The "Reading Persuasive Text" portion of the HSPA Language Arts test uses a persuasive writing sample to prompt student critical thinking, analysis, and writing.  Among other possibilities, the sample might be an article, an essay, a letter, a movie, music review.

What strategies might you present to your students in order to help them become more critical and observant readers?

For this assignment, you must complete two specific tasks related to preparing your students for the "Reading Persuasive Text" portion of the HSPA:

• Identify and summarize strategies for critically reading text and identifying key items in a given persuasive passage using a checklist or mind-map- this should include being able to identify persuasive techniques and language

• Identify one persuasive reading prompt and create appropriate multiple-choice and open-ended questions to be used by your students to practice applying the strategies you identified

The following checklist will be used to score this Cluster 5 assignment:

1. The persuasive writing piece selected includes a controversy that is timely and authentic

2. The controversy is one with which a wide range of high school students will be able to identify.

3. Practice prompt directions are clearly worded.

4. The directions include a scoring rubric based on the HSPA persuasive/narrative reading rubric.

5. The prompt includes references to your strategies to be used to facilitate the creative writing process.

6. A sample response to each prompt is included that adheres to a score of 3 or 4 on the persuasive/narrative reading scoring rubric.   

7. The sample includes 8-10 multiple-choice questions that range from comprehension to extension and synthesis.