Bellwork and Why You Should Use It Too

I'd like to start this post by admitting I hadn't used this classroom management technique until half way through the second quarter of our school year.  Boy, I do I regret it!

Something I include in the first 5 minutes of every class is Bellwork.  I project on our front board the following things:

Today's Date

Today's Objectives

A Question

Instructions to Prepare the Students for Class

The students' job is to copy down the objective, answer the question, and follow the instructions. 

I have the students copy the objective because I believe it is important for the students to know what they should be able to do by the end of class AND it also gives them a preview into what we will be doing that day.

The Bellwork question can be one of the following:  Vocab work, Root word work, or Sentence corrections.  

Insert example of each here

 The instructions can range from turn in homework, pick up any handouts that we will need for the day, clear off your desk, etc.  

By including the Bellwork as soon as the students come in, it sets the mood of the class that we are here to learn, but it also diminishes any classroom management issues. The students know to come in and complete the bellwork in five minutes and so there is little room for goofing off or getting into other shenanigans.  

But what if the students do follow the instructions and instead sit in their seats and talk? Of course they are going to talk sometimes, this is middle school!

 I solve this problem by giving a Bellwork quiz every 2 weeks or so.  When it is a quiz day, I hand the students a notecard as I greet them at the door.  Projected on the board are three to four questions that reflect the various things we have covered the past few weeks.  I might ask them things such as: 

What was the objective from 2/29?  

What is the meaning of ostentatious from 3/4?  

Write the sentence from 1/18 WITH the corrections included.

The students answer these questions on their notecards and turn them in to count for an assessment grade.  This IS an open notebook quiz!  The idea is that if they have been following directions everyday and aren't sitting there talking, they can have a very easy assessment grade that can boost their overall class grade.  The students learned real quick after the first two quizzes that they are being held accountable for their Bellwork.

I do have planned for next year to include other topics for Bellwork, but that is for a separate post.

How do you start your class period?  Do you do something similar or completely different? I would love to hear some different ideas!

My Grading System

This is something that as a first year teacher, I have molded and changed and fiddled with over the last few months.  Let's be honest, it'll probably change by the time summer break is over and we've started the new school year!

However, this is the method I use currently that tackles the never ending issue of late work and keeping track of who completed the work and who didn't.

I keep my classes separated by dividers in a 1" binder. Makes for easy portability!

To start, my school has a system for attendance and grades that allows me to print out class rosters with built in columns that can be filled in however I like.  The names are listed on the left hand side of the table, and I fill in the assignment details at the top of each column.

The assignment details I include every time are as follows:  Assignment name, when it is due, what type of assignment it is, and how many points it is worth.  For instance,

Homophones Practice,  3-4-16, Homework, 10

When it is time to grade the assignment, I either use checkmarks to mark that the student completed the assignment and has earned the full amount of points, or I put the number they received based on quality of the work.  So for example, if there were 10 questions for the Homophones Practice Homework and I was grading for completion, I would mark a check next to the students' names that completed the assignment.  If I was grading for amount of questions correct and Suzie Smart only got 7 questions correct, I would mark a '7' in her box for that assignment.

If a student did not turn in the assignment, I would leave their box blank. If they are excused from an assignment I put a slash through that assignment.
After I have graded all of a particular assignment, I input the grades into our electronic gradebook portal and then mark at the top of the column with a checkmark.  That way I know if that assignment has been added or not!

Of course, everything is color coded with my magical pens!

Now for the assignments that get turned in late.

Let's say that Suzie Smart didn't turn the Homophones Practice Homework in on time.  In my gradebook online I report it as missing.  Three days later Suzie turns in her homework.  When I collect it at the end of the day,  I check it for how many she got correct.  If she had turned it in on time she would get a 7/10, but since it was three days late, she gets 1.5 points taken away from her score.  So she gets 5.5/10 on the assignment (bummer).  I record this in my physical binder this way:  I write the date it was turned in and then what her score would have been on time and I finish by circling that little box.  The circle is a reminder to input her grade electronically since I already put in the class grades as a whole.  When I go into the electronic gradebook, I can mark it as turned in late, then I put in the 5.5/10 score.  Our school's gradebook allows us to write a comment for each assignment for each student, so I also include here how many late points were taken so parent or student can know what they lost.  As soon as I have inputted that late grade, I take one of my highlighters and mark through the circle to indicate the late grade has been put in.

WHEW.  I know that was a long paragraph, thanks for sticking through that!

I use this system because I have a bad memory. If I just put in whenever a student finally turned in some work, I would NEVER remember to put it in electronically, let alone WHEN they turned it in!  This is nice for me because if I don't get to the electronic part until later (days or a week even) I still know when the turn in date is so I'm not taking away too many or too little points.  This also works for me because students always ask, "I turned that in two days ago but the portal still says it is missing."  I can look in my binder and tell the little angel that yes I have received and graded their assignment, it just hasn't gone into the portal yet OR if I highlighted it and they are telling me it still says missing we know there is a problem that needs to be addressed technology wise.

TL;DR - I use checks, circles, and numbers to keep track of grading and late work.  See picture for more details of what my grade book looks like!

How do you keep track of student work?  Have you figured out a system that saves you headaches later on?  I'd love to discuss in the comments!

We Interrupt the Teaching for....Best Pens Ever

There is something I need to admit to you all...

I am very obsessed with my pens.

I have gone my college life trying to find the best writing utensils for my organizational and color coding needs.  I've tried many brands, but it wasn't until an early graduation present that I found the love of my life:

It is the Paper Mate Flair M series.  These puppies have a very wide variety of colors that seem to multiply every time I step into a Staples that write almost like a marker, but with little bleed and a fine tip.  I use these for EVERYTHING!

My students KNOW they are not allowed to touch these on my desk!

If you are ever in the market for a fantastic writing utensil capable of anything and envied by all, I highly recommend these.  Trust me, they are life changing.

Are there any particular office supply that has changed your life? Let me know!

How I Handle Student Work

If you've read my post on Duct Tape, you'll know that I have a possibly unhealthy obsession with Target and that I have taped up some boxes and folders to be used in my classroom.

Here now is how I use those things.

First, the boxes.  On one of the bookshelves in my room, I have six duct taped boxes.  There is one for each of my classes (I teach five blocks of Writing for 7/8th graders) and a sixth one for No Name work.
Insert picture here

Very simply, whenever I get something graded, I put it into the appropriate class box.  This way, if there is time at the end of class or if I NEED to have something handed back to the students, I just pick a volunteer to grab their class box and pass things out.  The students are also in the habit to look in the box themselves if they want to pick out some work.

The sixth box is covered in some special tape:  Frozen themed!  Although I enjoyed the movie, the students have reached that point where Frozen is no longer "cool" so they don't want to look into the box if they don't have to.
Insert picture here

Instead of just throwing those papers out, I put the words "Name??" on the top and the date that it was collected.  This way, whenever I inevitably hear the words, "Ms. Smith, I turned in blah blah assignment but the gradebook says it's missing!" I can just say to them to check the Frozen box.

By putting the date it was collected at the top, this solves a few problems for myself- If it was turned in on time, I don't have to guess and can give the student full points.  If it was turned in late, I still don't have to guess when it was turned in late versus when they finally put their name on it and turned it back in so I can still award the appropriate amount of points for the assignment (Our middle school team policy is 5% the amount the assignment is worth taken every day it is late.)

I also have five folders that are taped in the same colors as the class boxes that the students use to turn in their assignments.  These folders are used to keep the classes organized and then at the end of the day I can collect the folders and stick them in my bag for grading later.  Everything stays together, and the students have an easily spotted place to turn everything in! Win-Win.
Insert picture here

What colorful organizational tools do you use in your classroom? Share in the comments below!

Duct Tape is a Color Coder's Best Friend

Whoah, my first post!

I am a crafter by nature, and one day in Target I happened upon numerous rolls of colorful and character duct tape. Naturally, I bought a few rolls with the intent to use them for something in my classroom.

Enter these babies.

Before

I had quite the collection early on in the school year from different places - buying hanging folders, manilla folders, and what I inherited from the previous teacher.

I quickly took the colorful rolls of tape and covered them up!  I first started with 5 boxes that I would use for class mailboxes.  Then with the remaining colors I just made some random boxes I could use whenever in my classroom.  

Result picture to be added later.

The result made for a sturdier box that could stand the test of time and from 170 students using them.  It also allowed for easier organization. Win!

I didn't stop there though!

I also use folders in my room for students to turn their assignments into.  I happened upon these at Target (a common theme in my lifelong addiction) in the clearance section AND they came with a hanging pocket organizer, SCORE!

Before

I took what remained from the class mailboxes and wrapped the folders in the same colors so they would match.  Again, this helps the folders to be sturdier and keeps things consistent. 

After

Obviously, this isn't something that every teacher needs to do or a "should" do project.  However,  I have found that as someone who likes to keep things uber organized, this has really helped!  

Are there creative projects you have done that you're proud of?  I'd love to hear them!