[comets2003]

I do guided reading in my classroom. I have a system set up that works well and my students are very independent. The downfall is that it requires way too much grading on my part and I am about to pull my hair out! Does anyone do centers or stations? How do you mange it all? How do you keep them accountable for their work? What kind of centers/stations do you use? Does anyone have any suggestions??

[gingerg49]

I use the Daily 5 and LOVE it! You may want to check out some older posts in the Poeny Room for more info. It really is great.

[JMonk]

This is what I am going to start doing... if I don't "check" it, I'll get some sloppy work.

[teacher-too]

Thank you, JMonk. I will try out your rubric.

[RunningGal]

I am an elementary special ed. teacher and have been struggling with grading. Your rubric would work well with my guys and is in line with what I have been discussing with our learning consultant. You just saved me a lot of work. Thanks for sharing.

[Gam]

You should check out the book Independent Reading Using 8 Boxes by Lisa Donahue. It has some great ideas for making kids accountable for what they are reading, and it can be used with any book they're reading. The 8 boxes are easy to adapt. Good luck!

[JMonk]

Glad to have helped out. I'm going to check into the book mentioned above.

[chalkdusty]

I just bought that book - Independent Reading Inside the Box - it is a wonderful resource for accountability during workshop. I already have a system in place in which the students complete a square and tape it on a poster board on the wall. I've got several of these poster boards around the room. So the "boxes" will fit right in with what I'm doing. Here is a link to the book that will allow you to preview it online so you can decide if it will work for you.

http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/vie...0424b&REFERER=

Another thing that I have my students do during workshop.... they must complete a poster with their small group over whatever skill we are working on that week. For instance - I've made up 4 posters (I have 4 groups) that have graphic organizers on them for the skill (perhaps main idea and supporting detail). I laminated the posters so that the students can write on them with dry erase markers. They read a passage (usually the page in the textbook that introduces the target skill of the week) together and fill out the poster. I have magnetic clips on my whiteboard for them to place the poster in when they are done so I know they have finished it. When I meet with their group we discuss how well they did. They get practice with the skill. I can see that their group did what I asked of them. I don't have papers to grade. The poster can be wiped clean and used again the next time we have that same skill. This works out so much better than giving them a worksheet!