[LIT] a lot of students - help!

[DeAnn Kaduce]

I also have a hard, hard time returning written responses, essays, reports, etc. in a timely manner.  Grading is such an arduous task for me.  I have found one helpful strategy, though, in dealing with students' daily work, such as vocabulary, spelling and grammar work.  I too teach in a 55 minute period that must also double as Social Studies curriculum, so I embed my SS curriculum within my Language Arts assignments, whereby the assignments the students write are for SS.  I have my work cut out mixing it all together in a warm, fine tasting soup of ideas.

My strategy is to keep a record book with student names and daily assignments.  I do a quick-check on daily assignments for completeness and give the students an instant verbal grade ("You have an A", "You have a C, because you didn't include...").  Then I write the grade in the record book.  The students get instant feedback in daily assignments, I never have to collect that assignment from them, and I have time to pick and choose afterwards which daily work assignments I want to include in the official gradebook.  Many students will immediately begin to redo and revise work that has received a D or C or even a B once I am able to tell them quickly during their spot check which element of the item they didn't include.  It takes about 5-7 min. to make it around my class size of 18 students.  It also makes for easier record keeping if you have multiple classes.

I hope these ideas help,

DeAnn Kaduce
Swinney Elementary
1106 W. 47th St.
Kansas City, MO 64112
(816)418-6275 ext. 0205

Stop planning for teaching; start planning for learning.
________________________________________
From: lit-bounces at literacyworkshop.org [lit-bounces at literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of macwendy at cox.net [macwendy at cox.net]
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 8:54 PM
To: A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades.; timari66 at sbcglobal.net
Subject: Re: [LIT] a lot of students - help!

Tina and Ann,

I, too, am a middle school English teacher.  I have 6 classes of 7th grade English; 1 Far Below Basic, 3 Honors and basic English classes.  I teach 6 / 5 without a prep so I can make an extra 20% because of the economy in my state as well as the country.  This is my 3rd year.  I salute you if you can get the papers back in 3 weeks.  My papers are read, every word, and I comment on every one of them.  However, it takes a long,long time.  This year I have finally learned to stagger the essays so that they are not all turning them in at the same time.  Actually, the FBB and basic classes are easier to score, edit, because they write so little.  But because they are weak in their writing, I feel I have to pull teeth to teach them, train them, re-teach them; they have such bad habits in writing.  My Honors classes have some good writers, but they are not all good writers, and sos the essays tend to be longer and more interesting to read.  I can focus on content and elaboration.  I
 t's possible there is no easy answer unless teachers could teach writing like you were before the budget cuts.

I am trying to devote 3 class days of writing the actual essay after we have discussed, outlined, and written a sloppy copy so that I can call students up.  Of course everything else goes by the wayside.

Certainly, there is no easy fix!

Mac

I, too, have to teach vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, writing and in a 55 minute period as well.  AND I have to differentiate in the 3 levels of ability so it is like having 3 preps multiplied by 4 components.  Grade, grade,grade
---- Ann <skibaa at chartermi.net> wrote:
> Tina,
> I teach four sections of 7th grade English and one remedial 8th grade English class.  I have a total of 140 students in a six hour day and am overwhelmed with the assessing of writing.  I am using the 6 Traits, but also have to do reading, spelling, grammar, speaking and listening in a 55 minute period.  There is not a weekend that I don't take piles of papers home to read and write comments.  I won't give a writing assignment and score it with only a number or letter.  Middle school students won't write if I don't provide feedback.  Handing back papers doesn't happen in a week or two, sometimes it takes me three weeks.  I do the best that I can in the amount of time provided.
> --
> Ann
> skibaa at chartermi.net
>
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