3 Chips and a Rubric
"Why didn't YOU [the teacher] give MY writing assignment a better grade?" This is an example of a perennial question writing teachers encounter when handing back students' papers. In order to help students better understand how their writing assignments will be graded this year, students had to construct a rubric -- "an established rule" using a set criteria, "standards on which a judgment or decision may be based" -- to rate three different types of potato chips using a rubric that their group made.
Above the din in the classroom, students could be heard discussing, debating, and coming to a consensus for each criterion. Although everyone agreed that "taste" should be the last criteria, groups differed on the other three: texture, crunchiness, saltiness, color, aroma/smell, size, greasiness, and shape. Afterwards, each group rated the criteria of each chip on a scale of 1 to 4, worst to best, respectively. Students had to resolve differences of opinion amicably when two or more scores were not the same. Some groups debated the merits of each score; others used rock/paper/scissors to settle differences; still others voted for a score until there was agreement on a score.
How does this help students understand how their writing assignments will be graded? A rubric will be used by Mr. Mac and Mrs. Bahm to score students' papers for each assignment that addresses the six traits of writing: ideas, voice, organization, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. Students will know in advance what the teachers will be looking for in each assignment. Thus, students will know in advance how to achieve a high score. Equally important, Mr. Mac and Mrs. Bahm discussed with students how personal tastes and preferences influence a rater's use of a rubric just like students' tastes and preferences influenced them while rating potato chips.
