Ben,
I am beginning to ask for a little output and am so pleased! I am seeing the kids write in past tense, and they are remembering and using low-frequency verbs, because they occur in our stories. Examples: to bet, to capture, to inherit, to roll, to distribute. Interesting! The high-frequency vocab is there too. It goes back to what you say about students retaining better when it’s by them and for them. A couple of my students did a couple of retells that are practically perfect, spelling and everything. It’s the best I’ve seen from them, and the best part is, they whipped it right out. No anxiety. This assessment was a chance for them to shine, and I think that’s how they perceived it.
Julia