Science Notebook Picture Rubric

I use a rubric with my students for their science notebooks.  However, words and checklists are not always enough.  My modeling of proper notebook care is not always enough.  So, I made a visual rubric which shows examples of the level of quality.
In 4th grade, students created circuits with lightbulbs, so I made an example with that idea in mind.
The reflection students are supposed to complete is: Describe a complete circuit.

A “1” is the lowest score my students can receive.  This example has one word and a pretty terrible drawing that does not demonstrate any understanding of the concept.  Marker was used.

A “2” has a title, misspelled content words, and an incomplete diagram.

A “3” has a complete diagram, but with no title and specific information.  It has a written description that addresses what the student observed using some content vocabulary.

A “4” has the a complete diagram with a title, descriptions, labels, and color.  The student not only stated the information they observed, but also included information about the change in energy and the current in a closed circuit.

Have I seen some “1”s at the beginning of the year? YES!  Have I seen “4”s?  Not really.  I mostly see twos and threes and I have to train them to take it to the next level.

Having these examples posted helped my students recognize the effort that needed to be applied and self-assess their work.  I’m not walking around saying “1”, “3”, “1”.  I’m working with students.  Teaching students to self-assess gives me the opportunity to work with more students and gives them the opportunity to achieve higher quality work and ultimately, better retention of the material.

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12 thoughts on “Science Notebook Picture Rubric”

  1. I have been working on my rubrics for journal responses for a few weeks, and this gave me a couple of ideas to add! Thanks for sharing! With 2 of the grade levels I teach being accountable for a writing test, I decided I really should help and make my students write like they should!

    Reply
  2. Nice post which It seems like we always have a camera or our phones in hand ready to snap a photo,and unlike the old daysof scrapbooks or actual photo albums, we now share our pics online. In which able to share the memories with your friends and family only. Thanks a lot for posting.
    Picture Sharing Contest

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  3. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise in science. I would like to know if I could have your permission to use your science journal pictures in the blog. I would like to copy them into a PowerPoint to show students examples of what my expectations are for their science journals. I will email you a copy if you would like.

    Reply
  4. This is great! I just started using a 4-point rubric for science notebooks this year, and it has helped improve most students’ notes. I created a table that students glue in the front of their notebooks with the criteria for a 4-point notebook, so I can collect them each month and write their scores in the table.

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  5. I was wondering about your rubric that the students put into their notebooks. Do you have that for sale or is it in each of the bundles? I really like the visual one for the students to see but I would also like to put it into their notebooks. Thanks for helping me.

    Reply
  6. As a high school Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, I even found your visuals rubric an excellent idea! I’m going to create some examples this summer! With 6 different preps, I don’t think I will tackle separate ones for each prep but try to find commonality that can be applied.

    Thanks for a great post!

    Reply
  7. Is your rubric available anywhere by itself? I can see it’s included in the TPT bundle for setting up a notebook, but I am wondering if I can somehow get JUST the rubric?

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  8. Thank you for all of the sacrifice and effort you put into this lesson. They are cutting edge information.

    Reply

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