Literacy Speaks Volumes

What do rubrics do for us? Focus and streamline curriculum planning Make scoring of complex word products easier Establish criteria for students' self-assessments Identify steps students must take to improve a performance Show growth in students' work over time. Offer specific information to share with parents Provide criteria for writing report cards

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Tips for Scoring with a Rubric When reading a student's response or examining a project, refer to the rubric frequently. Ask yourself which descriptions best match the student's work, but keep in mind that there is some variation within each level. For example, some papers or work products might be a high score, while another might be a middle or low. You might wish to use pluses or minuses. be sure to focus only on the criteria in the rubric and avoid comparing students' papers. When in doubt, refer to the student's prewriing organizer. Some students may write more on an organizer than on a blank sheet because it is a more directed task. Thus the organizer as well as the final product can provde evidence that the student has mastered a particular skill.

To be able to read and write is to be empowered. Remember, slaves were forbidden to learn to read and write. Slave owners were afraid to think of slaves as human. Once you learn to read and write, no shackle can hold you. We know that writing is important. What do I expect of you as a writer in my class? I expect you to write everyday. I expect you to create ideas and topics to write about. I expect you to write without resistance. I expect you to read your writing to others and to listen when others read their writing to you. What does it take to be a better writer? It takes time. Always give yourself enough time to write. Good writing cannot be rushed. Collect images, memories, and stories from your everyday world. Collect ideas from authors that you read. What do you like about a particular author’s style? Go about selecting ideas that you can use in your own writing. Be open to suggestions and criticisms to your writing. The more eyes you have on your writing, t...

What is historical fiction? What is first person point of view? What is setting? What is conflict? Historical fiction is a story that is set in the past, in real historical times, but the characters are from the imagination of  the author. It could have happened, but it didn't. First person point of view is the viewpoint of the character telling the story. The character telling the story takes part in the action of the story. The author uses first person pronouns, like I and me, to tell the story. The setting is the time and place of the story. The conflict is the problem that the character faces. Pretend that you are a kid living in a particular historical time period. Write your interpretation of the event from your perspective. Capitalization Rule: Always capitalize historical events.

What is writing? It is defined as putting down symbols to spell words in a logical order to communicate ideas. You use writing every day: to communicate, express, question, persuade, synthesize, teach. it takes years of practice to gain control, to master, the art of the written language. Learning to write well is a gift that no one will ever be able to take away from you. Learning to write well is a bundle of skills: sequencing, spelling, grammar, revising, and many more. but, these are skills that you can practice and get better at. Here is a writing prompt for you: Write for 15 minutes on how you feel about writing. The lessons that you learn will be varied, depending on your needs as writers. Sometimes, you will get information on how the class works. you will have lessons on the writer's process. You will learn about the qualities of good writing. hopefully, you will learn to revise, proofread, and edit your writing. Where do writers get their idea...

All of the words in the English language are divided into nine categories: article, noun, adjective, pronoun, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. Of all of these, the noun is the most important, as all others are more or less dependent upon it. A noun signifies the name of any person, place, or thing, in fact, anything of which we can have either thought or idea. There are two kinds of nouns: proper and common. Common nouns are names which belong in common to a race or class, as "man" or "city." Proper nouns distinguish individual members of a race or class, such as "John" or "Philadelphia." In the former case, man is a name which belongs in common to the whole race of mankind, and city is common to all large centers of population, but "John" signifies a particular individual of the race, while "Philadelphia" denotes a particular one from among the cities of the world. The word "flower" is ...