World War I Essential Questions Rubric

Essential Question:
 Describe the circumstances that led to World War I.
 What circumstances led the United States to joining the war as part of the
Allied Powers?
 How did the United States use propaganda to influence the
opinions/actions of Americans during World War I?

Your Performance Assessment for this unit is to write a response to two of the
three (your choice) Essential Questions. Your responses must directly answer the
question you select and use specific evidence from the texts we used in class. You
must clearly explain why this evidence is relevant and how it answers your
question.

For example, if the answer to the first question is:

World War I began due to an assassination of a member

of Austria Hungary’s Royal Family by a Bosnian
nationalist and a complex system of alliances.

While these are two reasons why the Great War began, you need to explain it in
much more detail. Who was killed? Who was the killer? What is ‘nationalism’
and what role did it play in starting World War I? What is a ‘system of
alliances’? And explain which nations were involved and how.

On the second page is the rubric I will use to grade your assignment
 Distinguished Emerging On Developing Absent
4 3.5 Grade 2 0
Level
3
Question 1
Evidence
You use at least 2 pieces of
relevant, well explained
textual evidence directly
related to the question
Question 1
Clarity/Reasoning
You clearly explain
how/why this evidence is
relevant to answering your
question. The reader
should not need any
knowledge of World War I
in order to comprehend
what you are stating in your
answer.
Question 2
Evidence
You use at least 2 pieces of
relevant, well explained
textual evidence directly
related to the question
Question 2
Clarity/Reasoning
You clearly explain
how/why this evidence is
relevant to answering your
question. The reader
should not need any
knowledge of World War I
in order to comprehend
what you are stating in your
answer.