Grading Writing

[anmom]

I tried to do a search as I am sure this has been discussed before, but didn't have any luck. 

 

How do you "grade" your child's writing assignments? I have two 5th graders and am unsure what to expect at this grade. Do you grade them at this age, or is that more of a highschool thing? I'm clueless. I know. We are using CAP writing curriculum, but sometimes I have them write on their own because I feel like they should be learning more of that at this stage and then I am very underwhelmed with their work. Maybe its time to switch writing curriculum? 

[Ellie]

Even if they are not actually graded, they must be evaluated. And there can be two evaluations: one on mechanics, and one on content.

 

I would expect 11yo people to be able to write complete sentences, properly punctuated and capitalized. I would expect them to be able to put like thoughts together into paragraphs. One of my goals would be for them to be able to follow instructions (e.g., to write about the topic). 

[EKS]

I would not grade the writing of 5th graders.  I would pick one or two things you want to work on at a time and have them revise their work to fix those things only.  It can be overwhelming to a kid to have to fix all the errors in their writing at once.

 

I am not a fan of any writing program.  I have never found one that I liked, and I've used/reviewed way to many!  I don't think that any program is going to magically "fix" a person's writing.

 

Some thoughts:

 

• Writing is intimately related to thinking.  Be sure that you are thoroughly discussing whatever you plan to have them write about so that they can develop their ideas about whatever it is well before they write.
• Good writing takes time.  A lot of time.  Don't be surprised if they take five (or more) times longer than you expect to produce something.
• Writing well can be exhausting.  Don't expect them to write more than one or two polished pieces per week.  And for this age, what I mean by "piece" is something a paragraph or three long.
• If you don't already, allow them to use a word processor.  It is much easier to make changes to a document that has been written on the computer (both psychologically and otherwise).

[anmom]

Even if they are not actually graded, they must be evaluated. And there can be two evaluations: one on mechanics, and one on content.

 

I would expect 11yo people to be able to write complete sentences, properly punctuated and capitalized. I would expect them to be able to put like thoughts together into paragraphs. One of my goals would be for them to be able to follow instructions (e.g., to write about the topic). 

 

 

Evaluating their finished product is more what I meant. Grading was probably not the right word to use. I am not worried about assigning them a letter grade, more on what skills should I expect them to have at this level. 

[Code Lyoko]

Writing involves many complex processes.  It can take a considerable amount of time to master.  I agree with EKS I would focus on one or two things at a time that you really want them to target and work on.  I would add that I would also focus on ANYTHING that they did right.  Encourage them.  If they failed to capitalize 4 sentences out of 10, praise the 6 they did capitalize instead of marking up and focusing on the 4 they didn't.    Kids tend to respond better to encouragement and praise than to only focusing on what they haven't mastered yet.  Separate mechanics from ability to get thoughts on paper.  Help them learn to polish but don't make them rewrite every single thing.  There is no one size fits all, everyone should be at this level of writing by this stage.  We, as human beings, progressed at different paces and in fits and starts.  :)

[MerryAtHope]

I don't grade 5th grade writing. I offer lots of encouragement on things they do well and maybe one thing to improve. I use a rubric for grading high school work but before then my feedback is mainly through comments on their papers (where the positive strongly outweighs the negative).

[lllll]

nm

Edited November 7, 2016 by cathey

[Julie of KY]

I don't grade writing at that age.

 

I would ask - Did my student do what I asked? (even if it's not great)

I'd encourage, point out good things and try to ask questions for improvement rather than pointing out what is not right.

 

Writing is a process. Keep making baby steps and you'll go a long ways.

 

 

[Sneezyone]

I'm a big believer in writing rubrics for feedback. I want to make sure that my expectations are clear from the outset, e.g. What does outstanding look like in terms of content, organization, grammar, usage and mechanics?, and I want them to start learning how to evaluate their own work. So, we conference before, during and after each assignment (and we'd focus on one type of writing at a time) to talk about how they could improve in each area--just one or two suggestions per category. I wasn't overly critical with DD last year either but over time there was steady improvement. She typically had 4-5 drafts and two weeks to work on a page (single spaced) of writing. Quality over quantity was/is my mantra.

Edited November 7, 2016 by Sneezyone

[musicalmom1125]

I graded writing at this stage, but gently.  I gave up to 10 points each for content, mechanics and style.  Then we worked together on the issues to improve the writing.

[8filltheheart]

I don't grade my kids' writing at that age, but we go over their assignments and mark mistakes and discuss what could be changed to improve it. They write all assignments double spaced so we,have room to make changes. After our meeting, they are expected to rewrite the assignment with the corrections and improvements we marked and discussed.

 

Fwiw, I find the revising and improving together process to be one of the best teaching opportunities for improving their writing skills.