Evaluation

Students should be evaluated both individually and for the group work involved in making the final product. Therefore, there are two grading rubrics that should be used. The first, the journal rubric, involves the grading of the field journal that the students will keep while they are doing research on the web for their assigned task. The journals should be well organized, neatly written, and filled with detailed information answering the questions outlined on their particular page. The information within the journals should be pertinent to the questions posed, and should contain examples to support the answers. Also included in the journal rubric are the twelve to fifteen questions the students are required to write for the game. These are included because they are part of the individual work to be done by the student, and they are directly related to what the student has written in his or her journal. The questions should be directly related to the most important information covered within the web sites. The questions should cover events that occured throughout the journey, and not just concentrate on one part. For example, the Indian Affairs Expert should ask questions about not justthe Mandan Indians (one of the first Indian tribes encountered), but also the Blackfeet Indians (a tribe encountered later in the journey).

The game rubric involves the evaluation of the final product. The game should be colorful and detailed; stress that someone should want to play the game just by looking at it. The game must be visually appealing. The game must also accurrately portray the route taken by the Corps of Discovery beginning in St. Louis and ending in Oregon and back again, including rivers, mountains, and Indian villages. Group work is also an important component of the final project. One student should not be taking on all of the work for the game. Working cooperatively is a vital part of the development of the final product. Students should also be rewarded for their creativity when designing the game. Different textures, font, game pieces, and many other creative designing are all parts of making the game more visually appealing.
The rubrics are as follows:

Journal Rubric

Objectives	Beginning 1	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 5
Organization	Information is in no order; handwriting is sloppy	Information is grouped together in some manner; handwriting is legible	Information is organized with headings with listed notes or complete sentences underneath; handwriting is neat
Amount of information gathered	One or two word answers to questions; only one or two questions answered per topic; only one or two topics addressed	All topics are addressed, most questions are answered with two or three short sentences	All topics are addressed, and all questions answered for each with detailed information consisting of 2-3 detailed sentences per question
Quality of information gathered	Information has little or nothing to do with the questions posed at the outset of that task	Questions are answered with simply the main idea of the answer, with little supporting detail	Information answeres not only the main idea of the question, but contains supporting details and/or examples
Game questions written from journal information	Less than twelve questions presented on the topic; questions do not address the information that should have been gathered in the student's task	Twelve questions written on topic; questions are general and cover most topics addressed in web questions	Twelve or more questions written on topic; questions are specific, address all topics seen on web, and contain the most important information on these topics

Game Rubric

Objectives	Beginning 1	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 5
Accurracy	Trail does not follow the route of the expedition; major locations on the route are not recognized	Route traced from St. Louis to Oregon and back with 5 major stops labelled, and some major rivers and mountain ranges labelled.	Route clearly traced from St. Louis to Oregon, all major rivers and mountain ranges labelled, and 5 or more major stops on the route labelled
Visual Appeal	Little or no color, less than 12 images	Some contrasting colors among the rivers, land, and landforms; 10-12 images (drawn, cut from magazines, or printed from computer)	Contrasting colors among rivers, land, and landforms, a clear contrast between the Corps of Discovery route and the rest of the map, 12 or more images having to do with the people, places, or animals discovered along the trail
Group work	No cooperation among the group; all work done individually and put together at the last minute	Game tasks shared somewhat; some cooperation evident	Work is shared evenly among all group members; team works together well and has good discussion about their work; no one person takes control of the group
Creativity	No extra thought put into the creative aspects of the game	Some extra creative thought put into game via such things as extra pictures, fancy writing, and/or texture	Obvious creative energy put into all aspects of the game via the question cards, the game pieces, and the game board.

Breakdown of points
Individual total 20
Group total 20
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Total points available 40