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How do you grade your kids' writing assignments?


cheryl h
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I don't think I've seen a resource for this, and if there is please lead me to it. I don't want to be too soft, and I don't want to be too critical either, which may be my tendancy. How do you know, without having read a lot of work at any one grade level, what is pretty good, what is not. I will read some of dc's stuff and think, "well, can you write the sentences to be a little more interesting?", but maybe that's what they should be writing at that stage. Any insight or advise is welcome.

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I struggled with this a lot when my dc started writing. I found several different resources to be helpful.

 

Writing Aids by TOG is full of useful information. The manual is filled with instructions for writing assignments at various grade levels. The WA disc contains detailed instructions for grading the assignments, and most assignments have a printable rubric that will help you to objectively determine a grade while addressing all aspects of the writing.

 

After using WA, I sometimes found the need for additional rubrics. This website contains rubrics written by thousands of teachers.

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

 

Another thing that helped ME was having one of my dc take an online writing class. Just seeing the way another teacher graded my dc's writing helped me to grade more objectively. I was much more critical than the online teacher and I think my grading paralyzed my dc.

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I struggled with this a lot when my dc started writing. I found several different resources to be helpful.

 

Writing Aids by TOG is full of useful information. The manual is filled with instructions for writing assignments at various grade levels. The WA disc contains detailed instructions for grading the assignments, and most assignments have a printable rubric that will help you to objectively determine a grade while addressing all aspects of the writing.

 

After using WA, I sometimes found the need for additional rubrics. This website contains rubrics written by thousands of teachers.

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

 

Another thing that helped ME was having one of my dc take an online writing class. Just seeing the way another teacher graded my dc's writing helped me to grade more objectively. I was much more critical than the online teacher and I think my grading paralyzed my dc.

 

Thanks for the WA recommendation, I will definitely look into that. The online course is a great idea. I wouldn't know where to begin looking for a good online writing course. Are there some tried and true courses that you can recommend? Does anyone else have any other resources to recommend?

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I checked out the rubistar website, and it's pretty helpful. It has rubrics(didn't know what that was until 30 seconds ago!) for several subjects, different projects. In addition to her usual writing, it will be very helpful for grading science lab reports and I may even use it for literature narrations as well. Yeehaw.

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Well, my daughter is only just-about-to-turn-10 and in 5th grade, but I don't grade her writing assignments.

 

She does get writing assignments- and it's just this year that she's started to work on them much more independently, which is a good thing! I spend a few minutes discussing the assignment with her and making sure she understands what she's supposed to do. I remind her to use full sentences, proper capitalization and so on, and I remind her to make sure she uses adjectives and tries to make her sentences interesting, etc.

 

When she writes it, I ask her to proof read it herself and see if she wants to make any changes or corrections or additions.

 

And then I go over it with her. I try not to criticize it and I don't grade it. I make sure I point out which parts I think are good "Oh that's a good word you used!" "I love that sentence!"

 

And I gently tell her what needs fixing or improvement "Make sure you don't switch back and forth between past and present tense like that, okay?" "Well, maybe you could add a sentence like this here so you have a little more info/detail, what do you think?" and so on, and I help her rewrite a little bit.

 

She gets feedback and instruction in this way, which eventually I figure will stick in her mind as she's writing next time, but she doesn't feel like her attempts have been reduced to a letter or a number "grade"- that's not really what I want homeschooling to be about at this point, for us.

 

With that said- I really DON'T know if her writing is on par with other kids her age/grade level, and it would be nice to know, just for my info, so this is a helpful post for me anyway :)

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Guest Cindie2dds
Well, my daughter is only just-about-to-turn-10 and in 5th grade, but I don't grade her writing assignments.

 

She does get writing assignments- and it's just this year that she's started to work on them much more independently, which is a good thing! I spend a few minutes discussing the assignment with her and making sure she understands what she's supposed to do. I remind her to use full sentences, proper capitalization and so on, and I remind her to make sure she uses adjectives and tries to make her sentences interesting, etc.

 

When she writes it, I ask her to proof read it herself and see if she wants to make any changes or corrections or additions.

 

And then I go over it with her. I try not to criticize it and I don't grade it. I make sure I point out which parts I think are good "Oh that's a good word you used!" "I love that sentence!"

 

And I gently tell her what needs fixing or improvement "Make sure you don't switch back and forth between past and present tense like that, okay?" "Well, maybe you could add a sentence like this here so you have a little more info/detail, what do you think?" and so on, and I help her rewrite a little bit.

 

She gets feedback and instruction in this way, which eventually I figure will stick in her mind as she's writing next time, but she doesn't feel like her attempts have been reduced to a letter or a number "grade"- that's not really what I want homeschooling to be about at this point, for us.

 

With that said- I really DON'T know if her writing is on par with other kids her age/grade level, and it would be nice to know, just for my info, so this is a helpful post for me anyway :)

 

This is helpful for me, Nance! I like the way you go over it in detail with her and point out great sentences as well as improvement areas gently. :)

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Well, my daughter is only just-about-to-turn-10 and in 5th grade, but I don't grade her writing assignments.

 

She does get writing assignments- and it's just this year that she's started to work on them much more independently, which is a good thing! I spend a few minutes discussing the assignment with her and making sure she understands what she's supposed to do. I remind her to use full sentences, proper capitalization and so on, and I remind her to make sure she uses adjectives and tries to make her sentences interesting, etc.

 

When she writes it, I ask her to proof read it herself and see if she wants to make any changes or corrections or additions.

 

And then I go over it with her. I try not to criticize it and I don't grade it. I make sure I point out which parts I think are good "Oh that's a good word you used!" "I love that sentence!"

 

And I gently tell her what needs fixing or improvement "Make sure you don't switch back and forth between past and present tense like that, okay?" "Well, maybe you could add a sentence like this here so you have a little more info/detail, what do you think?" and so on, and I help her rewrite a little bit.

 

She gets feedback and instruction in this way, which eventually I figure will stick in her mind as she's writing next time, but she doesn't feel like her attempts have been reduced to a letter or a number "grade"- that's not really what I want homeschooling to be about at this point, for us.

 

With that said- I really DON'T know if her writing is on par with other kids her age/grade level, and it would be nice to know, just for my info, so this is a helpful post for me anyway :)

 

:iagree: I think this is the best way to approach grading writing. The problem for me was seeing so many problems and not knowing when to address what. Then hormones (theirs and mine) come in to play and an objective little piece of paper becomes your friend. ;)

 

Now, I build my own rubrics as I teach different concepts. The rubrics act as more of a writing checklist. Then, when I am grading, I can circle items on the rubric instead of writing lengthy comments on each assignment.

 

I teach writing to middle schoolers at our co-op. I find that kids in the logic stage can be very inconsistent in their writing. I'll teach a new skill, and half the class will focus on that, and let old problems creep back into their new assignment. The rubrics really help me to keep track of it all, and point my students to a helpful checklist.

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Well, my daughter is only just-about-to-turn-10 and in 5th grade, but I don't grade her writing assignments.

 

She does get writing assignments- and it's just this year that she's started to work on them much more independently, which is a good thing! I spend a few minutes discussing the assignment with her and making sure she understands what she's supposed to do. I remind her to use full sentences, proper capitalization and so on, and I remind her to make sure she uses adjectives and tries to make her sentences interesting, etc.

 

When she writes it, I ask her to proof read it herself and see if she wants to make any changes or corrections or additions.

 

And then I go over it with her. I try not to criticize it and I don't grade it. I make sure I point out which parts I think are good "Oh that's a good word you used!" "I love that sentence!"

 

And I gently tell her what needs fixing or improvement "Make sure you don't switch back and forth between past and present tense like that, okay?" "Well, maybe you could add a sentence like this here so you have a little more info/detail, what do you think?" and so on, and I help her rewrite a little bit.

 

She gets feedback and instruction in this way, which eventually I figure will stick in her mind as she's writing next time, but she doesn't feel like her attempts have been reduced to a letter or a number "grade"- that's not really what I want homeschooling to be about at this point, for us.

 

With that said- I really DON'T know if her writing is on par with other kids her age/grade level, and it would be nice to know, just for my info, so this is a helpful post for me anyway :)

 

LOL......I am Draconian. :D I do critique my kids writing. We go over their assignments together and look at everything they have learned about writing up to that point. Are they incorporating those concepts? What do they need to change to meet those criteria?

 

After we meet, they go re-write to improve the assignment. I do have them double space so that we can write between the lines during our discussions.

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I don't grade my younger children's writing. We go over it for it's strengths and weaknesses. We discuss the problems and I point out connections between the problems and our writing lessons. This happens with the rough draft. I have them rewrite based on these discussions.

 

To me writing is a skill that must be developed with practice and guidance. Simply putting a grade on it or telling her the millions of things that are wrong doesn't get you there.

 

Heather

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LOL......I am Draconian. :D I do critique my kids writing.

 

This is me... DD took a picture of me yesterday going over her essay. She texted it to my sister and said to me, "See what you look like when you're going over my papers?" lol...

 

In this learn a valuable lesson, and that is this:

If you wait until they are 14 to analyze their writing critically, they will probably not view the criticism so constructively. She is very used to hearing, "Wow. I really liked that. This was a great choice of words. I'd have switched x for x, but other than that I think it's really well done." I kept critiquing to the bare minimum as I wanted to really encourage her to write. It must have worked, she loves to write. However, and it's a very big however, she wasn't used to criticism, so now as we enter her freshman year of high school and we need to analyze her writing more carefully and she is forced to be more concise, she isn't taking it well. Keep that in mind with the sweet & gentle approach. :D

 

Thank you for adding the Rubistar link. I also like WA for the rubrics. :)

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However, and it's a very big however, she wasn't used to criticism, so now as we enter her freshman year of high school and we need to analyze her writing more carefully and she is forced to be more concise, she isn't taking it well. Keep that in mind with the sweet & gentle approach. :D

 

 

 

I think there is a big difference between the 'sweet & gentle' approach and grading a paper. I analyze and critique my children's writing but I see no benefit to an actual grade. The point is the writing and improving the writing.

 

Heather

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I think there is a big difference between the 'sweet & gentle' approach and grading a paper. I analyze and critique my children's writing but I see no benefit to an actual grade. The point is the writing and improving the writing.

 

Heather

 

Yes, I would agree. I also think critiquing *can* be gentle. But I also know there is a tendency to not look forward to the day when there might be a need to grade, such as high school when you are preparing to give grades for a transcript. :)

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Yes, I would agree. I also think critiquing *can* be gentle. But I also know there is a tendency to not look forward to the day when there might be a need to grade, such as high school when you are preparing to give grades for a transcript. :)

 

I don't actually give my kids letter grades on their papers. They re-write them until they reflect the best of their abilities. My criteria are different for different children. For example, my current 6th grader's writing is more on par with high school level writing in technique, yet definitely not there in analysis. B/c she is such a strong writer, I expect her not to write in passive voice or use the word "there", etc. However, I have had 6th graders that were just beginning several paragraph reports. For them, I focused more on topic sentence, supporting details, etc. (skeletal structure vs. style)

 

The problem I see with only praising their papers and not true critiquing (which is different than just criticism) is that students need to stretch their abilities to move to the next level. Praising is definitely part of critiquing......but valid criticism is also. It is a blend of both. The key is to make sure that the criticism is only of material that you expect them to have mastered vs. something that is a future objective.

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I think there is a big difference between the 'sweet & gentle' approach and grading a paper. I analyze and critique my children's writing but I see no benefit to an actual grade. The point is the writing and improving the writing.

 

Heather

 

The strange thing is that my kids ask me for grades. I think it's helpful for students to see that there is room for improvement, while at the same time, the paper is "A" level work.

 

For the first two years I taught co-op, I would not give grades to the middle school kids. After my students begged and pleaded, I gave in. I still refuse to give grades to my small class of 4th and 5th graders. I just give encouragement. :)

 

I have found that logic age students often do want an objective number or grade on their work. Many students, especially girls, can be perfectionists and not understand that the paper really is good even though you have made a few constructive comments. At the same time, many students, especially boys, can bask in the encouragement and never seriously consider the constructive criticism. There is so much emotion involved in the personal act of writing that an objective tool can be helpful in calming emotions. Logic age students are trying to figure out so many things: the ideas that go into writing, the structure, writing style, mechanics. Their hormones are raging; they are growing; they're sleepy; they're hungry. Their "grammar level" world that they were so sure was "black and white" is now many shades of grey. They want to know where they stand.

 

If gentle leading, constructive comments, and encouragement are working, then by all means continue down that path. However, if there comes a time where progress is stalled, emotions are high, and you need a friend....try a rubric. ;)

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The problem I see with only praising their papers and not true critiquing (which is different than just criticism) is that students need to stretch their abilities to move to the next level. Praising is definitely part of critiquing......but valid criticism is also. It is a blend of both. The key is to make sure that the criticism is only of material that you expect them to have mastered vs. something that is a future objective.

 

:iagree:

The area I bolded explains why I use rubrics. I can't mentally keep track of every concept I've taught. My rubrics act as a checklist for my students when they are writing, and for me when I am grading.

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[quote name=Leanna;2065396

The area I bolded explains why I use rubrics. I can't mentally keep track of every concept I've taught. My rubrics act as a checklist for my students when they are writing' date=' and for me when I am grading.

 

I think the rubrics will work well for these reasons and others. We haven't hs'ed since the beginning, so if she smells an assignment or critique that is mom invented, she questions my ability to be fair. If I have the rubric to refer to, she will probably have more confidence that I'm not just being a thorn in her side when her weaknesses are being pointed out, no matter how delicately I try. All the posts have been really helpful. Thanks Again.

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When I give the assignment, I create a rubric (in the form of a checklist) for it. Dc gets a copy with the assignment. I put on it the concepts that we have covered so far, so dc know what he or she will be graded on. I mark anything that they miss, and they correct the paper and re-write it, which is part of the learning process. I break the grades down by format, grammar and spelling, structure, and style.

 

When I get new students in my outside classes, and they have a lot of problems to tackle, I pick one at a time. I might let them slide on a few things, just so that they don't see so much red pen. Then, when they have imporved the first thing, I move on. I let students know that as they get better, I will grade more strictly, because they are capable of more. I have never had a student not respond well to that. Adolescents love being told that they are capable. :001_smile:

 

I wouldn't grade based on "could be a little more interesting." I like to give them more concrete language: "you could have used a better verb," "you repeated the same words," "you need to add some more description." That way they already know exactly what they need to do to fix it. Eventually, I would brainstorm with them: "what do you think would make this sentence better?" Then I would guide them through conversation to several options.

 

I don't think it matters what is good for a certain grade level. I think what matters is whether your child has done what you have taught. There is such a HUGE variety of writing skills among students of the same age; I think it would be hard to compare.

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