11.9- Bell-ringer, Peer Edit Guide, Rubric

Bell-ringer: 

Write one paragraph (five sentences would be good) about an elderly person who has had an impact on your life. This could be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, former teacher, family friend, etc. Describe who this person is and how they had an impact on your life. 

1.      Read your partner’s essay aloud to your partner. Read it exactly as it is written. If there are no pause marks (commas, semicolons) or end marks, then read the essay accordingly.

2.      Is there an effective hook? Does it grab your attention? Write if it is good or not. If the hook is not effective, then give a suggestion.

3.      Do the paragraphs flow from one to the next? Are there effective transitions? If not, mark where you become confused by the progression ideas.

4.      Are the characters and setting described with vivid details?

5.      Did the author create a word picture? Did s/he use strong verbs and vivid descriptions?

6.      Check the mechanics of the essay (capitalization, punctuation, and spelling). Correct homophone issues (there, their, and they’re; your and you’re; its and it’s; to, two, and too).

7.      Finally, look at the rubric on the blog. Decide what grade this person should receive.

Only write with pencil on your partner’s essay.  

Narrative Essay

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Teacher Name: 8th Grade Reading Language Arts


Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY	10	9-7	6-4	3-1
Introduction	First paragraph has a "hook" or interesting beginning.	First paragraph has a weak "hook".	An interesting beginning was attempted but was confusing rather than catchy.	No attempt was made to catch the reader\'s attention in the first paragraph.
Organization	The story is very well organized. One idea or scene follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions. Obvious plot structure.	The story is pretty well organized. One idea or scene may seem out of place. Clear transitions are used. Plot was not well developed.	The story is a little hard to follow. The transitions are sometimes not clear. There was minimal plot development.	Ideas and scenes seem to be randomly arranged.
Setting/Characters	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.
Format	All formatting requirements (double-space, font size, dialogue, technical aspects) are met.	Most formatting requirements are met.	Half of the formatting requirements are met.	Little to no formatting requirements are met.
Creativity	The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader\'s enjoyment. The author has really used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader\'s enjoyment. The   author has used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the story. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.
Grammar/ mechanics	There are no grammatical or mechanical errors in the story.	There are one to three grammatical/mechanical errors.	There are more than three grammatical/mechanical errors.	Grammatical and mechanical errors are innumerably, making the story difficult to read.