Rubrics!

I love using rubrics.  Rubrics are fantastic for many reasons, but these are my top three:

1) Rubrics assist in grading by simplifying process. 

2) When shared with students at the time the assignment is given, rubrics provide students with a clear picture of what is expected.

3) Rubrics are also a great resource for student “grading”.

This year, I have over 200 students, and I’m not ashamed to say I need all the help I can get when it comes to grading, which is why I like to use rubrics.  If expectations are clearly stated within the rubric, it makes grading much easier because either one simply needs to reference the expectations for each point value given.  Additionally, if students have access to these rubrics ahead of time, they know exactly what is expected if they are to receive the maximum amount of points.  Similarly, they will also see the points that they will receive if they do not meet certain expectations.  Although my students don’t complete many student graded rubric assignments, I have found that they are helpful.  For example last year, my students created skits for one of the short stories they had read.  On that rubric I included items like voice projection, use of props, etc.  Although I had final say on the grade, my students did like getting feedback from their friends in addition to my feedback.

Here is an example of a rubric that I have created:

When creating this rubric, I specifically thought of several short stories that my students read last year.  I enjoy allowing my students to choose projects and, while I understand many don’t like to present the finished product in class, I still heavily encourage them to do so in order to develop their public speaking skills.  In most of my classes I have found that, once they have seen their friends present or share, many students are more open to sharing.  However, this can mean that, even though the projects are different, students are still seeing numerous projects that all summarize the same story over and over.  For this reason, I created a rubric that can be used with any story, but several of the activities focus on different elements of the story.  This way, through their presentations, students are not just presenting, but they are also teaching different elements of the same story.