2. Collaborative Opportunities
5th Grade Writing
6 &7 English
“Enrichment”
O 3 On-Demand Prompts
O Project Based Learning
(SS)
O Research, plan,
compose, and revise for
a variety of purposes
O Edit for correct use of
language, capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling
O Content-area writing
O Progression charts
developed by the AP/IB
Vertical Team (see
handout)
O Enrichment resources for
teachers
3. Why Write?
O Writing helps students get more actively
engaged in subject matter.
O Writing helps students perform well on
high stakes tests.
O Writing prepares students for involved
active citizenship.
Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., & Steineke, N. (2007). Content-area writing: Every teachers' guide. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann
6. Myths About Grading Essays
1. Only full length essays should be graded
and given feedback.
2. My rubric has to be specific to the exact
essay I assign.
3. I have to grade for all elements on the
rubric in each essay.
4. I have to correct all of my students’
grammatical and mechanical errors.
8. #1: Only full length essays should
be graded and given feedback.
O Practice writing skills on
a smaller scale first
O Literary analysis
paragraph BEFORE
a full paper
O Use these small
assignments to make
detailed comments
O Quality over quantity
Poetry Paragraph Journal
*An “A” response consists of the
following:
___ Clear topic sentence stating the main
point of the paragraph
___ Several specific and persuasive
examples from the poem to support the
main point
___ A comprehensive understanding of the
literary element discussed
___ A comprehensive understanding and
explanation of the thought and feeling
expressed in the poem including
subtleties of meaning
___ Correctly formatted quotations and in-
text citations
___ Few grammatical errors; those present
are not distracting
___ Language that is clear, varied, and
concise
___ Varied style and effective tone
9. #2: My rubric has to be specific
to the exact essay I assign.
O Design a rubric with
common categories
that will work for
multiple
assignments
O Teach mini-lessons
on specific features
to help students
improve
Common Categories
C. Appreciation of
Literary Features
D. Presentation
E. Formal Use of
Language
10. #3: I have to grade for all elements
on the rubric in each essay.
Teacher Directed
O Assign a specific
focus for a paper
O Grade only for this
element
Student Directed
O Student self-
assesses his/her
opportunities for
improvement
O Writes with selected
element as primary
focus
11. #4: I have to correct all of my students’
grammatical and mechanical errors.
O Highlight sentences
that you want
students to revise
O Limit the number of
revision sentences
O Encourage students
to use resources to
figure out mistakes
Write the sentence
where the problem
occurs here.
Write the corrected
sentence here.
Circle the
problem(s)
here.
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12. What can I do for you?
Sarah Crain
crainse@staffordschools.net
