TWO BASIC ASSIGNMENTS
TWO BASIC SUPPORTS This Is a Freshman Page. |
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The Indy-R mini essays focus on a specific prompt regarding an independent reading book of the student's choice. Students develop the skill of reading instructions well because the prompt will have two to three components and students learn to address all of them in their thesis statements. All students have to do to get a full 10 out of 10 points, every two weeks or so, is comply with the check sheet. I require a minimum set of skills that must be demonstrated to earn that 10 points. Their essay doesn't have to be perfect to get a perfect score. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that the work is easy, but after a while it does become much easier. New skills are usually challenging at first and they often become automatic after a while. To get to the level where skills are easy, students must practice.
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Journals are relatively easy. Students just have to do the work to be rewarded with a couple of points. Journals require students to process and practice skills and they are not typically graded for content. Sometimes, students are told to revise and submit for a grade. Sometimes, I will grade a journal randomly to keep everyone taking the work seriously. If I assign a final draft, students will have done the reading, writing and they will often have experienced small group and class discussion, so they should be prepared to improve their work before submitting.
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WORKSHOP ATTENDANCE
All FRESHMEN who fail to submit work will be assigned a workshop, so they can do the work for practice, not points. It is my hope that students will begin to do work on time since they will
have to do the work anyway.
Also, there will only be a few students in this classroom during workshop, so I will be able
to check on them, answer questions, and provide help.
There will be a specific task each student is required to complete based upon missing homework. Until the completed work is submitted, the student will continue to be assigned to my workshops. If he/she has additional missed assignments in the meantime, I will choose the work I consider most important to assign for workshop.
If my student must attend another workshop because of a more pressing need, like reviewing a skill to prepare for an upcoming test or assignment, I am perfectly willing to share workshop attendance with other teachers. After all, there
are only two workshops a week. I just need confirmation from that teacher that my student was in a teacher-directed workshop, not just study hall, SSR, or an enrichment session.
I cannot guarantee that I will always have two workshops every week that I can dedicate to this project.
All FRESHMEN who fail to submit work will be assigned a workshop, so they can do the work for practice, not points. It is my hope that students will begin to do work on time since they will
have to do the work anyway.
Also, there will only be a few students in this classroom during workshop, so I will be able
to check on them, answer questions, and provide help.
There will be a specific task each student is required to complete based upon missing homework. Until the completed work is submitted, the student will continue to be assigned to my workshops. If he/she has additional missed assignments in the meantime, I will choose the work I consider most important to assign for workshop.
If my student must attend another workshop because of a more pressing need, like reviewing a skill to prepare for an upcoming test or assignment, I am perfectly willing to share workshop attendance with other teachers. After all, there
are only two workshops a week. I just need confirmation from that teacher that my student was in a teacher-directed workshop, not just study hall, SSR, or an enrichment session.
I cannot guarantee that I will always have two workshops every week that I can dedicate to this project.
THE HOMEWORK TRACKING DOCUMENT
I realize that parents want very much to support learning at home but are frequently at a loss as to what specifically they can do. I have created a process through which parents and I can communicate about homework regularly through the student. This process sandwiches the student with support from home to school through the use of what I call the Homework Tracking Document. You can click on the link or you can type Homework Tracking Document in the search bar of my website.
Here's the process: Students record all homework on the document for the day that the work is due as assignments are given. Parents check the document and confirm the student's understanding of the expectations by visiting the freshman agenda page. The student does the work and shows it to the parent, who signs that he/she has seen the work and will watch the work get put in the binder and the backpack in preparation for the next day. Now, the student will not fail to bring in work because he/she forgot it in the printer.
The next day, the student has three things on his/her desk before class begins: the homework, the Homework Tracking Document, and a pen. Now, I can easily swing by his/her desk and initial that the student did indeed have this work on this day.
Usually, I work the Homework Tracking Document with parents for about two weeks. After that, people usually develop a habit of monitoring that no longer requires my attention. If anyone wishes to work this system longer, I am always happy to oblige.
If you would like to take advantage of this system, print the Homework Tracking Document from my website. If you do not have a printer at home, let me know and I will provide this document.
I realize that parents want very much to support learning at home but are frequently at a loss as to what specifically they can do. I have created a process through which parents and I can communicate about homework regularly through the student. This process sandwiches the student with support from home to school through the use of what I call the Homework Tracking Document. You can click on the link or you can type Homework Tracking Document in the search bar of my website.
Here's the process: Students record all homework on the document for the day that the work is due as assignments are given. Parents check the document and confirm the student's understanding of the expectations by visiting the freshman agenda page. The student does the work and shows it to the parent, who signs that he/she has seen the work and will watch the work get put in the binder and the backpack in preparation for the next day. Now, the student will not fail to bring in work because he/she forgot it in the printer.
The next day, the student has three things on his/her desk before class begins: the homework, the Homework Tracking Document, and a pen. Now, I can easily swing by his/her desk and initial that the student did indeed have this work on this day.
Usually, I work the Homework Tracking Document with parents for about two weeks. After that, people usually develop a habit of monitoring that no longer requires my attention. If anyone wishes to work this system longer, I am always happy to oblige.
If you would like to take advantage of this system, print the Homework Tracking Document from my website. If you do not have a printer at home, let me know and I will provide this document.