Managing paperwork-How?

[zxm123]

How do you manage the paperwork that you must correct? I'm talking about daily homework and practice papers that reveal important info to the teacher and to the student but are time consuming to grade. This year I want to simplify my paper management and I need some ideas. How often do you send work home? Or do you file everything they do? I think I've tried everything but I'm still not satisfied with my system. I have been teaching for ten years but paper still swamps me.

 

[irises]

Here's what helps me...

One or two days per week I sort the papers students placed in the "In Bin." I log in my grade book the homework turned in (generally reading logs and math). I don't grade math homework and only make corrections on those with errors or those where the student did not explain or show work the way expected and this is also for parents info. I throw the homework away after glancing it over! I do look over the reading logs and enter those in my grade book with the date turned in. I put a sticker on it and return. My students work in a math workbook every day during math and I correct it during class as they finish in front of them. I don't want their errors to stick so I do it right away. If it's correct, they go to Math Workshop (games) with someone else who is ready. If not, they fix it then and there. I do the same for any LA workbook pages. Writing is a different story because it requires a conference. However, I do walk around and make suggestions as they are writing so they don't go too far in the wrong direction. I only keep papers that I need for particular students files (red flag students or for upcoming meetings). I tear out math workbook pages and send those home periodically. The LA workbooks go home at the end of each unit. I ask for all math tests signed and returned and I grade spelling tests and send home. Writing is case by case. I rarely grade writing because it's been conferenced and changed. I use their journals (never graded or marked by me) to assess true writing. I hope this helps!

 

[dearduckyduck]

daily review

The only things I personally grade or check are 3 question review entry tasks and assessments.

Here is my math schedule as an example….

First five minutes: quick review entry task, 3 questions (I do grade these because I use the data to form my small groups)
Next ten minutes: students grab a pen and correct the previous days homework assignment as a class
15-20 minutes of instruction
Remaining time is work time. Students use this time to correct problems missed on the homework corrected earlier and work on the days new assignment.

Daily assignments are turned in for five points ONLY if work is shown for all missed problems in the correcting pen color. This is a quick process because I just shuffle through and give all the assignments turned in their 5 points and enter quickly into grade book. I do visually scan for problems showing work on corrected problems, but I don't look at every problem.

 

[mooseweaver]

I follow a similar routine to irises . .

I found that it is important to let parents know that I "destroy" the homework--many of them have puzzled over parts of it and want to see the answers. I let them know that I actually "dismember" the packets to sort pages to form student skill groups and they usually understand.

 

[zxm123]

For small groups

dearduckyduck, how often do you meet in small groups? Do you have a daily time or is it several times a week? How much time do you spend with each group?

 

[zxm123]

Thanks

these are great ideas. Thanks for sharing you practice.

 

[dearduckyduck]

small groups

I do small groups once a week. I am changing how I do the small groups. Last year, this was mainly a time for the students to play some games that had review skills in them. Kind of a fun thing we did once a week. I did not actually work with any of the groups. I taught the new game at the beginning of class. The new game was one group that I stayed with to make sure they were playing correctly. The rest of the groups were games they had played before and already knew. They rotated groups every 10 minutes.

This year I am going to use the small groups time for more instruction. I still plan to have a group playing a game, but I want the other groups to be more instructional. The review questions that I correct will give me data on what to go over at the teacher table.

10 minute rotations give me about 15 minutes to give instruction at the beginning of class, four groups rotate through each station, then a quick 5 minute clean up before we switch classes. The rotations take a bit longer at the beginning of the year because they are learning how to switch groups. By the end of the year, the rotation of groups took less than thirty seconds.

 

[zxm123]

I like the idea

of a day for review games in math. Keeps math fun yet educational and it incorporates a spiral review. I am thinking of doing something like this maybe twice a week to have time to help my lowest students either one-on-one or in a small group. But I don't want to call it centers perhaps because in my mind it sounds like I am going to have to prepare more and it will be more work for me. Instead it is a flexible grouping that could focus on reviewing past skills while I go over new skills for the lowest kids. Thanks for your ideas.