FIAE- Chapter 13

This chapter discussed different ideas on how to organize a grade book in a classroom containing differentiated instruction. There are different formats that can be considered and helpful, but being able to have and utilize one that can fit or suit your classroom is what must be found. Teaching is not about just relaying material to those people in front of you. Teaching is about being able to share a love or interest in one material/subject and being able to get them excited about that material/subject even if it is only 20 minutes a day. Teachers can try to view their grade book as different parts of a whole, split into sections of standards, objectives, and benchmarks. Another way for a teacher to view the grade book is by sections according to groups of assignments by their weight or category. Each way of viewing the grade book requires the teacher to do work in order to acquire a final grade. If a teacher lists assignments by their date then they can follow or track the students’ progress. Organization using color or a particular system not only will help the teacher but in the long run will help the students be able to rely on the teacher as dependable and organized.

I have seen many ways of organizing a grade book, but for me, being an extremely organized person. I would have to use dates and colors. I would prefer to organize my grade book by date of the assignment as well colors to identify homework, class work, projects, quizzes, and tests, etc. I would much rather have a material grade book not just a digital one, or one on the computer. I find that when I can see it in writing, I am more organized. Now that technology is taking over our world and the classroom, more and more of the grading is done either on the computer, on a website, or must be put there at the end of a grading period. Although this online or digital way of grading might be useful, for someone like me, it means double the work of putting grades in one place and then another. The only reason I like this way of grading is due to the resource of being able to use a site such as blackboard. Parents can view their child’s grades as well as comments I have made about their child. Efficiency has become the way we work in the classroom and while I agree it is important, I also believe that sometimes using an “old school” method might just be better. Being able to record every detail of a student’s progress is important to me. Tracking their work, challenges, improvements, and final mastery is rewarding not just for me but for them. This means that my grade book must incorporate many details in order for not just myself but my students to know and to see why and how they received the grade they did.