How to Get Students to Do Homework

Do you have students that don't do their homework? 

Do you have students who forget to turn in their math homework?

Do you have students that need a reminder to complete their math work?

Grades were turned in for the second quarter last week. Do your students turn in all their assignments? Getting students to complete all of their assignments before grades are due is a challenge.

How to get students to do homework

To encourage students to turn in math assignments I send home a parent letter. This is a great motivation for 100% assignment completion. Involving parents in the process works well. They are eager to help and have their student complete the work.

The parent letter is an excellent reminder for students. We all need a reminder about important events. Reminders help us remember what we need to accomplish. Reminders keep us on the path to success. As teachers, we don’t always have to be the reminder. A reminder can be a sticker, a bracelet, a text message, an email or a piece of paper.

There are other incentives to turning in math homework on time. Students who turn it in on time receive an award certificate of all completed assignments, the feeling of achievement, the relief of being "done" with homework for the quarter, and they don't have to serve a lunch detention to complete the missing assignments. 

Do you have students that haven't completed assignments and know they will not do them? The best solution to getting students to finish missing work that matters is to have them complete a missing work lunch detention. Before you assign the lunch detention make it clear that this is for academic purposes. Students must complete the missing assignment to be released from the lunch detention and they must attend the lunch detention until they have finished the missing assignment(s). Some schools call this "lunch buddy" program. Having students finish important assignments for academic value and a grade can improve their mindset that getting assignments completed will help them in the future. 

Do you still have students that will not complete the assignments? Let's look at what you've assigned over the quarter. Read this blog post about grading assignments and review the quarterly assigned assignments. You have the power as a teacher to give and take away assignments to help a student achieve success. You can help them become a better student that turns in their assignments.

I’m sharing this grading reminder with you. It’s helped students make a connection between work effort and grades. Students develop a growth mindset with this process. They learn that turning in all of their assignments improves their grades. Yes! This progression helps illustrate that they should always use their best effort first rather than wait until grades are due.

​I've included an award certificate for you too! You've made it through the first quarter and deserve recognition for your efforts. 👏👏👏 Click HERE to download it today!

Happy Teaching!

Why I don't grade papers after school

Do you find yourself grading all the time?

Do you want to know a secret? I stopped grading papers after hours and am always the first teacher to sign out grades before the end of each quarter.

How do I do it? I plan for it. Follow these 3 guidelines for grading and you will be a pro at leaving grading at school and having more personal time outside of school.

1. Plan 

What are you grading? For each subject you are grading, think of the categories it can be broken down into such as classwork, homework, and tests.  

Why are you grading it? For each category, think about why you're grading it. Does it need to be graded? If yes keep the category, if no do not grade it. 

Does it have an academic value? If there is no academic value to the work, then don't grade it! This is the most important step in planning to grade. If there is no academic value in an assignment and it cannot be tied to a standard, then the students should not be held accountable for completing it. 

Can you narrow down your assignments? My rule of thumb is 9 to 10 assignments for homework (1 per week of each quarter) is graded. 1 test for each chapter, which is about 2-3 tests each quarter. 5-6 classwork assignments each quarter. So I only assign and grade 16 to 19 assignments each quarter per student. I pre-plan these on a calendar and display it in the classroom for students to see and will email it to parents who need it to help their students turn in assignments on time.  

Also I love my EZ grader! If you don't have one, you need to get one. It's my favorite gift to give student teachers or first year teachers. It calculates the grades for you every time. (Affiliate link included).

2. Follow Through

Now that you've thought about your categories for grading, list the assignments on a calendar. When and how many are you going to assign? List them on the calendar and follow through with assigning and grading a limited amount. When I write them on a calendar ahead of time I might not have a specific assignment name already, so I just pre-plan and write "Assignment 1" and so on. This helps me plan when to grade at school.

Another strategy for only grading at school is having other do it for you. I have used the "trade and grade" method for small quizzes and homework. I have also used student assistants to grade homework assignments. It's helpful in that most of the work is done, but you will still probably need to glance at each assignment to make sure it's completed to your specifications.

Do you have students who do not perform well on tests the first time? Do you like to give them opportunities to retry or makeup the work? I found a strategy that helps with test retakes. It also helps me with less grading, and students earn higher test scores. It's a win win in my book! Check out the video below about using test retakes to help your students achieve higher results.

Click HERE to download. 

3. Reflect 

Did you stick to your goals? Did you not bring home any grading? Did you leave when your teacher duty day was done? If you YES, then you are well on your way to starting a successful habit of not grading after hours. You need a break. You deserve a break. Let yourself have the time after school to rest, relax, and enjoy your family and friends. 

These suggestions and ideas are meant to be reflective of your grading practices. When we reflect as teachers on what we are doing in the classroom, we continue to grow and mature into better teachers. Think about how you currently grade, what you currently grade, the time it takes you to grade, and how you could make the process more efficient. My favorite motto for teaching is "Work smarter, not harder." There is so much on our plates as teachers, let's simplify the process of grading and make it more efficient.

Happy Teaching!

Student Work and Math Goals NO PREP Bulletin Board

Do you set Math Goals for your students to achieve?

Do you display student work that demonstrates hard work?

Do you want your students to achieve more?

Did you know that setting goals for your students increases their motivation?

"Giving people specific goals to achieve rather than telling them to do  their best increases their motivation." -Harvard

You can inspire your students with their own work displayed, and set goals for working hard toward achieving future goals.

Click HERE to download

This packet contains NO PREP Bulletin Board materials for you to display in your classroom or hallway at school that promote the Mathematical Mindset theme with the words "#Math Goals" and graphics that promote student work being displayed.

Included in this packet are:

-Examples of Bulletin Boards

-Pennant Style "#Math Goals" Sign

-3 different Versions of the Student Work Coming Soon Signs {plain, arrows, and dots}

-9 different Colors of the Student Work Coming Soon Signs {white, black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink}

-HIGH QUALITY graphics are included

Click HERE to download

Remember that goal setting is important at the beginning of the school year. Set the tone for achievement HIGH and your students will soar! Make sure to give them opportunities for being successful and displaying their hard work when it is appropriate. These are keys to developing a Mathematical Mindset and growing your students in becoming high achievers!

Happy Teaching!

Math Goals NO PREP Bulletin Board

Do you set Math Goals for your students to achieve?

Do you display student work that demonstrates hard work?

Do you want your students to achieve more?

Did you know that setting goals for your students increases their motivation?
"Giving people specific goals to achieve rather than telling them to do  their best increases their motivation." -Harvard
You can inspire your students with their own work displayed, and set goals for working hard toward achieving future goals.

Click HERE to download

This packet contains NO PREP Bulletin Board materials for you to display in your classroom or hallway at school that promote the Mathematical Mindset theme with the words "#Math Goals" and graphics that promote student work being displayed.

Included in this packet are:
-Examples of Bulletin Boards
-Pennant Style "#Math Goals" Sign
-3 different Versions of the Student Work Coming Soon Signs {plain, arrows, and dots}
-9 different Colors of the Student Work Coming Soon Signs {white, black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink}
-HIGH QUALITY graphics are included

Click HERE to download

Remember that goal setting is important at the beginning of the school year. Set the tone for achievement HIGH and your students will soar! Make sure to give them opportunities for being successful and displaying their hard work when it is appropriate. These are keys to developing a Mathematical Mindset and growing your students in becoming high achievers!

Happy Teaching!

Growing a Mathematical Mindset {Teacher Tip 2: Specific Praise}

Growing a Mathematical Mindset {Teacher Tip 1: Test Retakes}

Growing a Mathematical Mindset {Teacher Tip #2}

Do you seek to grow your students' mathematical mindsets?

Do you want to help your students flex their brain muscles?

Do you want practical strategies to apply to your classroom today?

If you said YES! This Professional Development Video is for you!

Click HERE to view the Professional Development Video

Growing a Mathematical Mindset Tip #2 is about how your students can achieve higher success in Mathematics with one simple strategy. The video explains the "Specific Praise" strategy, how to implement it, and the reasoning behind the process. Dive into this strategy and learn how to effectively grow your students’ mindsets with specific praise.

Included are:

-1 Presentation on how to grow your students mathematical mindset with the strategy of specific praise

-1 Set of Math Specific Praise Awards {in PDF form} for your personal use

Get started today! Click HERE to view the Professional Development Video

Keep growing your mindset,

Growing a Mathematical Mindset: Teacher Tip #1

 

Do you seek to grow your students' mathematical mindsets? I've created a Video Series on how to cultivate and grow a Mathematical Mindset with quick easy "PRINT & GO" tips. The first video in the series is about the basics of a Mathematical Mindset and how to help students take risks to earn better scores.

This Professional Development Video is about how your students can achieve higher success in Mathematics with one simple strategy. The video explains the "test retake" strategy, how to implement it, and the reasoning behind the process. Dive into this strategy and learn how to effectively administer test retakes for your students.

Included are:

-1 Presentation on how to grow your students mathematical mindset with the strategy of test retakes

-Editable test retake form {in Word Document} for your personal use


Click HERE to view the video and get started on growing Mathematical Mindsets in your classroom today!