Report cards for teens

It's the end of the academic year in our school. Last year I used continuous assessment with my teens, so at the end of the term I hand-made little cards and wrote some personal comments inside for each teenager. The categories followed the FCE papers, since that is what the kids were studying for: Reading, Writing, Use of English, Listening and Speaking. I simply wrote my subjective comments about each student under each heading.

The goal of this was more to encourage than to provide serious feedback. I wanted my weaker students to feel that their progress had been noted and that grammar was not the be-all and end-all of language learning. I wanted to give the stronger students some tips on how to continue excelling outside the classroom.

I must admit, the idea seemed better in the teachers' room than in front of the students. I felt rather silly handing out hand-made cards....

Only this year have I noticed the effect these cards had (exam students, please note the use of inversion!). I handed out certificates a little early as some students were leaving the course before the actual end of year, and heard to my surprise, "What about those cards we had last year?"

Happy Teacher went away from class feeling that not everything she does is useless and unnoticed.

Stressed Teacher now has to go make those report cards..... :-)