First Grade Writing Rubric 4 points

Topic: Student clearly defines/states the topic. Opinion: Student clearly states opinion using very detailed information Justify: Student states 4 relevant reasons for opinion on topic

3 points
Student states /define topic

2 points
Students topic is somewhat unclear Students opinion is supported with limited information Student states 2 relevant reasons for opinion

1 point
Student does not have a clear topic Student does not support opinion with any information Student does not state any reason for their opinion

Students opinion is supported with information Student states 3 relevant reasons for opinion Conventions

Consistently uses capitalization, spacing, and punctuation. Uses a variety of punctuation marks (speech marks, exclamation points, commas, etc.)
Writes first grade high frequency words with no errors Uses correct punctuation throughout writing

Consistently uses proper capitalization, punctuation, and spacing. Uses basic punctuation (periods, question marks).

Attempts to use proper capitalization, punctuation, and spacing, but does so inconsistently or incorrectly.

Does not attempt to use proper capitalization, punctuation, or spacing.

Writes first grade high frequency words with 2-4 errors Inconsistently uses correct punctuation with 1-2 errors

Writes first grade high frequency words with 4-5 errors Indiscriminately uses correct punctuation with 3-4 errors

Writes first grade high frequency words with 6+ errors Does not use punctuation throughout writing

1st Grade Writing Prompt

Topic: What is the most dangerous form of weather?
Teacher introduced topic by having the class brainstorm different types of weather using a circle map. The students then wrote about what they knew about the different storms using a KWL chart. The students kept the chart throughout our Imagine unit on Weather and added pertinent information to the L section. Materials A Good Day for Kites (First Reader) Clouds, rain, Snow and Ice (First Reader) The teacher supplemented lessons by showing videos on discovery education and You Tube about severe weather.

After activating prior knowledge and building background knowledge, the students were given a topic to argue.