Middle School Writing Rubrics

Catlin Tucker |
August 22, 2018 |
45

In my book Blended Learning in Grades 4-12, I shared the following middle school writing rubrics with my readers. Unfortunately, the short links I provided in my book have timed out, so I wanted to share these on my blog so any middle school teachers interested in using them have access! Feel free to make a copy and adjust as needed.

bit.ly/6-8ArgumentativeWritingRubric

 

bit.ly/6-8InformativeWritingRubric

 

bit.ly/6-8NarrativeWritingRubric

I will be posting the high school writing rubrics as soon as I can get them reformatted in a shareable version. If you have rubrics you use, love, and are willing to share, I’d love to crowdsource rubrics here!

45 Responses

  1. Thank you for this wonderful resource! I love getting the emails from your site.

    What are your thoughts on putting the high score description in the 2nd column next to the criteria? Students’ eyes are naturally drawn to the columns in order of left to right, so putting the high scoring description makes it the first thing they look at. It sets the tone for them, as if to say, “Do this! This is the best!”

    Thank you again for providing this rubric. The descriptions and criteria are very well-written.

    Reply

    • Hi Susan,

      You are absolutely welcome to edit and rework them! My co-teacher prefers rubrics that start with 4 on the left side for those exact reasons. Mentally, it works better for me this way. That said, they are easy to copy and change!

      Catlin

      Reply

  6. Dear Ms Tucker

    I was browsing and came across you rubrics for students writing. I read them and immediately fall in love with the simplicity of their structure. Thanks for making these resource available, easing research time.

    I deem it a pleasure to be able to use them for my assessment.

    Reply

  7. Any ideas for a poetry rubric. I hate “grading” poetry. I truly believe students should have absolute freedom, but Texas TEKS say otherwise…..so…..

    I so appreciate the clarity and ease of understanding these rubrics provide!!

    Reply

    • Hi Mitzie,

      I tend to agree with you. However, if you are expected to assess poetry, I’d start with the language in the TEKs and work backward. What do the TEKs want you to assess when it comes to poetry? Figurative language, sensory details, thematic progression? I’d isolate each “skill” or element of poetry they want you to assess then use those as your criteria and describe what that skill or element looks like in each stage–beginner, developing, proficient, mastery.

      Catlin

      Reply

  8. Thank you so much for sharing your rubrics with teachers! Extremely helpful and greatly appreciated.

    Reply

  11. Words can not describe how grateful I am.

    Thank you so much! I am always having trouble teaching language art since I feel much comfortable with numbers..

    Reply

  15. Catlin!

    Thank you so much for providing these! I’m “Yearbook Teacher” and these are wonderful since I have no clue how to grade written work (I normally teach a CTE course but with virtual/hybrid staff is spread thin.

    Best,

    Nick Pascual

    Reply

  16. It appears 28 possible points can be earned……the sum of points earned would be at what grade level…..for example, if a student earned all 4’s on the Argumentative Writing Rubric what grade level would his writing rank…….or are their ranges for the sum of points……I would prefer to have a grade level…..

    Reply

    • Hi MaryIsabel,

      I assess on a 4 point mastery scale, so the final score calculates an average then that number 1, 2, 3, 4 is inserted into the grade book (if you have a mastery-based grade book option). Otherwise, you will need to convert your number on a scale.

      Catlin

      Reply

    • Hi Jennifer,

      The short links are below each image of the rubric, and they force you to make a copy. You’ll need to be logged into your Gmail account so your copies save in your Google Drive.

      Catlin

      Reply

  21. Thank you so much for sharing these rubrics! I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been mentioned in the posts above. Love the idea of creating a “rubric bank” available to all who may need it.

    Reply

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