Missing Assignment Reminder & Warning Forms

I've used this weekly check-list format with my classes from 3rd grade up to 6th grade. I've tried lots of different things, so this form has evolved over the years and has proven to be the most efficient for me.

My students sit in table groups. Each table group marks their homework on a check list, first thing each morning. They each take a day, marking whether or not the homework was done. They must actually see the page to verify that it is done. For questionable work effort, they bring the work to me and I decide how it should be marked.
These are the marks they use:
0 = No Work/Poor effort
√ =Work completed
√+ =Work completed with extra effort
√- = Work incomplete

At the end of the week the pages are filed in a binder. For most assignments, we correct the homework as a class when we get to each subject area.

I am also thinking and making changes for next year and homework collection/checking was at the top of my list. I just developed a table that will be attached to manila folder with brads(like you see in the doctor's office for the patients) one for each student. I will start by students that do not have his or her homework will get a citation/mark in their school provided agenda then I will transfer the missed work into the manila folder. The student will fill-in the HW missed and sign and date and when the HW is complete I will check it off and sign. Until I have signed the missed HW as made up the student will have consequence; like not participating in fun Friday. I am looping with my students, so I really needed to change things that did not work because some students would get off not making up HW or would not mind missing recess to make it up. This new system helps me keep track of how many times a student has missed homework on a weekly and within the 9 week grading period. This is also more documentation for the parents at parent-teacher conferences. I think I am going to add a place for parents to sign weekly. I am going to try to attach now. Maybe this will help. I also like the one provided by Risa.

This year, I just walked around and checked it off on my clipboard,or had students hold it up and I would check it off that way. This year,may be different.A co teacher has a large pocket chart,and when students come in in the a.m., they put their work in their name pocket. She could then quickly look and see whose was missing. I may try it.

I take 10 points off for late work. I also send a note home to parents the first time an assignment is late, requiring their signature. After 10 missing assignments, I send students to the office. I am attaching the form that I use to track missing work. I found the idea on here and modified it to fit my own needs. You would make a folder for each child with this form in it and fill it out as need be.

7th and 8th grade science so it is a little different for me as far how my day is set up. However, I have the same problem with this age group. They just don't want to do homework. Towards the end of last year I was ready to pully my hair out. This year I'm going to really focus on what I assign as homework. I plan to be much more hands-on this year than I have been in the past. Students won't be assigned books, so that will really limit my homework assignments. My mentor told me she doesn't really assign homework. Any assignment she gives them, she makes sure they have plenty of time to do this in class and whatever they get done in class is what they get done. Obviously she adjust if she sees they are all struggling or whatever. This ensures that everyone gets a grade and a 5% is better than a 0. I'm going to try to do this in August. However, our prinicpal will be giving us longer periods with homework at the end of class in mind instead of more "teaching time" so this will be easier for me to do.

All that to say I've just been really evaluating the assignments I want to give as homework. What is their purpose?

While you will always get at least one or two who just never seem to catch on to any system you come up with (it is murphy's law or something) you can use Homeworkopoly in your room as a positive reinforcement. The 2 years I have used it for have given me much better results with homework being turned in.

I also do Fun Friday with a colleague. What happens is, one teacher takes the kids who have not been completing assignments (we called it Homework Club last year, but I am going to think up a new name) and they sit in her room silently and either complete that work or do something like practice math facts flash cards (I don't like them to silent read b/c I don't want them to see reading as punishment). The other teacher takes the students who did complete their work and they are allowed to play board games, draw with friends, play on the computer, etc. It does work wonders and I also use it for behavior consequences.

Several teachers at the school where I student taught used the following policy:
1st late/missed HW: do it at recess, then go play
2nd late: do it at recess and stay in afterward
3rd late: parent contact and administrative form
4th late: not allowed on field trips

Every quarter they were given a clean slate. You better believe only one kid missed a field trip before everyone fell in line. I understand at some public schools students cannot be held in at recess, so I guess it would need tweaking for that.

Also, I've read that making the homework part of a fun activity that is continued in class the next day is THE way to go, but that just seems easier said than done to me (like much of educational theory). There are some things that just can't be made fun, so I can't see it working on a daily basis in every subject. Maybe it's just me.

I also teach 4th grade. I do weekly homework packs so checking homework is much easier since it only comes in once a week. I have a student collect all of the homework and actually makes an announcement saying that it is final call. Then the student puts them in numerical order (each student has a number.) I have a chart near my desk that has all of the students names on it and then the collector puts a check mark next to the names of the handed in papers. The students are allowed to hand in homework one day late and the homework collector will write a "L" for late. This is a nice graph to look across the columns and see how often a student misses homework. I actually use it when I meet with parents. It is also helpful because I can look up at the big chart when I am filling out weekly reports. When the student is finished checking all homework onto the log he/she will come to me for a binder clip and then it is all nicely organized. :)

I also have been using Homeworkopoly for about three years now and I really like it. I teach fourth grade also. I adapt the rewards to my class and they even come up with some, like help to be Paul (our janitors) Pal for lunch recess, or sit in a cusion chair for the day, bring their own game on Fun Friday. We do not give any food rewards, but I do let them pick out of my treasure box.
Also to answer another question asked about where to put homework. I bought at Office Max a gray cardboard file with eight sections in it. I label each one with a subject and that it where they hand in all there assignments. That way they always know where to had them in. Never do they hand it onto my desk, that is considered the black hole. LOL Hope this helps. :)Good Luck! I do also like the missing assignment log too. So you can keep track of them.

I collect homework daily and I use to tear my hair out trying to keep track of missing papers until I came up with this system. I purchased 2 long red pocket charts, the kind with the pockets that are big enough to put a piece of paper in. Each pocket has a label and I wrote the students' numbers on the labels in alphabetical order, with the lowest numbers at the bottom. When the kids come in, they put their homework papers in their pocket and I can tell at a GLANCE who did not turn in their work. I can quickly check with students who are missing papers and often find that they had just forgotten to turn it in. If the student did not do the work, I quickly jot their name down and they stay in at morning recess to do it. Once I have checked with everybody, I can pull the papers out of the pockets in about 5 seconds and best of all, they are in alphabetical order!!

I use the pockets to collect most of the work the kids do because it is so easy to see when everyone is done and check with those that haven't handed in their work. I don't even have to touch a piece of paper to be able to do this and I can tell from across the room. It is so easy to pull the papers, that I usually pull them after each assignment is done, so the pockets are empty for the next assignment.

I LOVE THIS POCKET CHART. It has saved me tons of time!! Here's a link to the one I use: http://ateachersupply.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4

I do the Homeworkopoly game. How the kids get to play is that they have to have their homework punch card punched 10 times (2 weeks of completed homework) in order to play. I use index cards, write their name on them and number 1-10 on each end of the card (that way you can use it for 4 weeks). They have to turn in their completed homework with the homework card paperclipped to it (I keep the homework cards in a basket next to the homework basket). Then I can easily tell who hasn't turned in their homeowork. If the homework is comleted, the card gets punched. At the end of 2 weeks, whoever has all 10 punches gets to play. If their are some that have just 1 day not punched, they get to go into a drawing and one gets picked to play. It is a real motivator for 5th graders. I have a class treasure basket that I also use along with the cards.

My 5th graders come in and turn their homework in a basket. Then they "sign-in" on a checksheet that I created for the week during their morning procedures. They find their name, write down a #1 (turned in all homework), #2, (turned in some homework), or a #3 (didn't turn in homework) and then they initial. Before our lesson in which they did homework for, I have two students help pass back their homework, so that we can check it together, and so I can also see whose desk is "empty" because no homework was passed back to them. I quickly check the clipboard with their morning sign-in sheet to make sure everyone was trustworthy about writing down the right # for their homework.

I have had a couple of students not tell the truth when they sign in. For example, they would write down a #1 when they either didn't turn in their howework at all, or was missing a piece. I them call them out in front of the class for not being trustworthy, and it usually doesn't happen again. :)

I LOVE this system because it helps keep documentation of every student's weekly homework and it also helps academically to pass the homework back out to check together because it's a great review of the upcoming lesson. Those that didn't do their homework also benefit from watching the review. It usually only takes me about 5 minutes to go over the answers. I also love it because it makes it easy to see who's absent, if their name section is blank. :)

I would attach my sign-in sheet, but I'm a new member and I don't have that luxury yet. :)

I use homeworkopoly on Fridays too. The student of the week grabs the clipboard and calls the students that had all #1's on their sign-in sheet to roll the dice. I don't manage the game at all....which they LOVE!! Students that don't have all #1's work on making up one piece of their missing homework during this time.

I make checklists of all my kids and use them for EVERYTHING!

I use baskets for each subject as well. I have one kid go through the basket towards the end of the day and check off who has it. If someone doesn't have it, then that child goes and asks them for it. Those that don't finish, I give a verbal reminder and then they are responsible for getting it back to me.

Trust me...I still get holes in my gradebook, but it is usually from the same two or three. Much easier to track.

Then I attach the checklist to my stack and then when I grade it I can see at a glance who has it and who doesn't. If they are absent, I mark A by their names.

I use my checklist from everything to returning report cards to collecting field trip $$$. I can always tell in second who is missing it.

My kids are third graders. I have several girls that are very dependable about getting things checked off for me.

HTH!

When missing assignments have been a big problem, I send home missing work notices. I've attached mine, feel free to edit and use it. :)

Like Teachtoscrap, I keep copies of the list of students in my class (see attachment), so I (or a student) can easily and quickly check off who turned in what. My students love to help with this. I keep the list attached to the stack of papers. If I'm not near my computer to enter grades, I can put the grade on the checklist too to put in the electronic grade book later.

Rick Morris wrote a book called New Management that has lots of fantastic techniques for reducing the time we spend on these kinds of things. I use many of his ideas in my classroom.

I teach 4th grade and our school has a system in place to use when a child doesn't do his/her homework. It consists of a homework slip, 3 slips = afterschool detention. That works for some kids, but it doesn't seem to bother others.
However, in my classroom we play a math game every Friday and a winner is chosen (random) from the winning team. The student who wins gets a rubber duck ( I bought them from Oriental Trading). This is a BIG DEAL to the kids.........and, you guessed it, if you didn't do a homework assignment that week you don't get to play on Friday! And there goes your chance at winning the weekly duck!
I know it sounds silly, but my homework is usually at 100%!

I actually got this idea from my nephew's school and have used it for several years successfully. Now grades 3-6 in our school use it....Here is how it works:

At the start of each nine weeks, I have a green sheet for each child in my binder. On each preprogrammed sheet it explains that the child forgot their HW on a particular date, and I write down what it was, send it home for the parents to sign and return. I then return it to my binder for the next time. Missing HW #2-4, the form is filled out the same way, but the student stays in at recess to complete the missing work. The sheet states that this is happening. Missing HW#5 is an afterschool detention with the principal!

Since I have instituted this plan, I very rarely have kids forget homework. In years past, at the end of the nine weeks, those children who have NEVER had a green sheet during that time are invited to "Breakfast of Champions", which is where they come to school about 15 minutes early, and I provide them with donuts and juice. They LOVE it! For those who can't come early...we save a donut for them to eat when they get there. (This also motivates the others when they see the yummy treats!)

I wish I could attach my sheet for you, but it was lost on a disk sometime back, I only have my original hard copy. Sorry!

Our district has a policy that we must assign homework. The amount is determined by the grade level. I teach sixth grade ILA & SS and have partners who teach ILA & math, science, etc. Our grade level is assigned 60 minutes a night. My team has divided up that hour into minutes for the required subject areas so that we meet the district policy. (We don't agree but are already fighting that battle on the correct level.)

Anyway, the policy includes that after three missed assignments a madatory after-school detention must be assigned. Because I had a problem with such a negative approach when I arrived three years ago in this grade level, my partner and I decided to acknowledge the hard work the children who DID the required homework. We instituted the following:
If a student does all the homework in every subject every night for a marking period, we treat them to lunch and give them a free homework pass to any subject. Sometimes we order Chinese food, Taco Bell, subs, pizza, etc. Parents were notified, kids responded positively, and administration supports it and is even looking to fund us since my partner and I foot the bill. We have four lunches which is one for each marking period. At graduation we give an award to those who did all four lunches. Last year we gave a certificate of recognition and a gift card to the movies.

When I taught Kindergarten I was always picking up little things to add to my centers and theme days. I saved a huge amount of money moving to sixth and feel this expense is well worth it. The children who always do homework always will...we hope to catch the ones on the fringe and push them over to the responsible side...plus we wanted to let all the homework doers know that we appreciate their efforts.

PS: We are in a small district...36 sixth graders! That makes a huge difference! If you are in a bigger situation, this would be way out of line unless you had funding!