Penz and Problemz
When in the classroom, this is what you should be doing when your teacher is talking / lecturing on a topic
Taking Notes
A student has 30 minutes worth of reading tonight for class, and the book is hard / confusing at times. They should...
1. Do it anyway - be resilient.
2. Listen to the audio version while reading in the text.
3. Look up summaries online to help with my understanding.
A student has learned a new strategy in class today they don't understand at all. They have to use it for homework tonight. Before leaving the classroom they should...
Ask the teacher to explain it again
A student finds an assignment boring. They should...
Do it anyway.
(Be creative! Find a way to make it interesting.)
A student didn't do their homework. The WORST thing to say to the teacher is...
1. NOTHING
2. Sorry I was busy
Each night, students should write these 2 things down in their planners.
1. The assignment
2. The directions
This is the worst thing a student can do when getting a reading assignment from a teacher.
Not read it / give up.
A student reaches a breakdown with material while they are doing homework at home. They've looked back in the text, looked back at strategy notes and examples, and are unsure that their work is correct. They should...
Email the teacher explaining what happened.
A student dislikes the book they're reading in class. The solution to this problem is...
Get over it. Try and find something interesting about it. Be open to learning from different perspectives.
Sometimes the best things you learn are from things you "don't like"
A student fell behind on classwork, but made up their missing assignments. Once the assignments are complete, their next step of action should be...
On a quote analysis, a student has forgotten the strategy to use. Their first step to problem solving should be....
Looking up the strategy and examples on google classroom
OR
Look through their notes
The reason it is so important to keep up with the class reading.
If you get behind, it becomes SUPER hard to catch up.
Class is not fun if you do not do the reading / participate in discussion.
A student reaches a breakdown with material while they are doing homework at home. They've looked back in the text, looked back at strategy notes and examples, and are unsure that their work is correct. They should not...
2. Leave the assignment incomplete
3. Not email the teacher.
A student has gymnastics practice tonight, it's her mom's birthday, and has an hour and a half of homework. She is feeling stressed about getting everything done, so she should...
Explain to her parents she has a lot of work tonight and needs to make time to complete it.
A student is having difficulty with an assignment in class. List three inappropriate things to say to your teacher / do in response to this.
1. Stop doing your work
2. Tell your teacher "this is confusing / boring" without having any real advocacies
3. Give up / leave the classroom / not complete your work
A student in only 3/4 of the way done with writing a paper for class, and it is due tomorrow. They've procrastinated and forgot they have an event/practice to go to tonight and won't have a lot of time. Their first step to problem solving should be...
Owning their mistake, telling the truth, and emailing the teacher that they need an extension.
A student is attempting to write an essay on a book they didn't read or take good notes on in class. The worst way to problem solve this is...
Use an AI to write you a paper
A student is working on a group project, and one of the members isn't pulling their weight. The first thing they should do is...
Talk to their groupmate first. Ask them to help more / if they are struggling. Problem solve as a group.
A student has gymnastics practice tonight, it's her mom's birthday, and has an hour and a half of homework. She is feeling stressed about getting everything done, so she should NOT...
1. leave homework as the last priority
2. pretend like her homework doesn't exist
3. Give up
A student is having difficulty with an assignment in class. List three appropriate things to say to your teacher / do in response to this.
1. ask a classmate to help
2. Look back at directions / in the text you're working with
3. Ask the teacher for help
A student is stuck on a developing ideas for an essay assignment. List 3 proper steps to problem solving in the CORRECT order.
1. Look back in the text / notes that they've taken
2. Do research online / ask a classmate for assistance
3. Ask the teacher for help
A student is attempting to write an essay on a book they didn't read or take good notes on in class. The best way to problem solve this is...
A student is working on a group project, and one of the members isn't pulling their weight. The first thing they should not do is...
A student has done their best to problem solve their busy afternoon and evening, but it simply won't be possible to get homework done for ALL of their classes tonight. This student should...
1. Email the teachers for the classwork they can't get to and ask for an extension
2. Explain that they tried their best to figure it out, but they ran out of time.
TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY. Don't GHOST your teacher / your responsibility to yourself.
A student knows they don't have time to do homework tonight despite a lot of attempts to plan out their night. An appropriate, short, email to the teacher taking responsibility and explaining clearly sounds like...
"Dear Ms. Martucci,
I've attempted to plan my night out to make time for homework, but there were some special circumstances (2 practices and a parents birthday) that prevented me from getting to you homework. I apologize that I wasn't able to complete it on time, but can I please have an extension until tomorrow night?
Thanks for your consideration,
Student"