Assigning grades to history papers-How?

Question

I'd like a rubric, point system, or some other SPECIFIC way to grade written papers.

Have to grade now that we are in High School, (though we homeschool).

Answer 1

Rubrics are a great way to do this.  You may want to take a look at some of the rubrics that have already been created available through Rubistar.  They are available at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/.

As far as percentage grades, I would consider assigning a point value to each part in the rubric.  If you have 5 different criteria on the rubric, perhaps the highest is 20 and you go down from there (15, 10, 5).  This way, you can grade based on 100% and multiply or divide based on how your grading system is set up.

Rubrics are great for students and teachers because the expectations are clearly stated.  Have a great time using them in class.  =]

Answer 2

Rubrics are a great way to assess written papers. There are many rubric makers on line, some free and some are subscriptions. The important thing is that you and the student/s sit down and agree on what a level 4 paper would look like. What information do you expect? How many works cited? What method of citation? Grammar and spelling? Once you decide a 4, then you can go back and fill in the rest. At what level will you reteach and expect the paper revised? A rubric created with the student becomes like a contract and keeps things fair.  

Answer 3

Google rubistar.  They have thousands of saved rubrics already.  Or, you can use their rubric generator to create one.

What I do is decide how much weight to give to certain sections (spelling is less than content), etc.  So some categories would be worth 8 points instead of four.  Then I add up all the points and divide by the number possible.