Rubrics

This week I read about the use of rubrics and the effectiveness in writing lessons.  I usually do not use rubrics in my class for writing unless they are writing their performance assessments as required by the district.  I am starting to wonder if I should be using rubrics more often when I give my students a new task in writing.

I really liked the idea of having "student-friendly" rubrics that the students could use for guidance in producing good quality writing.  I think this would help hold students to higher standards and remind students of how they should be spending their time during writing. 

I wouldn't want to use rubrics on every writing assignment or every week, but using them more often would help prepare students for the district assessments.  The students might do better on these assessments because the standards of excellence would have already been set earlier in the year. 

Some of my students would be able to use the rubrics to self-assess while they are working.  As the book notes, I do not want to lose the voice of my students or train students to write like they think I want them to write, but I did appreciate the structure of what was expected as a student and maybe some of my students would as well. 

I attached a few different writing rubrics that I found at www.teacherspayteachers.com.  I found each of the rubrics above for free on the website.  I really like the website for ideas and sometimes I can use exactly what another teacher has already created.