Student Success

Student Success

Remembering Assignments
Homework planners might not be a standard supply item at your school. Or, you just want to provide your students with a quick reminder of due dates and important information. Create a piece of paper that's about the size of a bookmark using a word processing program like Word or Google Docs. When creating this document, try using a table. It helps you divide your page evenly and you can format for no lines once you are all done! This is the perfect size for students to actually keep in their book and it will always remind them of what they need to work on.

Rubric Labels
A helpful tip on developing rubrics.
"I use address labels for self-assessing rubrics. I set up a simple 1-5 scale and then list the skills or ideas to be graded for the assignment. For example, a writing assignment rubric might look like this: 1 2 3 4 5 Capitals 1 2 3 4 5 Periods 1 2 3 4 5 Cursive Students must circle the number that they feel they earned before handing in the assignment. Then I circle the number that I feel they earned when I grade their work.

Most of the time we match, but if we are way off, then I know whom I need to work with the next day. The rubrics help students understand how grades are earned and how to focus on specific skills and concepts."
Submitted by: Mary Wells, a fourth grade teacher at Southside Elementary in Cocolalla, Idaho. This tip was published in the NEA's Weekly "Works4Me" Email list.

Setting Goals
Help get your students motivated. "I started a Raise Your Grades Club for the third through fifth graders at our school. After each report card, students chart their grades and set goals for their next report card. The students that wish to participate write me a letter telling me which grades they will raise and how. After the next report card, the students who have met their specific goal(s) are invited to a celebration. This club not only recognizes what students are doing right but teaches achievable goal setting."
Submitted by: Barbara Teetor, an achievement specialist at Tyrone Elementary in St. Petersburg, Florida. This idea was posted on the NEA's Works4Me Tip of the Week.

Student Made Study Guide
A great way to make the students a part of the review process.
(Especially good for older students.)

"To help the students review for their semester final, I divide the class into the number of units we have covered. Each group has about twenty-five minutes to prepare one overhead transparency with all of the important information from the section. At the end of class, each group shares their overhead with the others. Every student gets a study guide to help them when they study at home and we all get to see many colorfully decorated pages! Afterward, I make a couple of classroom copies that students can check out if they were absent."
Submitted by: Karen Janzen, a physics teacher at Wheat Ridge High School. This tip was published in the NEA's Weekly "Works4Me" Email list.

Classroom Vacation
This is a fun and easy way to provide your students with a “time out” from their work. It can be used as reward that students earn by either completing their work or good behavior. You may also choose to use it with students who are just needing a break from their work – as part of a behavior management plan. You can print this certificate on colorful paper. When a student would like to use their vacation, they can place the certificate on their desk.