Here’s What I Do: Zero Papers for Missing Work, Part Two

September 27th, 2009 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Teachers' Corner

Hemet, Calif., middle school language arts teacher Syndi Carlson uses a system she calls Zero Papers to encourage students to turn in assignments. Students who have not completed the day’s assignment turn in a piece of paper with the assignment name, the date, the reason they did not complete the work, and their parents’ phone number. Carlson calls parents about the missing work.

The Parent Phone Call

Carlson tries to limit the parent phone calls to just a few minutes each. Here’s what she says:
Hi there. This is Mrs. Carlson, and I wanted to let you know Johnny did not do the first homework assignment of the year. He will have this assignment due every Friday. I didn’t want him to get behind already. Please check next Thurs. to make sure he has the assignment.

Parents respond well to Carlson’s initial phone call and thank her for the contact. “In all the years I’ve done this, I have never had a negative comment from a parent about a call,” Carlson said.

Students have a different reaction. The day after the parent phone call students are often amazed that Carlson called home about missing work. They insist they’ll do their work to avoid the scene that happened with their parents the night before.

“I always remind them I want them to succeed and will call anytime work is not done,” Carlson said.

Mailing Zero Papers Home

Before the end of the grading period, Carlson gathers up the Zero Papers and mails them home with a cover letter. The cover letter explains to parents how many points the student missed and how that affects the student’s grade.

When parents receive the packet, they often call Carlson to ask how they can help. After the Zero Papers go home, students don’t miss assignments for weeks.

Managing the Phone Call Load

Once students know that Carlson is serious about calling home about missing work, they do the work and the Zero Papers and phone calls home decrease.

“If daily homework is required, I’d choose one period a day to call home on,” Carlson said. “If a particular period was really remiss in getting work in, I’d concentrate on that period.”

Fewer Grade Disputes

Under Carlson’s Zero Papers system, students have few arguments about lost papers or incorrect grading.
“When a student says, ‘I turned that in,’ I pull out the alphabetized zero papers and we check,” Carlson said. “They are sometimes truly surprised when they see [the Zero Paper] in their own handwriting.”
Parents understand when their child has missing work. No parents wonder why their student is not doing well or suspect that the teacher is losing homework.

“This does not stop all the missing work,” Carlson said. “But it makes a huge dent in the work missing.”

Tags: Classroom Management, grading, phone calls