1. Monday, February 1, 2016 You will need a piece of paper, writing utensil, dictionary/thesaurus, rubric, dry erase marker, and a good attitude.

2. 5 minutes to write on…  Your cousin is moving to your town. Write a letter explaining the best thing about your town.

3. Today’s objectives  Today we will continue exploring and understanding the STAAR Expository Rubric.  Today we will rate an essay on our own and then improve it to the next score point.  Today we will review the types of sentences we have seen so far in preparation for compound-complex sentences.

4. Please look at the O essay  First you will read it quietly out loud.  Estimate word count.  Then you will rate each criteria.  Your job is to be impartial.  Not trying to fail people or give fake confidence.  Can’t rate others? Can’t rate yourself.  Please use small dots so you can change it later!  Big boxes don’t erase.

5. Ideas and content  4=Amazing  3=Enjoyable  2=Clear but boring  1=Off topic, short, or repeats  0=Off topic

6. Organization  4=paragraphs, clever transitions  3=paragraphs, meaningful transitions  2=paragraphs, basic transitions  1=paragraphs absent or don’t work, no transitions  0=Too short

7. Voice  4=PERSONALITY  3=some personality  2=dry  1=offensive or no voice  0=Too little to care

8. Sentence Fluency  4=Advanced sentences with correct punctuation  3=Some advanced sentences  2=Few advanced sentences or many with errors  1=Sugar cookies and/or many errors  0=Errors make it hard to understand sentences

9. Word choice  4=Many upper level vocabulary, adjectives out of order, figurative language, sensory details  3= Some upper level vocabulary, adjectives out of order, figurative language, sensory details  2=Basic vocabulary choice  1=Baby words, redundant  0=Too little to rate

10. Conventions  4=Flawless  3=Few minor grammar errors, errors from risk  2=Some errors or too easy for errors  1=Many errors, hard to follow  0=Impossible to understand