i went to a workshop by Kelly Gallagher (Deeper Reading) and he said that teachers shouldn't grade EVERYTHING they receive from students. Infact, they should only grade 1/3 of what the students actually produce. I take an average of 2 grades per week. Sometimes, it is a participation grade, sometimes it is a regular assignment. For those assignments that only have 1 correct answer, sometimes having the students grade eachother's work is beneficial. You can spot check their corrections as you are entering the grades in the gradebook. Also, sometimes I just check to be sure they have completed the assignment, but really look at about 5-10 essays in each class. This gives me some feedback that I can use to reteach. Most of the time, they usually all make about the same mistakes. Instead of writing the same critiques in 120 essays, use that as a time to reteach and let the student make their own critiques.
Hope this helps, Ashli On Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 1:06 AM, Bill Ivey <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi! > > Alice, I hear you. My classes are small, and I can still easily get > overwhelmed. Things that have helped me: > 1. staggered due dates so I don't get a depressingly huge pile all on > the same day > 2. allowing myself a few days to get work back rather than insisting > on returning it the next day > 3. arranging things so I have a few more corrections on weekends when > I can catch up without staying up all night > 4. using student-generated checklist/assessment sheets as an > evaluation tool. This saves time two ways, one, they tend to produce > stronger work in the first place because they are thinking > metacognitively about what they have to do, and two, I know exactly > what the criteria are by which I have to evaluate the piece. > 5. along the same lines, using class time to help kids understand what > they're doing right, what needs improvement, and why. > > People with larger student loads than I may have additional suggestions. > > Take care, > Bill Ivey > Stoneleigh-Burnham School > > On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 6:37 PM, Alice Cortigiano <[email protected]> > wrote: > > (...) The only thing is reading all those essays....UGH! I > > think that's why I hated it initially, I was overwhelmed with reading and > > grading....any suggestions\? > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
