Course Structure By Beth Murkowski

RUBRICS

5 Features of a Highly Effective Rubric 1.) Clearly delineated points Every good rubric contains four or five main components For example, if you're grading an oral presentation, you may want one of your points to be "composure." In this category, you would rate things like how well the student magnifies his or her voice and maintains eye contact. Another point could be longer, like "how well is the argument presented." Under that heading, you would include things like evidence, commentary and analysis of research.

5 Features of a Highly Effective Rubric 2.) Subcategories that relate to main points Include descriptions of specific things that you are looking for. under the "composure" category, include a few key subcategories like "appears comfortable talking to an audience" and "consistently makes eye contact. make sure they are precise enough to rate for every student.

5 Features of a Highly Effective Rubric 3.) 100 total points Make your projects out of 100 points.

5 Features of a Highly Effective Rubric 4.) Total points per section with breakdowns in subsections Assign point values to each main component. Then, break up these points and distribute them among the subcomponents Assign points based on what's most important "composure” may get only 15 total points to be broken among three subcomponents. "How well the argument is presented,” may have 50 total points to be distributed among six subcomponents.

5 Features of a Highly Effective Rubric 5.) Include room for comments Write a few closing words at the end of your rubric. Lets the student know he or she did a good job or explains in more detail what needs to be improved. Make the student feel better about the final grade too.

Syllabi

Guide to Writing a Syllabus for Middle School Course Overview Provide a detailed and well-explained overview of the coursework students will encounter throughout the semester Show students how they will use the information learned in the course in their future education Lays out basic assignments of tests, papers, projects, field trips and anything else students might encounter Keep them positive!

Guide to Writing a Syllabus for Middle School Objectives Lets students know what is expected of them List what teachers want students to learn such as dates, information, concepts or even skills Examples: Math class: how to perform certain numerical problems successfully and the ability to identify solutions to performing word problems English class: knowing the meaning of words and the ability to identify basic grammatical errors

Guide to Writing a Syllabus for Middle School Calendar Keeps students on target for the year or semester Assignments Test dates Papers Projects Teaches students skills needed for high school and college

Guide to Writing a Syllabus for Middle School Resources Anything the teacher feels appropriate for students to explore books, magazines and newspapers by citing specific titles, articles and even multimedia resources. Students gain the opportunity to learn more about a particular subject matter. Should be easily locatable at the school library or the Internet. Examples: History class: local historical sites and museums to pique a students' interest. should focus on materials students can easily locate such as the school library or the Internet.

Guide to Writing a Syllabus for Middle School Rules class attendance policy, lateness, behavior, class participation. include how breaking rules will affect the grade of a student. provides teachers a place to include their own rules pertinent to the classroom environment.

Tips on Grading Middle-School Students Work When correcting papers, use green ink instead of red. The color red is often associated with negative feelings and may have an impact on the students' perception of your feedback. Strive to return graded students' papers within 2-3 days. Research shows that the more time that elapses between completing a task and receiving feedback on that task, the less meaningful the feedback becomes. Before returning graded assignments, give a brief overview of the positive aspects of the assignment as well as areas that need improvement. This gives students a better idea of what you were thinking and looking for when grading their papers. Keep in mind that your written comments on a paper mean a lot to students, often more than the grade at the top. Be positive and constructive.

Parent Letters math-parent-letter math-parent-letter student-welcome-letter.html student-welcome-letter.html acherPage&Page=16&StaffID= acherPage&Page=16&StaffID= webpages/biotechnology-mr.kohman/letter-to-parents webpages/biotechnology-mr.kohman/letter-to-parents

Websites/Blogs (main site) Stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com Sjsgrade7.blogspot.com Edublogs.org Hannah’s Edmodo video

Bibliography Barski, Alex. "Guide to Writing a Syllabus for Middle School." ehow. Inc Demand Media. 26 May Czech, Mrs. "Parent and Student Beginning of the Year Welcome Letter." Mrs. Czech's 8th Grade English Class. 27 May Kanlic, Amra. "7th Math Parent Letter." Mrs. Kanlic's Website. 27 May Kohman, Mr. "Letter to Parents." July Chewning MIddle School. Durham Public Schools. 27 May Naegle, Paula. "Tips on Grading Middle-School Students'Work." scholastic.com. Scholastic. 26 May Teachnology, Inc. "5 Features of a Highly Effective Rubric." teach-nology.com. 23 May Wilson, Chris. "Letter to Parents." Chapel Hill Middle School. 27 May 2013.