Curriculum Leaders/NRRC Summer Writing Institute
Rubric Template 2012-13
Grade: 6
Subject: Writing
 Narrative
 Informative
 Argument
Writing Prompt
Think about a memorable moment in your life that evoked an emotion. It should be about a time that you will never forget! Maybe you were happy or excited, or maybe
your were scared or sad. It should not be about many events in a day, only one! Write a well-developed essay to your teacher describing what happened before, during, and
after your memorable experience.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________
Standards
6.W.3.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
a.
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
c.
Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.
e.
Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events
6.W.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
6.L.1.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a.
Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive).
b. Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
c.
Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.
d. Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents).
e.
Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others' writing and speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve expression in conventional language.
6.L.2.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a.
Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.
b. Spell correctly.
6.L3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
a. Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.*
Maintain consistency in style and tone.*
6.L.4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
a.
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
c.
Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
6.L.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
a.
Interpret figures of speech (e.g., personification) in context.
b. Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., cause/effect, part/whole, item/category) to better understand each of the words.
c.
Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., stingy, scrimping, economical, unwasteful, thrifty).
6.L.6
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Suggested Administration (for example- accommodations, timeframes, etc):
2 /45 minute session
First session- Planning and Drafting - Second Session Revising and Editing
Trait
Ideas
(Includes elements
of standard 3a)
(4) Strong/Exceeding
(3) Meeting/Developed
(2) Developing/Emerging
(1) Beginning/Rudimentary


Develops real or imagined experiences
or events with relevant descriptive
detail
Engages and orients the reader by
establishing a context and introducing
a narrator and/or characters
Correctly uses narrative techniques
such as dialogue, description, and
pacing to develop the experiences and
events or show the response of
characters to situations

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Uses effective techniques to draw the
reader into the piece (ex.
opening/lead)
Events are sequenced to unfold
naturally and logically and a variety of
transitional words, phrases and clauses
are used to manage the sequence of
events
Provides a conclusion that follows
from the narrated experiences or
events
Includes evidence of writer’s
personality
Reader feels a connection with the
writer
Voice is mostly appropriate for the
purpose, audience, topic and/or genre.

Begins to develop real or imagined
experiences or events with some relevant
descriptive detail
Is beginning to engage and orient the
reader by establishing a context and
introducing a narrator and/or characters
but it may be unclear
Begins to use some narrative techniques
such as dialogue, description, or pacing to
develop the experiences and events or
show the response of characters to
situations
Is beginning to use techniques to draw the
reader into the piece (ex. opening/lead)
Some events are sequenced to unfold
naturally and some transitional words and
phrases are used to manage the sequence
of events
Provides a conclusion but it does not
necessarily follow from the narrated
experiences or events
Beginning to show evidence of writer’s
personality
Reader begins to feel a connection with
the writer
Voice is somewhat appropriate for the
purpose, audience, topic and/or genre.

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
No evidence of writer’s personality
Reader feels no connection with the writer
Voice is not appropriate for the purpose,
audience, topic and/or genre.
Includes precise words and phrases to
convey meaning
Words are mostly appropriate for
audience and purpose
Mostly avoids overused words

Includes appropriate words and phrases to
convey meaning
Some words may not be appropriate for
the audience and purpose
Includes some overused words

Includes a limited range of words and phrases
often used incorrectly
Words are not appropriate for audience and
purpose
Includes many overused words
Includes a few incomplete sentences
relative to the length of the piece
Includes a variety of sentence types
(simple, compound, and complex)
Includes many varied sentence
beginnings and lengths

Includes some incomplete sentences
relative to the length of the piece
Includes some variety of sentence types
(simple, compound, and complex)
Includes some varied sentence beginnings
and lengths

Has few errors in grade level
appropriate grammar
Has few errors in grade level
appropriate punctuation and
capitalization
Has no errors in grade level
conventional spelling and spelling
patterns and generalizations

Has some errors in grade level appropriate
grammar
Has some errors in grade level appropriate
punctuation and capitalization
Has few errors in grade level conventional
spelling and spelling patterns and
generalizations




Organization

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
Voice



Word Choice


Creatively develops real or imagined
experiences or events with relevant
descriptive detail and anecdotes
Effectively engages and orients the
reader by establishing a clear context
and introducing a narrator and/or
characters
Uses carefully chosen narrative
techniques such as dialogue,
description, and pacing to develop the
experiences and events or characters
to situations
Uses interesting/creative effective
techniques to draw the reader into the
piece (ex. opening/lead)
Events are carefully sequenced to
unfold naturally and a wide variety of
transitional words, phrases and
clauses are used to manage the
sequence of events
Provides a satisfying and interesting
conclusion that follows from the
narrated experiences or events
Includes evidence of writer’s
personality and begs to be read aloud
Writer thoughtfully creates a personal
connection with the reader
Voice is consistently appropriate for
the purpose, audience, topic and/or
genre.
Consistently includes carefully
chosen, precise words and
phrases to convey meaning
Words are consistently appropriate for
audience and purpose
Uses no overused words










Includes all complete sentences

Creatively uses a variety of sentence
types (simple, compound, and

complex)

Includes many varied sentence

beginnings and lengths purposefully
for effect
Conventions

Has no errors in grade level

(See Language
appropriate grammar
Standard p. 1)

Has no errors in grade level

appropriate punctuation and
capitalization

Has no errors in grade level

conventional spelling, spelling
patterns and generalizations and few
errors on above grade level words
Topic Development: _____/20 _________________
Exceeds (17-20), Meets (14-16), Developing (8-13), Beginning (5-7),
Sentence Fluency



Name:________________________________________________
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








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Conventions: _____/4 __________________
Exceeds (4), Meets (3), Developing (2), Beginning (1)
Date:_______________________________________










Main idea is not evident
Writing does not engage or orient the reader by
establishing a context and introducing a narrator
and/or characters
Includes no effective narrative technique to
develop the experiences and events or show the
response of characters to situations
Does not effectively use techniques to draw the
reader into the piece (ex. opening/lead)
Events are not sequenced to unfold naturally and
very few transitional words and phrases are used
to manage the sequence of events
Does not provide a conclusion
Includes many incomplete sentences relative to
the length of the piece
Includes a limited variety of sentence types
(simple, compound, and complex)
Includes few or no varied sentence beginnings
and lengths
Has multiple errors in grade level appropriate
grammar
Has multiple errors in grade level appropriate
punctuation and capitalization
Has some errors in grade level conventional
spelling and spelling patterns and
generalizations
Total Score Combined: ______/24__________________
Exceeds (20-24), Meets (16-19), Developing (9-15), Beginning (6-8)