Assignments
Assignments and Homework: I give homework assignments that require you to apply or extend information covered in class or prepare for the next lesson.
6. Homework must be completed by the beginning of class for full credit or by the end of the day for 80% credit. Confirm answers during class review.
7. Late work can be submitted for 10% credit reduction each day after the due date or 60% after it has been returned to others.
8. Low scoring assignments can be redone (Q.A.R. format) for 80% credit.
8. Students may work together on assignments as long as they contribute equally and both fully understand the material covered.
9. When you are absent you will have the same number of days as your absence to complete the work. Write A.R.T. dates and turn in to folder
10. Missing work is the most common cause of low grades. Use the missing work lists, no-name folder, daily pass back monitoring, and my grade book.
Assignments List, 2014-2015
Questions and Answers About Assignments and Grades
As I began to upload the bulk of the scores for the first month of school I noticed that quite a few students had one or more assignments missing or of low quality (mostly due to not following directions). During class I worked to make sure that the students concerned were aware of this and could make plans to take action if they so desired. When I found myself putting more effort into pursuing and hounding students with missing work than they themselves were putting into making up the work, I realized that our relative efforts were out of balance -- I'm taking more responsibility for their work and accountability than they are. I'm a strong advocate of experiential learning (even negative ones) and yet I found myself depriving some students of a learning experience by shielding them from the reality of the low class grades that result from even a few missed assignments. Grades are certainly not the greatest measure of student learning, but they are one indicator of effort, accountability, and engagement. The compromise that I struck with myself regarding my role in students' awareness of their grades and what causes them, is to create as many ways as I can by which students can keep themselves aware of what work is assigned, what process is expected, when/how the product will be assessed, when the work is due, and what can be done to improve the learning/score after grading. To that end I created an assignment calendar and two spreadsheets that are all embedded in the "assignments". The back wall of my room, hopefully, continues to serve as a physical historical chronology about the daily schedules, activities, and assignments in both science and English. If I overdo the availability of information about assignments, then I'm hoping that the students will feel a stronger sense of accountability. Please take a look at the grades posted online and if there is something missing or a score that could be raised, the student should feel that they have every resource necessary to do it. This week the afternoon schedules often included some flexible time during which students could do make-up work, get ahead on upcoming assignments, or just sit and relax and watch a part of a movie at times. I'm confident that there is ample time, support, and resources for all students to live up to their personal level of challenge, productivity, and affinity for the subject matter.