Asking students how David changes throughout I Am David is one of the most common essay prompts, and it is a good one. The task requires students to compare his behavior and attitudes at different points, which demands close reading and synthesis. But many essays describe David at a single moment and simply call him brave, ignoring the passage of time. Scoring these essays fairly requires a criterion that specifically rewards attention to change.

Teach students that a change argument has three components: a starting point, an ending point, and the events that move him between them. An essay that only names traits at the end has not shown change, because there is nothing to compare. Encourage students to identify a specific scene early in the book and another later that show contrasting behavior. This structure gives the essay a natural spine.

The rubric should describe levels of sophistication in tracing change. At the lower level, the student states that David changes and gives one example. At the higher level, the student identifies several turning points and explains how each contributes to the transformation. The best essays also recognize that change is gradual and sometimes uneven, with moments of progress and setbacks.

Identifying Turning Points

Turning points are the moments where David's behavior or understanding shifts, and choosing good ones is a skill. A weak choice is an event that is dramatic but does not affect his thinking, while a strong choice shows him doing something he would not have done earlier. Ask students to justify why each turning point matters, not just describe it. This justification is where analytical reasoning appears.

• Describes David's attitudes and behavior at the beginning of the story
• Identifies at least two turning points with specific evidence
• Explains how each turning point changes David's thinking or actions
• Describes his attitudes and behavior near the end of the story
• Reflects on what his change suggests about the novel's message

Avoiding the Trait List

A frequent weakness is the trait list, where the essay strings together adjectives like brave, smart, and lonely without showing how they relate. Feedback should ask the student to choose the most important trait and show how it develops. This focuses the essay and encourages depth over breadth. Students often find it liberating to be told they need not include everything.

You can also use a simple graphic organizer, such as a timeline with early, middle, and late columns, to help students plan. Reviewing the organizer before drafting lets you catch weak plans before they turn into full essays. This saves you time later and gives students early guidance. Prewriting tools are among the most efficient forms of feedback.

Feedback That Encourages Nuance

To push students toward nuance, ask questions such as whether David changes in every way or only in some, and what stays the same. This invites them to complicate a simple story of transformation. A student who notes that David's caution never fully disappears, even as his trust grows, is thinking at a higher level. Reward such observations in your scoring.

When many essays need this kind of question, drafting the feedback consistently is a challenge. Tools that generate criterion-based comments can suggest such prompts for each paper, which you can adjust to fit the student. This keeps the depth of feedback steady across a large set of essays. The teacher's judgment ensures that each question is appropriate.

Using Results for Instruction

After scoring, look at how students performed on the change criterion across the class. If most identified only one turning point, a mini-lesson on selecting and explaining several may be worthwhile. If most struggled with the ending state, revisit the final chapters in discussion. The essays themselves show what needs reteaching.

Save a few strong essays, with permission, as models for future classes. Showing students an example of well-traced change is more powerful than any explanation. Over time, you build a library of exemplars that raise the bar. That library also helps new teachers understand what strong work looks like.