The rubrics below are how I evaluated the students' multi-genre writing projects using the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for 8th and 9th grade writing. I chose standards that I intended to teach throughout the process, as well as standards that would meet the genres that students chose for their projects. This allowed the students to drive the choices behind the writing, but allowed me to interpret those choices through the standards. If the students' genre pieces fell into one of the rubric categories and met the requirements (or exceeded them through attainment of the standards in the next grade level), they met the requirements of the rubric by demonstrating performance of the standards through their choices.
By grading my students' writing on these rubrics that offered flexibility and choice, I was able to evaluate the students' work to provide each student with a writing grade in the standards-based report card for each grade level in my differentiated class:
Student Engagement in Writing:
While working with my students over the past two years, I noticed that they seemed to enjoy making choices regarding genre and topic choices. To determine whether or not the choice writing was engaging to them, I had my students take a survey regarding their preferences and level of engagement.
The vast majority of students prefer choice writing.
The top choice for what my students like most about writing is getting to choose a topic themselves, followed by choosing a genre themselves. Unfortunately, sharing writing is the lowest percentage, but the highest percentages being about choice are important.
Examples of Strong Student Projects:
https://dreamidentity.weebly.com/
https://sexismandeatingdisorders.weebly.com
https://autismidentity.weebly.com/
https://appearanceproject.weebly.com
https://dreamidentity.weebly.com/
https://sexismandeatingdisorders.weebly.com
https://autismidentity.weebly.com/
https://appearanceproject.weebly.com