It’s Wednesday.
And you know what that means, right?
Couples Therapy on VH1!
I am obsessed with this stupid show and I wish it came on every night and I also wish it would never end.
Juan Pablo and Nikki are fascinating.
And I’m telling you, even though we are not fans of Juan Pablo (we were, but then we weren’t, right? I’m trying to remember and I’m too lazy to go back and reread all the Talk About It Tuesdays) . . . even though we are not fans of Juan Pablo, Nikki is no slice of pie, either.
Nope.
She’s kind of an angry bird.
Grrrr. Grrrr.
Slam door.
Grrr. Grrr.
Dirty look.
Seriously. You’ve got to watch for yourself. I can’t explain it.
Okay, enough of that.
I’ve got some real educational stuff for you today so lean in close.
Closer.
Not that close.
Okay.
A long time ago, on Pinterest, I saw a 4 star writing rubric plan. And I liked it.
But did I pin it?
No.
I’m not a good pinner. Still. I know.
Anywho, I have no idea who/what/where/when/why/how I saw it and who it belongs to. So holler if it’s you.
I had always wanted to make one for my class . . . but I never did. I think I was too busy watching B list celebrity couples fall apart on live TV. Either that or I was eating ice cream. Take your pick.
I am happy to announce that I finally did make a 4 star writing rubric. Although it’s not just for writing. It’s pretty much for anything when it comes to effort throughout our day.
These “posters” now hang up in our writing center (between my two windows – as you can see, I stapled the curtains because that’s how I roll) and, even though it’s in our writing center, I keep repeating that it’s not just for writing. The writing center just so happened to be a good central place for the posters in our classroom.
I used my dog stencil to draw that pup. I don’t have drawing skills. AT all. That is because I write. I don’t do both. My brother is actually a terrific artist and we used to say that I would write children’s books and he would be the illustrator but, sadly for him, I found clipart. And instead of writing children’s books, I apparently write children’s plays. And that’s all.
Anywho, I drew four versions of the same dog and bumped it up a notch each time.
By the way, I did this after school. In my classroom. And I enjoyed it.
The next morning, I showed my kids all four papers and they decided which one should have 4 stars, which one should have 3 stars, and so on.
Each time, I would ask volunteers to explain why this paper only deserved one star or why this other paper deserved three.
Lots of reasons were given, such as
It’s not colored in!
All it says is dog!
It has beautiful background!
I love ladybugs and that one has a ladybug and one time, a ladybug landed on me and I thought it was a bee and I screamed and smashed it and accidentally killed it and so I cried.
Once we decided which papers deserved which stars, I hung them up and slapped some cute stars (they go with my decor, don’t ya know) on each poster according to how the class rated them.
And now I say:
Make it a THREE STAR PAPER!
(Because 3 stars is acceptable, right?
I don’t want anyone to get a complex!)
And most of them whisper to each other or to themselves or to the air (because we almost never stop talking ever):
I’m going to make it a FOUR STAR PAPER!
And then, when I get something that looks rushed and sloppy and has nothing to do with their capability and everything to do with I am rushing because I want to draw a picture of my own now or I want to work on my whiteboard now or I want to read the new Elephant and Piggie book now, I say:
Please go back and make this a THREE STAR PAPER, please.
This system makes me so happy.
I can’t even tell you.
Well, yes I can.
It’s makes me as happy as FOUR STARS!
🙂
So thank you Pinterest Pin that belongs to a person on a blog that I do not know the source of.
Thank you.
You deserve four stars of your very own.
Whoever you are.
"but, sadly for him, I found clipart." DYING!!! You are hilarious! I love this BTW! Such a great way for your kiddos to conceptualize what is expected of them!
I choked on that too! Your poor brother!
Your posts crack me up!!!! I've only watched a few episodes of Couples Therapy, but I watched the whole season of The Bachelor when Juan Pablo was on it! And the writing idea is great!!
recipeforteaching
I love this idea!
Love it!
I did something like this last year and really need to do a writing one. Thanks for the reminder!! http://1stinmaine.blogspot.com/2013/11/unpacking-rubrics.html
Love it! Where did you get those stars? (They match my decor, too!!)
I think I saw something similar on Mrs. Wills Kindergarten, an All-Star Work. Maybe that's where you saw it.
I totally understand taking a while to get to things, this would probably be good in my classroom too. Should add it to my list- maybe I'll get to it in a month or so….
I LOVE this! And I love that you let your students "decide" how many stars the papers deserved and then ask them to make it a three star paper, and they can go above and beyond for four. Now I'm off to copy you…when I return in November! 🙂
You make me laugh! You put our day into language that the layperson could understand. Well, maybe not understand, but would realize their heads would be wobbly by the end of the day of living in the world of 5 year old logic. I think I know of the 4 Stars system of which you speak, especially if there was a Shooting Star involved. But, while I have the poster hanging on the wall, I can't find the publisher. I love the simplicity of your rubric, especially since the kids helped determine the stars.
LOVE.THIS.SO.MUCH! (All caps!)
Thanks for the shout out!! I came up with this a few years ago. You can read about it here (http://firstgradelyonsden.blogspot.com/2011/09/look-into-writers-workshop.html). Students LOVE rating their illustrations and writing.
Laurie
First Grade Lyons' Den
I love this idea! I totally stayed yesterday after school (on a FRIDAY!) to make these. Such a simple, yet AWESOME idea! Thanks!
I love this! I have steph's illustration rubric hanging up… this will go up next to it!