

Your responses to this assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria.

Note that you must respond to Part I(a) (identifying the mentor text you selected) for your five responses to the assignment to be scored.

This open-response item assignment is intended to assess knowledge of sheltered English immersion (SEI). Your responses must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the evaluation criteria by scorers. Your responses should be written for an audience of SEI educators. The final version of each response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your responses should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your responses.

Before you begin, you should familiarize yourself with all five parts of this assignment so that you can plan your response to each of the five sections accordingly. The entire assignment will be presented on the next screen. The complete text will also be available for reference through the Entire Assignment button that will be available during each part of the assignment.

Sample Open-Response Item: Part I

Please note: the open-response assignment for Sheltered English Immersion consists of 5 parts; a sample for Part I is provided here. The actual assignment will contain Parts 1–5 as described in the Description of an Open-Response Item above.

PART I: MENTOR TEXT SELECTION AND ANALYSIS

Be sure you support your response to Part I with specific examples from your selected mentor text, as appropriate.

Sample Mentor Text (Elementary 1–6)

1People in many walks of life are affected by the weather. 2Needless to say, people have been trying to predict, or forecast, the weather for a long time. 3They observed clouds and watched for changes in the wind. 4Meteorologists are scientists who use weather data to understand and forecast the weather. 5Wind is one of the factors they study.

6Wind can vary in both speed and direction. 7Therefore, meteorologists use different types of instruments to measure wind. 8Two important tools are wind vanes and anemometers.

9A wind vane is one of the oldest weather instruments. 10Its use dates back thousands of years. 11Placed at the highest point of a tall structure, it is designed to spin around so that it points in the direction from which the wind is blowing. 12Thus, if the wind vane points north, the wind is coming from the north. 13To this day, wind direction is always reported as the direction from which the wind is coming.

14An anemometer is used to measure wind speed. 15One common type uses a propeller to gauge wind speed. 16The wind makes the propeller rotate. 17A recording device counts the number of rotations in a given period of time. 18The results are typically reported in miles or kilometers per hour.

19Try making a weather forecast. 20What type of weather is likely coming to your area? 21How could data from a wind vane provide a clue? 22When might the weather change? 23What clues would the data from an anemometer provide?

Sample Strong Response to the Open-Response Item

The sample response below reflects a strong knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.

  • Elementary 1–6 science
  • Content Objective: Students will predict local weather changes using data gathered from a wind vane and an anemometer.
  • Tiered Vocabulary

    Tier 1 Vocabulary: cloud, wind, tall, people

    Tier 2 Vocabulary: weather, walks of life (idiom), affected, scientists, needless to say, data, observed, speed, direction, instruments (multiple meaning), measure, dates back, structure, spin, north, recording device, miles, clue, vary, predict, factor, therefore, thus (transition words), to this day, rotate → rotations, tools, given (multiple meaning), type, likely, provide, from which

    Tier 3 Vocabulary: meteorologists, wind vane, anemometer, gauge, miles/kilometers per hour, forecast, propeller
  • Key Academic Language Features
    Sentence Level
    • — several passive constructions ("people . . . are affected by the weather," "wind direction is always reported as . . .") and many uses of "to + verb" to mean "in order to"/"for the purpose of" ("is used to measure wind and speed," "is designed to spin around . . .")
    • — it may be difficult to trace the pronouns "its" (sentence 10) and "it" (11) to their antecedent (wind vane, sentence 9). Sentence 10 begins with a participial clause describing "it."
    • — use of model auxiliary verbs in the last three sentences to indicate varying degrees of certainty/possibility and to prompt speculation ("How could data provide a clue? When might the weather change?")
    Discourse Level
    • — expository text with embedded definitions, e.g., "meteorologists are scientists who use . . .;" also, in sentence 2: "to predict, or forecast, the weather"
    • — some sentences begin with transition words/phrases (e.g., needless to say, therefore, thus, to this day) which need to be understood to follow the organizational structure of the passage
    • — paragraph 1 switches among the present, past progressive, and simple past tense verbs
    • — the last paragraph poses a series of wh-questions that are not explicitly answered in the text and require inference on the part of the reader (the reader may expect to find all the answers in the text)
    • — requires background knowledge on the part of the reader, e.g., understanding distance (miles and/or kilometers), direction (north, south, east, west), knowledge of local weather patterns (if the ELL comes from the desert or rainforest and is new to the area, Massachusetts weather terminology/experience might be lacking)
  • Language Objectives:
    • Vocabulary & Discourse: Students will orally summarize for a partner how a weather vane and anemometer measure weather using vocabulary from the mentor text.
    • Reading Comprehension: Students will analyze the information from the first three paragraphs in the text to answer the questions in the last paragraph with the use of data from weather vanes and anemometers.
    • Written Discourse: Students will compose a paragraph-length weather forecast for kite-flying peers using modal auxiliary verbs and citing data gathered from weather vanes and anemometers.

Scoring Rubric

Performance Characteristics

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the open-response item(s).

Performance Characteristics
Purpose The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment.
Subject Matter Knowledge Accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge.
Support Quality and relevance of supporting details.
Rationale Soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter.

Scoring Scale

The scoring scale below, which is related to the performance characteristics for the tests, is used by scorers in assigning scores to responses to the open-response item(s).

Score Scale with description for each score point.
Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved.
  • There is substantial, accurate, and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is sound; there are high-quality, relevant examples.
  • The response reflects an ably reasoned, comprehensive understanding of the topic.
3 The "3" response reflects an adequate knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved.
  • There is a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is adequate; there are some acceptable, relevant examples.
  • The response reflects an adequately reasoned understanding of the topic.
2 The "2" response reflects a limited knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is partially achieved.
  • There is a limited, possibly inaccurate or inappropriate, application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is limited; there are few relevant examples.
  • The response reflects a limited, poorly reasoned understanding of the topic.
1 The "1" response reflects a weak knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is not achieved.
  • There is little or no appropriate or accurate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence, if present, is weak; there are few or no relevant examples.
  • The response reflects little or no reasoning about or understanding of the topic.
U The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, primarily in a language other than English, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.
B There is no response to the assignment.