No-Homework Binder

Been busy creating all day today!  Unfortunately I didn't feel like turning on the AC today (some days I just feel like trying to save money and suffer the consequences!) so I've had my little tower fan right next to me, and been swinging it around between the computer and the floor where I was sitting.  But the afternoon sun has been brutal, so I may cave in soon... ;)

I wanted to share one of the quick projects I did this afternoon!  First, I have to credit Leslie at Jack of all Trades for the idea, which I found a few weeks ago through Pinterest!  Such a great idea, and easy to maintain - especially if I link it to one of the classroom jobs I have in mind, and put a student in charge of monitoring it when homework needs to be turned in... more on my ideas for classroom jobs in a future post, I promise! :)

So I present to you, my very own No Homework Binder!

Ta-daaaaa!

I printed the labels on cardstock, and used packing tape to secure the labels to the outside of an old binder I had.  Unfortunately, after I was so proud of the shell of my little binder, I opened it up...only to discover that I hadn't looked closely enough and had taped the labels upside-down and on the back of the binder!!  Wahhhh!

So I tore it all off, had to re-print the small corner label with my name on it again because it ripped, and turned the binder over to the proper front.  A few more pieces of tape later, and I was good to go! :)

Inside the binder, I wanted to create a homework contract to be the first page - a document with norms that my students and I can all understand as far as homework expectations go.  I browsed around Google for some inspiration, and eventually just made up my own.

It basically states that there will be homework on a regular basis (how often?  I don't know yet, since I'm starting at a new school and don't know their norms yet... so I left it intentionally vague); that the students can depend on me writing the homework in the same place every time so they know where to expect to look; that if students do not complete their homework by the due date they will have to log an entry in the No Homework Binder; and that homework is a tool that will help the students learn responsibility and practice the skills they are learning in class.  I'll discuss the contract at the beginning of the year, and the students and I will all sign that page.  That way, if a student forgets to turn in homework or chooses not to do it, that homework contract is the first thing they see when they open the binder and hopefully seeing their signature will remind the student that he/she agreed to be held accountable.

The rest of the pages in the binder are each student's no-homework log.

If a student doesn't do his/her homework, he/she will have a personal page to record the date, assignment, and reason it was not done. Sad face.

I love this idea because it provides documentation of chronic homework evaders, all in one place, and it requires little to no maintenance on my part.  WIN!