TELPAS WRITING INSTRUCTIONS

February 16th- 20th

* TELPAS writing will begin promptly at 8:05 and will end at 9:05, each morning. An
announcement will be made each day to let you know when students can begin writing,
however you will be responsible for stopping at 9:05 a.m.
* Before students start writing, encourage them to take their time and write in as much detail as
they can.
* Remind students to write their FULL name and the correct date.
* Once students begin to write, you may NOT provide them with assistance. If you have
students asking for help simply encourage them to try their best.
* Teachers must actively monitor students to make sure they are following instructions and
staying on task.
* Refrain from using your cellphones during testing times, as it can compromise the security of
our test. Make sure you have a watch or a working clock in your room to keep track of time.
* Once all students complete their writings, collect them and place them in a secure place such
as a locked closet or cabinet. Writing samples must be kept in a secured location when not
being used, which means teachers cannot take them home or outside the campus to do ratings.
Teachers will be responsible for keeping their writing samples until March 13th and an email will be sent with instructions regarding the return of writing prompts.

2nd Grade Writing Prompts

Monday- Write about the best day you ever had.
Tuesday- Write about the water cycle.
Wednesday- Choose a community leader that inspires you and describe what they do.
Thursday- If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
Friday- Tell me about your favorite movie or video game.

3rd Grade Writing Prompts

Monday- My best day ever.

Tuesday- What I have learned in science this year.
Wednesday- What I have learned in math this year.
Thursday- Someone special to me.
Friday- The best book I have ever read/One of my favorite books is.
4th Grade Writing Prompts

Monday- Write about a time you learned something new.

Tuesday- Describe how to measure an angle using a protractor.
Wednesday- Describe how water changes through the three states of matter.
Thursday- Why is it important to protect our environment?
Friday- Why is it important to be a good friend?

5th Grade Writing Prompts

Monday-Past Tense Narrative: Write about a fun day that you had in the past. Describe what you did on that
day and what made you enjoy it so much.
Tuesday- Academic (Science): Think about the water cycle. Explain the steps of the water cycle. What is the
Suns role in the water cycle?
Wednesday-Academic (Math): What do you do when you are working on a word problem? Explain the steps
that you take and why it is important that you take these steps.
Thursday-Academic (general): What is your favorite subject in fifth grade? Explain at least three (3) reasons
why it is your favorite subject. Choose from one of these subjects:
Reading; Math; Science; Social Studies; Computer; Physical Education (P.E.); Science Lab
Friday-Other (Reading): Discuss being a good reader. What are some things that good readers do when they
read? Why is being a good reader important for your success in school and your future life goals?

TELPAS WRITING EMAIL

Teachers,

Our TELPAS writing will begin on Monday, February 16th. Please come by the conference
room on Monday morning (from 7:00 to 7:30 a.m.) to check out your materials and instructions.
In preparation for Monday, make sure you cover any instructional displays that might help
students with their writing prompts.
Below is the list of raters and their corresponding verifiers as well as key dates to keep in mind.

Verifier
Harris
Lau
Wickers
Mulvihill
Truckenmiller
Scoppa
Padilla
Cueva
Noell

Teacher 1
Mitchell
Garcia
Hughes
Rivera
Crafton
Garmon
Jimenez
McDaniel
Harris

Teacher 2
Wagner
Veyna
Macias
Cano
Tillman
Yu
Miller
Ali
Rosales

Teacher 3

Smith
Bohorquez
La Paz
Bahrami
Pitts
Sandles

Writing collections: Week of Feb. 16-20th. All make-ups must be done by Tuesday Feb.
24rd.
* Teachers will turn in their writing samples to their verifiers by the end of the day (3:25 p.m.)
on February 24th. Please go through your writing samples to make sure they meet the criteria
and put your initials under the rater column.
* Round 1- Feb.27: Verifiers will turn all samples back to teachers by the end of the day (3:25
p.m.). All samples needing additional information will be flagged and placed on top.
* Round 2-March 4th: Teachers must return all writing samples back to verifiers. Place those
writings with corrections on top and leave notes attached so verifiers can go through them
easily.
* Final verification-March 6th: Verifiers will return all writing samples with initials and
signatures back to teachers.
If you have any questions, please let me know.

TEACHER CALIBRATION E-MAIL:

Kinder & First:
Teachers,
In order to ensure the validity and reliability of TELPAS ratings, the district requires us to have
calibration activities where teachers can work collaboratively with their colleagues.
On Wednesday, February 25th you will have an opportunity to calibrate with those teachers on
your team so we can make sure our students are being rated correctly. Please report to my room
at 1:00 pm. and bring your TELPAS rater manual and your TELPAS student rating roster.
We are only going to rate about 3 students per teacher so this activity should not take more than
45 minutes.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks,

P. Escobar
2nd-5th:
Teachers,
In order to ensure the validity and reliability of TELPAS ratings, the district requires us to have
calibration activities where teachers can work collaboratively with their colleagues.
On Monday, March 9th you will have an opportunity to calibrate with those teachers on your
team so we can make sure our students are being rated correctly. Please report to the conference
room at the beginning of your planning period and bring your TELPAS rater manual as well as
your writing samples. You might also want to bring your TELPAS student rating roster so you
can begin recording your ratings.
We are only going to rate 3 students per teacher so this activity should not take the entire block.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks,

P. Escobar