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Interactive Notebooks (Pt. 6) - Grading easily and quickly

The interactive notebook is the bulk of the student work in my class. It is important that their grade reflects their current ability. This post goes over how to easily and quickly grade the interactive notebook. No seriously. It's SO EASY.


You are not going to believe how easy this grading is. It is not perfect. Obviously I would love to collect the notebooks each day and pour over the student's work and give them individual feedback but I have over 150 students. There is 0 chance of that happening.


Okay my secret hack to grading the interactive notebooks... is....drumroll....STAMPS!


I think whoever initially did PD on interactive notebooks shared the stamp idea and then I refined it over the last 7 years. I have this down to a science.



Examples of student notebooks with stamps
Examples of student notebooks with stamps

In part 2 we talked about the "resources" at the front of the notebook and one of them was a grading rubric. I use this grading rubric to help me grade each and every page of the notebook. It's really general and applies to basically all work they do in my class.


1 = You have less than half done

2 = You have more than half done but work is incomplete

3 = It's complete but lacking effort or some incorrect answers

4 = it's complete and correct and effort was put in.

5 = WOWZA (I rarely give a 5)


Their score on that page is how may stamps they get. I do not record stamps each day. I don't even record them each week. We will count stamps at the end of each unit! Whaaaaa... sooo easy!!


Okay let's break this down.


  1. Students take notes (1-2 days with practice)

    1. We do the 5 phases of note-taking and the 5th phase is using their notes, so really just 4 phases. If they have done all 4 phases they get 4 stamps. I will expand on the phases in a post coming soon!

  2. Students interact with notes (1-2 days)

    1. This varies wildly, some interaction is less than a period and some interaction can take 2-3 days. It is all worth 4 stamps.

  3. There is usually some sort of more formal assessment

    1. This is a quiz or assignment or project that is NOT in the notebook and is submitted and graded separately (not stamps).

    2. I almost always let them use their notebook, so it's a super incentive to do well on their notes and interaction!


☆ Rinse and repeat for a new set of notes! ☆

Student example of notebook with stamps
Student example of notebook with stamps

How do their stamps turn into a grade?

This is the genius part. I do very little during this part. This usually happens at the end of a unit while they are studying or preparing for an exam. I block out 10-15 minutes for them to "count stamps." I will say, this was a process that had to be slowed down at first and modeled carefully, but was done in less than 5 minutes by the end of the year.


Here is how they count stamps in my room. They start with a small slip of paper that asks their name and has a space for how many stamps they got total. As well as a peer-check.


They start at the beginning of they unit and count all their stamps. Circling and numbering the stamps as they go. When they get their total they write it on their slip of paper and then trade with a partner. On their paper it has a peer-check space for a peer to write their name and their final total. Their peer will now recount and x-off every stamp they see. If their totals match then great, if not they both have to recount.


The final step they must do is find their best set of notes and put their slip of paper in that spot like a bookmark. I then collect all notebooks and breeze through looking at their best work, maybe leaving a comment if I have time, and collecting the paper. My grade book is set up on a 4 point scale so I just divide their total number of stamps for the number of pages and I have an average. You could even have your students do this step!

Example of a stamp counting paper
Example of a stamp counting paper

Tips

  • I am the only one that gives out stamps in notebooks, this means I am constantly looking at student's work and monitoring their progress. I do not want to be surprised when the unit is over and a student is really behind.

  • As I stamp I am giving verbal feedback, written feedback is just unrealistic.

    • "Oh wow this is fantastic, fix number 3 for your 4th stamp!"

  • Combine this stamp counting routine with bellwork stamps! (post coming soon)

  • Use stamps that are self-inking. One less thing in your hand and these are so much less messy!

  • Keep in mind that the notebook is mostly practice, I have students in pairs and groups and they are often working together. I encourage that! This is not an assessment score. I have other assignments for that.

  • My students always ask, "What is the total I should have?" I never tell them! I am guessing I would get a lot of that number if I did. haha. Just write down what ya got!


Coming soon.... a brand new series on note-taking! How to get students to write down useful info, how to annotate, add questions, and write a summary!

Yorumlar


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