Understanding the Language of the Rubric

Have you ever noticed that most state writing rubrics are somewhat hard to fully understand? Particularly for kids and maybe not so much for teachers, the language of the rubric can be confusing, subjective and vague. I'm not saying that the following activities will fully shed light on meaning, but it can at least provide a start for students to begin to understand what each component means and how to get there.

The first step I take is to have students look at each level of the rubric. The KY Writing Rubric goes from a zero to a four- with four being distinguished. KY has set the goal for all students to be at a three- proficient. I begin by having students highlight the language changes from apprentice (two) to proficient (three). What are the changes in language from a two to a three? Highlight those. We hold a class discussion about those changes and what that looks like/what it means in our writing.

Highlighting changes in language of rubric

Students proceed to also note the changes in language from a three- proficient to a four- distinguished. Again we hold a class discussion on those wording changes and what they mean for our writing.

Pictures Speak Louder Than Words

The next project I undertake to help students understand specific language in the rubric is a great activity for visual/spatial students in particular, but great for all students since "pictures speak louder than words". Students are put into small groups and assigned one element of the rubric- Sentence structure, Organization, Idea development,  Correctness,  Language, or Purpose/Audience. Students were tasked to use key words and images to represent the rubric idea they were assigned. With me acting as guide on the side, my students produced some pretty impressive visuals of each rubric element.

I tape all six elements into one huge rubric (I try to make two large "student friendly" rubrics for classes to refer to.) 

Here is a close-up of a "Purpose/Audience" Depiction done by a very artistic group of students:

While the language in a writing rubric can be vague and subjective, there are ways to help students grasp major concepts needed in their writing. Closely examining changes in language from one level to another and visually representing major components needed in good writing are just two ideas that you might try to begin to explore and understand what is needed in Proficient Writing.

Building Community: First Days Activities

Depending on your school configuration, some kids travel with the same kids from elementary throughout middle school, and other schools filter students in from many schools throughout a district. Regardless of the situation, there are first day activities that can not only reveal information about your students individually, but can also provide a class-wide snapshot of who your students are. Furthermore, students can get to know themselves and each other, building community within the classroom. 

One of the first activities I do Involve individual hobbies and interests. Students are asked to simply list up to ten things they love, like to do, hobbies, affiliations with extra-curricular activities (sports, church, youth-group, Boy Scouts, karate, etc.). I take that list and create a Wordle with it. The Wordle has their class title in the largest letters- “First Block” for example, and all the interests are in various sizes. I use Jing (www.techsmith.com)  to take a picture of the Wordle, and we look at it at the start of the following week. We discuss our similarities (the largest words) and our differences (the smallest words). I discuss that a community is made up of many similarities and differences, and that is what makes us who we are as a learning community. We need to respect our differences and who knows? We might even learn from each other; gain new interests as we take notice of what others are “into” around us.

I can see the class as a whole through this Wordle (www.wordle.net), and I can use those interests we have in common to bring in reading material and to help create writing prompts. I can also use those smaller words to gain the attention of my more difficult to reach students, tying in reading and writing activities that relate to those who might not otherwise be reached, had I now known their interests. I staple these Wordles on the bulletin board for future reference, and throughout the year, I am pleased to see kids studying their own class’ Wordle as well as that of other classes.

Another formative assessment I perform in class is a Multiple Intelligence test. I am able to gain a quick answer to how my students learn best, integrating these learning styles into lessons and activities. I don’t stop there, though. I want students to be aware of our similarities and differences in the class and I need to see the classroom as a whole. We engage in a graphing activity to do this. 

Students are given a post-it for their highest score, and asked to remember which Intelligence that high score was in. (If there is a tie for a high-score, and there often is, I give them two post-its, and so on.) Students are asked to write their name on the post-it. On the board I have listed each Intelligence across the top, and students take their post-it and place it under the category in which they scored the highest, forming a bar graph. Once more, I discuss our similarities and differences, as well as re-enforce how each Intelligence might be used to help them learn, and how I plan to integrate these Intelligences in lessons and activities. I also take a snapshot of the class graph, so I have a quick reference in order to plan my lessons.

Both activities create community, informs my instruction, and informs my students about themselves and each other- ultimately, aiding in the formation of a positive learning environment.

Analogies of the Writing Process

Looking for a fresh way to review the writing process? Try creating analogies! 

One of my favorites!

To refresh middle school students’ memories about the writing process as well as to teach analogy, students were partnered and  asked to create an analogy for each step of the writing process.
First, we read an excerpt of Julia Cameron’s The Right to Write where she uses an analogy for writing. To continue the idea students viewed the Dodge Dart commercial– which is a perfect analogy for the writing process! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0Fvb1rC3fw
(What I really liked about using the commercial is how many times they "drafted and revised" to get the perfect car.) Students completed a formative assessment using this commercial (watching it at least twice after the initial viewing)- listing what they saw in the commercial that related to each step of the writing process. We shared out at the end and then viewed the commercial a final time.
Once students have read a few analogies, viewed the commercial and looked at a couple of examples (see below), they are ready to make their own.  I provided guidance as I moved about the room, reminding them of a step or questioning them about an illustration they were using for one of the steps- all  resulting in just a few of the examples below:

Baking and the Writing Process

A close up of two stages from a student analogy

Student choice is the key!