How to Make Grading
Student Notebooks Easy
For years I have heard teachers say they don’t like using student notebooks because of the grading.
Looking at a stack of 100+ notebooks can be intimidating and overwhelming – no doubt!
Yes, grading notebooks takes work and time. But it doesn’t have to be hard and it doesn’t have to take LOTS of time.
When you consider the benefits of student notebooks, they clearly outweigh any objections.
Looking at a stack of 100+ notebooks can be intimidating and overwhelming – no doubt!
Yes, grading notebooks takes work and time. But it doesn’t have to be hard and it doesn’t have to take LOTS of time.
When you consider the benefits of student notebooks, they clearly outweigh any objections.
In this post, learn the amazing advantages to using student notebooks and my secret to getting 130+ notebooks graded.
Why Student Notebooks
The purpose of a notebook is to serve as a learning tool for students. Which means everything inside the notebook is intended to be practice for students in understanding the concepts and ideas being taught in class.
Here are 3 benefits to using student notebooks:
1) Reference for homework and projects. Students have a place to easily find the information we learned in class for their homework assignments and projects.
2) A study tool for tests. Students have access to everything important that will be on the test. It’s almost like a study guide!
3) Organization skills. The notebook is almost forced organization. Those students who were naturally organized, loved it. And yet it provided a great deal of support so those who did struggle with organization could find success and benefit.
Here are 3 benefits to using student notebooks:
1) Reference for homework and projects. Students have a place to easily find the information we learned in class for their homework assignments and projects.
2) A study tool for tests. Students have access to everything important that will be on the test. It’s almost like a study guide!
3) Organization skills. The notebook is almost forced organization. Those students who were naturally organized, loved it. And yet it provided a great deal of support so those who did struggle with organization could find success and benefit.
Notebooks and Grades
Some units could have as many as 30 pages dedicated to it. Something of such great importance to classroom learning must leave a mark of some kind in the gradebook. But how?
In my opinion it was not appropriate to grade on correctness of the material. It was, after all, considered practice work. Plus, grading 100+ notebooks for correctness was just not a practical option.
But simply grading on completeness was not appropriate either.
Therefore I started looking at rubrics. While I couldn’t find anything that would work for my needs, based on what I did find, I developed a rubric that would allow for a bit of a combination of correctness and completeness.
To help students achieve their best, I found it helpful to give opportunity for peer reviews with a simple checklist before turning in notebooks for a grade.
In my opinion it was not appropriate to grade on correctness of the material. It was, after all, considered practice work. Plus, grading 100+ notebooks for correctness was just not a practical option.
But simply grading on completeness was not appropriate either.
Therefore I started looking at rubrics. While I couldn’t find anything that would work for my needs, based on what I did find, I developed a rubric that would allow for a bit of a combination of correctness and completeness.
To help students achieve their best, I found it helpful to give opportunity for peer reviews with a simple checklist before turning in notebooks for a grade.
How to Buy Time for Grading
Here’s my secret system for making grading student notebooks doable.
Students turn in their notebooks for grading on the day of the unit test. They can’t really be collected before then, if students are being encouraged to use their notebooks for studying.
It’s also unreasonable to get so many notebooks graded in one night, in order to pass them back and use them at the start of a new unit the next day.
So here’s the secret: start giving unit tests on Thursdays.
Here’s why I will never give tests on any other day:
1) The Friday after the test becomes a fun wrap-up day for the unit that was just completed. It’s a great opportunity to show an educational video about the unit just finished.
If you’re like me, and you rarely show movies in class, then your students will LOVE it.
2) The Friday after the test becomes the perfect make-up test day. Students can complete their make-up test during class time, without missing out on our next unit.
3) This system gives Thursday, Friday, and the weekend to get student notebooks graded before starting a new unit on Monday.
You’ve got to work the system to give yourself time to grade!
Students turn in their notebooks for grading on the day of the unit test. They can’t really be collected before then, if students are being encouraged to use their notebooks for studying.
It’s also unreasonable to get so many notebooks graded in one night, in order to pass them back and use them at the start of a new unit the next day.
So here’s the secret: start giving unit tests on Thursdays.
Here’s why I will never give tests on any other day:
1) The Friday after the test becomes a fun wrap-up day for the unit that was just completed. It’s a great opportunity to show an educational video about the unit just finished.
If you’re like me, and you rarely show movies in class, then your students will LOVE it.
2) The Friday after the test becomes the perfect make-up test day. Students can complete their make-up test during class time, without missing out on our next unit.
3) This system gives Thursday, Friday, and the weekend to get student notebooks graded before starting a new unit on Monday.
You’ve got to work the system to give yourself time to grade!
Ready to Roll Materials...
If you are wondering what exactly to include in your student notebooks, then you may be interested in checking out my Ancient History Student Interactive Notebook Foldable Activities.
If you are new to notebooks and their general set up, or you’re interested in my review checklists and grading rubric, then check out my Interactive Student Notebook Complete Implementation Package.
If you are new to notebooks and their general set up, or you’re interested in my review checklists and grading rubric, then check out my Interactive Student Notebook Complete Implementation Package.
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Let's Connect...
Welcome! I'm Hillary Midgley, a veteran 6th grade teacher.
I create educational materials and develop curriculum for other teachers. I specialize in teaching students how to learn through my Study Skills Curriculum. I have established fundamental classroom systems and structures for teachers to help them streamline their classroom. And my passion is teaching ancient history through engaging activities with foundations in academic skills. Here you will find resources on all of these topics and more. Learn more about me here.
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