I'm a first grade teacher, and our principal approached me about having my students use assignment notebooks. She already has one picked out, and it is not developmentally appropriate for first grade. It's "busy", the writing lines are tiny, and other than reading every night and some math practice, first graders don't have many assignments. I've also explained to her that I communicate with parents about homework in a different manner that works well, that I do many other forms of authentic writing, and that it would take valuable time teaching children to copy off the board into their assignment notebooks. When I expressed these thoughts, the principal told me that some kindergarten classrooms use assignment notebooks and that it would be quick and easy for first graders. I'd appreciate feedback about how others feel about first graders using assignment notebooks. I'd also like to hear from kindergarten or first grade teachers who use assignment notebooks, and how the notebooks are organized, etc. Thanks
I use assignment notebooks in my first grade. This is the first year I used them. Mostly I let the parents write the books titles they read each night. Sometimes I write things in them. Sometimes it is and extra worry so it becomes a pain. I still have mixed feelings about using it.
We use them in second grade. Our are really cool, I don't know who makes them, but they are perfect for second graders. I don't assign homework every night, so on no homework nights I use them to have the kids write a sentence about something new they learned today, something fun that happened, etc. The parents really like this because they have something to talk about with their child at the end of the day.
We started using agendas this year and I love them. The children don't write a lot in them, but it gives them a bit of responsibility. The brand we buy has a primary type, where there are interlined spaces for the children and spaces for parents to write. I type the spelling words and they glue them in. They write important things in there, and all notes from and to me go in them. I find them really useful. If you don't like the format she is offering, it probably will end up being a hassle. You could tell her you're interested, but that you want a primary style one. If you would like, I can take note of the brand tomorrow. It's the same brand our whole school has, but the grade 1's are different than the other grades'.
I love NCP's idea with the sentence! But back to the more main point, I use a weekly homework chart with my first graders and I put their spelling words on the back. I write in most of the assignments for them before I xerox it. It has a math, ELA, & parent notes column. I have found it handy bc I no longer can hear the excuse, "I forgot what the homework was". I can totally understand your point about wasting time copying it down. This method take a bit more planning, but I always leave room for things that I've forgotten.
I saw a neat Elementary Student Assignment book at Office Depot the other day. I'll go see if I can find a link for it.
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do...+organizer&y=19&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text This is it. You can't really tell much from the picture. I wouldn't want to spend that much on it for each student, but if you go to a store you might get an idea what you want. It had some really neat ideas in it.
I use a daily planner with second graders for homework and conduct communication. On one side it has three lines apiece for each day and across the page there is a section for comments and parent initials. Also on the second page, there is a place for the students to copy their spelling words. I make a small list for them to glue into their planner and they copy the words for one assignment. I check their planners each day to see if a parent signed and I put a small sticker beside each parent intial that counts as points for our behavior auction. I only require parents to sign on Fridays, but most sign all week anyway.
Thanks for all the ideas. I use a communication sheet similar to Maggie's and Teacher in Texas's, and I love the idea of having the students write a sentence each day; I could incorporate that with the sheet I use. I enjoy going to Office Depot, so I'll take a look at the elementary assignment book Miss W wrote about. I wish I would've found this forum a long time ago .
I found the name of the company that supplies us with our agendas. It is Premier. Check out http://www.premieragendas.com/
My son's school uses an agenda for all grade levels. In first and second grade they do not write much, study spelling, read pages _-_, finish a project & no homework. Parents are required to sign or initial each day so the teachers know the agendas have been reviewed. My sons class uses bonus bucks and if the days are initialed or signed they earn a bonus buck, not signed they have to pay.
I looked at the premier site and it looks like that may be our company also. I like having all the info in one place. I glue class rules and phone numbers, email addresses, etc to the front of our planners so there are no excuses! The school buys the first one, and if a student loses one, the student must buy another one.
