Pink Slip

While doing my student teaching, I observed a real problem in the way late assignments were handled in my classroom. I wanted to try and avoid this from the beginning of my first year of teaching, by creating a late-assignment slip.

I found this You’ve Been Pink Slipped! idea on Pinterest (surprise, surprise). I love it and it is very similar to what my teachers used when I was in middle school.

It clearly documents what assignment is missing, why the student does not have it, and requires a parent signature.

My favorite part is that the slip asks WHY the assignment is late. The student can choose from the following options:

• I did the assigned homework, but I did not bring it to class
• I chose not to do my homework
• I forgot to do my homework
• I did not have the appropriate materials at home
• Other

This holds the student accountable for his/her actions and allows the teacher to discuss the problem with the student. If the behavior continues, the teacher can use these slips to look for a pattern in why the student is not turning in his/her homework.

I will have a specific file in my desk where I will hold all of these slips to refer back to as needed.

To download this file click here: PinkSlip

Parent Communication

I have been working on a parent survey  to send to my student’s parents during the first week of school.

I combined some examples of these surveys that I have seen on other blogs. I picked the questions I liked best and chose the ones that would give me  the information I need.

Here is what I came up with…

(to download file click here: ParentSurvey)

This will help start communication with parents, as well as give me background information on my students so that I can work to best fit their individual needs.

I also came up with a parent communication log that I can use for each student and keep in a binder…

(to download file click here: ParentCommunicationLog)

As I continue to make these various worksheets/forms I will be sure to upload them! =)

Class Rules

I have been putting off creating “class rules” for my classroom. I wasn’t sure if it was too young for middle school or if by sixth and seventh grade the students already knew what was expected of them…

BUT I finally found some examples that I liked and used those as a starting point in creating my own. I knew that I wanted my rules to be simple and to the point…and not too baby. I also didn’t want to create too many rules for fear that students would just forget them…nor did I want the rules to be super wordy and end up confusing my students. So here is what I came up with:

I feel as though these rules cover pretty much everything and clearly state what I expect of my students. I will post these rules in my classroom for all to see, as well as go over them with my students at the beginning of the year. I will refer back to them as needed.

I am happy that I decided to create my own rules, especially since this is my first year of teaching. No matter what age students are, they need to know what is expected of them and know that they are held to a high standard.

Only 22 more days until the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! =)

Click here to download this poster –> Class Rules