Symbolism assignments are a favorite in novel units, and I Am David offers plenty of material, from the basic necessities David guards carefully to the first time he encounters the sea. Students often enjoy hunting for symbols, but the resulting essays can be uneven. Some identify an object and say it stands for something without proving it, while others build careful interpretations grounded in the text. Grading fairly means having criteria that respect interpretation while demanding support.

Start by teaching students what makes something a symbol rather than just an important object. A symbol appears more than once, is described with particular attention, and connects to a larger idea. Water, for instance, is more than a drink for David, and how he treats it and reacts to it changes as the story goes on. If students understand this, they will look for patterns rather than isolated details.

The central grading question is whether the student's interpretation is supported by the text. Several interpretations may be valid, and you should not penalize a student for reading a symbol differently from you. What you should penalize is an interpretation that comes from nowhere, with no evidence and no explanation. A rubric criterion for interpretation support handles this cleanly and fairly.

Rewarding Original Interpretation

Give credit to students who go beyond the most obvious reading, provided they can defend it. An essay arguing that David's careful rationing of supplies represents his fear of losing control, and not only his hunger, shows a deeper level of thinking. Reward this by including a descriptor for insight or originality in the top level of your rubric. Students learn that thoughtful risk is valued over safe repetition of class discussion.

• Identifies a symbol that recurs or is emphasized in the text
• Explains what the symbol represents in a clear statement
• Supports the interpretation with at least two separate moments
• Shows how the symbol's meaning changes as the story develops
• Connects the symbol to a larger theme in the novel

Avoiding Overinterpretation

Some students assign symbolic meaning to everything, which can weaken an essay. If every object in the book represents something, the analysis loses focus and the claims become hard to support. Encourage them to choose one or two symbols and develop them thoroughly. Your feedback can note when a student would benefit from cutting a weaker example to give more space to a stronger one.

You can also help students test their interpretations by asking whether the meaning holds across the whole book. If a symbol means one thing early and something contradictory later, the student should acknowledge and explain the change. This kind of thinking distinguishes advanced analysis from a simple label. It also mirrors how literary critics actually work with texts.

Scoring Without Bias Toward Your Own Reading

Teachers sometimes unconsciously favor essays that match their own interpretation of the book. To counter this, decide before grading which criteria you will use and stick to them. Focus on the quality of reasoning and evidence, not on whether the conclusion matches your expectation. An AI tool that applies your written rubric consistently can serve as a useful check on this tendency, though you should still review its judgments.

It can also help to grade a few essays blind to the student's name, especially if you know the writers well. Familiarity can influence how generously you read a claim. Anonymous scoring reduces that effect and supports fairness across the class. Even partial anonymity is better than none.

Extending Symbolism Work Across Units

The skills students practice in a symbolism essay carry directly into later texts, including poetry and other novels. Tracking the same rubric criteria across units allows you to see growth in interpretive reasoning over time. A student who struggled to support a claim in the fall may show clear progress by spring. That data is valuable for conferences and for planning instruction.

Consider inviting students to compare the symbols they found with those in another text later in the year. This reinforces the idea that symbolism is a tool writers use, not a puzzle with one correct answer. It also gives students a reason to revisit their earlier essays and reflect on how their thinking has grown. Reflection makes the learning stick.