Rubrics+and+Criteria

The following rubrics and criteria for completion can be found on this page --
Vita Class Participation Journals Peer Activities Oral Presentation Short paper Play Review Second Life Tours Second Life Presentation Webquest Story Addendum Student-Created Quizzes Poster Presentation Introduction Activity PowerPoint Study "Pods"

Let your classmates know who you are! Type the following in 12 pt. font--Arial, Times New Roman or Georgia--and post in the discussion area of this page. a. your name--in slightly larger font or in bold b. address c. email d. telephone numbers of where you can be reached e. professional objective/major f. educational history g. work experiences h. other interests. 
 * __Vita__**

To receive the full 10 points/per week, students should do the following-- **
 * __Class Participation__
 * Be prompt and regularly attend classes.
 * Proactively contribute to class by asking questions or offering ideas.
 * Actively listen while others offer their ideas and opinions.
 * Refrain from displaying disruptive behaviors.
 * Come prepared for class with scheduled assignments completed and with the required materials.

__**Journals**__
 * Students will be expected to keep a reading response journal for this class. Journals should be the size of a regular college-ruled notebook (other types of journals are acceptable but the pages must be the standard size and lined/ruled). Each week, students will write three pages, responding to the texts we're reading--posing questions, making observations, and writing about things that they liked/didn't like. Journals will be taken up at mid-term and the final week of classes. (Note--Don't get all caught up in the mechanics/grammar issue. I'll be looking more at how you respond and connect to the texts than if you spell everything properly.)

**Peer Activities Peer and group activities will be scattered throughout the semester as needed. To get the full credit for these activities, one must do the following--
 * Be present for group activity work
 * Have any materials due for review ready
 * Articulate clear understanding of the group task
 * Understand individual contribution requirement (what role is to be played in the group)
 * Listen to group members
 * Express opinion and ideas
 * Contribute information and research
 * Work with the group to fulfil group responsibilities

Feedback sheets will be supplied for each group assignment. Your group grade will be tallied from grades from your groupmates as well as my own observations and interactions of your group.

__**Oral Presentation**__ Students who choose this option will put together a 10-15 minute presentation with PowerPoint slides and "teach the class" on the date we cover the chosen text. Along with the presentation, students will turn in a hard copy of their slides and lecture notes. Below is the rubric that will be used for grading the oral presentations-- 
 * CATEGORY || **Excellent** || **Good** || **Fair** || **Poor** ||
 * **Research** || Researched the subject and integrated much of the research into their presentation. || Researched the subject and integrated some into the presentation. || Little research was done. || Either no research was done or it was not clear that it was included. ||
 * **Accuracy of Facts** || All supportive facts are reported accurately. || Almost all facts are reported accurately. || One fact is reported accurately. || No facts are reported accurately OR no facts were reported. ||
 * **Graphics** || Graphics include some original material and are clearly related to the material being presented. || Graphics are clearly related to the material being presented, but none are original. || Graphics include some original material but are only somewhat related to the material being presented. || Graphics are not related to the material being presented. ||
 * **Speaks clearly** || Speaks clearly and distinctly all of the time and mispronounces no words. || Speaks clearly and distinctly all of the time but mispronounces 1 or more words. || Speaks clearly and distinctly most of the time and mispronounces no words. || Does NOT speak clearly and distinctly most of the time AND/OR mispronounces more than 1 word. ||
 * **Posture and Eye Contact** || Stands or sits up straight and looks confident and relaxed. Establishes eye contact with audience. || Stands or sits up straight. Establishes eye contact with audience. || Slouches or appears too casual but establishes good eye contact with audience. || Slouches or appears too casual AND establishes little eye contact with audience. ||
 * **Attire** || Very professional clothing and accessories. || Business casual look. || Clean and attractive student look. Attire does not detract from credibility of presentation. || Sloppy appearance which detracts from credibility of presentation. ||

 __**Short Paper**__ Students choosing the short paper option will write a 5-page paper on one of the texts we read in class and how that text reflects on the societal norms of the time period. The paper can focus on how the text selected reinforces or goes against what society at the time thought of race, gender and/or class. Papers should be double-spaced with one-inch margins, written in 12 point Times New Roman or Arial font and using MLA format. The student should use direct references to the text for examples, use at least three outside resources (non-internet) and supply a reference page (not counted in the five pages).

Below is the rubric that will be used for grading the short papers.


 * CATEGORY || **Excellent** || **Good** || **Fair** || **Poor** ||
 * **Organization** || Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs and subheadings. || Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs. || Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed. || The information appears to be disorganized. ||
 * **Focus and Development** || Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples. || Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples. || Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given. || Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic. ||
 * **Sources** || All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented in the desired format. || All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but a few are not in the desired format. || All sources (information and graphics) are accurately documented, but many are not in the desired format. || Some sources are not accurately documented. ||
 * **Mechanics** || No grammatical, formatting, spelling or punctuation errors. || Almost no grammatical, formatting, spelling or punctuation errors || A few grammatical, formatting, spelling, or punctuation errors. || Many grammatical, formatting, spelling, or punctuation errors. ||

__**Play Review**__ Students choosing this option will go see a play from the time period we are covering. They will then write a three page play review, double-spaced in 12 point Arial or Times New Roman font. Focus, Organization, Grammar and Mechanics rules still apply. Any sources that are mentioned should be referenced using MLA format. Please include a program with the review. The following should be included in the review-- Basic Information--
 * What Theatre?
 * Location?
 * What date and time?
 * What play?
 * Who was the author?

Script: Try to identify the following.


 * What was the major conflict, dramatic question, or unifying theme?
 * What was the dominant tone of the play? Why did you feel that way?

Acting: Choose at least two actors (male or female) to comment on in some depth. Please spell actors’ and characters’ names correctly.


 * Were the roles appropriately cast?
 * Were some actors inadequate to their roles? In what ways?
 * Were some actors especially effective? If so, how?
 * Were the actors audible? Understandable?
 * Were there any special skills (such as dancing, singing, fencing, playing a musical instrument) required of any of the actors? If so, how effectively were the demands met?

Final Thoughts
 * What have we covered in class that this play related to?
 * What was your overall impression of the performance?
 * What was your overall impression of the experience?
 * Any final thoughts?

I'll be following the same grading rubric as for the short paper (see above).

__**Second Life Tours **__  Second Life (SL) is an exciting new virtual world technology that has great potential for educators and students. Our session topics will attempt follow the course's weekly topics closely (see your class schedule for these). Each session will consist of two parts—(1) an inworld meeting and (2) Reflective posts on our American Literature class wiki about your thoughts and experience. Of the fourteen weeks, you must participate in a minimum of eight units.

1- Inworld meeting

Each week we will visit an area inworld (in Second Life) corresponding to the scheduled topic for that given week. Information about the assignment will be posted in each unit. This will include days and times as well as “seed questions" to get you thinking about your inworld experience and provide focus for "field notes" while touring the locations.

We will always start out from the College’s Jaguarland Island. If you have downloaded the Second Life client on your computer, you can just post the following address in any regular Internet browser and you’ll get there. []

2- Reflective Wiki Posts

As soon as possible after the Second Life session for that unit, you will post at least one reflective statement about your experiences (250 words minimum) on the Weston American Literature Class Wiki in the Second Life Tours section (see http://westonamericanliterature.wikispaces.com/  ). In addition, you should respond to at least one other person’s posting on the Wiki. Make sure you have your posts in the discussion each week before we visit the next location.

We will meet inworld at the College of Education’s new Jaguarland Island Bay Boat Welcome Center at times posted in the particular unit. Be on time in SL. Don't leave the class waiting for the SL experience.

Reflective posting(s) and comments during the SL experience should include the following elements:


 * clear language and expression
 * thoughtfulness
 * reflective statements have support from reasoned argument, links, or references to the literature.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">commentary is relevant to the topic of the course and its relation to the SL experience
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Reflection moves beyond a simple description of the experience to an analysis of how it could contribute to learning and understanding
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Comments in SL and on the Wiki connect to experiences you have had or are familiar with
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sources are cited (especially because the Wiki is a public forum)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Comments appear to have a focus or purpose and show insight

Students choosing this option will set up a presentation in our classroom space in Second Life. Tools used can include (but are not limited to) an in-world PowerPoint viewer, informative notecard givers, landmark givers, interactive quiz machines, and a multimedia player. The presentation should be automated so that visitors can use it to learn about an author or text without the creator being there to guide that person through. We will "visit" as a class via the overhead projector during the class session related to the author/text so that the presentation can be shown off a bit.
 * __Second Life Presentation__**

(There is no perfect way to go about this exercise, but many many options--use your imagination and simply make sure you've covered the topic in an understandable way. For example, a presentation about Poe could consist of a PowerPoint presentation that visitors could click through themselves, along with a multimedia player set up to show clips of Poe readings or biographies and finished off with a notecard giver that directs visitors to other areas in Second Life or websites that are related to Poe. If you are interested in this project but are confused or uncertain about what to do, please see me!)

The rubric used for grading the SL presentations is below. <span style="font-family: arial,verdana,tahoma; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
 * CATEGORY || **Excellent** || **Good** || **Fair** || **Poor** ||
 * **Functionality** || Directions are clearly stated as to what the user is supposed to do. || No directions are given but the way to work with the presentation is fairly clear. OR Directions are given but they somewhat confusing. || No directions are given and means of interacting with the presentation is confusing. OR Directions are given but cannot be understood. || No directions given and no clear means of interacting with the presentation. ||
 * **Attractiveness** || Makes excellent use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation. || Makes good use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance to presentation. || Makes use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally these detract from the presentation content. || Use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. but these often distract from the presentaion content. ||
 * **Content** || Covers topic in-depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent. || Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good. || Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors. || Content is minimal OR there are several factual errors. ||
 * **Organization** || Content is well organized using headings or bulleted lists to group related material. || Uses headings or bulleted lists to organize, but the overall organization of topics appears flawed. || Content is logically organized for the most part. || There was no clear or logical organizational structure, just lots of facts. ||
 * **Mechanics** || No misspellings or grammatical errors. || Three or fewer misspellings and/or mechanical errors. || Four misspellings and/or grammatical errors. || More than 4 errors in spelling or grammar. ||

Webquest Rubric

Register with Zunal.com and follow their directions for creating a rubric. Don't forget to complete each section. The rubric from which your webquest will be graded is below.


 * CATEGORY || Excellent || Good || Fair || Poor ||
 * Motivational Effectiveness of Introduction || The introduction draws the reader into the lesson by relating to the learner's interests or goals and/or engagingly describing a compelling question or problem. || The introduction relates somewhat to the learner's interests and/or describes a compelling question or problem. || The introduction is purely factual, with no appeal to relevance or social importance || Introduction is missing. ||
 * Cognitive Effectiveness of the Introduction || The introduction builds on learner's prior knowledge and effectively prepares the learner by foreshadowing what the lesson is about. || The introduction makes some reference to learner's prior knowledge and previews to some extent what the lesson is about. || The introduction doesn't prepare the reader for what is to come, or build on what the learner already knows. || Introduction is missing. ||
 * Cognitive Level of the Task || Task is doable and engaging, and elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension. The task requires synthesis of multiple sources of information, and/or taking a position, and/or going beyond the data given and making a generalization or creative product. || Task is doable but is limited in its significance to students' lives. The task requires analysis of information and/or putting together information from several sources. || Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions. || Task is unclear or is missing. ||
 * Clarity of Process || Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next. || Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused. || Process is not clearly stated. Students would not know exactly what they were supposed to do just from reading this. || No process is stated ||
 * Scaffolding of Process || The process provides students coming in at different entry levels with strategies and organizational tools to access and gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Activities are clearly related and designed to take the students from basic knowledge to higher level thinking. || Strategies and organizational tools embedded in the process are insufficient to ensure that all students will gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Some of the activities do not relate specifically to the accomplishment of the task. || The process lacks strategies and organizational tools needed for students to gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Activities are of little significance to one another and/or to the accomplishment of the task. || No process information given. ||
 * Relevance & Quantity of Resources || There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Every resource carries its weight. || There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new. || Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task. || No resources are provided. ||
 * Quality of Resources || Links make excellent use of the Web's timeliness and colorfulness. Varied resources provide enough meaningful information for students to think deeply. || Some links carry information not ordinarily found in a classroom. || Links are mundane. They lead to information that could be found in a classroom encyclopedia. || No links provided or majority of links lead nowhere/are broken. ||
 * Clarity of Evaluation Criteria || Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors. The evaluation instrument clearly measures what students must know and be able to do to accomplish the task. || Criteria for success are at least partially described. || Criteria for success are barely described or the criteria do not match the task. || Criteria for success are not described. ||

__**Story "Addendum"**__ Students choosing this option will write a five page "continuation" of one of the stories we've read in class. It should be five pages in length (at least), double-spaced with 1 inch margins, written in 12 point Times New Roman or Arial font.

The rubric used to grade the stories is below. <span style="font-family: arial,verdana,tahoma; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
 * CATEGORY || **Excellent** || **Good** || **Fair** || **Poor** ||
 * **Vocabulary** || Uses a varied vocabulary appropriate for the audience, and also successfully tries to enlarge the audience's vocabulary. || Uses a varied vocabulary that is appropriate for the audience. || Uses a varied vocabulary that is occasionally a little to simple or a little too hard for the audience. || The vocabulary was not varied OR was routinely inappropriate for the intended audience. ||
 * **Setting** || Lots of vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story takes place. || Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story takes place. || The audience can figure out when and where the story took place, but there isn't much detail (e.g., once upon a time in a land far, far away). || The audience has trouble telling when and where the story takes place. ||
 * **Characters** || The main characters are named and clearly described (through words and/or actions). The audience knows and can describe what the characters look like and how they typically behave. || The main characters are named and described (through words and/or actions). The audience has a fairly good idea of what the characters look like. || The main characters are named. The audience knows very little about the main characters. || It is hard to tell who the main characters are. ||
 * **Problem** || It is very easy for the audience to understand what problem the main character(s) face and why it is a problem. || It is fairly easy for the audience to understand what problem the main character(s) face and why it is a problem. || It is fairly easy for the audience to understand what problem the main character(s) face and but it is not clear why it is a problem. || It is not clear what problem the main character(s) face. ||
 * **Solution to Problem in Story** || The solution to the problem is easy-to-understand and is logical. There are no loose ends. || The solution to the problem is easy-to-understand and is somewhat logical. || The solution to the problem was a little hard to understand. || No solution was attempted or it was impossible to understand. ||
 * **Mechanics/Grammar** || No misspellings or grammatical errors. || Three or fewer misspellings and/or mechanical errors. || Four misspellings and/or grammatical errors. || More than 4 errors in spelling or grammar. ||

__**Student-Created Quizzes**__ Students who choose this option will create three 20 question quizzes of various question forms (true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer, etc.). (Please, no more than one quiz per text we read in class.) Quizzes will need to have two "peer reviews" performed and the feedback from these used to revise the quiz. The student will turn in the original quiz, the suggestions from the peer reviews and the final version of the quiz. The final version of the quizzes will be placed in this wiki under the Study Resources section.

__**Poster Presentation**__ Students choosing this option will create a regular posterboard sized poster with graphics and text that visually explains one of the texts we're covering in class. Students will have 5-10 minutes during the class that covers that text to describe to the class their choices for the poster and what those choices mean.

Below is the rubric I'll be using to grade the poster presentations. <span style="font-family: arial,verdana,tahoma; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
 * CATEGORY || **Excellent** || **Good** || **Fair** || **Poor** ||
 * **Graphics -Clarity** || Graphics are all in focus and the content easily viewed and identified from 6 ft. away. || Most graphics are in focus and the content easily viewed and identified from 6 ft. away. || Most graphics are in focus and the content is easily viewed and identified from 4 ft. away. || Many graphics are not clear or are too small. ||
 * **Graphics - Relevance** || All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation. || All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation. || All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation. || Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation. ||
 * **Labels** || All items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. || Almost all items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. || Several items of importance on the poster are clearly labeled with labels that can be read from at least 3 ft. away. || Labels are too small to view OR no important items were labeled. ||
 * **Knowledge Gained** || Student can accurately answer all questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster. || Student can accurately answer most questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster. || Student can accurately answer about 75% of questions related to facts in the poster and processes used to create the poster. || Student appears to have insufficient knowledge about the facts or processes used in the poster. ||
 * **Content - Accuracy** || At least 7 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. || 5-6 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. || 3-4 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. || Less than 3 accurate facts are displayed on the poster. ||
 * **Title** || Title can be read from 6 ft. away and is quite creative. || Title can be read from 6 ft. away and describes content well. || Title can be read from 4 ft. away and describes the content well. || The title is too small and/or does not describe the content of the poster well. ||
 * **Mechanics** || Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the poster. || There is 1 error in capitalization or punctuation. || There are 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation. || There are more than 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation. ||
 * **Grammar** || There are no grammatical mistakes on the poster. || There is 1 grammatical mistake on the poster. || There are 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster. || There are more than 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster. ||

__**Introduction Activity**__ Students who choose this option have a fairly wide open range of activities from which to choose. Students can design a game, a short video presentation, a brochure about the text, etc. The object is to introduce the class (or anyone else) to an author/piece of literature that they have not encountered before. See me to discuss your plans and we can work up a grading rubric together.

Students choosing this option will create a 15-20 slide PowerPoint "pod," complete with notes and/or audio as a study guide for one of the texts we're reading in class.
 * __PowerPoint Study "Pods"__**

Make sure you include--
 * Title
 * Author
 * Setting
 * Plot Summary
 * Conflict
 * Protagonist
 * Antagonist
 * Supporting characters
 * Theme
 * Literary devices used
 * Anything else that the work might be famous for or a good example of.

Pods will be placed in this wiki in the Study Resources section (see me about uploading).

Below is the rubric that will be used in grading.

<span style="font-family: arial,verdana,tahoma; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
 * CATEGORY || **Excellent** || **Good** || **Fair** || **Poor** ||
 * **Background** || Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from card to card and is appropriate for the topic. || Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from card to card. || Background does not detract from text or other graphics. || Background makes it difficult to see text or competes with other graphics on the page. ||
 * **Text - Font Choice & Formatting** || Font formats (e.g., color, bold, italic) have been carefully planned to enhance readability and content. || Font formats have been carefully planned to enhance readability. || Font formatting has been carefully planned to complement the content. It may be a little hard to read. || Font formatting makes it very difficult to read the material. ||
 * **Use of Graphics** || All graphics are attractive (size and colors) and support the theme/content of the presentation. || A few graphics are not attractive but all support the theme/content of the presentation. || All graphics are attractive but a few do not seem to support the theme/content of the presentation. || Several graphics are unattractive AND detract from the content of the presentation. ||
 * **Spelling and Grammar** || Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors. || Presentation has 1-2 misspellings, but no grammatical errors. || Presentation has 1-2 grammatical errors but no misspellings. || Presentation has more than 2 grammatical and/or spelling errors. ||
 * **Content - Accuracy** || All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors. || Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate. || The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate. || Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error. ||
 * **Sequencing of Information** || Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might be on the next card. || Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One card or item of information seems out of place. || Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional card or item of information seems out of place. || There is no clear plan for the organization of information. ||
 * **Effectiveness** || Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the topic. It is a highly effective study guide. || Project includes most material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the material but is lacking one or two key elements. It is an adequate study guide. || Project is missing more than two key elements. It would make an incomplete study guide. || Project is lacking several key elements and has inaccuracies that make it a poor study guide. ||