Sunday, December 7, 2008

Online Journal Assessment

Evaluation is a necessary part of any assignment. Online journals are no exception and with this in mind, I adapted a journal rubric to score students' Online Book Journals. This Online Journal Rubric is still in draft stage, but will soon be used to measure students' work as they write about the fictional books they are reading.

These are the expectations to earn a 4/A on the Online Journal:
  • Entries are detailed with a sense of completeness
  • Specific details from book support the topic and thoughts, ideas, and opinions
  • Minimum of at least one paragraph (6 - 9 sentences) each day
  • Detailed understanding of book demonstrated in journal
  • Explanation and analysis of the "So What?", theme, or lesson ( Thanks to Sara)
  • Format is correct and consistent
  • Reading from SSR and home is complete and logged in book journal daily
  • Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization is correct

Visit the Reading Workshop Wikipage to view the entire Online Journal Rubric. Please comment with ideas and suggestions so this can be best written to fairly assess the quality of the journals.
*

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like this rubric. It is not that hard to get a four. All you really have to do is do what the rubric says. Then you could get a four real easy. I would rather get a four or a three than a two or a one.

Anonymous said...

I am always asking my students to include their thoughts, feeling and opinions and then backing them up with evidence from the story.

I am asking them to find the "universal truths" or the golden lines that explain the author's point in writing the story.

Maybe your rubric can reflect those things as well.

Anonymous said...

Mr. McGuire, I think that you should give students more time to write on there online jounals. I think this because, good typers are doing good in writing. (No problem with that)! But what about all the students who are not doing well in typing. They are going to fall behind. WE ARE ONLY HUMEN CHILDREN!!! ( Don't say we need to type faster).

Mr. McGuire said...

Rachel,

You have a good point. Students that can type faster definitely have an advantage. However, any time students have Internet access, like in library, study hall, and at home, they can write in their journal. Anyone that wants a good grade can always make the effort to write more.

Mr. McGuire said...

Sara,

Great point! There should be a reward for including the "So What?", theme or lesson in journal entries.