Classroom Record Keeping Made Simple

Tips for Time-Strapped Teachers

Diane Mierzwik

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781510736924
• eBook ISBN: 9781510736986
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Classroom Management

It's no secret that even the most successful teachers struggle to make the best use of their time. This enlightening text provides tips, strategies, and best practices for how all teachers—from novices to veterans—can find additional daily time while also improving documentation through better record-keeping management. Included in this resource are dozens of reproducible forms to assist teachers in maintaining accurate records, from lesson plans to records of parent-teacher conferences. These forms, along with invaluable author insight, will assist teachers in:

• Developing lifelong habits in good record keeping
• Helping their schools meet accountability measures while reducing liability threats
• Discovering the real-life benefits that result from good record keeping
• Learning how to tailor record-keeping strategies to meet the needs of special populations, parents, and more
• 
  Learn how fast and accurate record keeping can save time and result in even more successful teaching.

1

Instructional Records

Lesson plans are the foundation of every teacher training course every teacher has ever taken. When I was in school, we had to produce Madeline Hunter’s seven-part lesson plans with an objective; the standard; the anticipatory set; teaching (input, modeling, checking for understanding); guided practice; closure; and independent practice. I wrote these lesson plans until I dreamed about them controlling not only my student-teaching classroom, but my finances, my housework, my driving, even my love life. At the time, I thought it was all a bit much.

When I finally got a full-time teaching job, I quit writing lesson plans as soon as possible. I had a principal who didn’t request plans from new teachers, so I wrote an occasional plan for my university supervisor, and the rest of the time, I flew by the seat of my pants, trying to decide what to do with my students on my way to work each morning. I told myself that I was an organic teacher, not able to plan because I wouldn’t know what my students needed from me until we had gotten through the present day. I was a student-directed teacher, letting my students’ needs determine my lesson plans. There was no way I could plan days in advance because I had no way of knowing where my students’ needs would direct my curriculum.

I soon learned that the course syllabus is my road map. With it, I have an orientation for where I am, where I am going, and what my major stops are along the way.

Lesson plans are my street map. They help me know where and when to turn. Today I write lesson plans to inform my teaching; to help me meet the ever-changing needs of my students without losing sight of our destination; and as records to justify and inform my decisions with the curriculum, with my students, and for my site organization: department, administrator, parents.

Assignment records, worksheets used, and directions given are the specific markers that make sure we are all on the right course. Standards alignments are the reward when we reach our destination and see how far we’ve come. Proper substitute plans ensure that even when we may be indisposed, the rest of the party heads in the right direction.

I’ve found that investing time at the beginning of each teaching unit actually saves me time in the long run, not to mention stress. It’s like driving somewhere new. Someone has provided you with an address, a destination. Someone may have even given you verbal directions that you wrote out diligently: turn left at the stop light, right at the third house, and so on. For some people, this is enough information. For people who get confused easily, like myself, a map, a visual representation of where I’m going, helps. I have learned that the time invested in looking up the map and familiarizing myself with my destination makes my trip less stressful and my driving time more productive.

When you invest time in planning your teaching unit before you begin, you will begin each teaching day with a destination in mind, you will know how you are going to get to your destination, and if someone in the backseat has to take a potty break, you will be able to adjust easily to the distraction. You might even lead others in the caravan, who knows.

The records you must keep as a teacher include a course syllabus, lesson plans, assignment records, worksheets used, directions given, standards alignment, and substitute plans. These documents will

• Improve the quality of your instruction

• Provide students with clear objectives and expectations

• Clarify for parents what is happening in the class

• Provide your administrator with documents for evaluations and reports to the district office

• Document for your district your classroom practices

COURSE SYLLABUS

A course syllabus or unit overview is the first ingredient in a successful teaching year. It is also a necessary document if your teaching practices are ever called into question.

With state standards becoming commonplace and district curriculum maps becoming increasingly accepted as the norm, many districts will already have done this and will provide it to you (Thompson, 2002). Most school districts are recognizing the benefits of ensuring that every student receives similar curriculum in each grade level across schools in the same district. If a syllabus, curriculum map, or unit overview is not provided for you, and you are a new teacher, asking for help from a veteran teacher will alleviate much of the stress of trying to create one.

It is important to have your course syllabus written down and handy for future reference. Not only will it guide your daily lesson plans, but it will be available for you the next teaching year for adjustments and improvements. Having a written document allows you to adjust, improve, and rely on what you are already familiar with.

Once you have collected your textbooks for the course, obtained the state standards for your grade level and course, and reviewed the curriculum covered the previous year, it is time to begin your planning. First, you will need to determine what you will teach, when you will teach it, how deep into the curriculum you will go, and how many weeks you will devote to each topic (Wyatt & White, 2002). Many of these decisions will be made for you based on the textbooks and state standards. Some teachers will even be tempted to skip this document, relying on a printout of the state standards and the table of contents of the textbook, but that may lead to covering information out of sequence, over and over in different formats, or simply prevent you from using time optimally.

If you are ever questioned about the scope and sequence of your instruction and all you can produce are the state standards and the textbook, your credibility may be damaged. Also, handing out a course syllabus specific to your class to parents and students allows them to see the objectives, the journey, and the destination of your class, which gives the students a sense of control over how well they can master the content of your class (Ryan, 2003), helping you to ensure the success of all students. A course syllabus gives you credibility and a sense of control over your curriculum.

When planning a syllabus, three documents need to be in front of you: a calendar (preferably one you can write on), the state or district standards, and the textbook(s) for the course. Working in collaboration with other teachers at your school site and/or within your district is the best scenario. Most districts provide teachers with planning days for this before each semester, and using this time to work with others will ensure that your syllabus is on track with what others are doing in your district. Whether you work alone or with others, you will want to create a rough draft syllabus that can be adjusted as you work on it.

Once you have all the information recorded, you have created a record to provide your administrator or department, justify your curricular decisions, familiarize your students and their parents with the course expectations, and inform your lesson planning. A syllabus planner might look like the sample syllabus planner on the next page.

Sample Format for Syllabus

Key standards to be covered:

*

*

*

Standards to be reviewed:

*

*

*

Textbook(s):

Unit title:

Dates:

Objectives (Students will …):

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Assessments:

Projects:

Worksheets:

Key readings, outside readings:

After you have used the document for lesson planning, it will be important to keep it handy for future reference.

Sample Format for Syllabus – GRADE FOUR HISTORY/SOCIAL SCIENCES

Key standards to be covered:

*4.1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California

*4.1.1. Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine absolute locations of places in California and on Earth

*4.1.4. Identify the locations of the Pacific Ocean, rivers, valleys, and mountain passes and explain their effects on the growth of towns

Standards to be reviewed:

*3.1. Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context

*3.1.1. Identify geographical features in their local region

*3.1.2. Trace the ways in which people have used the resources of the local region and modified the physical environment

Textbook(s): Harcourt Brace: Social Studies

Unit title: Missions in California

Dates: September 24-October 29

Objectives (Students will …)

1. Locate missions on map

2. Describe how far from or close missions are to geographical locations such as the ocean

3. Write a paragraph describing a specific mission

4. Make a chart of available resources for a specific mission

5.

Assessments: Oral presentation of chart

Rubric used for paragraph

Projects: Chart of resources for missions

Build a model of a mission

Worksheets: “Missions in California”

Key readings, outside readings: none yet

LESSON PLANS

One of the most important records you will keep as a teacher is your daily l...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright
• Title Page
• Contents
• Preface
• About the Author
• 1. Instructional Records
• 2. Grading and Assessment Records
• 3. Classroom Management Records
• 4. Parent Contact Records
• 5. Special Needs and Accommodation Records
• 6. Using Your Records When Meeting with Students, Parents, or Administrators
• Template Resources
• References
• Index