EDSC 182

RUBRIC FOR “GAME CREATION” PROJECT – 8TH GRADE PHYSICAL EDUCATION

EXCEEDS MEETS APPROACHES DOES NOT MEET
Game Creation: 4 points 4 3.5 3 2.5
The game created uses The game created uses two The game created uses one The game created uses
three or more of the of the elements, school element, school equipment other elements not
elements, school equipment is utilized is utilized appropriately discussed, school
equipment is utilized appropriately most of the some of the time, and is equipment is rarely
appropriately all of the time, and is school school apposite. utilized appropriately,
time, and is school apposite. and is school apposite.
apposite.
Poster: 4 points 4 3.5 3 2.5
The poster employs The poster employs The game is described in a The game description is
diagrams, pictures, and pictures and descriptions to clear and appropriate clear but incomplete,
descriptions to address address each element, manner, but goes into little leading to students’
each element, helping helping students to depth and detail, leading to deficient understanding
students to completely somewhat understand the students’ incomplete of the created game.
understand the created created game. understanding of the
game. created game.
Teaching: 4 points 4 3.5 3 2.5
Teaching of the created Teaching of the created Presentation of the created Presentation of the
game maximizes student game effectively game is moderately created game is
learning. Class is able to communicates elements, effective, allowing students ineffective and hard to
effectively participate and allowing class to to learn most of the follow, forcing students
play game incorporating all participate and play game elements and attempt to to improvise during
of the elements. incorporating most of the play the created game game play.
elements. successfully.
EDSC 182
Rationale for Formative Assessment Tool

The assignment for the rubric I have designed is an activity that allows students to create and

teach a modified team game that incorporates various elements of Physical Education and English-

Language Arts Content Standards. Students will create a modified game and incorporate a poster to

allow an effective teaching of the game to their classmates. Students need to form groups of

approximately five or six for this activity. The teacher may feel it is appropriate to place students into

groups rather than having them pick. This could be used as motivation to succeed in the project as

long as students understand that they must act responsibly and be on-task at all times. Each group then

brainstorms (a lesson on how to properly brainstorm may also be needed for students to be successful)

to create a modified game incorporating elements of:

 Spin or rebound
 A designated offensive and defensive space
 A penalty system
 A scoring system

Students are instructed to create a poster that clearly and thoroughly describes their created game. It

required for them to include diagrams, illustrations, and descriptions on their poster that will allow

their classmates to easily understand the game.

We will take approximately three class days for students to brainstorm, create their game, draw

their poster, and think of how they can most effectively teach the game. Two groups will teach their

respective games in the same class period, requiring approximately twenty minutes of teaching time

for each group. Each group’s twenty minutes will consist of teaching the game and having the class

play it. During the presentations, students will be encouraged to ask questions to clarify statements so

that they can successfully participate in the activity. The class will also be encouraged to comment on

the effectiveness of the presentation and how thorough and clear the directions were. In addition, the

teacher may ask guided questions that will allow proper feedback from classmates.

2
EDSC 182
The rubric that I will use to assess the poster and presentation activity contains three evaluative

criteria – game creation, poster, and teaching. For the game creation, I am looking for a game that is

new and not previously played, that utilizes our current equipment so students do not need to buy or

bring in their own. It should involve at least three of the elements mentioned above. For the poster, I

am looking for the use of diagrams, pictures, and descriptions that help present the game in a clear, and

appropriate manner that allows the class to learn and play the game successfully. All of the students at

Egan Jr. High are quite capable of respecting their peers, so I feel that incorporating the class’s ability

to play the game successfully into the rubric is within acceptable limits. Finally, I am assessing the

teaching of the created game to see that it is organized and presented in a way that encourages student

learning and successful playing of the game. Outstanding presentations will be presented in a simple,

yet understandable manner, which creates a successful environment that will allow all students to

participate in the created game.

The evaluative criteria in the game creation and teaching are based on the following standards

and objectives:

PHYSICAL EDUCATION CONTENT STANDARD 2.6:

Develop and teach a team game that uses elements of spin or rebound, designated offensive and defensive space, a
penalty system, and a scoring system.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION CONTENT STANDARD 5.2:

Organize and work cooperatively with a group to achieve the goals of the group.

ELA STANDARDS FOR GRADE 8: LISTENING AND SPEAKING

1.5 Use precise language, action verbs, sensory details, appropriate and colorful modifiers, and the active rather
than the passive voice in ways that enliven oral presentations.

1.7 Use audience feedback (e.g. verbal and nonverbal):

a. Reconsider and modify the organizational structure or plan.
b. Rearrange words and sentences to clarify the meaning.

The game creation and teaching activity connects with these standards and objectives because it allows

students to use their creativity to ‘invent’ a new game and to teach their classmates how to play it using

3
EDSC 182
clear and concise means to help their classmates have a comprehensive understanding of the game so

they can successfully participate.

The grading criteria for the game creation and teaching activity will be apparent to students as

they will receive a handout on the instructions for the activity and also a copy of the rubric in advance.

The teacher will use instructional time to help explain the assignment and review the rubric to help

clarify its function. Popham has recommended making assessments readily available to aide in

students evaluating their own efforts. I am in agreement with his recommendation, as it will allow

students to completely understand the assignment and make clear expectations of their creation of the

game and the teaching of it. I will encourage students to use the rubric designed to help the students

guide their own assessment of their progress during the activity. I will make available different

examples from past classes that show exemplar and sub-par posters and games by providing rubrics

that show the evaluative criteria according to the work done. This can even be done as a class to help

show how the groups will be individually assessed by the teachers. This class assessment of a previous

activity can help reinforce the fact that the evaluative criteria is clearly outlined for the assignment and

is closely aligned with the standards and objectives for this game creation and teaching unit. This will

help show the students the quality of work that they should be striving towards as well as the quality of

work that they should stray from. As a teacher, I intend to utilize the rubrics to grade the students and

to supply congruent feedback to them to help improve their efforts on similar activities in the future.

Each class will utilize the feedback from the activity to reteach any concepts and/or skill from which

students may still be unclear. I anticipate areas of confusion to include team activity rules and possibly

diagrams. It may be necessary to review how to properly diagram content so that classmates easily

understand it.

The rubric that I have created has four performance levels that measure three evaluative

criteria. It was important that I gave equal weight to each criterion, as all three are equally important. I

did not want to make this rubric very specific or very general. Popham argues that a good rubric is one
4
EDSC 182
that is somewhere in the middle that is specific enough to measure proper evaluative criteria and not

too general so that there could be areas of negotiation. My rubric is pretty clear and concise, which

also is in agreement with Popham’s recommendation against creating rubrics that are excessive in

length overly detailed. I used four levels of performance because I disagree with the idea that using an

odd number will lead to many students gravitating towards the middle (I do not believe in grading on a

curve as students are only as good as the best student. The rubric is used to give groups of students an

overall grade on this activity. Each criterion will receive a performance level and the three scores will

be combined to generate a single merged score that corresponds to a letter grade, based on the

following scale:

10.5-12 =A
9-10 =B
7.5-8.5 =C
6-7 =D

The best rubrics, according to Wiggins, depend on an unambiguous and recognized definition

of ideal performance. I have tried to model my rubric to this recommendation by listing tasks that

could easily be measured to indicate a high achievement. I believe I have achieved this by describing

what students can do at each performance level within each evaluative criterion. I do not doubt that as

I teach this unit multiple times that I may need to shift some language within the rubric to make the

differences between the performance levels more synonymous. I feel that this preliminary rubric is a

great start to giving my students a more meaningful activity that will undoubtedly lead to a more

appropriate assessment of their learning.