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How much of your teaching time is wasted shuffling paperwork? By creating collecting and distributing systems, you'll create more time to teach.
Often, teachers find themselves running around the classroom in circles, trying to return corrected work. It saps energy throughout the day needed for actual teaching time. Rather than doing these tasks yourself, create collecting and distributing systems. In and Out Tray SystemYou can establish an in and out system, where students place incoming assignments into an in tray as they enter and/or exit the classroom. The teacher places corrected work into the out tray for any student to distribute at the teacher’s discretion. This system can also be combined with student volunteers (below). Class Filing SystemDo your students simply look at corrected work, and then throw it in the trash? If so, rather than using an out tray, create a class filing system. Don’t ever give back work; once work is corrected, immediately place it into a student file. Once a week, have students open their files, examine their work, and keep a log of their grades. Students will see patterns in their work history, as well as notice how much work they are missing. Also, students who are disorganized will find all their work in one location. Before a test, have students take home all quizzes and any other relevant work as study guides. Make sure students know that parents can request to see work at any time. Establish quarterly folders if the volume of work becomes unmanageable. Again, this system also works in combination with student volunteers (below). Student VolunteersBy far, the easiest method for both collecting and distributing paperwork is by assigning student volunteers. Have two students volunteer each week, month, or quarter to be classroom helpers. Assigning only one volunteer puts too much pressure on that student, can create a teacher’s pet situation, and becomes an issue during his or her absence. You can give the volunteers extra class participation credit for helping. These students can hand out lined paper, supplies, handouts, and corrected work. Whenever possible, write student scores on the backside or inside of assignments so volunteers are not privy to all grades. Of course, there will be times when you will want to collect or distribute work yourself, such as during tests. You can combine this system with the in and out tray system. You can still have students turn in assignments automatically as they enter or exit the classroom, and the out tray assignments can be distributed by the volunteers. Be clear to let the volunteers know when you prefer this work to be distributed. Most teachers prefer the end of class. You can also combine this system with the class filing system. Have student volunteers still distribute handouts and collect assignments, and once a week have them distribute and later file the student folders. Creating work systems will free up that daily wasted time and create order in your classroom. Plus, you will find more energy to teach throughout the day. For more ideas, see articles on classroom environment and other class management systems.
The copyright of the article Collecting & Distributing Work in Classroom Organization is owned by Kristy Acevedo. Permission to republish Collecting & Distributing Work in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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