NJSLA-A Grades 4–5 Narrative Rubric

4 points

Focused response, clear understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: an established situation that clearly introduces a narrator and/or characters; dialogue and description that clearly develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

3 points

Mostly focused response, general understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: an established situation that generally introduces a narrator and/or characters; dialogue and description that generally develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

2 points

Basic response, some understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: a situation that introduces a narrator and/or characters; dialogue or description that somewhat develop experiences, events, and/or characters.

1 point

Minimally written response, minimal understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: a minimal situation or a narrator and/or characters; minimal, missing, or unclear dialogue and description.

4 points

Focused response. Characteristics: a clearly organized event sequence that unfolds naturally; a conclusion that clearly follows from the experiences or events.

3 points

Mostly focused response. Characteristics: a generally organized event sequence that unfolds naturally; a conclusion that generally follows from the experiences or events.

2 points

Basic response. Characteristics: a basic or partial event sequence; a basic or attempted conclusion.

1 point

Minimally written response. Characteristics: a minimal or unclear event sequence; a missing or unclear conclusion or sense of closure.

4 points

Focused response. Characteristics: varied transitional words and phrases that clearly manage the sequence of events; concrete words, phrases, and sensory details that precisely convey experiences and events.

3 points

Mostly focused response. Characteristics: transitional words or phrases that generally manage the sequence of events; concrete words, phrases, and details that generally convey experiences and events.

2 points

Basic response. Characteristics: transitional words that partially link the sequence of events; words, phrases, or details that somewhat describe experiences and events.

1 point

Minimally written response. Characteristics: minimal, missing, or unclear use of transitional words to link events; minimal or unclear descriptions of experiences and events.