Grade 12: Letter To An Elected Official
Rating: 
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Common Core Standards
Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
RH.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
RH.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies
WHST.11-12.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
WHST.11-12.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
WHST.11-12.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Description of Assessment
This Grade 12 assessment titled “Letter To An Elected Official” created by Summit Public Schools is a curriculum embedded task that takes approximately 6 class periods to complete. It connects to the study of the federal government—the legislative branch in particular—to the role of citizens as active participants in a representative democracy. The emphasis of the task is for students to first identify and research a relevant issue or current piece of legislation to determine the needs of different audiences. Each student then writes a persuasive letter containing a well-reasoned argument in support of a proposal, policy, or legislative action that they would like the elected official to support. They are also expected to communicate effectively with their audience, using the conventions and proper format.
Cautions
Connecticut teachers are cautioned that the task assumes that students have knowledge of how both houses of Congress are organized, how legislators are chosen, and why they might be responsive to communications from their constituents. In addition, students should have experience using evidence from other sources to support claims in a written argument and familiarity with using the Internet to search for documents to use in a short research project. Computer access is required to carry out this assessment as intended.
Rationale for Selection
This performance task is a good example of how to provide for authentic assessment, application of literacy skills, student-directed inquiry, analysis, evaluation and/or reflection. Materials include Teacher/Student Directions, a Research Guide, a Sample Letter to Congress, a Letter Formatting Guide and a Peer Review Form. An aligned rubric that provides sufficient guidance for interpreting student performance is also provided. The topic and performance task aligns with the Connecticut Elementary and Secondary Social Studies Frameworks for high school and could be used to complement an existing unit in a U.S. History or Political Science course.