Story of a Graph Working Rubric for Grading

Story Portion:

Teacher will use the checklist below to make sure they student’s story hits all required points.

Checklist

  • Must describe what kind of object is in motion
  • Must describe the distance the object takes
  • Must describe the how long the object takes to travel “x” distance
  • Story cannot be any longer than 3 paragraphs
  • Must include the object changing direction at least 3 times
  • Must include the object having at least one stopping point for a certain period of time.
  • Must include the object return from where it started.
  • Must have units included… aka miles, meters, centimeters, minutes, second, hours
  • CANNOT include the word “speed” anywhere throughout the story
  • Must be creative

Sample Story:

Lucy drives to work which is 35 miles away from her house. She travels at 65 miles per hour and arrives at her job in 1 hour. She works for 5 hours before she is allowed to go home. Then Lucy leaves her job and decides to stop for food on her way home. She stops at a fast food location which is only 10 miles way from her job and 25 miles away from her home. It took her an hour to arrive at the fast food location and 1 hour to get her food. Finally Lucy leaves the fast food location and drives home. Traffic is terrible and it takes Lucy 3 hours to travel from the fast food location back to her house.

Position versus Time Graphing Portion:

Teacher will check that the following are displayed on the student’s graph:

  • X and y axis are labeled
  • X axis should be titled “time”
  • Y axis should be title “distance”
  • Title of the graph is located at the top
  • Lines draw on graph are straight and correlate to correct points made throughout the student’s story they created.
  • Intervals on the graph for both x and y axis are visible and correct.
  • Neat and easily read.

Sample Graph for Story: Distance vs. Time

Velocity versus Time Graphing Portion:

Teacher will check that the following are displayed on the student’s graph:

  • X and y axis are labeled
  • X axis should be titled “time”
  • Y axis should be titled “distance”
  • Title of the graph is located at the top
  • Only one portion of the distance versus time graph was selected and graphed on THIS (velocity vs. time) graph.
  • For the sample graph below: points A-B are used
  • Intervals on the graph for both x and y axis are visible and correct.
  • Neat and easily read.

Sample Graph for Story: Velocity vs. Time

Conclusion Portion:

Teacher will check the following questions for correct answers:

  1. On the position versus time graph how did you know if the object returned from where it started? What kind of slope did it have?

The slope should be returning to the origin if the origin represents the “starting” point of the student’s story. The slope should be positive then.

  1. On the position versus time graph how did you know if the object was moving away from where it started or where it stopped? What kind of slope did it have?

The slope should be moving away from the origin if the origin represents the “starting” point of the student’s story. The slope should be negative then.

  1. On the position versus time graph how did you know if the object was stationary? What kind of slope did it have?

The line should be horizontal if the object is stationary because time is passing but distance is not changing. The slope should be zero.

  1. On the velocity versus time graph, was the velocity changing? What was the evidence?

Velocity should be constant and represented with a horizontal line.