Today I learned how to mark children’s schoolbooks. This is an important skill, so for your benefit, here are the basics I picked up.
- Use a red pen. Marking is red. Green highlighters highlight some bits of red pen writing. You will be told which bits.
- Tick everything.
- If everything was right, put on a sticker that says “brilliant”.
- If it was mostly right, put on a sticker that says “good”.
- If the kid is clearly a bit dim use a sticker that says “target” and tells them to buck their ideas up.
- If you’ve run out of “good” stickers, cut the word “brilliant” off a “brilliant” sticker with scissors and that will probably do.
- Don’t mess up the piles. The piles were sorted by someone who knows more about it than you do and are not to be disturbed.
Good luck with your marking. Feel free to practice by marking this post in the comments below.
19 comments on “An introduction to marking”
Rachel and I have stuck this above our desks. We thank you.
Also, for you Christopher:
Self Assessment (to be completed in green oen) – How do you feel you could improve your marking?
I know this! He needs to use a green pen rather than an green oen to begin with.
According to wikipedia its a dutch word for a nincompoop: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oen
Noun[edit]
oen m, n ?(plural oenen, diminutive oentje n)
(slang) A nincompoop, moron, dumb person
A castrated donkey
Would they be the best people to mark children’s work?
I think Elena was insulting me and missed out a comma, as in: “to be completed in green, oen”.
Are you sure she wasn’t trying to call you Owen? Is that your new name? Did it change during the night?
Perhaps one of could ask me?
Perhaps one of you could ask me?
Which one?
Whichever one you like?
Do you think it should be Ian?
I’m definitely of the persuasion that Chris should be the one to do it.
I’m happy to ask, but I’m going to need a briefing on what I ought to ask. Perhaps we should call a meeting. With teas and coffees and little biscuits.
I’ll just be sitting here. Eating. Save some little biscuits for me, bring them along when you ask me!
(There’s most likely an in joke I am not privy to about little biscuits that I’ve totally missed…)
I think that in order to sort this mess out you’re going to need a tiny Russian coffee with some tiny Russian biscuits, and then have a dance afterwards.
Clocked it.
Will you be eating it with a tiny fork?
Ding! You win ten points for the obscure Beans reference round! Congratulations!
Next, can you tell me what animal faded pop star Morrissey really, really, really dislikes?
Bastards! Bastards!