CUSD Grade 1 Narrative Writing Rubric

Score
	Statement of Purpose/Focus
	Organization
	Elaboration of Evidence
	Language and Vocabulary
	Conventions

4 - Exemplary
	The response is fully sustained: •	Recounts a well-elaborated
event or short sequence of events
	The response has a clear and effective organizational structure:
•	Progression of ideas from beginning to end
•	Provides clear closure
•	 Uses temporal words and phrases to signal event order
	The response provides thorough development of details:
•	Includes vivid details that describe what happened
•	Includes details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings
	The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas using precise language:
•	Uses verb tenses and plural nouns correctly, including irregular forms
•	Produces, expands, and rearranges simple and compound sentences
	The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: •	Few if any errors in
usage and sentence formation
•	Effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

3 – Meets GOAL
	The response is adequately sustained:
•	Recounts two or more appropriately sequence events
	The response has an organizational structure, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected:
•	Tells about events in order which they occurred
•	Provides some sense of closure
•	Uses temporal words to signal event order
	The response provides adequate development of details:
•	Includes details that describe what happened
•	Include some details regarding what happened
	The response adequately expresses ideas using a mix of precise language with more general language:
•	Uses some common, proper, and possessive nouns correctly
•	Uses singular and plural nouns with correctly matching verbs
•	 Produces correct simple and compound sentences
	The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: •	Some errors in usage
and sentence formation are present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed
•	Adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

2 – Progressing
	The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift in focus:
•	Attempts to recount two appropriately sequenced events
	The response has an inconsistent organizational structure:
•	Attempts to tell about the events in the order in which they occurred
•	Attempts to provide a closure
	The response provides partial development of details:
•	Includes few or irrelevant details to describe what happened
•	Provides a reaction to what happened
	The response expresses ideas using simplistic language:
•	Vocabulary may at times be inappropriate
•	Uses few common, proper, and possessive nouns correctly
•	 Uses some singular and plural nouns with correctly matching verbs
•	 Produces mostly correct simple and compound sentences
	The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: •	Frequent errors in usage
may obscure meaning •	Inconsistent use of
punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

1 - Emerging
	The response may be related to the topic but may provide little or no focus:
•	May be very brief narrating a single event
•	May have a major drift
	The response has little or no discernible organizational structure:
•	May tell about events in order •	No closure
	The response provides little development of details:
•	Insufficient or no details •	May provide a reaction to
what happened
	The response is vague or is confusing:
•	Uses limited language
•	Many word usage errors
•	Sentence structure errors are frequent and severe, and meaning is often obscured
	The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: •	Errors are frequent and
severe and meaning is often obscured

Clovis Unified School District, Curriculum and Instruction Department, 2015 - 2016