I wanted to blog about the quality of student work. I really think what a student turns in should be done with pride but WHOA Nelly...... what I was getting from my 4th and 5th graders was the furthest from quality. UGH!!!! I am not sure if it was they were still on summer break mode, testing the new teacher or that it was really quality work was never expected from them. Or was it something else?
Hmmmm I had a long talk with both classes explained to them that being a student is their job and their work was a reflection of them as a student. My job is being a teacher and I cannot turn in lesson plans scribbled out, misspelled, missing parts, crumbled up and written on the wrong side of the paper. So they could not either!
I also made a bulletin board with examples of neat work where I display one paper I thought was the neatest that week from each class. Finally I BANNED pens! Some of the others teachers on my team let the kids write in pen so I felt I needed to do the same. I tried really I did but the junk I was getting was unacceptable by my standards. WOW!!! What a difference! Now not everyone is perfect but the improvement I have seen across the board. Very impressive this week.
Here are some of the best this week.
In this assignment my 4th graders and I were taking about setting in our book club books and using textual evidence to support. They had to write a page number of where they found the evidence and then draw and color a picture of the setting.
Now I have another issue...kids coming without pencils or sharpening pencils for the first 10 minutes of class. I solved that I have a bunch of pencils, pre-sharpened and they have to give me something for a new pencil. When they give me the pencil back I give them back what they gave me. Seems to have helped. Gosh I feel like I am constantly putting out fires. LOL
I hope everyone has an amazing week! I am looking forward to a week full of pencils and prideful work!
