Homework--Why?

I am not a big believer in giving (much) homework. The reason is pretty simple. Students rarely do it. And when they do, it is frequently copied from another student. It made me want to tear my hair out.

When I first started teaching, I assigned homework every night. I mean, that's how it's supposed to be done, right? Hmm... Maybe in a math class. But in an English class, it became an exercise in frustration. My students JUST DID NOT DO IT! There, I've said it again. I'd call home. A few might get a little better for a few days. Then they'd fall right back into their old  habits. And who has time to grade all that work? I could barely keep up with tests, quizzes, essays, etc.

So I eventually gave up on the nightly homework assignments.

There were only four types of homework that I gave.

1.  Long-term projects: This includes things like research activities, posters, journals, etc. Students would have two or three weeks to complete projects outside of class and turn them in by the due date.
2.  Finishing up: If we began an activity in class and some students didn't have time to finish, I would let them finish for homework.
3.  Reading: Students did SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) for me and were expected to finish a certain number of pages by the end of the grading period. They got 20 minutes reading time in class, but I encouraged them to read outside of class as well. Since these were books the students chose themselves and were intended to be read for pleasure, I felt this would not be too onerous for them.
4.  Vocabulary homework: I gave students a list of 10 vocabulary tone words each week on Wednesday. For homework, they had to write a sentence with each word. These were due the following Wednesday, when they had their quiz, and counted 20 points of the quiz grade. I gave very detailed instructions for sentences because they were intended to help students improve their sentence fluency.

Maybe you have had better luck with assigning homework than I did. If so, high five. If not, I hope the above lets you know that you are not alone and gives you some ideas to make your life easier.

Makeup Work-the bane of teacher's lives

Ugh! I hate dealing with makeup work. What a hassle. Five or six kids (okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration) storming my desk at the beginning or end of class wanting to know what they missed yesterday. Writing down the same thing five or six times. It was neverending.

My solution was to create a MAKEUP WORK station in my classroom. A place where I would keep a folder with the previous day's work in it. A place where I would have all handouts I had given out. In other words...TEACHER NIRVANA. lol!

I chose a location at the front of my classroom but out of the way of my main work area. I got a notebook to use to hold the pages with each day's assignments. I created a form that fit my class to use and ran off multiple copies.  I used a three-tab porftolio-type folder, but any type of notebook will work as long as you can put pages in and take them out.

Then I got file folders and labeled one for each day of the week. In these folders I put any handouts that I passed out that day. File folders were put into a folder organizing system. There are many different ones out there. This is what I used simply because I found it cheap at the thrift store. I spray painted it and...voila!

Other possibilities include the following:

At the end of each day, I would fill out the Makeup Work form and put it into the notebook. Then I would put all handouts into their proper file.

When students came back to class, it was their responsibility to check the makeup work notebook and write down any missed work and deadlines. Then they found the proper file and got out one copy of each handout.

When the next week rolled around, I simply replaced the handouts from the previous week with the new ones. So the handouts would stay in the folder for one week. This system really helped me get a handle on  makeup work. I'm not going to say that it completely eliminated makeup work headaches, but it sure did cut them down to manageable proportions. And students couldn't claim that they didn't know they had missed tests or that I hadn't told them their missing assignments. Bliss!!

The Gigantic Wall Calendar

If your students are like my students were, they struggle with remembering when tests are scheduled, when projects are due, when holidays begin (okay, maybe not so much), and just about any other date you can imagine. My classroom had this huge whiteboard on the side wall that I really had no use for. I decided to use it to create a really gigantic wall calendar such as I'd seen other places.

I used that blue painter's tape and some cool letters that I found. I color coded classes since I taught two grade levels: red for seniors, green for freshmen, and blue for everyone. The beginning of each month I recorded all dates that I knew. Some dates were recurring (every Wednesday vocabulary quizzes, every Friday mini-lesson quizzes, for example). I put them up anyway. Because of the way I planned, I knew most major test dates and most project due dates. If these dates needed to change, it was a quick fix since they were written in Expo markers. School calendar dates were easy enough since we got them at the end of summer.

I cannot tell you how much easier this made my life. At the beginning of the school year, I would tell my students to get into the habit of checking the calendar as soon as they walked into the room. No one could ever say, "I didn't know we had a test today, Ms. K" because all I had to do was point to the calendar. The rest of the class would just laugh.

If you look closely at the picture, you can also see that I used a portion of the board to post Make Ups. Actually, I would just write the names of any student who owed me any graded work. It was up to them to find out what it was that they were missing. Again, no surprises.

Keeping kids informed of this type of information can sometimes be a great, big pain. Anything that will make my life easier has got my vote. I highly recommend doing something similar if it is at all possible.  Good luck!!

Teacher Binders

Why should you want a paper and pencil teacher binder when you can have an online one? 

In today's technology-savvy era, I guess that's a good question. I really think this is a personal decision. Let me explain why I prefer the paper and pencil binder, and then you can make up your own mind.

First, I find that it's much easier for me to organize myself with paper and pencil. That probably has a lot to do with personal habits. When I first started using a paper binder, it was WAAAY back in the day. We were actually issued large plan books and wrote out our lesson plans for the week. That is when I got in the habit of planning my entire nine weeks in rough form. I dated it like a calendar, put in all holidays and assemblies, etc. Then I could figure out how much time I would have to teach each of my units. In the best of all possible worlds, you have all the time you need. But in the real world....Good Luck!

Second, studies have proven that there is a hand to mind connection. I find that my thoughts run more smoothly and I think more creatively when I have a pencil/pen in my hand. Some of my best ideas have come as I was handwriting my plans.

Third, I get a real sense of satisfaction as I see my ideas unfold in my own handwriting. It's just not the same when I type it out on my computer. My school did require online lesson plans and an online gradebook, and yes, that means I had copies in two places. My written lesson plans were never as detailed as my online ones. They were more broad strokes. As far as the gradebook, I could grade papers at home, put the grades in my binder, go to school and simply put them in the online gradebook. Because both gradebooks were alphabetical order, it took very little time to do the exchange.

Fourth, it appeals to my personal sense of creativity and fun. I pick my colors, my dividers, the color ink I use. I can use sticky notes and washi to decorate if I want to. They're just cute. lol!

Fifth,  I find it more convenient. If I have a parent conference or need to phone a parent, I can just grab my binder and go. If I have a meeting with my administrator, I don't have to print out the information he wants, I already have it. Everything is in one spot rather than in several files on my computer.

So when my school moved to online lesson plans, I still wanted a paper one to get myself organized for the long haul.  I purchased some of those pre-made ones. However, they were generally geared more towards elementary teachers, and I was never happy with them. I didn't need to know who ate lunch and who brought their own. Nor did I need to divide my day up into several subjects. And the ones for secondary teachers were so bland and boring, it was depressing.  It wasn't until I started creating my own binders that I began to figure out exactly what I needed in a teacher binder.



Everyone is different in what he/she would like to have in a binder. Creating your own helps you tailor it to your own specific needs. Whatever it is that you need to track, you can do it in your binder. If you get handouts or letters you need to keep up with, those can go into your binder. Emails can be printed and put in. Flyers with upcoming community performances, letters from students...anything you can think of can probably go into your binder.

As far as expense, you can spend a lot of money on one or be very frugal. You can create your own inserts or download  print inexpensive ones like mine (see link below). Personally, I always tend to be a bit more on the frugal side. You can buy an expensive binder or stick to a cheap one. You can buy cute dividers or make your own. My favorite type of binder is the ARC Discbound system. However, they do tend to be a bit pricier, especially if you purchase the special hole punch ($40 or more). If you don't want to invest much, a simple three ring binder is perfect. They come in so many pretty colors and designs, and you don't have to break the bank. The binder you can see on this page and that I will be using to show the various printables was purchased at Walmart for $3.68. I got the dividers also at Walmart for 98 cents. I used some folders I got at Target dollar spot to create a flyleaf, an additional divider, and a pocket. My dashboard I made from a set of three flexible "cutting boards" I picked up at Dollar Tree. Everything else I already had: washi tape, paper clips, sticky notes, etc.

With just a little creativity and planning, you can create a teacher binder that will work perfectly for you.

For some great secondary Teacher Planner Printables, check out my TPT Store here.

Happy Planning!

Welcome to my page

Hi, everyone. My name is Rissa Killen, and I am so excited to be able to share with  you some of my ideas and activities for use in your secondary English language arts classroom. I have taught in the public schools for 32 years, everything from 7th to 12th grade language arts. I have seen a lot of teaching fads rise and fall over the decades. Now that I am retired, I wanted to offer some of my experience in helping you discover the procedures, activities, and tips that will help to make  your own English language arts classroom the best it can be. I have recently opened a store on TeachersPayTeachers. You will find the link in the side bar. I hope you will visit it and find something that will make your job easier and more effective. If you'd like to know more about me, please visit my About Me link.

I will be posting some additional ideas on this blog as well as offering some freebies to help you get your classroom more organized.  I hope you will like these freebies I will have available.