Marking the Grade

I've written before about the tedious task of grading and as the first trimester comes to an end, I wish the whole process could just magically complete itself. Sadly, that is not the case so I have been spending the past few weeks just trying to get everything in order so that I can actually enter the grades into the online program. It's especially difficult for a specialty teacher like me to organize assignments of more than 140 students from four different classes, grade their performances and then submit the reports to their homeroom teachers on time before the trimester ends this Friday. However, I knew it would be difficult when I signed up so I keep charging ahead.

For the last two weeks I've decided to keep the homework light in my four classes so that I have ample time to accept any late work and then grade it on time. This has worked in some cases but in others, it's proven somewhat troublesome. For example, both of my eighth grade classes had finished their Spanish Family Tree projects and only had to turn in one more homework assignment before the end of the trimester. I had them create a mock Family Tree of celebrities, musicians and athletes, write sentences about each of their "family members" in Spanish and then present the finished product to the class. I was impressed and amazed by their creativity and even felt a little old myself at the amount of pop stars I don't seem to recognize. All of them managed to turn the projects in on time and most have turned in the last homework assignment.

Seventh grade is a slightly different story. Since I only see those students twice a week, it's understandable that sometimes they may forget to turn in the assignments that are due. However, I'm trying to teach them that that's no excuse for not turning in assignments. This is especially true after I've given them more in-class time to finish their homework for an opportunity to get full credit. We still have a few more days to sort everything out and I pray that they all turn their work in on time. I keep stressing that as long as they do their work, check it at least twice and turn it in on time, they will likely get an "A" in the class.

I'm still getting used to my duties at school. Between teaching, helping out at carpool and playing a key role as a facilitator in the inaugural year of our intramural program, there doesn't seem to be a lot of time to grade. However, I have been meticulously collecting and entering homework and test scores into our program as I receive it. I even figured out how to enter scores from home, as I do not yet have adequate wi-fi access for my laptop.

This week will test my students in something non-Spanish related. Instead of conjugating verbs or using new vocabulary, they will be expected to know to turn in their assignments and in turn receive a good grade. Repetition works well when learning anything, especially a foreign language. It will also work well for when I remind my students when grades are due.