Management Systems

In addition to setting up your classroom, you'll want to have a paper management system established.

            For maintaining folders, I recommend creating a procedure that inspires you to clean them out once a month. As mentioned, my students store their work in pocket folders. Often they've stapled pages of writing together. At the end of each month, I sit down with individuals and ask, "Which of these is your best piece of writing?" This selection is then placed in the student's "Best Writing Book." (See Writing Tip for instructions.) I also share my opinion about which is the student's best piece of writing. When it comes to selecting the best piece of writing, sometimes the student and I disagree. I might choose the piece in which the student has used spaces between the words for the first time. The student might select the piece in which he wrote the word underwear, causing his classmates to fall down laughing during author's chair. The fact that we've chosen different pieces is wholly understandable. I am focused on writing development. The budding author is often focused on audience. Both of these areas are important, so both pieces will go into the best writing book.

            I love the practice of ending each month with an evaluative conference, but I will warn you, these take time. Whereas I've learned to be quick and effective during my everyday writing conferences, my evaluative conferences stretch out like a humid July day. I always feel behind. So consider training another adult-an ed. tech or a parent volunteer-to help you with the best writing conferences.

            What do I do with the remainder of student work? I choose one or two pieces to place in the student's portfolio and send the rest home.  I know that in the best of all worlds, we would keep EVERYTHING students write - for assessment, for the possibility of returning to a subject - but I find that like primary students, I tend to be much more focused on the here and now.

            Best of all, at the end of the year, I have a gift -- a delightful scrapbook -- to give each student.