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Opinion Writing Rubric (Grades 3-5)
For the standards-based opinion piece in grades 3 through 5: state an opinion, support it with reasons, connect the ideas, and close. Twenty points keeps a frequent assignment from swamping the grade book, and every descriptor names something a young writer can find in their own draft.
- Grades 3-5
- Subject ELA
- 20 points
- 4 criteria
- Free to copy, print and adapt
| Criterion | Exceeds | Meets | Approaching | Beginning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion Statement5 points | 5-5 ptsStates a clear opinion in the first two sentences and hooks the reader with a question, fact, or bold statement that fits the topic. | 4-4 ptsStates a clear opinion near the beginning that the rest of the piece sticks to. | 3-3 ptsThe opinion appears late, changes partway through, or reads as a fact rather than an opinion. | 0-2 ptsNo opinion stated: the piece lists information or retells the prompt. |
| Reasons and Examples6 points | 6-6 ptsGives at least three different reasons, each backed by a specific example, fact, or personal experience that fits it. | 5-5 ptsGives two or three reasons with support, though one reason may repeat another in different words. | 4-4 ptsGives one reason, or gives reasons with no examples behind them. | 0-3 ptsGives no reasons: the opinion is restated louder instead of supported. |
| Organization and Linking Words5 points | 5-5 ptsGroups each reason with its examples in its own part, connects ideas with linking words such as because, for example, and also, and ends with a closing sentence that restates the opinion. | 4-4 ptsIdeas are in a logical order with some linking words and a closing sentence. | 3-3 ptsReasons and examples are mixed together, or the piece stops without a closing. | 0-2 ptsSentences appear in no plan the reader can follow. |
| Conventions4 points | 4-4 ptsComplete sentences with correct capitals, end marks, and spelling of taught words throughout. | 3-3 ptsA few errors that do not make the piece hard to read. | 2-2 ptsMissing capitals or end marks in several sentences, or run-ons joined by and after and. | 0-1 ptsErrors make much of the piece hard to read aloud. |
Total: 20 points across 4 criteria.
How to use it
- Post the linking words on the wall and require three of them underlined in the draft; criterion three teaches itself once the words are visible.
- Have students draw a box around their opinion and number their reasons before turning in, a thirty-second self-check that catches most bottom-band papers.
- Use the same rubric for the persuasive letter and the book recommendation; the transfer is the point.
What students most often get wrong
- Giving one reason three times in different clothes: fun, really fun, and very enjoyable.
- Starting every sentence with I think, which buries the reasons under the opinion.
- Skipping the closing sentence, so the piece ends on an example instead of the opinion.
Grade with this rubric, without retyping it
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