6:1 Rubrics

Where and When Did I Find the Word?: I found the word 'rubrics' in Daniels, Zemelman, and Steineke's book Content-Area Writing: Every Teacher's Guide (2007).  The text stated, "Many teachers use rubrics to provides students with a list of the things they will look for" (p. 138).

What It Means: ‘Rubrics' are created by teachers to demonstrate the expected quality of work from students and what exactly needs to be included to receive optimum points on an assignment.

Level of Familiarity: Rubrics are a part of school assignments in today's community.  I have been using rubrics while completing assignments since I was in school and I am now creating and giving them to my students to help them see what is expected from their work.  I would say I am very familiar with rubrics as both a participant and a creater.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?: I do personally want to know this word well.  I do believe that the better produced and clear a rubric is for an assignment, the more aware of the requirements which will in return make them more able to do well on the assignment. 

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word... If so Who and Why?: All teachers should be aware of the effects of good quality rubrics have on the products completed by students.  Students should also be taught how rubrics are organized and their purposes in order to fully understand that the teacher is letting them know what exactly is expected from the student's work. 

Daniels, H., Zemelman, S. & Steineke, N. (2007).  Content-area writing.  Portsmouth, 
             NH: Heinemann. p. 121