What to do?
I am thinking pessimistically here, but I know my regular ninth grade position papers are going to be worse this year to grade than in years past. Why you ask? Because the kids waited and waited to make the corrections necessary to succeed until the last minute. Also, they jsut didn't seem as motivated to understand the writing process as in years past. So now comes the big question: do I give them the ability to rewrite? I want them to learn these concepts. I want them to be able to apply all of this to their future writings, but if they haven't put in the effort by now (many did not complete the three required teacher/student conferences) , then why should I reward their lack of participation and effort?
posted by annes @ 9:18 AM
2 Comments:
This is a tough one. How many more chances this semester will they get to work on the writing process in a similar fashion? Depending on that, I could see at least 3 ways to approach this.
1. Let them rewrite - with a firm deadline - so that they hopefully get the material, even though you may be enabling their initial procrastination.
2. Don't let them rewrite - and hope they learn that they need to take things seriously the first time.
3. Maybe some combination - allow them to rewrite, but it won't improve their grade this time. But, if they do rewrite this one, they will be allowed to rewrite one other paper later this semester with the opportunity that time to improve their grade (assuming it's a better paper).
Your decision will partially depend, of course, on how much you care about "the grade." The less important you think it is, the more flexibility in responses you have.
Maybe rewriting won't be an issue. If they aren't motivated to do it well in the first place, will they really want to rewrite it? Perhaps you can allow students to rewrite only if they approach you and if they give you a good reason (other than the grade) why they think you should allow them to rewrite.
Post a Comment
<< Home