Now that graded science papers are starting to come home, I would like to explain how I grade your child's classwork.

I place a great deal of emphasis on paying attention to details. I explain to the children that scienctists are neat, organized, and detail oriented. When they are in my lab, they are scientists, and must exhibit these characteristics. I also explain that scienctists are part of a larger community who share ideas. For these reasons, their work must be neat and well written. If a word has been written on the board to be copied, it must be spelled correctly. Misspelled words and incorrect punctuations receive -1 point. If they are writing on their own, they are encouraged to use descriptive words, so points are not deducted for misspellings. When an assignment is made that is more creative than scientific, like the lab expectation drawings, I prefer to use a rubric, or checklist. In these cases, it is usually simply a matter of following the directions, in order to receive a good grade.

Please contact me anytime you have a question pertaining to my grading policy.

Thank you for your continued support.