There are three papers that every student should have in the science section of his/her binder at all times. I encourage you to check your child's binder frequently for these three sheets (neat and up-to-date!), as well as the general neatness of his/her binder. See also the Binder Organization icon on my home page.
"Goals and Activities" - This page has entries for each of the days that our class meets during a week. At the beginning of class students write the activities for the day, any homework, and usually a warm-up question. This sheet is worth points and is turned in on the following Monday as a cover sheet for the packet containing their completed classwork and homework for the week.
"Assignment Record Sheet" - On this sheet students keep track of every assignment we have done for the semester. They copy the information from a large poster on the bulletin board. The poster is updated daily. If the student's Assignment Record Sheet is not up to date, parents should ask their child why. It can be an important organizational tool and it is turned in for points at the end of each semester.
"Grade Graph" - Each student is responsible for updating his or her grade graph weekly, using a grade report that students see each Monday. On that grade report students see their percentage and letter grade each week. The grade graph is turned in for points at the end of each semester.
On a bulletin board in the classroom I post an updated grade report each week. This report shows the scores for each student on all assignments and indicates any assignments that a student failed to turn in.
Thus, there can be no excuse for students not knowing how they are doing in my class or what work they might be missing.