WRITTEN EXPRESSION PROBE INSTRUCTION SHEET
The written expression probes consist of a series of story starters that can be used to give students an initial idea about which to write. Twenty story starters were developed for primary, intermediate and advanced students.
Administration
Administer a different story starter of the same level on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. Be sure the student has paper to write on. Give the directions:
“I want you to write a story. I will read a sentence to you first. Then you can write a short story. Before you write, you need to think about the story. First think, then write. You will have one minute to think and three minutes to write. Do your best. If you do not know how to spell a word, you should guess. Listen. The story begins . . .” (read story starter)
“You have one minute to think.”
After one minute say: “Listen . . .” (repeat story starter).
“You may begin.”
Start the stop watch. After three minutes stop the student.
Teachers can administer story starters on a daily or weekly basis to continually monitor student growth in written expression. Variations in administration could include writing the story starter on the chalkboard or giving the student a sheet of lined paper with the story starter written on it. However, an alternate form of administration should not be used when collecting normative data.
In addition to those included in this booklet, teachers can develop their own story starters. The only restriction is to exclude story starters that can be answered in a yes-no manner or those students could complete by listing items. Such story starters are inappropriate for use in curriculum based measurement.
Scoring
Underline and count each word spelled correctly to find the Total Words Correct (TWC). A word is defined as a group of letters separated from another group by a space. Count the words as correct if they would be correct in isolation. Letter reversals ARE NOT errors. Record the number of words written correctly on the student’s paper as well as on the Recording Sheet for written expression.
To calculate the words per minute, divide the TWC by three.
Criteria
Words per minute
Grade 1 15
Grade 2 29
Grade 3 37
Grade 4 41
Grade 5 49
Grade 6+ 53
GC5-2 2