Beth's Classroom

I am posting this as a word document, but it worked well as a Google Doc. You should be able to copy and paste if you prefer to use it that way. I shared the checklist to my class, and they used it to peer edit a personal narrative. This can be setup many ways, but I found the easiest was to have the writer of the paper be the owner of the document, renamed to reflect the writer's name (Such as Joe's PN Peer Review), then they could share it with the editor. Once feedback was given, they cou

This includes a detailed essay topic/assignment, a rubric on a 5-point sale, and an example/model essay. Students are required to write a 4-paragraph essay, as this was designed for mid-year sixth graders, and was appropriate for the amount of time available to compose their answer. They were given a 1-hour class period to prepare, another for a rough draft, and a final for completion and/or editing, but they were allowed to overlap the time, and use the 3 hours as they needed. Upon reflectio

I used this to help 2nd and 3rd graders organize a short personal narrative. I included topics, but you can edit and change the topic for your assignment. I felt that having a step-by-step guide really helped them to slow down, and to understand that there is a process to producing good writing. In the word document, you should be able to adjust the margins to fit this all on one page

When students work in a group, it can be difficult to determine if each member was working to their best potential. I created this quick rating scale for team members to give feedback on the participation of the members of their group. When a student rated another in the "not really" category, I did require them to comment. I got a lot of insight for reading these, and it helped to me create better groupings going forward.

This set of 4 worksheets will help younger children understand the structure of a paragraph by breaking down the the basics onto a graphic organizer. On the first 2 sheets, the topic sentence has been included for the students. Once the sheet is completed, students can edit and revise right on the sheet, then publish their paragraph on other lined paper. I used one of these each week for 4 weeks in the first quarter of 2nd grade.

This is a short refresher to help students write a 5-paragraph persuasive essay. It takes them step-by-step through the writing process, and reminds them of some of the things they already learned, but sometimes forget. A graphic organizer and checklist is embedded in the document. There is also a 4-point rubric that can be used for grading. The rubric is on a separate page, so you can print the guide without it if you have a different method of grading, or the rubric can be printed alone a

This worksheet breaks down the 5 steps of the writing process to help students write a short fictional story. I found that having the writing process as a checklist seemed to help students organize the task, and kept them from rushing through (like they did the first time I tried to have them write a short story). This is definitely the product of trial and error! There are 2 choices for topics, but you can edit and use different topics. I used this with an advanced 2nd grade class, but felt

Help guide young writed through the writing process with these step-by-step guides! They are editable Word documents, so you can use the topics I have, or change them to suit your program! I have found that the checklist helped my kiddos slow down and work through the writing process without rushing or skipping steps!

This assignment guides students through writing a Book Review. I used this after students read a book with their literature circle, but you can edit the first line to create a book review for anything, such as a summer reading or independent reading assignment. I listed 2 hours as the duration, but it may take longer depending on the grade level and experience with writing. Also, on my computer this comes up as 2 pages, but came up as 3 when I uploaded it. You should be able to adjust it bac

A 4-point rubric for a research paper, including a scoring guide for both a 60% and 70% passing rate. Can be used for ELA, Social Studies, or Science research writing.

I like to find out a little about muy middle schoolers' attitudes towards reading and writing, and I find this is a non-threatening way to get a little info! Also, they really like to use highlighters.