Tuesday Tried It - Homework Check In

I had a moment this morning - wondering how all of you deal with homework check in every. single. morning...  It's a time of day that I enjoy (because the kids get a chance to see how well they did), but the routine of it all sometimes is sooo boring!  It used to be a dangerous experience in my classroom, before this year - because I almost always tripped and fell over a monster backpack.  Linking up with Holly today to share what is working!  

This is the view that greets me most mornings after the kids are settled into our morning math meeting.  They come in, get out their homework, place it out on their desks, and then head over to the carpet.  No kids in the desks for me to trip over, they are working, and so am I.

I go up and down, through the different areas of the room checking in their homework.  It's quick and easy.  A simple glance to see if they completed the assigned tasks.  If they didn't have it completed, they were supposed to write their name under a HW sign (on the whiteboard) as a sign of responsibility.  

If I have to add their name to the list, they know that I am disappointed that they didn't come clean to begin with.  The list on the board reminds me who has to serve the consequence of missing recess to finish their work.  Later on I update our Homework Club yard stick - that yard stick helps me keep track of who misses out on Friday Fun.  

After our morning math meeting, the kids head back to their desks, and we go over the homework together - it's usually math and some sort of comprehension/language.  When done, they stick the papers into my white basket, and we move onto the rest of our day.  

This is the first year that I have the kids out of their desks when I'm checking in homework, and it has made a world of difference.  Seriously - those backpacks that are pushed in the middle of the aisle when a kid is sitting in their seat - they are dangerous (but I haven't tripped - at least not during Homework Check In.)

Hope you had a good day!