What's the Story? Example Performance Package, Minnesota Profile of Learning.

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to interpret and evaluate complex works of music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature or media arts. It begins with reference to the particular content standard addressed in the package, the educational level of the package (high school), and a summary statement of the content standard. It then describes the tasks associated with the student performances: (1) in response to literature, write a journal entry, a poem, and perform two different oral interpretations of the same work; (2) write a literary analysis paper; (3) analyze narrative structure by drawing plot diagrams and storyboards for two different works; (4) develop a portfolio for each of two literary works that includes short essays about the reader's response, narrative structure, elements of fiction, the author's life, and critics' views; (5) write two analytical papers, one identifying the parallels between a literary work and another art form, and the other, the parallels between the literary work and nonfiction; and (6) create an anthology of fiction and nonfiction to explore questions of what story is and what the value of story is. It then offers specific statements from the standard regarding what students should know and should do, the products, task description, special notes, and feedback checklists for each task enumerated in the package. (RS)