We will use these sites throughout the school year.
Newsela.com:
Every week, you will read multiple articles (chosen by you) and complete the quiz that goes along with that article.
Articles will be due by Friday night at midnight (Sat to Sat week).
Grading Rubric:
Level 4 (10 points)- at grade level (SRI of at least 1100) and 75% or higher on the quiz scores (all articles completed)
Level 3 (8 points)- quiz scores between 60-70%
Level 2 (7 points)- quiz scores between 50-60%
Level 1 (5 points)- any level getting lower than 50% average of quiz scores
The articles and the quiz scores will be averaged to give you your week's grade.
Missing articles will also negatively impact your grade
If you find you are continually getting low scores, change the SRI level lower. You want to push yourself, but you also want to succeed. If you find you are getting at or above 75% continually, challenge yourself and try the moving up to the next SRI level.
Redo Newsela articles can only get you to a level 3 (so don't make up a level 3, hoping to bump it to a level 4)
UtahCompose:
Grading Rubric:
Level 4= 24 points
3.7= 23 points
3.4= 22 points
Level 3= 21 points
2.7= 20 points
2.4= 19 points
Level 2= 18 points
Level 1= 17 or below (these must be redone and resubmitted)
Because it takes me so long to grade essays by hand (which I still will do occasionally), many of your essays will be submitted onto Utah Compose. Use the resources provided on this site to get immediate feedback and improve your essay.
When you submit a rough draft on Utah Compose, it is a good rule of thumb to have it be at least 18 points. Then revise it from there to improve your score.
SRI reading test:
The SRI provides us with really valuable information on your reading level and how we can improve it. You will use your SRI score to help you decide which level you should be reading at in the Newsela articles. Generally, it is expected that a student should raise their SRI score by 100 points throughout the school year (25 points per quarter)
You can expect to take the SRI approximately 5 times throughout the school year (1 benchmark at the beginning of the school year, and once at the end of every quarter)
Grading Rubric:
Level 4- at or above grade level (SRI 1100 at the beginning of the year)
Level 3- between 1000 and current grade level
Level 2- between 950 and 1000
Level 1- 900 or below
***For students who are just not at grade level for reading, the first SRI test is just a benchmark. After that, the grade will be altered to show your growth. The rubric to show growth is as follows:
Level 1- remained at the same level
Level 2- improved 1-10 points
Level 3- improved 11-24 points
Level 4- showed at least 1 quarter's worth of growth (up 25 points since your last SRI assessment