"Paper Weaving" by Joel Penner

This year I realized I am very deliberate about handling late work. The district is discouraging using late points on late work, but that doesn’t affect me. I’ve been using discipline forms to take care of this for years. Because most parents and students aren’t used to my system, I had to figure out a way to sell it to them. Biggest selling point: higher grades! I also stress that it forms good habits, and my way separates unwanted behavior (turning in late work) from the demonstration of academic achievement.

I also make sure the first six weeks, I give students more time if they show they’re willing to follow my procedure. They don’t end up with detention as quickly as they would turning in late work later in the year. I deliberately get students who demonstrate difficulty with deadlines on my side right away by giving them a reset early on. One day late equals a quick conference with the student where I explain the late work procedure. Two days late equals parent contact. I send home a letter to get signed that explains the procedure to the parent. If the student returns the letter the next day, they get a reset. If there’s no more late work for three weeks from the first incident, then the incidents “roll off” (we start over). The third late day equals detention using the school’s “not bringing required assignments” line on the level one write-up form.

This shows the student that it’s better to turn in work on time, but it’s not the end of the world if something gets in late. I think it’s the right balance, and it encourages communication from all parties involved (student, parent, and teacher). To encourage even better habits, the letter sent home encourages students and parents to notify me before the assignment is due that the student may need more time and to schedule tutoring before school, during advisory, or after school. One more responsible way to avoid detention and, more importantly, to get work in on time.

Each interaction I let the student know that this is just one more step and what they can do to get on the right track. Sometimes the letter doesn’t come back, so I talk to the parent. I discuss how to have a successful child, not how to avoid detention. I even remind those students who get anxious about my procedure that if they are students who don’t turn in late work, it doesn’t even matter what my procedure is — and the ones who worry, are often those conscientious students.

My procedure does take more time up front than just slapping a minus ten or twenty per day on an assignment, but in the long run, it means less late work — which saves me time overall.

In the past, I’ve used write-ups for late work instead of the common practice of taking off points for late work. My district is now shifting to letting students complete assignments in different amounts of time based on their abilities (differentiation). I am trying to figure out how to avoid saying to my students, “Just turn it in when you’re done.” I don’t think I alone could get students to turn in work with just that message. Maybe if there’s an entire paradigm shift, it would be fine, and students would just turn in their work.

In the past I had to handle this question for in-class work: What if a student has been working, but doesn’t complete the work in time to turn it in before class is over? (It’s a challenge for them, or they want to add a lot of time and effort to this particular assignment). Each time I would let them know they needed to show me how much they have done and told them it was due tomorrow. If they had been working, it was still on time, but if they had been off task, then I was counting it late.

Now, What if it’s homework? I won’t know if they’ve been working. Can I make them bring me a tutoring slip or a note if they didn’t finish? Is it enough for them to show me how much they’ve done? How much time would it take to not enforce the deadline? Should I just stick with the late procedure I currently have for homework? Too bad if they couldn’t finish it in the number of nights I’ve given. (It is just one step per-day-late, so if this only happens once in the last three weeks, then it doesn’t really affect them — it’s just a conference between the student and I. If it’s twice in the last three weeks, then it’s just a call home and stays between the student, the parent, and I. Only if it’s three or more are there disciplinary consequences.

Google keeps updating these fonts, and “you are free to to use them in any way you want.” They were intended for use on the web, but you can download them and use them on your own computer. Start browsing:

But I do think that teaching Language Arts lends itself to what I’ve decided to call, “informal differentiation.” This differentiation is just a natural part of the lesson. Our first lesson of the year is a name plate. These help students think about character/personality traits right away, and lead to their use in a writing assignment about themselves (a topic they can all be confident they know). Students use these on their desks for about a week, and then we grade them according to a check list (that the students see up front), and we then attach them to the wall. This is a way of saying, “Even thought this is Mr. Heyer’s classroom, this is your class and you’ve already made your mark on it.”

When students create the name tent, they all must have four words that describe themselves, four images that symbolize their values, and they must have their names on the front and on the back, and the style must be different on each. This leaves most of the assignment in each student’s hands. What are all the ways their assignments will be differentiated? When trying to think up traits, students may select from a list we give them, raise their hand and ask the whole class help think of a work, ask a neighbor, or work on their own. When designing their names, they may plan it out first or they may jump straight to ink — depending on their artistic abilities and confidence. When illustrating their values, they may print things out, glue things on, use a minimum of two colors, or use the full spectrum of color. It depends on what their values are.

I am not formally breaking up the class, or having them choose which of a set number of choices they want to take. Students, however, are being met where they are — in countless ways — and each year they enjoy the assignment and are successful!

For lunch or dinner, I used to like eating a tuna sandwich. I’ve had to get creative with ingredients, so I feel like it’s my tuna salad is a true replacement.

Here’s what can go in (sometimes all at once), depending on what’s in the fridge:

• Can of Tuna
• Chicken – from a can, or cooked and cooled then chopped/diced
• Mayonnaise or Vegenaise
• Mustard
• Tabasco
• Pickle – diced
• Tomato – diced
• Bell Pepper – diced
• Olives – sliced or chopped
• Pepperoncini or Jalapeño peppers – diced
• Bacon – crumbled
• Roasted Nuts – chopped
• Cheese – parmesan or finely shredded cheddar blend
• Lettuce – either as a bed or shredded and mixed in