A grade by any other name ...

You can get a pretty good idea what your student is doing in class (and out!) by looking at grades--I've finally got a few entered. I've collected Writer's Notebooks in all but 5th hour. Kids must have the notebooks with them daily (I have a crate in class for them to 'live') and time is given for about 95% of

everything that goes in the notebook. A score any less than 28 means your student didn't do an entry, it wasn't complete, etc.--probably not working in class. Points are given for completion. We've also had two reading checks--short little quizzes that indicate basic comprehension. This last reading quiz also included three questions from the reading students had to do on Monday in the computer lab. Some kids race through that work ... and it shows. Most kids seem to be on the right track and are working well. That initial rush from a new year has passed and now it's more like ... work (!) ... to most kids. Keep on encouraging them to read and focus on improving their skills--I give them a lot of opportunities!