I was at the computer this morning when my students created a pretty basic rubric for their final unit of study's essays. The following is what they created. They'll use it to self-assess their essays and I'll use it to give them their final grade of the school year.
Category: non-narrative writing
Submission
After three - four weeks of crafting, drafting, revising, and editing my "This I Believe" Essay, I finally submitted it for publication tonight! 🙂 It felt great to finally submit the essay, which is something I hope my students will do once they publish theirs in Writing Workshop next week.
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Timelining Helps Kids Write Factual and Moving Concluding Paragraphs
I attended Beth Moore's Session on Social Studies in the Writing Classroom at the March 2009 Saturday Reunion. It was an exceedingly useful session with tips I've been using in the past month ever since my class began writing their research-based essays. I realized, even though my kids could mathematically figure out how long ago… Continue reading Timelining Helps Kids Write Factual and Moving Concluding Paragraphs
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Feedback
My students and I agreed to a form that I would use to provide them with feedback on the drafts of their research-based essays. We decided that it was a comprehensive way for me to quickly inform them whether their writing was clear and factual on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis (They're only turning in the three… Continue reading Feedback
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Two Things That Feel Good to Hear…
(1) Yesterday afternoon one of my students lingered a little bit after dismissal. She said, "You know, I thought this research essay would be mad hard." "What do you mean?" I asked. "I mean, I thought it would be mad hard to do all this research! But it's not." "How come?" I asked. "'Cuz it… Continue reading Two Things That Feel Good to Hear…
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Here’s what’s happening in my room this week.
This-Coming Week's Teaching Points Turned Into "I Can" Statements Originally uploaded by teachergal By the end of the week, these are the things my students will know they CAN do to help them write an essay that is based off of research. NOTE: The third bullet should say: "I can use literary examples to support… Continue reading Here’s what’s happening in my room this week.
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Thesis Statements
3 out of 18 Folders + Typed-Up Thesis Statements for the Entire Class Originally uploaded by teachergal Each of my students spent an extended time on the rug yesterday, crafting a thesis statement of his/her own for the essay they're going to write. It was hard work, but they rose to the challenge! I actually… Continue reading Thesis Statements
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Values & Thesis Statements
Bubbl.us: Values and the Holocaust Originally uploaded by teachergal My students will be crafting their thesis statements for their essays today. As a pre-cursor to thesis creation, I had them complete a "Values Activity Sheet" from pg. 13 of the "This I Believe" Middle School Curriculum Guide. These were the values that seemed to be… Continue reading Values & Thesis Statements
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The Final Unit of Study
My students are embarking on their final unit of study of the school year. We're doing research-based essays, which I'm attempting to tie-into the "This I Believe" Style. I have my teaching points and some of my charts (well, the ones for this week at least!) ready-to-go, but I'm still trying to write my own… Continue reading The Final Unit of Study
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Boxes & Bullets: Framing Personal Essays
News & Announcements Chart for Monday, 11/10/08 Originally uploaded by teachergal In order to keep my demonstrations fresh, I've come to believe that I have to craft a NEW piece of writing each and every year for units I've taught in the past. If I don't, then I find my teaching becomes stale. Plus, I… Continue reading Boxes & Bullets: Framing Personal Essays
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Just What Are PATCHES OF THOUGHT?
Yesterday I was asked to expand "patches of thought" Essentially, patches of thought are little pieces of paper (could be index cards) on which students write mini-stories, lists, or other items that support a particular paragraph in an essay. It's essentially the evidence that one feels will support a topic sentence within their essay (and… Continue reading Just What Are PATCHES OF THOUGHT?
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She showed it to me!
Great news! The student who I blogged about yesterday went home and did the first of the graphic organizers last night. WOO-HOO! She really did a nice job working within the structure I set up for her. (Hopefully these scaffolds can be taken away in a couple of weeks.)
