TAG

Dear Parents,

The Third Grade Students are using an acronym TaG to help them become better writers and to help with answering open-ended questions. Open-Ended questions are the types of questions that will be on the PSSA test. Our goal is that all students will answer open-ended questions using TaG. We have started learning and practicing this method in school and would appreciate your support at home.

Please review the three steps with your child when helping them with their writing. This will greatly assist your child in the classroom as we continue to implementTaG each week. Below the explanation of the steps, is an open-ended sample question that follows the TaG process. This will help you to understand how your child’s open –ended questions from the weekly reading comprehension tests are scored. T: Turn the question into your answer. a: and G: Give details to support your answer.

Sample Opened-Ended Question using TaG: Is Boom Town a realistic story or fantasy? How do you know?

Answer: Boom Town is a realistic story because the events in this story could have really happened. For example, a girl like Amanda could really bake pies. Also, a town could really grow like the one in this story. T-Boom Town is a realistic story a-because the events in this story could have really happened G- For example, a girl like Amanda could really bake pies. Also, a town could really grow like the one in this story.

A copy of this document will be on the Third Grade Web page for future reference.