In my classroom we correct tests, quizes, math homework, and spelling tests. Reading response homework is looked at for completion and detail, then marked off. We correct in a colored pen usually. If the answer is multiple choice, I will just mark it off if it is incorrect. If the answer was written out, I usually write something back to the student. I find myself wanting to give a lot of feedback sometimes, but with 34 assignments to get through I need to limit myself. Jane likes to record percentages so I always make sure to write the percentage that students got on tests and quizes. I try to give meaningful praise if the student did a great job, or I try to ask a question or help a student if they did not answer the question completely. Math assignments and tests get handed back in class and the students are responsible for taking them home. Reading response homework gets put back in the student's reading binder so it can be looked at over the year. Social studies and science tests are handed back in class and then students can take them home and show their families.
Response to comment:
Currently students don't earn extra money for the things you have mentioned, only being a student and their Micro jobs. I really like those ideas though and would like to try them in my own classroom someday if I try Microsociety.
As far as pooling their money together, I like that idea too. Actually, last year Jane told me her class did a school fundraiser, to raise real money, to buy a classroom whiteboard because they did not like one of the chalkboards they had. This fundraiser was part of their micro time as well. I thought that was so cool and really taught about team work and working hard to earn money for things you want.
Assessment is typically one of the last challenges student teachers face as they adapt to their host classrooms. I can tell from your post that you've fully integrated Jane's systems (and some of her philosophies) into your daily practice. Have you ever used rubrics/checklists to respond to student work--rubrics/checklists that the kids see before they start to work and then use as guides as they work? (We can talk about that when I visit next, ok?). And I'm glad to know that your instinct is to give a lot of feedback--response to work is one of the most underrated tools in a teacher's kit--but you're also smart to recognize that if you don't set good boundaries, you'll work yourself into the ground. You might be interested to know that managing the paper load is one of the topics at every English/Language Arts workshop or conference I attend, which tells you that it's a career-long challenge for teachers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response to my comments about ways to adapt the microsociety. Have you created an "ideas I want to remember" file on your computer? I have one from 20 years ago, when I was a student teacher!