Assignment Record

So many students don’t understand the reason for completing assignments. Especially my Consumer Math students. In an effort to get them to complete assigned work, without creating a lot of marking for me I decided to use an Assignment record.

The way it works is:

  • Each student gets a new Assignment Record at the beginning of a unit.
  • They record each assignment on the Record
  • They show me each completed assignment and I then initial the Record.
  • At the end of each unit they hand the Assignment Record in.
  • I give them marks based on the number of completed assignments vs the number of assigned assignments.

In general I have found that this motivates the students to do their work. When they can see immediate results for their work they appear to be more willing to do the work.

Here is a copy of the assignment record I use.

Contributed by Sylvia Ingram.

Checking Homework

I struggled for years trying to find a method for checking to ensure that students had completed their homework. Well, I think I have found the perfect method.

I take in homework on a random basis. Some days I take it in and some days I do not. This keeps the students guessing. They never really know when I will take their homework in. At the start of class, before I take in the homework assignment from the previous night, I allow students to ask me specific questions that they were unable to complete. The students know I will not mark any question that is asked in class because I have given them the complete solution. I spend no more than 10-15 minutes discussing questions from the previous night's assignment.

When I go to mark the homework that was handed in I randomly choose 1 or 2 questions from that night's homework to be graded. The questions I choose usually give me a clear picture of whether or not the students understood the previous days lesson. This random selection means the students need to complete their entire assignment or risk getting a mark of zero.

The students complain a bit at the start of the semester but they quickly realize they just have to do their homework or they will get nailed!!! An even better thing is that we use an Internet based grading program which allows parents and students to check their progress in a class daily. So, if a student does not do their homework the parent knows very quickly. The student usually gets an earful from the parent when they do not complete their homework.

Give this method a try. I think you will like it!!!

Contributed by Terry Kaminski.