SKILLS PRACTICE:
Skills practice will be a reading packet (attempting to make this digital versus paper this year) made up of various genres. While reading, students should be annotating. This is the main purpose of the assignment. (Teaching students that the hard thinking part should be completed while reading; not after reading.) Depending on the skill, there are typically one-four multiple choice questions for students to answer after the passages.
I devote Mondays for this packet, and I call this day "Marathon Mondays," because students will literally marathon read through the packet. Most students are able to complete this during two Monday class periods; however, I provide wiggle room for students needing the extra time, and it's not graded until the 3rd Monday. Before grading the packet, students work in their small groups to analyze and discuss the answer choices before I provide the correct response. (I will always give students the next Skills Practice Packet on the second Monday of having a packet.)
Although this is an in-class assignment, I often make the assignments a homework grade in PowerSchool. The purpose of the assignment is to get better and better as students progress. I don't want this packet to hurt overall averages. There may be some times that I make it a classwork grade so that students don't take advantage of a homework grade. However, the majority of the time, expect it to be a homework grade. Students are not able to make up homework, so it will be a 0 if not turned in by the due date. We go over it in class, so it just can't be an option to turn in late. (Also, after two full Mondays of working on it during class, all students should have something completed.)