Book Assessment Rubric

Book Assessment Rubric

Rubric for Book-of-the-Month Club Projects –Term 4, 2009
Which project did you do?
-- a book review such as you would see in a newspaper or magazine
-- an informative poster advertising the book (12" by 18", portrait orientation, not landscape)
-- an informative brochure advertising the book
-- an informative "ad" (advertisement) such as you would see in a magazine (8 1/2" by 11")
-- a web page dedicated to the book, the subject, and/or the author -- posted on our new class wikki (If you complete a blog, please e-mail to me a link to that blog.)
Required for All
Basic Information:
 _____/5 points for title
 _____ /5 points for author
 _____/5 points for genre (Check with the teacher to make sure you have correctly categorized your book.)
 _____/5 points for # of pages
 _____/5 points for your name (Of course, you will not receive any points at all if your name is not on your project.)
 _____/5 points for your period
 _____/5 points for the date or term (Term 4, 2009)
subtotal: _____/35

About the Book:
 _____/10 points for Plot: Give a summary of the plot which does not include spoilers. This means it won't give away the ending or give away other things that the reader shouldn't find out until he or she reads the book -- things that would spoil reading the book.

 _____/10 points for Characters: Who are the major characters? List them and give a very brief description for each. You could use a table such as the one I've used on my wiki page for Stand Tall.

 _____/10 points for Setting: place and time setting.

 _____/10 points for Conflict: Do tell what the major CONFLICT is and whether it is man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. technology, man vs. nature, man vs. self, or man vs. the unknown. (These could also be stated as character vs. character, character vs. society, character vs. nature, etc.) Explain how you know it is that type of conflict.

 _____/10 points for Theme: Identify and briefly explain one or more major themes in the book. How do you know that is a theme in this book?

 _____/10 points for giving the book a Rating (1 to 5 stars), and telling why you have rated it that way.

 _____/10 points for including attractive illustrations. Illustrations will clearly represent the book. Illustrations will not be done on lined paper. Illustrations will be original, except that on the wiki or blog you may use pictures of the book cover, author, and/or illustrations from the book.
subtotal: _____/70

Conventions:
 You will carefully edit your work for errors in conventions including spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and correct and clear sentence structure.
subtotal: _____/15
No points will be given unless these requirements are met:
 Your work will be neat and attractive. subtotal: _______/35 basic information
 Work will be typed or neatly written in ink. subtotal: _______/70about the book
 You will not plagiarize another's work. subtotal: _______/15 conventions
 Your project will meet the requirements for the individual project subtotal: _______/ optional and early
as outlined here and on the back of this sheet. Total: _______/ 120

Optional:
 _____/ 5 Additional information about the author.
 _____/___Propose other?
 _____/___Turned in early
Specific Projects:
Every project should include all required items, and should meet these specific requirements as defined for the specific project.

Book Review:
______ will be clearly labeled as “Book Review.”
______ handed in typed up, or posted on a blog, web site, or wiki page.
______ will cover all the items listed above as "Required for All."
______ will emphasize your opinions, and should express your own understanding of the book in a lively way.

Informative Poster:
_______ will be attractive, neat, and show effort and pride in workmanship.
_______ will be attractively illustrated. Illustrations and decorations used should be related to the book. You may not use book covers or other illustrations already created by others for the book.
_______ will measure 12" by 18", portrait orientation, not landscape. You will need to cut down a regular poster board to this size.

Informative Brochure:
_______ will be attractive, neat, and show effort and pride in workmanship
_______ will be attractively illustrated. Illustrations and decorations used should be related to the book. You may not use book covers or other illustrations already created by others for the book.

Magazine Ad:
_______ will be attractive, neat, and show effort and pride in workmanship.
_______ will be the size of a magazine page, or it could be a two-page spread.
_______ will be attractively illustrated. Illustrations and decorations used should be related to the book. You may not use book covers or other illustrations already created by others for the book.

Web Page or Blog:
_______ will be attractive, neat, and show effort and pride in workmanship.
_______ will be attractively illustrated. Illustrations and decorations used should be related to the book. You may use book covers or other illustrations already created by others for the book.


Comments:

Rubric for Book Assessment

Rubric – The Project is Due by February 24.
 Overall: I have selected a portfolio book that is from one of these genres: historical fiction, multicultural fiction, or literary nonfiction. It is focused on one main nonfiction topic.
Overall: I have collected the information for my book project. I took notes as I read my book, looking for facts that the book tells me (that I can confirm by looking at other sources), and looking for questions about which I can do research. I then selected the most interesting items to include in this project.

The project may be done in pen, or typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper (lined or not for text).
All writing is clearly legible and neat. No pencil is allowed. No points if these directions are not followed.

a. Information for the Project Cover: I will design a cover for my book assessment. It may be either computer generated or hand designed. I may not use a cover or other illustrations already used for the book. I could create a collage of pictures of the subject of the book. I have included on the cover  my name,  class period,  term and  year (Term 3, 2009),  title of the book,  the author’s name,  genre and  number of pages. Only high quality work will receive full points. /15 pts.

b. Information from the book: I have created a list of the Top Ten Facts I learned about the Topic from reading my portfolio book. *(I may include up to 15 facts.)
I will label this page
The Top *[Ten] Facts I Learned About [the topic of the book]
by Reading [The Title of your Book-of-the-Month Book]
Each item is numbered and includes at least one complete, correct sentence.
Each item includes a page number where I found that information.
If an item is directly quoted, it must be within quotation marks.
Items may be paraphrased. If so, they will not be within quotation marks.
This will be on one page.
When I type, I will use Times New Roman, 12 pt. font. /30 pts.
[2 points per fact plus 1 per page number]

Between the information from the book and the information from additional sources, I will have a total of at least 20 facts about the nonfiction topic of the book.

c. Information from additional sources: I have created a list of the Top 10 *(up to 15 or more) facts I learned about the topic from at least three other sources.
I will label this page
The Top *[Ten] Facts I Learned About [the topic of the book]
from Other Sources
If I use only two sources I will receive only 2/3 of the points. If only one, 1/3.
My sources may be found in books, magazines, etc. or on the Internet. (I may use one encyclopedia, but I may not use Wikipedia as a cited source.)
 I will do my best to make sure each source and piece of information is reliable (dependable, true). I will write in complete, correct sentences.
 I will use informal contextual citation to show where I found each piece of information. Example: According to a reference article in ScienceDaily,. . .
I will not use the web address in an informal citation.
 This will be on one page. /30 pts.
[2 points per fact plus 1 per informal citation]

d. Works Cited list:
I will neatly type or handwrite a Works Cited list of my sources (my Book of the Month Book and at least three additional sources), including all the information to create a works cited list using MLA Style.
I will label this page Works Cited.
See page 761 in our Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar text. Use the “MLA Style for Listing Sources” found on page 761 and attached to the assignment packet. A sample Works Cited List is found on page 764. /20 pts.

e. Recommendation for the book: After I’ve finished reading it, I will give the book a star-rating (show the stars), and write two or three sentences explaining my opinion about the book.
Star Ratings for the Recommendation:
✯ Don’t bother reading; it’s a sleeper. Yawn.
✯✯ Read with caution: I did learn a couple of things, but still – Yawn.
✯✯✯ Read it; it’s worth it and you’ll learn something.
✯✯✯✯ Read without reservation; it’s great, and you’ll learn a lot.
✯✯✯✯✯ Throw caution to the wind; find a comfy chair and some snacks because you won’t be able to put it down, and after you’ve finished, you’ll feel you really understand the subject
Example:
✯✯✯✯ Hmm?: The Most interesting book you’ll ever read about memory was maybe not the most interesting book on memory I’ve read, but it was the easiest to understand, and the quickest way I’ve seen (except for one really great web site I found) to learn about memory. The author divides up the subject into chunks of information you can remember, and the illustrations make the information even more memorable. ___/10 points

Stars: 2 pts.
Two to three complete, correct sentences: 8 pts.

I will staple these pages neatly together with one staple at the top left. (No points unless this is done.)

Total includes the following:
Total out of 105 points:
+ Extra Credit (up to +10 points if handed in more than a week early, not needing revision)
(+ 10 points extra credit if handed in on time)
(+ points for extra facts or extra quality)

If I have missed points, here is what I need to do to earn full points: (You must make these revisions and resubmit before March 13.) See above, and . . .