Rubrics

Rubric- The word that used to make me cringe!!! Before taking Teaching Language Arts and learning about the amazing Rubistar, creating a rubric meant sitting at a blank Word document for hours with no clue how or where to start! I was never that familiar with rubrics. In High School and elementary school I seldom seen one. Sometimes I would hear teachers mention they were using a grading scale but had no idea what was on it. And the only professors that used rubrics were for my education courses, go figure! Rubrics are a great way to assess students fairly and show them exactly what you are looking for. I'm not sure about giving a 1st grader a rubric before an assignment, but for older grades handing out a rubric before a paper or presentation is due allows the students to know EXACTLY what you are looking for. It doesn't give them an easy push towards a better grade. In my opinion, what teachers don't want their students to get good grades?! Rubrics are great guides and very beneficial for everyone. Rubistar changed my whole opinion about rubrics, and while this is the first rubric that I am going to make using the website, it definately won't be my last!