Mr.+Braun

Below is one assignment I've done. jb

**Personal and Expressive Writing Assignment** This assignment asks you to choose from one or more of the options you offered for this assignment, and get to work on them this week during class.
 * English 7 & 8**
 * Mr. Braun**
 * Directions:**


 * Among the options are the following:**
 * A news article
 * A short story
 * A reflective piece about what you learned
 * Poetry
 * Song lyrics
 * Letters
 * Plays
 * A character sketch (super hero, yourself, someone famous, or other examples)
 * A personal piece about your life
 * Comics
 * I only say “one or more” because I need you to have enough writing to work on throughout the week, so if you choose something like poetry, song lyrics, or comics, you may want to do more than just one.


 * Here is what you need to do:**
 * 1) Pick an option
 * 2) Create a rubric of how you will be graded (I’ll walk you through this)
 * 3) Get started, as the final draft is due Thursday Morning (we’ll have reader’s workshop then).


 * We’ll follow this schedule:**

Monday 9/21: walk through assignment sheet; develop rubric, and get started

Tuesday 9/22: discuss purpose and audience; work on having rough draft completely finished by end of class

Wednesday 9/23: Revise and proofread writing in class

Thursday 9/24: Final writing is due by 8:15 A.M. (Reading workshop)


 * Important Note:** We are still in trial mode of writing workshop, as many students still have considerable problems getting anything done when given time in class. If this continues to become a problem at all, I reserve the right to cancel your writing assignments and give you my own, make all of the writing homework as opposed to using class time to get it done, or whatever else I might need to do to get you to use your time more wisely in class.

I realize this might sound a little harsh, but fifth and sixth grade have shown me that they can successfully participate in the writing workshop, so you should be able to do so as well. And also remember how you use your time also greatly influences your participation grade.

Here is a sample rubric to get you started. If you were writing a story, you might be graded on the following:


 * CATEGORY || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Focus on Assigned Topic || The entire story is related to the assigned topic and allows the reader to understand much more about the topic. || Most of the story is related to the assigned topic. The story wanders off at one point, but the reader can still learn something about the topic. || Some of the story is related to the assigned topic, but a reader does not learn much about the topic. || No attempt has been made to relate the story to the assigned topic. ||
 * Organization || The story is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. || The story is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used. || The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear. || Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged. ||
 * Setting || Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place. || Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place. || The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail. || The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place. ||
 * Characters || The main characters are named and clearly described in text. Most readers could describe the characters accurately. || The main characters are named and described. Most readers would have some idea of what the characters looked like. || The main characters are named. The reader knows very little about the characters. || It is hard to tell who the main characters are. ||
 * Quotations || There is an appropriate amount of dialogue to bring the characters to life and it is always clear which character is speaking. || There is too much dialogue in this story, but it is always clear which character is speaking. || There is not quite enough dialogue in this story, but it is always clear which character is speaking. || It is not clear which character is speaking. ||
 * Overall Writing (Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation) || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are used consistently in the story. There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout. || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are used in the story. There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft. || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are used inconsistently in the story. There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft. || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are not used in the story. The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors. ||

What follows below is a partially filled out rubric for the piece of writing you choose. Please take some time to consider three other categories that you would like to be evaluated on, write some general descriptors in the boxes, and return this to me by the end of the hour.

Name: __ Writing Chosen: __


 * CATEGORY || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Overall Writing (Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation) || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are used consistently in the writing. There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout. || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are used in the writing. There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft. || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are used inconsistently in the writing. There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft. || The writing skills we’ve worked on in unit one are not used in the writing. The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors. ||
 * Focus on Assigned Topic || The entire writing is related to the assigned topic and allows the reader to understand much more about the topic. || Most of the writing is related to the assigned topic. The story wanders off at one point, but the reader can still learn something about the topic. || Some of the writing is related to the assigned topic, but a reader does not learn much about the topic. || No attempt has been made to relate the writing to the assigned topic. ||
 * Organization || The writing is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. || The writing is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used. || The writing is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear. || Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged. ||