Description
This differentiated assessment offers five different written response options to evaluate students’ understanding of Langston Hughes’ short story, “Thank You, Ma’am.” Includes editable 4-level rubrics! Choose between an essay, paragraph, or poetry response using these literary analysis prompts.
Included with these Writing Assessments for “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes:
- Editable “Thank You, Ma’am” Assessment Handouts – Google Docs®
- 4 Argumentative Essay Prompts
- 1 Poetry Writing Prompt
- Option for individual writing prompt handouts or student choice
- 4 Editable Rubrics – Google Docs®
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- Essay Rubric, Paragraph Rubric, Poetry Rubric, and Universal Rubric
- Teacher Instructions for using this resource
How to use this Writing Assessments for Langston Hughes’ “Thank You, Ma’am”:
“Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes is a short story about second chances, examining compassion, generosity, community, and dignity. Evaluate students’ understanding of this classic short story with this literary analysis assessment. This resource gives students an opportunity to practice close reading and written expression while also helping educators assess comprehension and interpretation through structured writing assessments that connect deeply with the themes of the text.
The written response assessment is differentiated to meet the needs of your unique classroom and offer your students options to reach their learning goals. Whether you teach in a mixed-ability setting or a more advanced group, the flexibility of these writing assessments ensures that all learners can find a point of entry and showcase their analytical thinking in a way that reflects their individual voice and understanding.
This assessment includes the option to write an argumentative or a narrative response and provides 4 argumentative essay prompts and 1 poetry writing prompt. You can select a single writing prompt to assign to your students, or provide them with the assessment handout that lists all 5 prompts to offer them student choice. Each of these writing assessments is designed to engage students creatively and critically, encouraging them to explore multiple perspectives, draw textual evidence, and strengthen their communication skills.
The argumentative prompts assess students on different areas of literary analysis, including figurative language (symbolism), literary conflict, and theme. Students are also prompted to compare “Thank You, Ma’am” to both Langston Hughes’ life experiences and his poetry. These types of writing assessments are not only valuable for evaluating student understanding of literary devices, but also for guiding students to think about how authorial choices reflect personal and historical context.
If you own Mondays Made Easy’s short story unit for “Thank You, Ma’am,” students can draw from classroom material to write about Langston Hughes’ poetry and life; otherwise, students can draw from external sources on the internet to respond to these essay prompts. In either case, students are required to reference sources according to MLA standards. These writing assessments also serve as an excellent introduction to research skills, encouraging proper citation practices and building the foundation for future academic writing.
These assessment handouts are also editable. You can modify them to add to, omit, or change any of the instructions and prompts provided. The editable nature of these writing assessments makes it easy to personalize them for your teaching style, adapt to class progress, or align with specific curricular goals. Whether you’re teaching remotely or in person, this level of customization is ideal for ensuring student success.
For further differentiation, 4 separate rubrics have been provided. The first rubric will assess students on a literary analysis essay; the second a literary analysis paragraph; the third a poetry response; the fourth a universal rubric to assess the same skills across all styles of writing. These rubrics complement the writing assessments by offering clear and consistent evaluation criteria, making the grading process more transparent for both students and educators.
Each 4-level rubric has been provided in editable and ready-to-print formats. These rubrics streamline feedback and help students understand areas of growth, aligning well with the objectives of the writing assessments. You can use them as-is or tailor them further to your specific learning outcomes, especially if you’re integrating this activity into a broader writing unit or interdisciplinary lesson.
To access the editable versions of these resources, simply follow the links within the resource to copy the Google Doc® files directly to your Google Drive®. This user-friendly format makes it easy to organize your materials, assign them digitally, or print and distribute them in the classroom—all while providing students with high-quality writing assessments that enhance their analytical and creative skills.
✨ Kindly note that due to copyright restrictions, this resource is not editable, except for the files specifically labelled as editable. This is a common practice within the online marketplace in order to protect the clip artists and software providers that have authorized their intellectual property for the development of this resource.
⭒ For classrooms utilizing Google Classroom® ⭒
To access the digital version of these worksheets, simply follow the instructions within the resource to copy the files directly to your Google Drive®.
