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Score for Conventions Part 1• Use a highlighter to mark all of the vocabulary words

from our spelling list.• Check the “Commonly Misspelled Words” list and your

vocabulary list to see if the highlighted words have been correctly spelled (including capitalization, hyphens, apostrophes, penmanship, etc.).

• DO NOT mark these on the final draft, but instead, record their score on their six traits form. If you found three errors, their score will be 7/10. If you found two errors, their score will be 8/10. Write their score, as a fraction, on their six traits form.

• Note which words were misspelled on their “What you need to work on” section of the six traits form.

Score for Conventions Part 2• 4 = There were no spelling,

punctuation, or grammar errors at all.• 3 = I found one or two errors in

spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar.• 2 = I found 3-10 errors.• 1 = There were more than 10 errors.

Score for Organization• 4 = The date and the closing (i.e. “Sincerely,”

are both flush against the middle seam of the paper; the paragraphs are indented a full thumb-space; the greeting (Dear Santa) is against the pink margin line and is followed by a comma; the writer skipped a line between paragraphs.

• 3 = One of the above criteria is missing.• 2 = Some of the above criteria are missing,

but it still looks like a letter.• 1 = It doesn’t look like a letter.

Score for Fluency• To score for fluency, you must READ

OUT LOUD!• Hold up a finger every time you

stumble over what you’re reading.• 4 = I didn’t hold up any fingers.• 3 = I held up one or two fingers.• 2 = I held up 3-5 fingers.• 1 = I held up more than 5 fingers.

Score for Word Choice• 4 = The person who chose the words in this letter has a

very good vocabulary, and he/she obviously used both a dictionary and thesaurus to choose fancy words.

• 3 = The person who wrote this letter tried to use big words (maybe from our vocab. list), but he/she probably didn’t use a thesaurus and/or dictionary to do so.

• 2 = This letter is written in typical seventh-grader language, but there’s no slang.

• 1 = This letter uses slang, texting, symbols (like &), and/or abbreviations, and/or sometimes it’s hard to read because of poor wording.

Score for Voice• Think about the message behind this letter.• Does this letter sound like it was written with Santa in mind, or does it

sound like it was just some kid getting an assignment done?

• 4 = When Santa reads this letter, he will laugh out loud, cry, or gasp in awe, because it’s so filled with fascinating and wonderful information.

• 3 = This letter was written with information that’s important to the intended audience (Santa), but it won’t make him laugh or cry or gasp in awe.

• 2 = The letter lacks information that’s relevant to the audience, or it’s written like it’s meant for a different audience (like a teacher or a kid).

• 1 = The letter is written with such bad penmanship that nobody can read it or it’s unfinished.

Score for Ideas• Read the body paragraph(s).• What is the main idea behind the body

paragraph(s)?

• 4 = This letter’s theme is unlike anyone else’s. It’s completely original.

• 3 = This letter’s theme is kind of creative.• 2 = This letter never seems to focus on a single topic—OR—

they didn’t include what they want for Christmas in their letter.

• 1 = This isn’t a letter. It’s a poem or an essay or a story.