Riding Freedom Writing Rubric

Here is the Rubric for our novel:
Riding Freedom

5 Paragraph Essay
Riding Freedom (Historical Fiction)
By Pam Ryan Muñoz
Due Date: _Feb. 19, 2010_______

All students are reading Riding Freedom in class. If they wish they may take the book home to review the story or reread any section.

We will finish the novel by __Feb. 10th_________.

A comprehension test will be given on ____Feb. 15th__________. Riding Freedom provides a point of view from a young orphaned girl growing up in the 1800’s. She established relationships with several individuals while running away from an orphanage and trying to survive. She is a strong willed girl and grows up to become a strong woman, all while disguised as “a man”. The story leads into the westward movement when Charley moves to California, and becomes the first woman to ever vote.

Purpose:
Essay: A five paragraph essay will be written and must include the following elements:

Paragraph 1: Describe the main character, Charolette (Charley), and one other character of your choosing. Use details from the story describe the character’s appearance, personality, strengths and weaknesses. You may use quotes from the story. (8-10 sentences)

Paragraph 2: Choose one of the settings of the story that you will illustrated on your drawing, describe this setting, telling the time period, and location as well. Explain why the setting is important to the story. (5-7 sentences)

Paragraph 3: Describe the plot of the story using sequence of events. This should be the main part of the story. What was the story about, what were a few major events? The final sentence of this paragraph should describe Charley’s main problem.
(8-10 sentences)

Paragraph 4: Describe how Charley developed her relationship to one of the other characters in the story. Tell why it was important to Charley and how it developed Charley’s personality and character in the story. Use examples and quotes from the story. (8-10 sentences)

Paragraph 5: Describe your thoughts and feelings about the story. Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? Would you recommend it? Why? Did the writing move you? Would you read another book by this author? This paragraph is where you discuss your thoughts and feelings about the book. Use your journal to write your comments or quotes from the book. (5-7 sentences)

Poster: Draw a picture to show the relationship Charley had with another character in the story Riding Freedom. This should be the same character from your essay. It should be well drawn and colored. Include the names of the characters.


Essay Rubric
_____ Paragraph One (15 points) …Characters are fully described listing important physical and personality traits, strengths and weaknesses.
_____ Paragraph Two (10 points) …Setting is fully described as well as explaining the setting’s importance to the story.
_____ Paragraph Three (15 points) …Using sequence of events explain the plot of the story. Be sure to include the main problem.
_____ Paragraph Four (15 points) …Describe the relationship between Charley and another character. It should be well defined and detailed.
_____ Paragraph Five (10 points) …Describe your thoughts and feelings about the story.
_____ Spelling/mechanics throughout essay (10 points) _____ Use of quotes and examples from story (5 points)
_____ Use of Descriptive writing (similes, adjectives, metaphors, descriptive language, etc )
_____ Drawing (15 points) Include main character and 2nd character, should be well drawn and colored.

_____100 Points Total Score