ENGLISH 1 & 2 STAAR | Extended Constructed Response (ECR) Expository Essay

The ECR on the English 1 and English 2 STAAR is 25% of the exam score! This is a 3-week unit that supports struggling students and STAAR re-testers through the process of writing an ECR from start to finish, ensuring confidence and higher scores.

You’re busy, so save time with this UPDATED unit that has: a pacing guide with links that quickly connect you to content, lesson descriptions that walk you through the teaching, speaker notes with explanations of TEA information, ready-to-teach notes, ready-to-print foldables and student packets, quick scoring guides, and example answers for student writing.

Your students need support, so this unit uses scaffolding:

• First, the teacher introduces the writing step through notes.
• Next, students copy the notes onto their foldable notes.
• Then, students apply the knowledge with partner work.
• Finally, students work independently in their student packets.

Check out the content that saves you HOURS of prep time:

✔ 25 slides of notes that introduce the ECR, how it is scored, and example essays

✔ a gallery walk where students analyze the scores of essays

✔ 2 short reading texts for partner work and independent writing practice

✔ 8 lessons over 11 days that cover 6 writing steps

✔ 35+ animated slides of teacher notes with examples of the writing step

✔ 5 ready-to-print foldable student notes for each writing step

✔ sentence stems in student foldable notes to support writing

✔ a class jigsaw writing activity for introductions practicing 3 types of hooks

✔ 4 partner writing opportunities so that students gain writing confidence

✔ 1 student writing packet with a grading guide for independent practice

✔ 1 final essay writing packet for a summative assessment if time allows

And you’ll ❤️️ these included resources at no additional cost:

• 2 anchor charts sized 8.5×11 and 11×24
• 2 Google Docs set up for students to type their essays in
• 2 links to the ECR scoring rubrics and examples for spring 2024

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Extremely satisfied teachers have said…

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ April R. on April 9, 2024

This was a great tool to supplement into my lesson to prepare my kids for the ECR portion of the STAAR test!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Courtney B. on February 1, 2024

Very good resource to show the students how the STAAR test is aligned, what questions look like, and the correct way to respond.

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Inspire student success!

➚5th grade reading texts allow students to focus on writing, not reading comprehension

➚Sentence stems give struggling students a place to start

➚Opportunities to mini-conference after each step give students specific feedback for continued growth and writing refinement

Important to note:

• This is for struggling writers or EB students, so it is formulaic writing. Please do not purchase if that is not what your students need. Additionally, I taught this unit after my class read Thank-You, Ma’m, which is why it is the example used throughout the writing process. You may want to review the story before the unit.
• This unit requires students to write a 3-paragraph expository essay from fiction texts, since we have seen ECRs get a score of 4/5 with only 1 body paragraph. We know that STAAR may ask students to write a persuasive letter based on a nonfiction/informational text, but this is not that. I hope to upload my resource for that later.

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Need focused READING support? I have a bundle of 23 worksheets with 100 questions that target the 6 most common reading TEKS, so students are supported in the skills they need without the overwhelm!

Want it all? My FULL STAAR REVIEW BUNDLE includes this bundle, a 2-week editing and revising unit, and 23 reading TEKS worksheets with over 100 questions. Nearly 8 weeks of work for only $39!

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✉️ Email me with questions: everything4ells@gmail.com

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Copyright ©2024 Paige Vetter | Everything For ELL

Permission to copy for single classroom use only.

Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.

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