The following 6 Anchor Papers represent a range of score points and are used in conjunction with the rubrics to assess student responses.

Score for Anchor Paper #1: Rubric Score 1

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a minimal understanding of the text. After listing several lessons (how to appreciate the simple things in life; the technique of finding shells; the value of nature), the student quotes a text passage (‘beauty, awe, and curiosity were values illuminated in our own home’). However, because the response makes no attempt to relate the quote to the specified lessons, it fails to provide enough explanation to support an understanding of the text in relation to the question.

Score for Anchor Paper #2: Rubric Score 1

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a minimal understanding of the text. The student demonstrates that some meaning has been derived from the text by paraphrasing a lesson learned by the narrator (how to collect and name shells). The response mentions other vague lessons (how to take pride in what she was doing; how to love), but these are not supported with information from the text.

Score for Anchor Paper #3: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a literal understanding of the text. The student provides several lessons learned by the narrator (how to catalogue shells; about her natural history; about the simple pleasures) and supports each lesson with expressed information from the text (because that is what she did with her grandmother; that she ‘courted solitude;’ beauty and awe).

Score for Anchor Paper #4: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a partial understanding of the text. The student provides some expressed information (learns about the many different shells in the sea and how to identify them) and implied information (she learns about relationships and how something as little as collecting something could mean everything to you when you get older; learns how important it is to spend time with people) from the text. However, more specific textual support for the implied lessons is needed to demonstrate understanding beyond the literal.

Score for Anchor Paper #5: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text. The student presents some specific lessons implied by the text (to understand how to connect with her grandmother; the general skill of organization and memorization; to love the things she enjoys). These ideas are supported with both expressed information (how to study and reasearch the shells to catalogue) and implied information (she was taught…to connect inanimate objects to joy, love, and feeling). The response extends understanding beyond the literal (she can reapply the idea to connect with others; these skills are needed throughout life to be a success in your career) and concludes with a thoughtful, unifying statement (the grandmother has instilled many ideas into the narrator by just accepting her into the things she loves to do).

Score for Anchor Paper #6: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text. The student addresses the demands of the question by asserting that the narrator learned a complex lesson (to appreciate every little bit of the natural world) and supporting this conclusion with a unified argument that draws on expressed (‘for a desert child;’ ‘played in the sand by the hour;’ ‘my grandmother’s contemplation of shells…’) and implied information (this appreciation had been cultivated ever since she was a baby; the narrator’s understanding was augmented to a new level; emerged with the teachings of her grandmother) from the text. The student clarifies and extends understanding beyond the literal particularly in the conclusion (she now looks at nature from a different perspective - rather than just looking at it like a myriad of objects).