No matter how we go about it, there are always papers at the end of the day. Once they're all corrected, what do you do with them all?
I used to give them back at the end of the day, but I found they'd get lost in backpacks. The kids wouldn't even look at them, and they'd never get home to be seen by families.
Then I decided to file them, and send the paperwork home in an envelope once a week.
The work got home successfully! The parents got to see it and anticipated the work coming home every Wednesday!
But then, the kids never got to see their own work!
That means they never got feedback on their written work!
We all know feedback is what feeds learning.
If the children don't know if they've done well, how do they know to keep doing it?
If the children don't know they've made mistakes, how do they know to stop doing that?
Here's how it's organized:
1. I write notes on the children's papers, letting them know what they're doing well, or what they need to fix. (Gently, of course!)
2. They find the previous day's papers on their desk in the morning. They take a few minutes to look them over and see their feedback.
3. They file their own papers to be saved for the week.
4. Those papers are sent home weekly in an envelope for the parents to see.
