In New York by Marc Brown

Performance Task Assessment Analysis: Elementary Literacy This document outlines the assessment items required to complete Part 2 of the performance task. Student Writing Prompt Writing Prompt: You have read In New York and Where Is the Empire State Building? Write an essay that explains why New York City is a special place to visit. Make sure to include details about different places in New York City from both texts. Corresponding Texts Text #1 In New York by Marc Brown 1 One night when I was eight years old, my family boarded a train in Erie, Pennsylvania. When we woke up, we were in New York City, the most exciting city I had ever seen and probably ever will see. As a child, I dreamed of one day living there, and now I do, in an old house near the Hudson River. 2 At first New York City had a different name. Back in the seventeenth century, it was called New Amsterdam. Things looked and sounded very different then. 3 The sounds of New York City have changed. Now over eight million people live here and almost fifty million people visit each year and they make a lot of noise. 4 The city grew to be the largest in America. And the buildings grew, too. The Empire State Building is 102 floors tall and even has its own zip code: 10118. It s so tall that it is struck by lightning about a hundred times a year! 5 The building has seventy-three elevators, and you can ride up to the eighty- sixth floor s observation deck; on a clear day you can see New York City, across the river to New Jersey, and as far away as Connecticut. 6 Once you ve checked out the view from way up high, you can go down, down, down to the subway! New York s subway is belowground and is the fastest way to get around. It s one of the oldest subway systems in the world; it opened in 1904. It now has 468 stations, 660 miles of

track, and 6,300 subway cars; millions of people ride it each day. 7 New York City is surrounded by water, so go for a ride on the Circle Line, which travels on the Hudson and East Rivers and sails under some of the city s many bridges. Or take the Staten Island Ferry for a twenty-five-minute ride and see New York Harbor for free! Or take a boat to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. 8 People have been having fun in Central Park for over 150 years! It s one of my favorite places. Each year, more than thirty-eight million people visit, and there s lots to do: row a boat, swim, ice-skate, play sports, ride a horse (or a bike), go fishing. That s not all; there are twenty-one playgrounds, thirty-six bridges and arches, and 24,000 trees. The park has its own zoo, too! 9 Right across the street from Central Park is the American Museum of Natural History. Be sure to check out its famous dinosaurs, and don t miss the full-size blue whale you ll feel like you re under the sea. 10 New York even has a museum on the water: the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, at Pier 86. There are great interactive exhibits, and almost a million people visit each year. 11 Hungry yet? In New York you can eat your way around the world. There are 24,000 restaurants, and thousands of food trucks for eating on the go. New York is the pizza capital of the world: the first pizzeria in the United States opened here in 1905. There are over 1,600 places that serve pizza in New York. 12 Time for a walk on the High Line, a park built on a historic, elevated milelong rail line with amazing views of the city and the Hudson River. I like to walk along here in the morning when it s quiet. Or try a walk across the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge. Wherever you walk in New York, you ll see a great parade of people passing by. 13 Speaking of parades, they happen all year long in New York, but the most famous parade began in 1924. Almost three million people line the streets to watch the annual Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Go to Seventy-Seventh Street and Central Park West the day before and watch the giant balloons being inflated. 14 If you are lucky enough to visit during the holidays, don t miss the huge Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, nearing a hundred feet high. Rent some ice skates and skate in the rink below the tree. 15 There s always something special to do at night in New York sporting events, theater, music, dance, ice shows, magic shows, fairs, festivals, and the circus. Take your pick! 16 New York City loves its history, but at the same time, it s always changing. Don t wait for the city to be finished before you come visit and see it for yourself.

Text #2 From Where is the Empire State Building by Janet Pascal 1 In 1929, there was a race for the sky in New York City. Two new skyscrapers were going up the Chrysler Building and the Manhattan Company Building. Each owner wanted his building to be the tallest in the world. But neither man knew exactly what height the other was aiming for. The owner of the Manhattan Company managed to discover the plans for the Chrysler Building. Immediately, he changed his plans so that his building would be taller. 2 So in April 1930, the Manhattan Company Building became the tallest in the world. But only for a few weeks. Secretly, the crew of the Chrysler Building was creating a tall spire. 1 All the work took place inside the unfinished building, so no one knew about it. When the spire 125 feet high was finished, it was lifted up through a hole in the roof. Suddenly the tallest building in the world was the Chrysler Building! With its spire, it was 1,046 feet tall. 3 What neither company knew was that a third group of builders was watching them both closely. Their building was already designed. But they were waiting until the Chrysler Building was finished before making their plans final. However tall the Chrysler Building was, they planned to make sure their own building was a little taller. 4 This new skyscraper was the Empire State Building. It stands in the heart of New York City, with its front entrance on Fifth Avenue below Thirty-Fourth Street. It is 102 stories high and 1,250 feet tall 1,454 feet if you count the antenna on top, which was added later. Decorated with aluminum 2 and

stainless steel, 3 it soars above other nearby skyscrapers, gleaming in the sun. 5 For forty years longer than any other building it held the title of the world s tallest building. Today, most people no longer even know what the world s tallest building is. But everyone still knows the Empire State Building. It is one of the world s best-loved buildings. An average of ten thousand people from all over the world visit it every day. People everywhere recognize it from movies, pictures, and advertisements. For most people, it symbolizes 4 New York City. Pascal, Janet. Where Is the Empire State Building? New York: Penguin, 2015. Print. 1 spire - a tall pointy structure at the top of a building 2 aluminum - a silver metal 3 stainless steel - a type of metal that does not rust 4 symbolizes - is a symbol of, or stands for something

Student Response Samples Student 1: Beacase its the bigest city it has hte most places to go to there are lots of foods to try. thats why its ipotant tp visit NWE YORK CITYt Student 2: The tallest building in the world was the chrysler buildi ng with its spire it was 1,046 feet tall.it stands in the heart of new york city,with its front entrance on Fifth avenue below Thirty Fourth street.for forty years longer than any other building it held the title of the world's tallest building. Student 3: If your looking for a place to visit for the holiday i'd suguist New York City becaus thare are a lot of things to do in that big city. For example in the Empire State building you can take one of there many elevators up to the 86th floor, on it is an observation deck you can look owt of. However you can visit many more interesting places like the new york Central park has lots of amazing things to do like you could row your boat, swim, and even ice skate! Now those are only a few things you could do at that one not little place. By now your probaly wondering whats for lunch... well dont order that horrible hotel food, becuase New york has many food places to visit (and by many i mean really good food.) Did you know that the first pizzeria oened in the united states was opened in new york! In conclution these are only some of the things you could do thare. Student 4: New York City is a special place to visit because Central park is located in New York and you can do some really cool thigs there like go fishing, swim, row a boat, ice-skate, play sports and ride a horse. Central Park also has a zoo, 21 play-grounds and 24,000 tree. You should visit New York because you should see the Empire State Building wich is also in New York. It is one of the most well known buildings in America. Since it is so tall, it gets struck by lightning almost 100 times a year! NYC is such important place to visit. 1200 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 T 202.442.5885 F 202.442.5026 dcps.dc.gov

Student 5: New York is a vary exciting city. It has some of the tallest bullings in the world. For examapl,the Empire State Building is in New York and is one of the tallest bulling in the world. The Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York. Furthmore,it has food for all over the world.for examapl,it has pizza that's form Itali.It also has alot of food turks.also,it has 24,000 Restaurants and thouusands of food turks. In conclusin,these are the resones why New York is a good places to vist! Student 6: In 1929 there was a ''race for the sky'' to see which group would have the tallest skyscrapers it was going head to head between the Manhattan Company and the Chrysler Building however the Manhattan Company fouund the Chrysler bulding buleprints and the Manhattan Company made theirs taller but what nethier of the companys knew was there was a raival company the raival company saw both of the companys plans for the bulidings so finally that company made the tallest and won so in conclusion that is how the empire state buliding was made. District of Columbia Public Schools Page 6 of 7

PARCC Aligned Scoring Rubric for Research Simulation Task and Literary Analysis Task Construct Measured Score Point 4 Score Point 3 Score Point 2 Score Point 1 Reading Comprehension of Key Ideas and Details full comprehension by providing an accurate explanation/ description/comparison and by referencing the texts explicitly. comprehension by providing a mostly accurate explanation/ description/comparison and by referencing the text(s) explicitly. limited comprehension and may reference the text(s) explicitly. The student response does not demonstrate comprehension of the text(s). Writing Written Expression addresses the prompt and provides effective development of the topic that is consistently appropriate to the task by using clear reasoning and relevant, text-based evidence; consistently purposeful and controlled organization; uses language to express ideas with clarity. addresses the prompt and provides some development of the topic that is generally appropriate to the task by using reasoning and relevant, text-based evidence; generally purposeful and controlled organization; uses language to express ideas with some clarity. addresses the prompt and provides minimal development of the topic that is limited in its appropriateness to the task by using limited reasoning and text-based evidence; or is a developed, text-based response with little or no awareness of the prompt; purposeful organization that sometimes is not controlled; uses language to express ideas with limited clarity. is undeveloped and/or inappropriate to the task; little or no organization; does not use language to express ideas with clarity. Writing Knowledge of Language and Conventions to the prompt full command of the conventions of standard English at an appropriate level of complexity. There may be a few minor errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage, but meaning is clear. to the prompt some command of the conventions of standard English at an appropriate level of complexity. There may be errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage that occasionally impede understanding, but the meaning is generally clear. to the prompt limited command of the conventions of standard English at an appropriate level of complexity. There may be errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage that often impede understanding. to the prompt no command of the conventions of standard English. Frequent and varied errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage impede understanding. District of Columbia Public Schools Page 7 of 7