I teach first grade and in the past, I've gone easy on the kids. I normally try to figure out whose paper it is by process of elimination or I'll have the kids look. Then I give them a warning that if it happens again, they iwll get a sad face (zero) on their paper. However, I've found that by May and June, I STILL have kids forgetting to put their names. So, I think I want to do like my teammate and have a no tolerance policy. She said she's had parents complain, but if there is no name, it goes in the garbage can. Opinions?
Going in the garbage can doesn't teach a lesson...a zero does. First graders are trainable...put highlighters on their tables and have them highlight their name. Have partners check each other's papers for names....
I just finished grading papers. Through the process of elimination I figured out it is Little Johnnie's paper. What would you do? The high lighter thing or would you give him a zero? EDIT: I graded the paper and Little Johnnie has a 73%.
If you've only been in school for a week or so, I'd put a sad face. Address the 'no name' issue at a class meeting, without mentioning Little Johnny. Then explain and institute the new 'highlighter' and buddy check policy.
Sounds like a plan especially since I have a ton of high lighters from Staples penny sale. Thanks Cza Cza
I like the idea of the highlighters. What I've typically done is ask my students to do things like put their right hand on their head, put their left thumb on their nose, put both hands in the air (and "wave them around like they just don't care"), do jazz hands, etc. after they put their names on their papers. If I still have a student who forgets to put their name on their paper, I let it slide the first 2 grading periods. Usually I am able to figure out who the no-name offender is. In the next two grading periods I start taking points off (1 point), and I'll put a note on my students' homework informing parents of this.
Yeah, I don't think a zero tolerance policy in first grade works. How do you collect them? If they are passing them to a specific person in the group, you can make them the group capt who verifies all papers have names. I've found that to be effective. Also, I have dismissed class by people who had names on their papers and then the offenders stay and write their name. I've had every age student neglect to write their name at one point or another. It seems to be an ongoing thing for some.
My kids are seated in alphabetical order. If they pass the papers up, I can figure out whose paper it is. Honestly, by high school it's not a real big deal.
OH! I like that idea!:wub: My students are sitting in four groups and each group has a main person that stacks the papers and either hands them to me or the paper collector (another student). I could have that be part of their job.
I deal with this A LOT in middle school, but I wouldn't give a zero. If it was a quiz about nouns the student made a B on yet the gradebook showed a zero, that indicates the student doesn't grasp nouns...not accurate and not okay in my book. I do think behavior, participation, responsibility and so forth should be tracked, but in a different category than academics.
I'm mean. Even when I recognize the handwriting, I enter a zero in the grade book and put the paper in my "no name" file. It is up to the student to notice the zero on their grade sheet and come ask about it. I occasionally remind students to look through the pile; sometimes they actually do. Once a student brings it to me, they get their actual grade without any kind of penalty. No point in being mean to first graders. Repetition and reminders maybe.
I agree with this. It skews assessment data to deduct points for no name. I like the idea of before dismissing or perhaps going to recess call out names of who has their name on their paper to line up and let the "no names" figure out who's is who's. If the a student is a chronic offender perhaps assign a buddy to that kid to check for a name each and every time.
While they are passing out the papers, I have them all say, "The first thing I do is always the same, I pick up my pencil and write my name." Of course that's not fool proof. But the next thing I do is. I tell them to look at their neighbor's paper and raise their hand if their neighbor forgot to write their name. They just love to tattle. And everyone hates it when they are caught, immediately writing their name on their paper when I say that. If you do this enough at the beginning of the year, you can gradually taper off to the point where it is very rare to have a nameless paper. You can make it into a kind of a game: "Did I catch anybody? No? Maybe I'll get you next time." And they're all grinning at you, thinking, Nope! She's not gonna catch me.
Oh, I have a homeless homework basket as well...but I make sure things are claimed every couple of weeks. I don't go on a man hunt or run a handwriting analysis, that's for sure.
I simply tell kids to put their name on the paper while I'm passing it out. I don't think I've ever had anyone just not do it when I just reminded them. If I had a big class, I might tell whoever collects the table's papers to check. I think a 0 tolerance policy is not appropriate for 1st grade.
I would do the neighbor check neighbor thing sometimes and sometimes we would play the "stand up/sit down" game. I would have the whole class stand up. They could sit down when I called their names on the turned in papers.
In third grade, my teacher said she threw papers away that didn't have names on them. So what I did only do the first problem or sentence or question. Then I'd "forget" to write my name. I figured that nobody would know that I didn't do the work if the teacher threw the paper away.
I agree completely. I post any papers without names and ask students to claim them. No names is an irritant, but it is one of those hills I choose not to die on.
I figure out whose paper it is, take a couple of points off and move on with my day. If a student is chronic, I'll make a big deal of standing over him and watching him write his name on every paper for about a week. The student hates it, but it gets the point across.
I found a good solution for missing names and missing work in my 6tn grade class. Twice a week, I would check my gradebook for missing grades, then write the student names on the board with the assignments that were missing. Students had to bring their missing work to me by the next day to prove they had dpne the assignment. If they didn't have it by then, they stayed inside during recess and did it again. Deciding NOT to do an assignment was not an option. This put a quick end to students not doing their work or not writing their name on their paper.
Things I have done. . .tear up the paper in front of the kids. Works wonders (I've usuallly figured out who didn't put their name on their paper by this time & they've gotten the grade, they just don't get the returned paper.) I've only had to do it a couple of times, I did this mostly with my 2nd/3rd graders. I've done it in front of my son & his friends before too, just to make the point. One year, I would pass out the papers & then get out my highlighter. Anyone who didn't have their name on their paper got it highlighted. They hated that! The highlighter would come out & names would go on the papers.
My cooperating teacher during student teaching used to say "I didn't know it was going to snow today" when she got a paper with no name. I never actually saw her tear one up while I was there but it was the first 8 weeks of school.
Ouch. I don't like the idea of tearing up work. That sets up the idea that it isn't valuable and is, I think, disrespectful. Kids may leave work languishing in my no name pile for weeks or mo this, but at least it isn't ME treating their effort poorly. I want my students to take pride in each assignment and view each as a valuable document.
I think that's horrible. I would have a real issue if it happened to one of my children. Kids sometimes make mistakes. Life goes on. Our job as teachers is to teach our kids to be careful, not to teach them that one mistake makes the whole effort meaningless.
As I said in the post I never saw her tear up work, she always handed it back and reminded them to put their name on it.
Awesome suggestions! What I ended up doing was having one person at each group be the name checker as a little job. And I tell the name checker if someone doesn't have a name on their paper to pass it back to them and don't bring the papers to me until they all have their headings. NOW, one more question...what do you do when it's HOMEWORK? We send home a weekly homework packet and on Friday one had no name. I called out all the ones with names and asked if osmeone turned it in and didn't hear their names and the kids were looking at me like i had ten heads. No one claimed it?
For homework, no name=no grade. I tell parents this up front. Once it's out of their folder, unless it was the only one without a name, I can't figure out whose it is. My TA takes the homework out & he's usually pretty good about having the kids put their name on the paper, if he notices it.
If I can easily figure out who it belongs to, based on handwriting or it is the only one without a name, I will write the name myself. If there are multiples without names or multiple did not turn it in and I can't figure it out; then quite often I will just throw them away and give them a zero. It also depends on my mood, if I feel like figuring it out I will, if not, its in the garbage.
For my first graders, they have a homework folder that the school provided. It has their name on it, so there really isn't an issue with no names on the papers. However, that doesn't mean I just let them slide with not writing their name on it anyway. When we start a lesson, I always write my name on my example page if I have one and say "Well.... my name is on my paper, I hope your name is on yours..." and you'd be amazed at the scrambling to write names. Most of mine honestly forget. It isn't negligence, it is honestly just forgetting. A gentle reminder really works well for my kids. Also, I have them bring them to me one at a time (not a good method, I'll admit, but it's the one I'm used to) so I can check/stamp/sticker whatever their paper. If it has no name, I'll just say something like "Oh my... this is the best paper ever (kids name)... but it has no name on it!" and they will QUICKLY walk back to their seats to write it. I know it's not the most effective method, but it works for my kids.
I clip the no-names up to a corner of the whiteboard and write "ghost writer" near it. At the end of the week, any that are still remaining go into the recycle bin. The missing scores are a zero in my gradebook.
I've done that before! I also put up whose papers I'm missing. It saves everyone from going to see if it is their paper. It also brings papers out of the desks.
I like the idea of highlighting the name! If the highlighters are special markers only used for that purpose, it would motivate them to write their name so that they can use a special marker.
I agrre with you! wow that just hurts me in the gut...especially when I think of my little second grade grandson who finds it hard to do his work in the first place and then to see it torn up in front of him...ouch.
I have Mr No Name. He visits the classroom and does wonderful work. When I get unnamed work I just comment on what a nice job Mr. No Name did and low and behold a name appears quite quickly. I also have a file folder for Mr No Name's work where I file unclaimed work. The children then can double check if they wish. If I really need the name and did not get a chance to get the name during class I bring it back and have the children figure out whose it is if I was unable to figure it out. I do not do negative scores for unnamed work.
When I taught sixth grade, the nameless papers would go in the trash and all students with a blank besides their names would come in from recess to redo or do the work for the first time. I reminded kids to write their names until I was tired of saying it. For younger kids, I'd be a bit more lenient and give them a chance to claim their work. They would have to provide a writing sample to match their papers though.
