#28daysofwriting Day 11
I currently teach Year 1. Virtually none of my marking is for the child.
This is because (a) they can’t read it, and (b) they’re not yet independent or self aware enough for the marking to affect what they do.
Here’s how I use marking to make a difference: I photograph the marked work and send it to their parents. In Year 1, I’ve found that the most effective way of feeding back to the child is via their parents.
But I could do the same thing by not actually marking the work, but just messaging the parents about what their child needs to do next.
So what is my marking for?
Often it’s guilt. It’s the feeling that I should be writing something so that when an observer (senior manager, colleague, inspector) looks at the work they know the teacher has been busy.
This is why a school’s marking policy is so important. It defines how guilty a teacher feels after marking a set of books. Should you tick and flick? Should you mark in various colours, training your children to know what each colour means*? Either can be valid so long as the feedback is good enough to make a difference to the child in the next lesson.
*pink for think, green for good is one example