Yes, you guessed it. Report season is upon us.
Last week I was weighed down by bags and bags filled with observation notes, files of assessments and USB sticks galore...ready and revving to produce a lovely, colour-printed A3 sheet of paper for parents to read at the end of semester.
...Until I got sick, then told myself I have a couple more weekends to finish reports.
So, here I am, surrounded by stacks of paper, and typing like there's no tomorrow.
As a relatively new teacher, I think it's very easy to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of writing reports for your class. Every school does it differently, and to be honest, every semester, my process of writing varies slightly - but there are some tips which I found helpful when I first began.
And, let me assure you, the process does get easier.
1. Know how your school operates and plan accordingly
First port of call for any teacher who has just started teaching, or joined a new school, or joined a new stage/grade team: find out how your school does reports. Ask about things like:
* word/character count
* phrases they like/don't like
* who you will submit your reports to
* time frame for writing and submission
* format that your supervisor wants to read your reports in
* subjects that you will be reporting on (and if you have any generic comments)
Most helpful tip is to talk to other teachers who have been on the grade before and request samples so you're writing along the same lines.
To help you waste as little time as possible, write a top, middle and low comment and take it to your supervisor for feedback. That way you won't have written gazillions of comments only to have to re-do every. single. one. again.
2. Know how YOU operate and plan accordingly
I am someone who desperately needs a plan and some kind of routine in order to be productive. I also need lots of time to produce an assignment/any written piece. But I have friends who are able to pump out an HD assignment overnight (grr...how do you do it?!). Either way, you get an indication of how you operate - either you need to plan time for yourself weeks in advance, or be strict and ensure that the weekend before your comments are due, you have a little free time to sit down and write your heart out.
3. Create an observation book at the start of the year
I'm sorry if this one is too late - but there's always next semester to do it!
Schools are very busy places - and your brain doesn't always remember absolutely everything for you and produce it on demand, especially when you have to write specifically about a child for their report.
My recommendation is to get yourself a big scrapbook, wrap it up so it's pretty (mine's bright yellow - nice and sunny! Also, now I can't lose it), and then create an academic record page for each of your children. Along with this, I create a spreadsheet that holds all my marks and ensure I have a hard copy of the results in my scrapbook at the end of semester for easy reference if I'm not in my room.
Have your observation book on your desk in an obvious easy-to-reach spot. Have stacks of post-its on hand when you're on the run during class and you're observing your children during a writing lesson, maths, sport, or in group activities. Jot down notes about their interactions, their responses and engagement in class and then stick that post-it into their record page.
This is SUPER helpful when it comes to reporting because you can open up their page and refer and reflect really specifically on that student. It also enables you to see change over time and consider what "Johnny" is doing better (or dropping in) this semester than he was previously.
3. Sort everything using a consistent system
Ok, so apart from me being really OCD about sorting, this is a really helpful thing to do in terms of record-keeping. I have a big file with all of my kids' assessments in it. I have a post-it on the front of each assessment stack telling me when they completed it, anything that I need to re-teach, and if anyone was absent and needs to catch up on the task. I keep their assessments filed by subject, and the stack of assessments sorted in alphabetical order. This makes looking for tests so simple later on.
Take time to organise yourself during the year and you'll thank yourself later.
If you're an organised chaos kind of person - just make sure you have some kind of system that works for you and that is consistent. It helps report-time to feel a little calmer and less like you're drowning in a sea of paper.
4. Save, save, save!
Just like a uni assignment, reports are really important to save and have copies of. The last thing you need is for your USB containing all of your reports to crash the night before submission. It happens, and it's not pretty.
Save your reports, and make sure you know where another copy of your reports might be; e.g. email your reports to yourself or cloud it. Because being caught out is not fun.
PLUS you want those reports for the following semester/year - especially if you have nice phrases that you like using! Sometimes inspiration strikes one year, and is absent the next.
5. Revisit your reports
If you type things up, print at least one copy off and then use that to help you do your first edit. Don't do it all in one hit. Write, then go for a walk, or have a nap, or hang out with people, or leave it for a couple of days. Then, return, sit, read, and edit. Sometimes seeing things on paper in hard copy is easier than on a computer screen.
Also, supervisors often prefer hard copy to soft copy - but check on that.
If you have a long-suffering friend/significant other/family member/colleague who can read your reports for you, ask them to do so. Ask them to check that your report doesn't sound too biased; sometimes you don't realise it in the writing, but it does happen. Get them to call you out on it.
So, there you have it. Hopefully they're helpful tips as you wade through terms of work which have to culminate in a written report. Remember, too, that these reports aren't just for the parents - although it might feel that way. These can be really helpful as a reflection tool for you as a teacher. They help you to clarify in your mind where your students are at so you can plan for the next term/year.
OH, BONUS THOUGHT: Touch-typing is the unsung hero that saves so much of my time, brainspace and energy. It's a really, really useful skill to have. I'll be honest: I took this skill for granted growing up, but I'm ever so thankful to our computer teacher who forced us to type with a tea-towel over our hands to make sure we could type accurately and quickly. Reports are increasingly computer-based, so touch typing is very very helpful!!!
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