Lesson 1: The Homework Dilemma
Organizing at School - Part 2
End of the Day Time
Just writing assignments down is one thing, but equally important is helping students to be sure they have all of the necessary books and materials with them before they leave school each day. How frustrating for a student to get home and realize that his math book is still in school and he is unprepared to do his homework!
To that end, I'd set aside 10 minutes at the end of the school day for packing up. That sounds simple, but early in the school year I would really guide that process by saying things like:
"Okay, we all have reading homework tonight. That homework is to read chapter 2 of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Let me see everyone's book." I'd have the students all hold up their books and then place them on a pile on their desks. I'd go through the same procedure for each assignment - making sure that all needed books, notebooks and worksheets were piled up. Then I'd allow students to get their backpacks by rows or groups and really monitor their packing.
As the year went by, students would become more responsible for their own packing up, and I wanted to transfer that responsibility over to them, so I'd cut back on my "staging" of their packing up process. But setting it up right in the beginning of the year is really vital.
My Big Calendar
When I started teaching fifth grade, it soon became clear that I was giving long-range assignments and needed a way to help students keep track of them. After trying a few different ideas, I settled on a large scrolling calendar on a part of the chalkboard. I just taped off a big calendar grid and numbered it for about a month at a time. In the calendar boxes I'd mark upcoming tests, report due dates, reading assignment due dates and other important dates.
When I would make the assignment, I'd also have the students flip to that part of their planner and make a note of the upcoming assignment on the correct date. I just scrolled that calendar throughout the year and it was a very useful tool in keeping us all organized. I also used it to note other events like assemblies, trips, and parties, so it became more of a classroom calendar and students just got used to recording all kinds of events right along with their homework assignments. A pretty neat life skill, if you ask me!
