Most teachers can relate to staying at school well past contracted hours and bringing home crates full of student work to correct. I’ve been there myself. In my early years of teaching, I would spend many nights and weekends grading and correcting work during my own personal time. This isn’t best for you or your students. Therefore, it is important to have a plan for correcting student work.

If you are going to hold students accountable for the work, you must have a plan to correct, review, and remediate if necessary.

There are many ways you can correct student work to help take the burden off your nights and weekends.

1. Correct Multiple Choice or Short Answer Work Whole Class

Correcting as whole class will take the burden of correcting off your plate and help your students receive immediate feedback.

2. Use Self-Checking Activities

You can make a print resource self-checking by providing partners with answer keys. Technology is also a great tool for self-checking! You can find self checking activities like my Escape Rooms or check out the self-checking activities on my MagiCore Academy platform.

3. Correct Student Work During “Sponge” Activities or During Transition Times

Use this time to get some of your grading done! Contrary to some people’s belief, you can and should use class time when students are working independently to correct and give feedback. You can learn more about sponge activities here. I love using an activity like my Celebrate Everyday Morning Work because it provides students short but effective morning activities.

4. Correct Student Work As It Is Turned In

This helps immensely with giving students immediate feedback, correcting misconceptions, and providing interventions for students who need help. As you correct work, have students sit with you while you provide support for them to fix their work. Holding them accountable for revising their work helps hold the expectation that their work matters, and you are there to support them. This also teaches kids who rush through their work that it is better to take your time and do it right the first time. 

Here are some examples of how I worked my grading and correcting student work into my routines:

Morning Work: We often corrected whole class.

Classwork: If possible, I would leave 5-10 minutes at the end of the work period to rotate and check in with students, often “grading” or giving feedback on the spot. This immediate feedback encouraged kids, gave students an opportunity to get help from me, or gave me an opportunity to notate who needed small group or one-on-one attention later.

Tests and Quizzes: I had a strict policy (outside of my IEP students with accommodations) that students worked independently on assessments at their seats. I scheduled ample time for them to do their best work.  As they finished their assessments, they would come to my desk to turn them in. I would correct as many assessments as I could during the allotted time. I would also attempt to review assessments with students (individually, small group, or whole class) as soon as possible.   

A huge component of effective classroom management is using your time wisely. If you structure your own time so you can complete tasks such as grading, your classroom and personal free time will run much more smoothly.

Are you ready to have your best year ever?

If you’re a new teacher or if you just can’t seem to get a successful system of rituals and routines in place, and you’re ready to give your students the the stable learning environment you know they deserve, then check out my Classroom Management Course. Together, we’ll build a strategy for success that you can use year after year. Your students will thrive. And you can reduce your stress and finally earn the respect you deserve.