6th Grade English

Term I: Writing Workshop

Mr. Aaron Menzel
amenzel@daltonschool.kr
Class Website-Google Classroom:
Weebly: amenzel.weebly.com

TermIntroduction:

Greetings6thgraders!Iamthrilledtobegintheyear,andamverymuchlookforwardtomeeting
youall.DuringTerm1:WritingWorkshop,youwillpracticecomposingandrefiningyourown
uniquewritingthroughseveralmediums.YouwillcompleteyourLetterstoMyFutureSelf
book,andtheideaof

identitywillbeintroduced.Asaclass,youwillexploretheconceptofwhat
itmeanstoformanidentityduringthedigitalage.

Writingcanbeextremelychallengingattimes,andIwantusalltoapproachitwithanopen
mind.Mistakeswillbemade,andthesemistakeswillbeedited.Justlikeamathproblemcould
takeseveralattemptsbeforeitiscorrectlysolved,sogoesthewritingprocess.Iassureyou,as
longasyoucometoclasswithanopenmind,anotiontoquestion,andatremendousamountof
creativity,youwilltrulyimproveasawriterandathinker!

TopicOverview:

Selfreflectionandidentification
6traitsofwriting
Formattingaletter/partsofaletter
ThisIBelievedigitalcitizenship
Speechandpubliccommunication

EssentialQuestions


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Whoareyou?
Whatdoyoubelievein,andhowdidyouformthesebeliefs?
Howdoessocietyshapeourdevelopment?
Whatcausessomeonetochange?
Ischangenecessaryforhumandevelopment?

SkillsList(Standards):
ReadingInformationalTexts:

RI.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of whatthetextsaysexplicitlyaswellasinferencesdrawn

fromthetext.
RI.6.5 Analyzehowa particularsentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits intothe overallstructure ofa
textandcontributestothedevelopmentoftheideas.
RI.6.6Determineanauthor'spointofvieworpurposeinatextandexplainhowitisconveyedinthetext.
RI.6.7 Integrateinformationpresentedin different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) aswell
asinwordstodevelopacoherentunderstandingofatopicorissue.

Writing

W.6.1Writeargumentstosupportclaimswithclearreasonsandrelevantevidence.
W.6.1.AIntroduceclaim(s)andorganizethereasonsandevidenceclearly.
W.6.1.BSupportclaim(s)withclearreasonsandrelevantevidence,usingcrediblesourcesand
demonstratinganunderstandingofthetopicortext.
W.6.1.CUsewords,phrases,andclausestoclarifytherelationshipsamongclaim(s)andreasons.
W.6.1.DEstablishandmaintainaformalstyle.
W.6.1.EProvideaconcludingstatementorsectionthatfollowsfromtheargumentpresented.
W.6.2.Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideas,concepts,andinformation
throughtheselection,organization,andanalysisofrelevantcontent.
Introduceatopicorganizeideas,concepts,andinformation,usingstrategiessuchasdefinition,
classification,comparison/contrast,andcause/effectincludeformatting(e.g.,headings),graphics
(e.g.,charts,tables),andmultimediawhenusefultoaidingcomprehension.
Developthetopicwithrelevantfacts,definitions,concretedetails,quotations,orother
informationandexamples.
Usepreciselanguageanddomainspecificvocabularytoinformaboutorexplainthetopic.
W.6.3.Writenarrativestodeveloprealorimaginedexperiencesoreventsusingeffectivetechnique,
relevantdescriptivedetails,andwellstructuredeventsequences:
Engageandorientthereaderbyestablishingacontextandintroducinganarratorand/or
charactersorganizeaneventsequencethatunfoldsnaturallyandlogically.
Usenarrativetechniques,suchasdialogue,pacing,anddescription,todevelopexperiences,
events,and/orcharacters.
Useavarietyoftransitionwords,phrases,andclausestoconveysequenceandsignalshiftsfrom
onetimeframeorsettingtoanother.
Useprecisewordsandphrases,relevantdescriptivedetails,andsensorylanguagetoconvey
experiencesandevents.
Provideaconclusionthatfollowsfromthenarratedexperiencesorevents.

W.6.4.Produceclearandcoherentwritinginwhichthedevelopment,organization,andstyleare
appropriatetotask,purpose,andaudience.(Gradespecificexpectationsforwritingtypesaredefinedin
standards13above.)
W.6.5.Withsomeguidanceandsupportfrompeersandadults,developandstrengthenwritingasneeded
byplanning,revising,editing,rewriting,ortryinganewapproach.
W.6.6Usetechnology,includingtheInternet,toproduceandpublishwritingaswellastointeractand
collaboratewithothersdemonstratesufficientcommandofkeyboardingskillstotypeaminimumofthree
pagesinasinglesitting.
Conductshortresearchprojectstoansweraquestion,drawingonseveralsourcesandrefocusingthe
inquirywhenappropriate.
W.6.8Gatherrelevantinformationfrommultipleprintanddigitalsourcesassessthecredibilityofeach
sourceandquoteorparaphrasethedataandconclusionsofotherswhileavoidingplagiarismandproviding
basicbibliographicinformationforsources.
W.6.10.Writeroutinelyoverextendedtimeframes(timeforresearch,reflection,andrevision)andshorter
timeframes(asinglesittingoradayortwo)forarangeofdisciplinespecifictasks,purposes,and
audiences.

SpeakingandListening
SL.6.1.Engageeffectivelyinarangeofcollaborativediscussions(oneonone,ingroups,andteacherled)
withdiversepartnersongrade6topics,texts,andissues,buildingonothersideasandexpressingtheirown
clearly.
Cometodiscussionsprepared,havingreadorstudiedrequiredmaterialexplicitlydrawonthat
preparationbyreferringtoevidenceonthetopic,text,orissuetoprobeandreflectonideasunder
discussion.
Followrulesforcollegialdiscussions,setspecificgoalsanddeadlines,anddefineindividualroles
asneeded.
Reviewthekeyideasexpressedanddemonstrateunderstandingofmultipleperspectivesthrough
reflectionandparaphrasing.
SL.6.3Delineateaspeaker'sargumentandspecificclaims,distinguishingclaimsthataresupported
byreasonsandevidencefromclaimsthatarenot.
SL.6.4.Presentclaimsandfindings,sequencingideaslogicallyandusingpertinentdescriptions,facts,and
detailstoaccentuatemainideasorthemesuseappropriateeyecontact,adequatevolume,andclear
pronunciation.
SL6.6Adaptspeechtoavarietyofcontextsandtasks,demonstratingcommandofformalEnglishwhen
indicatedorappropriate.(Seegrade6Languagestandards1and3forspecificexpectations.)
Language
L.6.4.Determineorclarifythemeaningofunknownandmultiplemeaningwordsandphrasesbasedon
grade6readingandcontent,choosingflexiblyfromarangeofstrategies.
Consultreferencematerials(e.g.,dictionaries,glossaries,thesauruses),bothprintanddigital,to
findthepronunciationofawordordetermineorclarifyitsprecisemeaningoritspartofspeech.
Verifythepreliminarydeterminationofthemeaningofawordorphrase(e.g.,bycheckingthe
inferredmeaningincontextorinadictionary).
L.6.6Acquireanduseaccuratelygradeappropriategeneralacademicanddomainspecificwordsand
phrasesgathervocabularyknowledgewhenconsideringawordorphraseimportanttocomprehensionor
expression.

AssessmentsandProjects

Hereisthegradingbreakdownfortheyear:

ClassParticipation:Thisincludescomingtoclasswiththepropermaterials(seebelow),maintainingapositive
classroomattitude,completingexitslips,andworkinghard.Youwillstartwiththreeparticipationpointsforthe
day.Completionofinclasswork/exitslipswillresultinadditionalpoints.25%
Eachdayyoushouldbring:
Pensand/orpencils
Yourcomputer
Yourcompletedhomework
Yourplannerorassignmentnotebook
YournotesandELAnotebook
Failuretobringone/allitemswillresultinlossofparticipationpoints.

DailyHomework:Thisincludeshavingyourhomeworkcompletedontimeandhavingqualitywork.Youmusthavea
properheadingonyourworkbothonlineandhandwrittentoreceivetotalcredit.20%
Quizzes/Tests:Youwillhaveweeklyvocabularyquizzesaswellasassortedtests/quizzesthatcovernewmaterial.
20%
Whiletakingquizzesandtest,talkingwillnotbetolerated.Ifyouhaveaquestion,pleaseraiseyour
hand.Whenyourworkiscomplete,youmayturnitintothebasketandquietlyreadorworkon
homework.

FinalProjects:TherewillbetwolargeprojectsdueattheendofTerm1.MoredetailscanbefoundaftertheDayby
Daysection.YouwillbecreatingauniqueLetterstomyFutureSelfbookandaThisIbelieve
presentation(atypedspeech,whichwillbepresentedorally).Asthisshouldshowyourunderstandingof
everythingthatwelearnedinTerm1,Iexpectpolishedwork.35%

SkillList
Pleasemarkonascaleof15(1beingunfamiliar,5beingconfident)eachoftheskillsbelow:

Icanidentifyclaims,reasonsandrelevantevidencewithintext.
____
Icandeterminehowtointroduceclaim(s).
____
Icanwriteanargumenttosupportclaims,including:

claimssupportedbyclearreasonsandrelevantevidence.
____
crediblesources.
____
aclearunderstandingofthetopicortextunderinvestigation.
____
aclearandconciseconclusion
____
Icanrecognizewords,phrasesandclausesthatshowrelationshipsamongclaim(s)andreasons.
____
Icandeterminetheauthorspointofvieworpurposeofatext.
____
Icanengageeffectivelyinarangeofcollaborativediscussions.
____
Icanformulatecomments,questions,andresponsesbasedonevidencefromthetextortopic.
____
Icanincludetechnologyinapresentationtoclarifyinformationwithmultiplecomponentstoinclude:
music,images,graphicsandsound.

AdditionalReadingandResources

1.Ifyouenjoytheideaofwritingletterstoyourfutureself,checkoutthiswebsite:
https://www.futureme.org/Youcanwriteandsendlettersdirectlytoyouremail.Anonlinetimer
willstoreyouremailuntilthedesireddate.

2.Ialwaystrytobrushuponmygrammarandvocabwhenpossible.Usethiswebsitetoboost
yourskillswhiledoinggoodfortheworld:http://freerice.com/category

3.Duringthisterm,wewillfocussolelyonwritingbothfictionandnonfiction.Whilewewill
focusonthebasicsofwritinginclass,IurgeyoutoreadthroughHowtoWriteaSentence&
HowtoReadOnebyStanleyFish.IveattachedaPDFlinktothebook.
https://ghcdsworldlit.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/howtowriteasentence.pdf

4.Somestudentsneedadditionalchallengeswhenitcomesto6thgradeELA.Forstudentsthat
excelwhenitcomestoreading,Ifyouarestuckwhenlookingforanewbook,Ihighly
recommendthesetitles:
ASeriesofUnfortunateEventsbyLemonySnicket
SaavybyIngridLaw
TheWestingGamebyEllenRaskin
DeadEndinNorveltbyJackGantos
AirbornbyKennethOppel

DaytoDay*ObjectivesandGoals
*Whilethisisseparatedintoweeks,wemightnotfollowthisguideexactly.IwillupdatehomeworkandlessonsonWeebly.

Week1:Welcome,IAm...andWeArePoems,Introduce6TraitsofWriting

1:FirstDayofSchool!

Goals:Introducemyselftothestudents.Havestudentsintroducethemselvestoeachother.Gettoknowclassroom
andexpectations,classcontract,etc.

Topic:Talkaboutstudentidentity.Whatdoesthewordmean?Inoneword,howcanwedescribeourselves?

Activities:GooverAssignment,Introductionslideshow,worddescribermemorygame.

Homework/DueDate:Fornextclass,comeupwithatleastfiveadjectives,verbs,ornounsthatdescribeyouasan
individual.SeeWeeblyformoreinstructions.

Skills:SL.6.1

2:IAm..andWeArePoems

Goals:Forstudentstogettoknoweachotherandtheirteacher.Tocreateaclassroomcommunity.

Topic:Howcanouridentitiesmix?Dowehavemoreincommonormoredifferences?

Activities:CreationandpresentationofIAmpoems.IntroducetheideaoftheWeArepoem.

Skills:SL.6.1

3:SkillAssessment,ContinueWeArePoems(presentthem),VocabStudySet

Goals:Testthestudentstogaugeindividualproficiencywhenitcomestoreadingandwriting.CompletetheWe
Arepoemsandbereadytopresentthem.Gooverourfirstsetofvocabwords,andpreparestudentsforthevocab
quizonMonday.

Topic:HowcanwechangeourIAmpoemsintoWeArepoems?

Activities:GooverthesampleWeArepoem.Studentswillhavetimetoworkontheirownpoeminclass.

DueDate:WeArepoemisdueattheendofclass

Skills:SkillAssessment,SL6.4

4:Introduce6TraitsofWritingviaGraphicOrganizer,FreeWriteThursday

Goals:Establishinggoodwritinghabitsandtechniques.

Topic:Howdoesonewritewell?Howcanyoutellifwritingisgoodorbad?Copydowntermsforthe6Traits
ofWritingintographicorganizer.

Activities:Comprehendingandmarkingupatext.Usingbothfactandpersonalopiniontorateanauthor.

Skills:W.6.3,W.6.10

5:NonLinguisticrepresentationof6Traits,D.E.A.R(Readtoself,readtoothers)

Goals:Toviewthe6Traitsfromaperspectiveoutsideofreadingtounderstandhoweachtraithelpscompletea
whole.Studentswillthenindividuallyworkonbuildingsentencefluencybyreadingsilently,andthenwillread
aloudtoapeer.

Topic:Continuingwithourunderstandingofthe6Traits.Wewillbemakingchartsthatshouldhelpwithretention
ofideas.

Activities:Wewillbeginwithformingabstractconnectionstothe6traits,D.E.A.R.

DueDate:Workdoneinclass.

Skills:SL6.6,W6.1

Week2:6TraitsofWriting

1:VocabMonday,Trait#1:Ideas

Goals:Takeaquizoverthevocabularywordstodemonstratemastery.Practicebrainstormingandcreatingnewideas
throughtheuseofstorydice.

Topic:Ideacreation!Howdoesonecreateauniqueideaoutofthinair?

Skills:W.6.3,W.6.4,L.6.6

2:Trait#2:WordChoice

Goals:Toestablishanunderstandingofwordvarietyandexaminethebuildingblocksofasentence.

Topic:Wewillbefocusingonhowwordsfitthemoodandtoneofatext.Additionally,wewillexploreword
diversity.

Activities:MadLibs,SynonymsandAntonyms

DueDate:CometoclasswithablankMadLibtemplate

Skills:L6.4

4:Trait#4&#5:OrganizationandVoice,FreeWriteThursday

Goals:Uncovervariousvoicesandstylesofwriting.Studyhowanauthorcanorganizethoughtsandinformation.

Topic:Wewillbelookingathowauthorsmaketheirpointthroughspecifiedwriting.

Activities:Puppetshowwithpaperbags/socks.

Skills:SL.6.1,RI6.6,W.6.10

5:Trait#6:Conventions,D.E.A.R

Goals:Practiceeditingandgivingfeedbacktopeersregardingtheirwriting.

Topic:Todaywewillwriteauniquestorysample,andthenwewillhaveourpeerseditandrevise.Constructive
criticismwillbetaughtandpracticed.

Activities:Editingmarksgame,groupeditsattable,onlinegrammargame

Skills:W6.5,SL6.6

Week3:6TraitsContinued,LettertomyFutureSelf#1,PaperMakingProject

1:VocabMonday,LettertomyFutureSelf

Goals:TakethevocabquizandanalyzesampleLettertomyFutureSelf.Beabletoidentifyandexplainhoweach
ofthe5partsofaletterareshown.

Topic:Whatisthepurposeofselfreflection?

DueDate:Forhomework,brainstormonhowyouwillchangeinoneyear,tenyears,andfiftyyears.

Skills:W.6.3,L.6.6

2:BeginWritingFirstLTMFS

Goals:CompletethefirstroughdraftofyourLTMFS.

Topic:Afteraquickwrite,wewilldiscusswhatitmeanstochangeandformanidentity.Fishbowl/tapinactivity.

Activities:BegindraftingyourroughdraftofyourLTMFS.

DueDate:WriteupyourroughdraftforyourLTMFS.Thiscanbehandwrittenortyped.

Skills:SL.6.3

3.EditingRDofLTMFS,UsingEditingMarksandSuggestions

Goals:Toindependentlyselfeditandpeereditsomeoneelseswork.

Activities:Edit,revise,andtypeupthefinalcopyofyourLTMFS.

DueDate:LTMFSfinalcopywillbeduenextclass.Itshouldbeprintedoffandturnedintoyourfolder.

Skills:W.6.5

4:PaperMakingandtheHistoryofPaper,FreeWriteThursday

Goals:Togainanappreciationforthepapermakingprocess.Tointerpretvariousnonfictionandhistoricalarticles.
ActivateknowledgelearnedoutsidetheEnglishclassroomtohelpguideinquiryintotheprocess.

Skills:RI6.1,R.I.6.7,W.6.10

5:GoOverPresentationRubricforFinalSetofLetters,D.E.A.R.

Goals:StudentswillcomprehendrubricforfinalLTMFScollection,theywillbeabletoquietlyreadandthenread
aloudtoapeer.

Activities:Silentreading,rubricforfinalLTMFS,brainstormresponseforsecondletter.

DueDate:Cometoclasswithbrainstormingcomplete.

Skills:W.6.2.

Week4.LettertomyFutureSelf#2,Calligraphyminiproject

1:VocabMonday,LTMFS#2

Goals:Studentswillindependentlybegintheirroughdraftusingknowledgegainedfromlastweek.Proficiencyof
vocabularywillbedemonstrated.

Activities:Aftercompletingthevocabquiz,studentswillgodirectlyintoworkingontheirnextletter.

DueDate:TheroughdraftofLTMFS#2willbeduenextclass.

Skills:L.6.6,W.6.2.

2.PeerandSelfEdits,TypeofFinalDraft

Goals:Studentswillaccuratelymakeeditstotheirownwork,aswellastheworkoftheirpeers.Theywillbegin
typinguptheirfinaldraft.

DueDate:FinalPRINTEDdraft(withadjustedborderforilluminations)ofLTMFS#2willbeduenextclass.
Skills:W.6.2

3:Calligraphy101,AccurateSources

Goals:Studentswillnavigateonlinesourcesandwillcitespecifictextualevidencewhileansweringthequestion,
Whatiscalligraphyandhowisitused?

Activities:KnowledgePotpourristudentshavetenminutestoresearchcalligraphyonline.Wewillthengather
facts(withcitedsources)ontheboard.

Skills:W.6.7,W.6.8

4:CalligraphyContinued,FreeWriteThursday

Goals:Toilluminatetextusingcalligraphy.

Activities:Usingskillsandknowledgefromlastclass,studentswilluseancientmethodstoaddcalligraphyand
illuminationtotext.

DueDate:Calligraphy/illuminationmustbeaddedtoatleastoneLTMFS.

Skills:W.6.7,W.6.10

5:D.E.A.R.,ExtendedLTMFSRubricExplanation

Goals:Afirmgrasponassignmentexpectationswillbegained.Studentswillreadsilentlytothemselvesandthen
aloudtoclassmates.

DueDate:FinalLTMFSprojectisdueatthebeginningofweek7.

Skills:RI.6.7

Week5:BeginLookingatDigitalCitizenship,ThisIBelieveEssay

1:VocabMonday,DigitalCitizenship

Goals:Continuevocabularyproficiency,studentswillbeabletocompareandcontrast21stcenturymiddleschoolers
withthoseofthepast.

Skills:L.6.6

2:DigitalCitizenshipcontinued

Goals:Usingavarietyofmediaplatforms,studentswillworktogethertocomposeaMiddleSchoolers
DeclarationofDigitalCitizenship.

Skills:RI.6.6

3:DeclarationofDigitalCitizenship,ThisIBelieveIdeaOrganizer

Goals:CompletegroupDeclaration.Identifyapersonalopinion.Analyzethestructureofapresentedopinion.
Studentswillpracticemakingopinionatedstatements.

Activities:ReadingofseveralmiddleschoolTIBpapers,opiniontheater

DueDate:Cometoclasswithbrainstormingdoneforopinionpiece.

Skills:RI.6.5

4ThisIBelieveFirstDraft,FreeWriteThursday

Goals:Usingthematerialfrombrainstorming,studentswilluseagraphicorganizertobeginformattingwritten
speech.

DueDate:Roughdraftofspeechwillbedueinclasstomorrow.

Skills:W.6.1,W.6.10

5ThisIBelieveGroupEdits,D.E.A.R.

Goals:Workinginsmallgroups,studentswillpresenttheirviewpoint.Studentswillpracticegivingandreceiving
constructivecriticism.

DueDate:TIBessaywithrevisionsduenextclass.Wewillworkonfinalizingchangesnextclass.

Skills:W.6.1

Week6:EditingandRefiningThisIBelieveEssay,SpeechBasics

1:VocabMonday,FinalTIBEdit

Goals:Studentswillcontinuetomakeprogressunderstandingvariousvocabwords.StudentswillfinalizetheirTIB
writtenportion.

DueDate:CompletedandtypedversionoftheirTIBessaywillbeduebynextclass.

Skills:L.6.6,W.6.1

2:SpeechBasics

Goals:Studentswillpracticeandidentifywhatmakesaneffectivespeech.

Skills:S.L.6.1

3:SpeechBasicsContinued,SelectionofMainIdeasandPoints

Goals:Studentswillidentifyandtransfermainideasofspeechontonotecards.

Skills:S.L.6.4.

4PublishingourTIBEssays,ThisAmericanLifePodcast

Goals:Studentswillformat,title,andpublishtheirTIBessayontheclassroomsite.Wewilllistentoapodcast,and
studentswilluseaudiblecluestocompleteaworksheet.

DueDate:Worksheetisdueattheendofclass.

Skills:W.6.6

5:FinishUploadingourTIBEssays,D.E.A.R.

Goals:Finalizeandpolishstudentpublications,readquietlyandaloud.

Skills:W.6.6

Week7:ThisIBelieve...Presentations,SignetCreations

1:VocabMonday,SpeechPractice

Goals:Continuetobuildvocabulary,individuallypracticespeech

Skills:L.6.6

2:SpeechPractice

Goals:Studentswillcomprehendtherubricforthespeech.Insmallgroups,studentswillpresentandcritique
speeches.

Skills:RI.6.7

3:TIBPresentation

Goals:StudentswillpresenttheirTIBspeechinfrontoftheclass.

Skills:SL.6.1

4:SignetCreation

Goals:Compilingallofthediscoveriesmadeaboutthemselves,studentswilldeviseasignetthatwillbeusedon
theirfinalLTMFSproject.

DueDate:Signetisduebynextclass.

Skills:W.6.10

5:ReflectiononIdentity,D.E.A.R.

Goals:Toreflectonchangesinoneselfregardingbothsocialandeducationaladvancements.

Activities:Fishbowldiscussion.

Skills:SL.6.1

Rubrics

Therubricsbelowwillbeusedtoassessthequalityofourtwofinalprojects.Therubrictitled,WritingRubric:
6TraitswillbeusedtogradeyourDeclarationofaModernMiddleSchooler,andtherubrictitled,Lettersto
myFutureSelfwillbeusedtogradeyourfinalLTMFScompilation.
WritingRubric:6Traits+OralSpeech
6

Exemplary

Strong

Proficient

Developing

Emerging

Beginning

Ideas&Content

Exceptionallyclear,

Clear,focused,

Evidentmainideawith

Mainideamaybe

Purposeandmainideamay

Lackscentralidea

*maintheme

Focused,engaging

interesting

somesupportwhich

cloudybecause

beunclearand

developmentis

withrelevant,strong

ideaswith

maybegeneral

supportingdetailis

clutteredby

supportingdetail

appropriatedetail

orlimited

toogeneral

irrelevantdetail

*supportingdetails

orevenofftopic

minimalor
nonexistent

Organization

Effectivelyorganizedin

Strongorder

Organizationis Attemptsatorganization

Lackofstructure

Lackofcoherence

*structure

logicalandcreative

andstructure

appropriate,but

maybea

disorganizedan

confusing

manner

Invitingintroand

conventional

listofevents

dhardtofollow

*introduction
*conclusion

Creativeand

satisfyingclosure Attemptatintroduction Beginningandending

engagingintro

andconclusion

Missingorweakintro

notdeveloped

andconclusion

andconclusion

Noidentifiable
introductionor
conclusion

Voice

Expressive,engaging,

Appropriate

Evidentcommitment

Voicemaybe

Writingtendsto

Writingislifeless

*personality

sincere

toaudience

totopic

inappropriateor

beflatorstiff

Nohintofthewriter

*senseofaudience

Strongsenseof

andpurpose

Inconsistentor

nonexistent

Littleornohint

audience

Writerbehindthe

dullpersonality

Writingmay

ofwriterbehindwords

Showsemotion:humor

wordscomes

,honesty,suspenseorlife

through

WordChoice

Precise,carefully

*precision

chosen

*effectiveness
*imagery

seemmechanical

Descriptive,broad Languageisfunctional Wordsmaybecorrect

Monotonous,often

Limited

butmundane

repetitious,sometimes

rangeofwords

Descriptionsmaybe

Noattemptat

inappropriate

overdoneattimes

deliberatechoice

rangeofwords

andappropriate

Strong,fresh,

Wordchoice

vividimages

energizeswriting

Somevocabulary
misused

SentenceFluency

Highdegreeof

Easyflowand

Generallyin

Someawkward

Oftenchoppy

*rhythm,flow

craftsmanship

rhythm

control

constructions

Monotonoussentence

Effectivevariationin GoodvarietyinlengthLackvarietyinlength Manysimilarpatterns

*variety

sentencepatterns

Conventions

Exceptionallystrong

Spelling,caps,

control

punctuation,

andstructure

andstructure

Strongcontrolof Controlofmostwriting
arefewandminor errorswithhighrisks

ofwriting

grammar

orreadaloud

patterns

Disjointed,confusing,

andbeginnings

Frequentrunonsentences

Limitedcontrolof

Frequentsignificant

Numerouserrors

errorsmay

distractthereader

conventionserrors conventionsoccasional conventionsfrequent

ofstandardconventions

Difficulttofollow

errorsdonot

impedereadability

interferewith

rambling

andmakethe
textdifficulttoread

understanding

Presentation

Nonotesareused.

Notesareused,butnot

Notesused,and

Notesareheavilyrelied

Speechreadentirely

ofSpeech

Eyecontactis

reliedon.Eyecontact

somereferencing

ondetractsfrom

fromnotecards

exceptional.

isstrong.Voice

Takesawayfrom

thespeech.

Noeyecontact.

Voicevaries.

usuallyvaries.

thespeech.Eye

Littleeyecontact.

Monotonevoice.

contact.Voice

Voicebarelyvaries.

Speechvery
difficultto
understand.

sometimesvaries.
Pointclearlyismade

Pointisclearlymade

Pointissomewhat

Pointissomewhat

Pointisonlyloosely

Speechdoesnot

regardinghowamodern

regardinghowa

clearregarding

unclearregarding

basedonhow

relatetocorrecttopic.

middleschoolershould

modernmiddle

howamodern

howamodern

amodernmiddle

act.Pointsarebacked

schoolershould

middleschooler

middleschooler

schoolershouldact.

upwith

act.Someexamples

shouldact.

shouldact.

Examplesnotgiven.

thoughtprovoking

areused.

Fewexamples

Examplesnotgiven.

RelationtoTopic

examples.

areused.

LettertoMyFutureSelfRubric

Strong

Proficient

Developing

Emerging

Beginning

Heading/Timeliness

4letters
turnedinon
timewithproper
heading.

3lettersturnedin
ontimewithproper
heading.

2lettersturnedin
ontimewithproper
heading.

1letterturnedinon
timewithproper
heading.

Lettersnot
turnedinontime.

PartsofaLetter

Lettersincludeall
essentialparts.

Lettersinclude4
essentialparts

Lettersinclude3
essentialparts.

Lettersinclude2
essentialparts.

Lettersinclude1
essentialpart.

Theme/Content

Eachletter
followsatheme.
Exceptional
paragraph
structure.

Mostletters
followa
theme.
Goodparagraph
structure.

Somelettersfollowa
theme.
Paragraphstructure
needswork.

Oneletterfollowsa
theme.Limited
paragraphstructure.

Notheme
.Noparagraphstructure.

Voice

Appropriateto

Evident

Voicemaybe

Writingtendstobe

Writingislifeless

audienceand

commitmenttotopic

inappropriateor

flatorstiff

Nohintofthewriter

purpose

Writerusually

nonexistent

Littleornohintofwriter

Writerbehindthe

comesthrough

Writingmayseem

behindwords

wordsclearly
comesthrough

mechanical

Conventions

Strongcontrolof

Controlofmost

Limitedcontrolof

Frequentsignificant

Numerouserrors

conventionserrors

writing

conventionsfrequent

errorsmay

distractthereader

arefewandminor

conventions

errorsdonot

impedereadability

andmakethetext

occasionalerrors

interferewith

difficulttoread

withhighrisks

understanding