Once again, I find myself updating this thing in the wee hours of the morning. When I am given a weekend... I sleep. Sleeping is maximized when given a 3-day weekend, but we all know this ends in an unhappy Megan Tuesday morning.
The weekend started off a Blue Mesa Happy Hour (can you say free quesadilla bar and only a $12 tab?) and with me sleeping in pretty late on Saturday. Although I woke up and changed clothes, I was pretty much in bed taking a series of naps all day. Sunday I woke up and went to a bridal show in Addison with my friend Sarah. She is getting married in June. I absolutely love all things wedding-related and always have. I got home and had an agenda to clean my apartment, and work out. What ended up happening was me changing clothes, and passing out and some weird hour, only to awaken fresh around 10pm.
One thing I have accomplished in this weekend (and the past few weekends) is grading. I was a stressed out mess around progress report and report card time the first few months of school, and after Thanksgiving break vowed to grade every week before Christmas break. It was wonderful not having a pile of papers staring at me, so I decided to extend the vow until the end of the school year. Here is a little peek into my grading world.
We have 9 week grading periods. In those 9 weeks, I am required to have at least 10 Math grades, and 18 Writing grades. Luckily 8 of our writing grades are Spelling tests, and we have 1 grammar assignment per week, and the occasional published paper at the end of every writing unit. For progress reports we need at least half of our grades already in (5 math, 4 spelling, 4 grammar, 1 or 2 compositions).
I was really struggling to get Math grades at the beginning of the year. We have a great curriculum laid out for us, but it didn't provide for many grading opportunities. Parents also like to see how their kids are doing in school. I started making 10 question "worksheets"that I call "Station work" Students are required to do 2 problems per day and turn in at the end of the week. It has been excellent, easy to grade, and parents can see how their kids are doing in our current unit of study.
So in my typical week the papers I have to grade are:
-Spelling Test (20)
-Grammar Skillsbook (20)
-Station Work (60)
occasional Paper (20)
So happy I only teach writing to my homeroom class, because papers are a beating. I do have a stack of personal narratives staring at me.. those will get done tomorrow.
I have a minimum of 100 items to grade every week. So you can imagine if I skip out on my weekly goal, 100 pages turns into 200 pages, and if I skip again, it turns into 300 pages and then I get the email telling me grades are due for progress reports in a week. If I haven't done my weekly grading by Sunday night, I get it done.
Another thing to factor into grading is corrections. In order to prepare my kids for Middle School, I told them that I will not be hunting them down for corrections. Kids are allowed to correct things for up to a 70. Around report card time I'll get a slew of random pages that have been corrected, and I have to re-grade those papers and change the grade in the grade book.
Oh grading.. one of the many joys of teaching.
On a side note, this 4 day week should be a whirlwind. My poor babies get a visit from the Middle school counselors, on the same day as their Reading Simulation (practice STAAR), Thursday they have a Math CBA. Fridays are always crazy, and I will be on my way to Houston for a bridal shower. Busy Busy!
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