Here are some of the Word documents I use to plan and manage my classes. Feel free to steal them, adapt them, and use them. If you do, though, make them just as available to others as I have made them to you!
Planning Documents:
These are sometimes called "Pacing Charts." I prefer to think of the planning process as being an annual, monthly, weekly, and daily process, so I name each plan according to that scheme.
The plan is not complete, but you'll get the idea.
Instead of the traditional grade book, I also use these plans to record student's grades. I give each student a copy of this plan and require them to record every grade they earn on them. Of course, when online grade books become the norm, the need for the students to have a grade sheet (that I require parents to review and sign weekly) goes away; parents will have instant access to all grades that teachers have recorded in their online grade book.
Previous Assignments May 5 - May 12, 2008
These are some sample weekly plans. I make these available to the students. The homework assignments are listed for each day, so there is no need to put assignments on the board or to print separate assignment sheets. Students should always be aware of where they are in the learning process and where they are headed. That is why I make sure that they have copies of monthly and weekly plans.
More neat stuff:
These are seating charts that I use to record attendance, daily grades, and all other manner of daily information that I record about student performance. Much of the information is then transferred to more formal and permanent records. The rest just stays on the seating chart and can be referenced when parents "drop by." I print new seating charts each week.
There are two versions from which to select depending upon the arrangement of your classroom. (I also print an extra set any day that I am out, just for the sub.)
My notebook checklist is simple, tells the kids exactly what is expected, and is used for the grading rubric. I require that students keep a copy in their notebook, and I use that copy to grade it. It takes about two to three minutes per! Check 'em while the students take a test.
Students should know what your expectations are. This handout tells 'em. You'll need to adapt it, of course, for your unique classes.
Keep you kids in class with this one. I stole the idea from Ms. Joy Stanford at BTW in the Montgomery Public Schools. Steal it from me. Have ONE pass. Allow twenty students TOTAL to use it each week, quietly signing out, taking the pass, returning to class, returning the pass, and signing back in. The kids'll police this one for you. Trust me; if a few students are abusing the privilege to the detriment of others who have real emergencies, the abusers will be informed of the displeasure of the others.
This log generally keeps 'em in class and ensures they have THE ONE official pass when they must be out of class, all while making sure that real emergencies are dealt with. You may want to enlarge the log if you have larger classes. Twenty was more than enough for my total class load of 75 students. You probably have more.
This one is a bit sneaky. In addition to the obvious (and real) needs that are satisfied by this form (getting contact information and providing a behavior log for students whose behavior is in serious need of documentation), this form collects signatures that the students, at the time, see no reason to fake. It can later be compared to signatures that students sometimes feel compelled to ink themselves.