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10 Useful Tips for Students to Submit Assignments on Time

Team Desklib

Published: 2023-02-07

We all have been on the receiving side of the terror that comes with running late to turn in your assignment. As a student, one of the most critical skills you can develop is submitting your assignments on time. Late submissions can result in lost grades, missed opportunities, and added stress, making it essential for students to understand the importance of timely submissions.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll share a wealth of tips and strategies that can help you ensure timely submissions and help you stay on top of your coursework - 

1. Create a schedule

The first step in submitting assignments on time is to create a schedule. This can prove to be a useful step in the entire process. A schedule will help you keep track of your deadlines and plan your time accordingly. You can use a physical planner or a digital calendar, whichever works best for you. Make sure to include all of your assignments, exams, and other commitments in your schedule so that you have a clear understanding of how much time you have available.

2. Start timely

It is essential to start working on your assignments as early as possible. Waiting until the last minute to start your assignment can result in stress and decreased quality of work. By starting early, you’ll have enough time to review and refine your work, ensuring that you submit a high-quality assignment. Having said that, we understand and aren't too optimistic that balancing school life and homework can be a task. In that case, you can always start with the easy part so that it can create a sense of winning, which will eventually lead you to complete the entire assignment.

3. Break down tasks

Breaking down a large assignment into smaller tasks can make it seem more manageable and help you avoid procrastination. By setting deadlines for each of these tasks, you can keep yourself accountable and ensure that you’re making progress toward your end goal. Another way to go about it is to prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency, making sure to complete the most critical tasks first.

One of the key benefits of breaking down tasks is increased productivity. When students are faced with a large and complex assignment, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and demotivated. However, by breaking the assignment down into smaller tasks, students can focus on one component at a time, making it easier to make progress and complete the assignment in a timely manner. This can help students to avoid procrastination and ensure that they are making progress toward their goals.

4. Use tools and resources

There are many tools and resources available to help students stay organized and on track. For example, you can use online citation generators to help you format your bibliography correctly or use productivity apps to stay focused and avoid distractions. Utilizing these tools and resources can save you time and help you submit your assignments on time. One such assignment help website is Desklib; here you can find study material and documents in abundance where as a student you can have access to help conveniently. 

5. Ask for help

Don’t hesitate to reach out to your teachers, tutors, or classmates if you need help. They can provide you with valuable feedback and insights that can improve your work and ensure that you’re on the right track. Furthermore, if you’re struggling with a particular aspect of an assignment, seeking help can save you time and prevent you from making costly mistakes.

Asking for help is a critical aspect of student success, especially when it comes to completing class assignments. Whether students are struggling to understand a complex concept or need assistance with a specific task, seeking help can provide them with the support they need to succeed. 

6. Manage your time effectively

Effective time management is necessary in order to turn in an assignment timely. When writing an assignment, make sure to allocate your time wisely and prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency. This step can also help improve the quality of the final product. It is important to take regular breaks, review the work completed so far, and make any necessary revisions. By managing time effectively, it is possible to allocate sufficient time for these activities, ensuring that the final product is of the best possible quality.

7. Stay organized

Staying organized can also help to prioritize tasks and deadlines. When working on an assignment, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the many tasks and deadlines involved. However, by staying organized, it is possible to see the big picture and prioritize tasks in a way that ensures that everything is completed on time and to a high standard.

Make sure to keep all of your notes, materials, and other resources in one place so that you can easily access them when you need them. You can also use a filing system or an online storage solution to help you stay organized. 

8. Set realistic goals

It’s important to set realistic goals for yourself when submitting assignments. While it’s great to strive for excellence, setting unrealistic goals can result in added stress and decreased productivity. Make sure to set achievable goals and focus on making progress towards your goals rather than striving for perfection.

9. Eliminate distractions

Distractions can have a significant impact on your productivity and ability to complete a task at hand. While working, make sure to eliminate distractions by creating a conducive environment for studying like turning off your phone, or using a noise-canceling app. I know this might sound and feel a bit tough at first but trust me, it only gets better from hereon. This step will get the work done effectively and timely. 

10. Reward yourself 

In the end, do not forget to pat yourself on the back. After having completed the assignment, it is equally important to reward yourself for your hard work and achievements. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, submitting your assignments on time is crucial for your academic success. We hope that we could help you a little by providing you with these tips. We hope that the above-given tips will help ensure that your work is completed to the best of your ability and submitted on time.

Remember, consistent effort and planning can go a long way in achieving your goals.

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Designing Effective Homework

Best practices for creating homework that raises student achievement

Homework. It can be challenging…and not just for students. For teachers, designing homework can be a daunting task with lots of unanswered questions: How much should I assign? What type of content should I cover? Why aren’t students doing the work I assign? Homework can be a powerful opportunity to reinforce the Shifts in your instruction and promote standards-aligned learning, but how do we avoid the pitfalls that make key learning opportunities sources of stress and antipathy?

The nonprofit Instruction Partners recently set out to answer some of these questions, looking at what research says about what works when it comes to homework. You can view their original presentation here , but I’ve summarized some of the key findings you can put to use with your students immediately.

Does homework help?

Consistent homework completion has been shown to increase student achievement rates—but frequency matters. Students who are given homework regularly show greater gains than those who only receive homework sporadically. Researchers hypothesize that this is due to improved study skills and routines practiced through homework that allow students to perform better academically.

Average gains on unit tests for students who completed homework were six percentile points in grades 4–6, 12 percentile points in grades 7–9, and an impressive 24 percentile points in grades 10–12; so yes, homework (done well) does work. [i]

What should homework cover?

While there is little research about exactly what types of homework content lead to the biggest achievement gains, there are some general rules of thumb about how homework should change gradually over time.

In grades 1–5, homework should:

• Reinforce and allow students to practice skills learned in the classroom
• Help students develop good study habits and routines
• Foster positive feelings about school

In grades 6–12, homework should:

• Prepare students for engagement and discussion during the next lesson
• Allow students to apply their skills in new and more challenging ways

The most often-heard criticism of homework assignments is that they simply take too long. So how much homework should you assign in order to see results for students? Not surprisingly, it varies by grade. Assign 10-20 minutes of homework per night total, starting in first grade, and then add 10 minutes for each additional grade. [ii] Doing more can result in student stress, frustration, and disengagement, particularly in the early grades.

Why are some students not doing the homework?

There are any number of reasons why students may not complete homework, from lack of motivation to lack of content knowledge, but one issue to watch out for as a teacher is the impact of economic disparities on the ability to complete homework.

Multiple studies [iii] have shown that low-income students complete homework less often than students who come from wealthier families. This can lead to increased achievement gaps between students. Students from low-income families may face additional challenges when it comes to completing homework such as lack of access to the internet, lack of access to outside tutors or assistance, and additional jobs or family responsibilities.

While you can’t erase these challenges for your students, you can design homework that takes those issues into account by creating homework that can be done offline, independently, and in a reasonable timeframe. With those design principles in mind, you increase the opportunity for all your students to complete and benefit from the homework you assign.

The Big Picture

Perhaps most importantly, students benefit from receiving feedback from you, their teacher, on their assignments. Praise or rewards simply for homework completion have little effect on student achievement, but feedback that helps them improve or reinforces strong performance does. Consider keeping this mini-table handy as you design homework:

The act of assigning homework doesn’t automatically raise student achievement, so be a critical consumer of the homework products that come as part of your curriculum. If they assign too much (or too little!) work or reflect some of these common pitfalls, take action to make assignments that better serve your students.

[i] Cooper, H. (2007). The battle over homework (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

[ii] Cooper, H. (1989a). Homework .White Plains, NY: Longman.

[iii] Horrigan, T. (2015). The numbers behind the broadband ‘homework gap’ http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/ and Miami Dade Public Schools. (2009). Literature Review: Homework. http://drs.dadeschools.net/LiteratureReviews/Homework.pdf

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About the Author: Claire Rivero is the Digital Strategy Manager for Student Achievement Partners. Claire leads the organization’s communications and digital promotion work across various channels including email, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, always seeking new ways to reach educators. She also manages Achieve the Core’s blog, Aligned. Prior to joining Student Achievement Partners, Claire worked in the Communications department for the American Red Cross and as a literacy instructor in a London pilot program. Claire holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Public Policy from Duke University and a master’s degree in Social Policy (with a concentration on Education Policy) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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4 Tips for Completing Your Homework On Time

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Homework, a necessary evil according to many teachers, has a lot of students tied up in knots. Some students can never seem to get things turned in on time. In fact, many students do not even realize that they  have  homework until a friend from class texts them or they overhear someone in the halls talking about Ms. So-and-so's terrible, no-good, awful, horrifying worksheet for Chemistry that is due the next day. These five tips for completing your homework on time, however, should help you get that homework finished on time. 

Tip 1: Rely On a Planning System

Most of you by now are well acquainted with a homework planner. It has the dates, the school subjects you are taking, and a whole lot of blank space to write down your homework assignments. Use these planners if you have them. Writing with an actual pencil or pen may seem almost archaic what with technology virtually doing everything for us, but the kinesthetic movement of writing down an assignment into one of those little squares (Language Arts test tomorrow - STUDY TONIGHT), will actually help solidify that homework in your brain.

Plus, when you are packing up to go home at the end of the school day, all you have to do is open up that planner to see which books, folders, and binders need to go home with you so you will not miss out anything that you need to do that evening.

Some people  hate  using planners. They'd rather walk on a pile of crushed glass than actually write something down in a planner. That's quite all right. One student kept a wadded up piece of paper in his pocket where he'd scrawl his assignments. It worked for him, so it was fine. For those of you not keen on planners or crumpled up notes, your phone can come in really handy. Just download a productivity app and type your assignments in there. Or, keep track of all the work due in the notes section of your phone. Or, snap a picture of the homework board in each teacher's class before you head out into the hallway. Or, if you are really dead-set against anything planner-related, then just send yourself a text after each class with your homework assignments for the night.

No matter which planning system you prefer, use it. Check off each item once you get it in your backpack. Your brain can only process so much information at a time, so you absolutely must write your homework down if you plan to complete it on time. 

Tip 2: Prioritize Your Homework Assignments

All assignments are not created equal. It's strongly recommended you use a prioritizing system when you sit down at home with your homework. Try a system a little something like this:

• Examples: Studying for a major test coming up tomorrow. Finishing a major project due tomorrow. Writing an essay worth a LOT of points that is due tomorrow. 
• Examples:  Studying for a quiz coming up tomorrow. Completing a homework sheet that is due tomorrow. Reading a chapter that is due tomorrow. 
• Examples: Studying for a spelling test that will occur on Friday. Writing a blog and posting it on the class board by Friday. Finish a book upon which you will take a quiz on Friday.
• Examples: Reviewing chapters for the midterm exam. Working on an on-going project, research paper, or long assignment due at the end of the quarter. Completing a packet that isn't due for two weeks. 

Once you've prioritized the work you have to do, complete all the 1's first, then the 2's, moving down as you go. That way, if you find yourself pressed for time because Great-Grandma decided to stop over for family dinner and your mom insisted you spend the evening playing bridge with her despite the fact that you have hours of homework ahead of you, then you will not have missed anything vitally important to your grade. 

Tip 3: Get the Worst Assignment Over With First

So, maybe you absolutely hate writing essays (But, why, though when all you have to do is follow these essay tips? ) and you have a major essay staring you in the face that  must  be completed before tomorrow. You also have to study for a major math test, complete a social studies blog by Friday, study for the ACT  next month, and finish up your science worksheet from class. Your "1" assignments would be the essay and the math test. Your "2" assignment is the science worksheet, the "3" assignment is that blog, and the "4" assignment is studying for the ACT. 

Ordinarily, you would start with the science worksheet because you  love  science, but that would be a big mistake. Start with those "1" assignments and knock out that essay first. Why? Because you hate it. And completing the worst assignment first gets it off your mind, out of your homework cache, and makes everything that comes after it appears to be really, really easy. It will be an absolute  joy  to complete that science worksheet once you have written the essay. Why rob yourself of joy? 

Then, once you've completed the stuff due first, you can focus on putting in a little bit of time on the ACT. Easy peasy.

Tip 4: Take Planned Breaks

Some people believe that sitting down to complete homework means that you literally park your behind in a chair and you don't move it for the next four thousand hours or so. That is one of the worst study ideas in history. Your brain only has the capacity to stay focused for about 45 minutes (maybe even less for some of you) before it goes on the fritz and starts wanting to make you get up and dance the Roger Rabbit. So, schedule your study time with breaks actually built in . Work for 45 minutes, then take a 10-minute break to do whatever it is people your age like to do. Then, rinse and repeat. It looks a little something like this:

Homework Time:

• 45 minutes: Work on "1" assignments, starting with the absolute worst.
• 10 minutes: Get a snack, play Pokemon Go!, surf Instagram
• 45 minutes: Work on "1" assignments again. You know you didn't finish.
• 10 minutes: Do some jumping jacks, dance the Macarena, polish your nails.
• 45 minutes: Work on "2" assignments and maybe even finish with any 3s and 4s. Put everything in your backpack.

Completing your homework on time is a learned skill. It requires some discipline and not everyone is naturally disciplined. So, you have to practice checking that you have everything you need for homework when you are still at school, prioritizing your work, plunging into the assignments you loathe, and taking planned breaks. Isn't your grade worth it?

You bet it is. 

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5 Keys to Successful Homework Assignments During Remote Learning

While students and their families are coping with so much, teachers should be mindful to assign only homework that’s truly meaningful. 

How can homework be reimagined during remote or hybrid learning? Are students already spending too much time on their screen—why assign more screen time? What is the purpose of the assignment?

As a middle school instructional coach, I often work with teachers who are unsure of how much to give and what to give. They’re also inevitably worried about finding the time to grade it. As a parent, I know how stressful it can be to balance your own work while also helping your own children with homework.

Since remote learning began in March, some schools have banned homework or modified homework policies, but if you’re a teacher who’s allowed to assign homework or an administrator who sets homework policy, the following suggestions may help.

5 Keys to Making Homework More Meaningful

1. Off-screen reading:  Books, books, books. Whether your students are reading books they chose or assigned novels, quiet reading time (or time listening to audiobooks) is a welcome assignment in most homes—I say this as a mom myself. Students can be held accountable for their reading through Harkness discussions in class or on Zoom, journal entries (written or in Flipgrid-style video), or old-fashioned sticky-note annotations in the book itself.

2. Less is more: Unfortunately, math teachers have the reputation of assigning something like “problems 1 through 45” (OK, maybe I’m exaggerating). Do students need to repeat the same skill over and over? Consider how much time you have in class the next day to actually review several problems. Instead, can you choose four or five rich multistep problems that provide practice and application of the skills? Or, alternatively, offer student choice: “Choose five out of these 10 problems.”

In a humanities or science class, can students answer one extended compare-and-contrast question rather than the chapter review in the textbook?

3. Personalized homework: Many students (and adults alike) love to talk about themselves. If students can make the assignment personal to them, they might feel more motivated to complete it. An example might be to compare the protagonist of the assigned reading with themselves in a Venn diagram. In a language class, they can describe a fictitious superhero using descriptive vocabulary in the language they’re studying. Or assign students to make a Flipgrid-style dance or song describing the scientific method (this example was inspired by TikTok).

4. Family involvement: Use this option carefully, especially now when many parents and guardians are stretched thin. Before making family assignments, be sure to get a feel for your students’ family situations to avoid putting anyone at a disadvantage. Give families a heads-up and plenty of time for such assignments.

If you feel it’s appropriate to proceed, ask students to take a video of themselves teaching a new concept to a family member. To practice operations with fractions, students can bring in a favorite family recipe with the measurements adjusted for fewer servings or multiple servings. Assign a riddle or math puzzle for students to discuss with the family, and ask them to write down the various answers they hear.

Whatever you assign, keep it light, low-stakes, and infrequent.

5. Flipped homework: In my experience, students get tired of watching instructional videos, but a few short, well-planned videos can be useful to assign the night before to spark discussion the next day in class. Follow the video with a short Google Form to ask the student to reflect and/or ask initial questions about what they watched. Use flipped learning sparingly to keep it novel and unique.

What about the grading? With shared docs, older students can easily share their work with their peers for review. Take some time to educate students on how to constructively comment on each other’s work. If a student’s assignment is missing, their partner will let them know, which takes some of the burden off of the teacher. This method should not be used for graded summative assessments and should be monitored by the teacher. Peer review can also serve as a differentiation strategy by grouping students by readiness and ability when applicable.

If your school’s homework policies allow, be creative with your assignments. As you create your assignments, consider the following:

• What will a student learn or gain from this work?
• Is it worth their time?
• Is it creating more home stress?

If we reimagine homework, students might actually cheer instead of groan when it’s assigned. OK, that’s wishful thinking, but they should definitely get more out of their assignments. 

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Smart Homework: How to Manage & Assess It

by MiddleWeb · Published 08/20/2014 · Updated 12/14/2019

In the first installment of our smart homework series from author & teaching consultant Rick Wormeli, he made the case for take-home assignments that matter for learning and engage student interest . In Part 2 , Rick suggested 13 guiding principles to help teachers create homework challenges that spark deeper learning. In this final article, Rick suggests some good ways to assess homework and manage the workload .

These articles are adapted with permission from Rick’s seminal book about teaching in the middle grades, Day One & Beyond: Practical Matters for New Middle Level Teachers (Stenhouse, 2005). Rick continues to offer great advice about homework, differentiation, assessment and many other topics in workshops and presentations across North America.

Fresh approaches to middle grades homework have many benefits, but how does all this play out as we manage homework in our classrooms? How do we assess homework effectively? How do we handle the paperwork? How do we guard against homework becoming just busywork again?

Here are some ideas:

▶ For big projects with multiple weeks of student responses, such as a science learning log or a reader’s response journal, skim every page students have written, but have students select one entry for a letter grade by placing a star on the intended page. The entry should demonstrate outstanding thinking, science protocol, plot analysis, personal response, or whatever you’re emphasizing with the unit. If you’re worried about having a large enough sample, grade two or three entries.

▶ When checking a list of problems, sentences, or answers to questions, have students work in groups of four or five to confirm answers with one another. If someone gets the wrong answer and doesn’t understand why, the rest of the group explains. If the student or group is stuck in understanding how an answer was achieved, they identify that one problem/sentence/question to the teacher when she calls the groups back to the whole class. The teacher reviews only identified problems.

▶ While groups are meeting to review homework, the teacher circulates from group to group, recording evidence of successful collaborations (to be shared later with the whole group), answering questions, correcting misconceptions, facilitating student conversations, and identifying areas to reteach. The great thing about this method is found in the value of conversation, not just the assessment the teacher does. Students who “talk math” (or English, history, science, art, PE, technology, drama, or music) learn those subjects.

▶ Don’t grade everything. Some assignments can be marked with a check or a zero for having done it. Spot-check problems two, nine, and seventeen because they represent different concepts you were worried about students understanding.

▶ Keep the student’s effort in doing the homework from diluting the grade that indicates mastery of content. That is, separate work habits from the letter grade if you can. Even though I know that good work habits usually yield high achievement, as a parent I don’t want my son’s grade to be based on anything but mastery of content and skills. If the grade’s validity reflects good effort but not mastery, then my son isn’t held accountable for learning, I don’t have a valid judgment of his learning, and he doesn’t have the required knowledge.

In the real world, we do not pay a carpet layer for the job until the job is done, regardless of how many hours or days it took, or how hot it was. The degree of his effort is not relevant, just that the job is done well (the standard of excellence was achieved). High-tech-industry workers may work all night long preparing a proposal for a client, but their efforts are irrelevant to the client who accepts and reviews all proposals equally that cross her desk by 10:00 a.m. the next morning.

Revising and Redoing Homework

The teacher is an expert and a coach. Students are not penalized for multiple attempts and revisions, or for not understanding the first time around. The focus is on achieving the standard of excellence. The feedback to the student is clear: If they don’t achieve, they are not given master craftsman status (an A), nor can they set up a practice. They have not yet met the rigorous criteria (standards) for mastery. We can see the revision of important homework tasks in the same way—students do it until they get it right.

Consider the reflections of middle school educator Nancy Long: “We have experimented with dozens of rubric styles over the last few years, and my favorite still is the one that lists all of the content criteria and all of the quality criteria on the left side and has two columns on the right side: YES and NOT YET. Check marks are used in the appropriate column to show which criteria have been met and which still need work.”

Nancy continues: “I try to schedule deadlines for assignments far enough ahead of the end of the grading period so there is time for everyone to get the papers back and do over what was not right before I must assign a grade ‘in concrete.’ . . . (like) in most things in our adult lives, we can mess up and still get another chance to get it right without too large a penalty!”

Another successful educator, Bill Ivey, says this about redoing homework assignments:

“It is exactly what we want our children to do. We had an English teacher who, by taking her sixth-grade class carefully through draft after draft, helped them create poetry that was more powerful than many of the poetry contest winners at our high school, where the poetry program is considered to be quite strong. The principle here can apply to any subject and any learning.”

Punishing Students Who Don’t Do Homework

Homework’s objective is to be instructional, not punitive. It would be wrong to fail a student for not doing homework when he had mastered all I had to teach. It would, however, indicate that I must not be doing my job very well. If my course is too easy for the student, then I need to make it more challenging for him or pursue placing him in a more advanced course.

Some argue against assessing homework in light of out-of-school pressures affecting a student’s ability to do schoolwork. We need to remember that our first task is to teach so that students will learn. Punishing a kid who cannot complete an assignment due to something beyond his control is abusive. We can’t just shrug our shoulders and say that a child has to do the homework and if he doesn’t, that’s just tough, regardless of the child’s situation.

We can work with families to find a satisfactory way in which to complete the work. I had a student who worked approximately four hours after school every day of the week in order to help support his family. Yes, I could have told him and his family that it is illegal to work at his age. Yes, I could have told him and the family that school is his job and it should come first. But food, medicine, and shelter were more basic needs. Completing a worksheet on objective pronouns pales in comparison.

If the student masters the material, then why should I fail him for not doing homework in the midst of such struggles? We should do the most effective thing for students, not the easiest thing for teachers. Many of our students live in harsh realities. Our compassion and alternative structuring of homework assignments will prepare those students for adult success far better than the punishment for not doing a set of 20 math problems ever will.

Is homework a necessary evil?

It’s troubling that many of today’s homework assignments and practices parallel those from the turn of the last century. Today’s middle schools require innovative and developmentally responsive homework based on what we now know about the human brain and young adolescents. One of the pluses of teaching and using these sanity-saving, creative approaches is that we get to experience the inspiring products our students create.

▶ Bonus idea: Homework reprieve

If you’re looking for ways to reward and motivate students and integrate homework into the regular work flow of your classroom, try a “Homework Deadline Extension Certificate.” I used these every quarter in my own classroom. Students really compete for them.

On the day an assignment is due, students can submit the certificate instead of their homework and they are automatically allowed to turn in the assignment one, two, or three days late, according to your comfort level, for full credit. If we reward those who’ve earned these certificates by extending the deadline but not voiding the need to complete the assignment, we haven’t diminished the assignment’s importance. ( Make your own certificate .)

Of course, students learn to be judicious in their use—if the assignment was to study for tomorrow’s test, it won’t help them to use their deadline extension certificate. If they’re working on a complicated project, they’d be wise to have their certificate in reserve.

His books include Meet Me in the Middle ; Day One and Beyond ; Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom ; Differentiation: From Planning to Practice; Metaphors & Analogies: Power Tools for Teaching Any Subject, and Summarization in Any Subject , plus The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I Learned about Teaching Along the Way .

He is currently working on his first young adult fiction novel and a new book on homework practices in the 21 st century.

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MiddleWeb is all about the middle grades, with great 4-8 resources, book reviews, and guest posts by educators who support the success of young adolescents. And be sure to subscribe to MiddleWeb SmartBrief for the latest middle grades news & commentary from around the USA.

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Teaching Students About James McCartney: A Comprehensive Guide

Teaching students about scott parker: inspiring the classroom through the life of a resilient sportsman, teaching students about foster brooks, teaching students about necaxa: a unique learning experience, teaching students about “the crow cast”: an insightful approach to art education, teaching students about what “ad” means: a comprehensive guide, navigating cryptocurrency on campus: a student’s guide to bitcoin, teaching students about jay’s treaty: an essential lesson in american history, teaching students about sharon white: an inspirational educator, teaching students about the coaching legends of the steelers: a lesson in dedication, leadership, and success, 21 ways to ensure that students complete their homework tasks.

Are you looking for ways to ensure that students complete homework tasks? If so, keep reading.

1. Make sure the learner knows that homework not finished and turned in on time must still be finished and turned in.

2. Get the learner to orally repeat the homework task to reinforce the learner’s understanding of the task.

3. Get the learner to prioritize tasks by importance (e.g., task A must be done today, task B can be done today, and task C can wait until tomorrow).

4. Find a tutor (e.g., a volunteer in the community, one of the learner’s classmates, etc.) to help the learner finish homework .

5. Get the learner to set a timer to finish tasks in a sensible period.

6. Provide instructions orally to increase the likelihood of the learner’s comprehension of homework tasks .

7. Urge the learner to follow a less desirable task with a more desirable task . Make the conclusion of the first appropriate to perform the second.

8. Provide consistent expectations within the capacity and ability level of the learner.

9. Urge the learner to set time limits for finishing homework tasks . Urge the learner to be aware of time constraints when working on projects.

10. Urge the learner to say a mantra to themselves when they bring work home (e.g., I will finish, I will finish, I will finish).

11. Reinforce all measures of improvement.

12. Connect with the learner’s parents about the need to create homework rules at home (e.g., start homework upon arriving home from school, finish homework before watching TV or talking on the phone, ask for help when appropriate, etc.).

13. Urge the learner to lessen the number of visual distractions around them (e.g., move their work area away from windows, doors, kitchen, TV, etc.).

14. Urge the learner to put finished homework tasks in a designated place to be taken to school (e.g., in front of the door, at the bottom of the stairs, etc.).

15. Create homework task rules: • Remain on-task. • Finish tasks. • Meet task expectations. Examine rules often. Praise students for following the rules.

16. Urge the learner to select exciting or stimulating learning activities as a reward for finishing less exciting learning activities (e.g., finish homework before going to the mall).

17. Get the learner to keep a chart or graph representing the number of homework tasks finished and returned to school.

18. Urge the learner’s parents to check over their child’s homework when they are finished so the learner can be sure that everything is finished.

19. Connect the learner to other resource persons who may be of help in performing homework tasks (e.g., librarian, special education teacher, other staff members with expertise or time to help, etc.).

20. Connect with parents (e.g., notes home, phone calls, etc.) to disseminate information about the learner’s progress. The parents may reinforce the learner at home for returning finished homework to 21. Consider using an education app to help the student sharpen their organizational skills. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend .

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Effective School Leaders are Reflective Practitioners

Learn How to Scan, Submit Homework, and Assignments

As millions of students around the world learn from home, new time management and tech challenges have popped up like weeds. Students are tasked with creating hour-by-hour schedules for themselves and frequent video conference calls resemble a workday rather than a school day. Nevertheless, everything from classes to socializing has transitioned online and everyone is trying to adapt.

A typical high school or college student now spends 10+ hours of their day attending classes, collaborating with classmates, and doing homework, all online. Unfortunately, our current education systems were not built for distance learning so there are a lot of gaps that are being exposed. For example, most technology needs to be patched together to work for the home classroom – often mixing physical and digital tools together like some kind of modern-day science experiment.

Take a high school chemistry student for example. Writing equations and diagrams online isn’t easy, so she decides to work everything out with pen and paper, like she did for the first half of the school year. Paperwork is easy to turn in when you’re in the classroom, but what about when you’re schooling from home?

That Chemistry work took three pages to complete, but the learning portal the school uses only lets her submit one file per assignment. So, she takes photos of each page with her phone, opens up a Google Doc, inserts three pages of pics, and converts it into a single file to submit — which may or may not be legible. And, this repeats day after day during each of her classes, and it continues afterhours with her homework.

There has to be a better way. Luckily, there is with Adobe Scan .

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9yFOAkINRp8

With the free Adobe Scan app , she can easily convert multi-page handwritten schoolwork into a single, high-quality PDF. Scan works hard behind the scenes to identify and sharpen handwritten text and remove distracting elements you don’t want, like glare or shadows. Scans can be reordered, renamed, and submitted to any portal being used by the school, or added to Google Drive, Dropbox, or an email.

In the last month alone, Adobe Scan installs have skyrocketed by nearly 65%. More than 50 million people around the world rely on Scan to solve their paperwork problem, now more than ever. With Scan, you can take the work out of schoolwork, homework, and literally any paperwork.

Download Adobe Scan today, and click here to get a PDF how-to scanning guide.

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 5 best homework help websites (free and paid).

Other High School , General Education

Listen: we know homework isn’t fun, but it is a good way to reinforce the ideas and concepts you’ve learned in class. But what if you’re really struggling with your homework assignments?

If you’ve looked online for a little extra help with your take-home assignments, you’ve probably stumbled across websites claiming to provide the homework help and answers students need to succeed . But can homework help sites really make a difference? And if so, which are the best homework help websites you can use? 

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help websites–free and paid. We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help websites
• The cost of homework help websites 
• The five best homework websites out there 
• The pros and cons of using these websites for homework help 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using online homework help 
• Tips for getting the most out of a homework help website

So let’s get started! 

The Basics About Homework Help Websites–Free and Paid

Homework help websites are designed to help you complete your homework assignments, plain and simple. 

What Makes a Homework Help Site Worth Using

Most of the best sites allow users to ask questions and then provide an answer (or multiple possible answers) and explanation in seconds. In some instances, you can even send a photo of a particular assignment or problem instead of typing the whole thing out! 

Homework help sites also offer more than just help answering homework questions. Common services provided are Q&A with experts, educational videos, lectures, practice tests and quizzes, learning modules, math solving tools, and proofreading help. Homework help sites can also provide textbook solutions (i.e. answers to problems in tons of different textbooks your school might be using), one-on-one tutoring, and peer-to-peer platforms that allow you to discuss subjects you’re learning about with your fellow students. 

And best of all, nearly all of them offer their services 24/7, including tutoring! 

What You Should Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of scam sites out there willing to prey on desperate students. Before you sign up for any service, make sure you read reviews to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

A word to the wise: the more a company advertises help that veers into the territory of cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. The best homework help websites are going to help you learn the concepts you’ll need to successfully complete your homework on your own. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” a little later!) 

You don't need a golden piggy bank to use homework help websites. Some provide low or no cost help for students like you!

How Expensive Are the Best Homework Help Websites?

First of all, just because a homework help site costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. Likewise, just because a homework help website is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best websites, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

When it comes to paid homework help services, the prices vary pretty widely depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to $150 dollars per month, with the most expensive services offering several hours of one-on-one tutoring with a subject expert per month.

The 5 Best Homework Help Websites 

So, what is the best homework help website you can use? The answer is that it depends on what you need help with. 

The best homework help websites are the ones that are reliable and help you learn the material. They don’t just provide answers to homework questions–they actually help you learn the material. 

That’s why we’ve broken down our favorite websites into categories based on who they’re best for . For instance, the best website for people struggling with math might not work for someone who needs a little extra help with science, and vice versa. 

Keep reading to find the best homework help website for you! 

Best Free Homework Help Site: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

Not only is Khan Academy free, but it’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your needs. When you set up your account , you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help sites, including several AP classes.

Runner Up: Brainly.com offers a free service that allows you to type in questions and get answers and explanations from experts. The downside is that you’re limited to two answers per question and have to watch ads. 

Best Paid Homework Help Site: Chegg

• Price: $14.95 to $19.95 per month
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance  

This service has three main parts . The first is Chegg Study, which includes textbook solutions, Q&A with subject experts, flashcards, video explanations, a math solver, and writing help. The resources are thorough, and reviewers state that Chegg answers homework questions quickly and accurately no matter when you submit them.  

Chegg also offers textbook rentals for students who need access to textbooks outside of their classroom. Finally, Chegg offers Internship and Career Advice for students who are preparing to graduate and may need a little extra help with the transition out of high school. 

Another great feature Chegg provides is a selection of free articles geared towards helping with general life skills, like coping with stress and saving money. Chegg’s learning modules are comprehensive, and they feature solutions to the problems in tons of different textbooks in a wide variety of subjects. 

Runner Up: Bartleby offers basically the same services as Chegg for $14.99 per month. The reason it didn’t rank as the best is based on customer reviews that say user questions aren’t answered quite as quickly on this site as on Chegg. Otherwise, this is also a solid choice!

Best Site for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This site allows you to t ake a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath also includes animated videos that break down mathematical concepts to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools and learn additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Runner Up: KhanAcademy offers in-depth tutorials that cover complex math topics for free, but you won’t get the same tailored help (and answers!) that Photomath offers. 

Best Site for English Homework Help: Princeton Review Academic Tutoring

• Price: $40 to $153 per month, depending on how many hours of tutoring you want 
• Best for: Comprehensive and personalized reading and writing help 

While sites like Grammarly and Sparknotes help you by either proofreading what you write via an algorithm or providing book summaries, Princeton Review’s tutors provide in-depth help with vocabulary, literature, essay writing and development, proofreading, and reading comprehension. And unlike other services, you’ll have the chance to work with a real person to get help. 

The best part is that you can get on-demand English (and ESL) tutoring from experts 24/7. That means you can get help whenever you need it, even if you’re pulling an all-nighter! 

This is by far the most expensive homework site on this list, so you’ll need to really think about what you need out of a homework help website before you commit. One added benefit is that the subscription covers over 80 other subjects, including AP classes, which can make it a good value if you need lots of help!  

Best Site for STEM Homework Help: Studypool

• Best for: Science homework help
• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit

When it comes to science homework help, there aren’t a ton of great resources out there. The best of the bunch is Studypool, and while it has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

Let’s start with the good stuff. Studypool offers an interesting twist on the homework help formula. After you create a free account, you can submit your homework help questions, and tutors will submit bids to answer your questions. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded. 

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! Additionally, it’s not clear how tutors are selected, so you’ll need to be cautious when you choose who you’d like to answer your homework questions.  

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Sites?

Homework help websites can be a great resource if you’re struggling in a subject, or even if you just want to make sure that you’re really learning and understanding topics and ideas that you’re interested in. But, there are some possible drawbacks if you don’t use these sites responsibly. 

We’ll go over the good–and the not-so-good–aspects of getting online homework help below. 

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Websites 

First, let’s take a look at the benefits. 

#1: Better Grades Beyond Homework

This is a big one! Getting outside help with your studies can improve your understanding of concepts that you’re learning, which translates into better grades when you take tests or write essays. 

Remember: homework is designed to help reinforce the concepts you learned in class. If you just get easy answers without learning the material behind the problems, you may not have the tools you need to be successful on your class exams…or even standardized tests you’ll need to take for college. 

#2: Convenience

One of the main reasons that online homework help is appealing is because it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to go to a specific tutoring center while they’re open or stay after school to speak with your teacher. Instead, you can access helpful resources wherever you can access the internet, whenever you need them.

This is especially true if you tend to study at off hours because of your extracurriculars, work schedule, or family obligations. Sites that offer 24/7 tutoring can give you the extra help you need if you can’t access the free resources that are available at your school. 

#3: Variety

Not everyone learns the same way. Maybe you’re more of a visual learner, but your teacher mostly does lectures. Or maybe you learn best by listening and taking notes, but you’re expected to learn something just from reading the textbook . 

One of the best things about online homework help is that it comes in a variety of forms. The best homework help sites offer resources for all types of learners, including videos, practice activities, and even one-on-one discussions with real-life experts. 

This variety can also be a good thing if you just don’t really resonate with the way a concept is being explained (looking at you, math textbooks!).

Not so fast. There are cons to homework help websites, too. Get to know them below!

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Websites 

Now, let’s take a look at the drawbacks of online homework help. 

#1: Unreliable Info

This can be a real problem. In addition to all the really good homework help sites, there are a whole lot of disreputable or unreliable sites out there. The fact of the matter is that some homework help sites don’t necessarily hire people who are experts in the subjects they’re talking about. In those cases, you may not be getting the accurate, up-to-date, and thorough information you need.

Additionally, even the great sites may not be able to answer all of your homework questions. This is especially true if the site uses an algorithm or chatbot to help students…or if you’re enrolled in an advanced or college-level course. In these cases, working with your teacher or school-provided tutors are probably your best option. 

#2: No Clarification

This depends on the service you use, of course. But the majority of them provide free or low-cost help through pre-recorded videos. Watching videos or reading info online can definitely help you with your homework… but you can’t ask questions or get immediate feedback if you need it .

#3: Potential For Scamming 

Like we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of homework help websites out there, and lots of them are scams. The review comments we read covered everything from outdated or wrong information, to misleading claims about the help provided, to not allowing people to cancel their service after signing up. 

No matter which site you choose to use, make sure you research and read reviews before you sign up–especially if it’s a paid service! 

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

Admittedly, whether using homework help websites constitutes cheating is a bit of a grey area. For instance, is it “help” when a friend reads your essay for history class and corrects your grammar, or is it “cheating”? The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” When in doubt, it can be a good idea to check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. 

That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if a service answers questions or writes essays for you, there’s a good chance using it constitutes cheating. 

Here’s an example that might help clarify the difference for you. Brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also help, provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” The same is true for other subjects. Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or your own answers, it’s probably cheating.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help Websites for You

Now that you know some of our favorite homework help websites, free and paid, you can start doing some additional research on your own to decide which services might work best for you! Here are some top tips for choosing a homework help website. 

Tip 1: Decide How You Learn Best 

Before you decide which site or sites you’re going to use for homework help, y ou should figure out what kind of learning style works for you the most. Are you a visual learner? Then choose a site that uses lots of videos to help explain concepts. If you know you learn best by actually doing tasks, choose a site that provides lots of practice exercises.

Tip 2: Determine Which Subjects You Need Help With

Just because a homework help site is good overall doesn’t mean that it’s equally good for every subject. If you only need help in math, choose a site that specializes in that area. But if history is where you’re struggling, a site that specializes in math won’t be much help. So make sure to choose a site that you know provides high-quality help in the areas you need it most. 

Tip 3: Decide How Much One-On-One Help You Need 

This is really about cost-effectiveness. If you learn well on your own by reading and watching videos, a free site like Khan Academy is a good choice. But if you need actual tutoring, or to be able to ask questions and get personalized answers from experts, a paid site that provides that kind of service may be a better option.

Tip 4: Set a Budget

If you decide you want to go with a paid homework help website, set a budget first . The prices for sites vary wildly, and the cost to use them can add up quick. 

Tip 5: Read the Reviews

Finally, it’s always a good idea to read actual reviews written by the people using these homework sites. You’ll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of what the users’ experiences have been. This is especially true if you intend to subscribe to a paid service. You’ll want to make sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

What’s Next?

If you want to get good grades on your homework, it’s a good idea to learn how to tackle it strategically. Our expert tips will help you get the most out of each assignment…and boost your grades in the process.

Doing well on homework assignments is just one part of getting good grades. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting great grades in high school in this article.

Of course, test grades can make or break your GPA, too. Here are 17 expert tips that’ll help you get the most out of your study prep before you take an exam.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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How to Finish Assignments When You Can’t

Crunch time is coming, deadlines need to be met, essays need to be submitted, and tests should be studied for. As a student who’s waiting for the end of crunch time, you’re looking for all the right ways to cut corners while being ultra efficient with your time and energy. But sometimes racing the clock you’ll come to a realization that this mountain of a task is insurmountable and it seems almost impossible to accomplish. But at this low point is exactly where you shouldn’t settle with an incomplete assignment or missing work. There are workarounds and “life hacks” that can help pull you out of this sticky situation.

Homework and education are very important, so finishing your assignments should be something that’s on every student’s mind. Here’s some ideas to get you started on your path to getting your assignments finished:

Ask for an Extension

Lots of students find themselves in this awful situation that seems impossible to do. Even if it is your fault for being a bad student or lazy, it’s worth a try to confront your professor or teacher and ask for an extension – as long as you actually complete it. Teachers and professors understand that the point of homework isn’t to give you something to do, rather train you and give you extra practice on materials you learn in class. Just know that it’s not their responsibility to give you an extension and they are not obligated to give you points for your late or missing assignments. But do them anyway – and have your teacher check your work so they know you’re good for the work even though it’s late. 

Ask for Help from Classmates

Your classmates are a good resource for you to help you finish your assignments, late or on time. They may even just give you answers – as long as you are polite about it and aren’t pressuring them to do so. They are helping you when they aren’t required to, and they’ll be more inclined if you are also reliable. The worst position to be in is to be the student who helps others but doesn’t receive help. Help could even be in the form of understanding the assignments and learning from them, kind of a tutoring situation. But again, it’s important that your classmates aren’t obligated to help you, so be grateful for any help you receive. 

Prevent This Happening in the Future

We don’t want you to constantly be stuck in this seemingly impossible situation – so we urge you to think about your assignments carefully – so it doesn’t happen again. This means several things:

• Keep Organized – understand when your assignments are due, and know how much time you have left so you can plan around it. It’s worth noting that this will also help you plan your lifestyle a bit better, so its a great thing to do
• Give Yourself Time – saving things for last minute is a surefire way to shoot yourself in the foot. Don’t do that. Instead, if they give you an assignment to do for the next lesson or the next day – set time aside after school to do it.
• Don’t Procrastinate – saying that you’ll do it later is the downfall of many missed assignments. You may forget about it or something may come up that will prevent you from doing your assignments on time. Get it done sooner rather than later

Use Your Resources

When we say “resources” we mean tutors, teacher’s assistants, and even the world wide web to help you complete your assignments when you’re unable to. Don’t make it a habit, but there are websites like Assignment Expert that are here to help you do exactly that: finish your homework. Note that schools and universities have their own rules for these types of resources, so use with caution. There are also websites that may have guides or flash cards that can help you in most of your subjects. If you do use them, they can be quite helpful to get you out of this situation. 

Prioritize Your Assignments

If you’ve got a ton of assignments to finish – and only a limited amount of time – its good to prioritize them in an order of importance – which classes do you need to complete them today – ones with very lenient teachers or professors – and ones that are low priority because you’re allowed to miss this one assignment. Having that done, your experience with finishing your assignments will go over much smoother and less stressful. 

Motivate Yourself

There’s a reason why you’re feeling stressed in this crunch time, you’re trying to accomplish something. Whether its to improve your grade or pass class, you still have motivation to do it. If you didn’t have any motivation, you wouldn’t be this stressed to read this article on the internet. But keep in mind your end goals so you’ll have the time and energy to spend on it. Complaining about not having enough time, isn’t going to give you more time.

Figure Out Your Problems

If you’ve procrastinated and put off your assignments, there must be a good reason, right? A good reason or not – you should reevaluate the things you’re doing in your life that put you in this position. If it can be helped, avoid these kinds of situations. Education is important and you should treat it as such. 

Once you get a handle on your situation, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Managing your time isn’t easy, so once its done you can relax a bit before your next deadline. 

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Holding Students Accountable for Reading Assignments

• by Derek Spencer

It happens in classes across the country, whether in person, remotely, or in between.

Your students don't do the reading you assign—reading you assign because you want to actually teach them about what's going on in that part of the text. You don't want to waste valuable time creating daily tasks no one will complete or explaining to half the class what the reading was about, while the others are bored because they actually read the text.

As much as we wish every student would eagerly read the books assigned to them, we know that some students need a little extra push. The following are four techniques you can use to improve student accountability when it comes to reading assignments.

Set Clear Expectations from the Start

Take a look at your syllabus. Does it tell students, in no uncertain terms, what is expected from them? More specifically, does it lay out what it means to be ready for class?

Being ready for class involves more than just showing up (or logging in), and your students need to know that. Being ready for class means being prepared to tackle the topic du jour , whatever that may be. In cases when a reading is assigned for homework, students who come to class prepared to discuss the text are ready for class.

By having a clear set of expectations, you’re demonstrating that you believe in each student’s ability to do the work. Studies have shown that when teachers believe in them, students tend to achieve at higher levels. Setting expectations—and enforcing them—may give students a sense of responsibility and help motivate them to do their assignments.

Give Students Specific Reading Pointers

When you assign students their reading homework, you may want to prime them by telling them about key things they should look for in the text.

One way to do this is by telling them what the next class is going to focus on. Instead of saying, "Okay, read pages 78-90," say, "For homework, read pages 78-90. Tomorrow, we're going to discuss how the events in this chapter foreshadow a major change in Sarah's characterization."

Asking students to look for something specific in the text gives them a purpose for reading and can help them stay focused on the assignment. Plus, it gives you something to use during the next class to gauge whether they actually read the section.

Ask Students to Keep Reading Journals

A reading journal is a free-form type of diary in which students jot down their thoughts about the book they're reading. But it can be more than that, too. Students can use reading journals to:

• Speculate about upcoming plot points based on what's happened thus far in the text
• Write about their favorite characters and what makes them so awesome
• Ask questions they have about the text
• Write poems or lyrics about the book
• Draw scenes and characters
• Create charts linking characters and/or events

The only requirement of these reading journals is that each entry should be about the current reading. Otherwise, students should feel free to use their creativity to make something unique. If you decide to make these journals part of your students' grades, it's a good idea to grade only for completion and a good-faith effort to engage with the text.​

Reading journals are also effective for keeping track of students’ progress during distance learning. Try asking your students to log their thoughts in a Google Doc or Word file, adding to it as they continue the book. Need inspiration? We have several free Google Docs literary journal templates you can adapt for your classes.

No matter the format, encourage students to truly make these journals their own. They might even find themselves having that elusive element they tend to associate with anything other than school: fun .

Do your students need more guidance when it comes to journaling? Take a look at our Response Journals . Each title-specific unit is filled with thought-provoking writing prompts that will encourage your students to reflect on the text and how it relates to their lives.

Have Students Complete RAFT Writing Prompts

RAFT stands for:

• Role of the writer

You can use the RAFT method to create writing prompts to use after each reading assignment. Perhaps you want your students to write a letter from Hamlet to Ophelia in which he apologizes for how he treated her and explains why he believes that what he's doing is necessary. The RAFT would look like this:

• F: Personal Letter
• T: Apology/Explanation for acting badly

Students would then use what they know about the characters and the plot to complete the writing prompt. Not only is this a good way to determine how well your students understand the text, but it's also a great way to get students to write in different genres and for different purposes.

If you’re looking for other ways to have students engage with the text, check out our Activity Packs . These title-specific guides contain plenty of literature-based activities and writing prompts that help students think critically about the text while learning about literary elements such as theme, symbolism, characterization, allusion, and more.

Having trouble holding students’ attention with long texts? Reading Literature has what you need. In each book, you’ll find a carefully-selected collection of famous short stories and poems appropriate for its corresponding grade level (9-12). Annotations throughout each text provide students with vocabulary word definitions, explanations of unfamiliar allusions, and interpretations of difficult passages, helping them better understand and appreciate the work.

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ChatGPT vs. ChatGPT Plus: Is a paid subscription still worth it?

When  GPT-4  was OpenAI's most powerful artificial intelligence large language model (LLM), paying for a subscription to ChatGPT Plus— which costs $20 a month —made sense. But now that OpenAI announced the availability of GPT-4o, I'm not so sure. 

With this latest update, OpenAI revealed an omnimodel that makes GPT-4-level intelligence available for all, so you won't need a Plus subscription to access it. What's more, free users can now access features that were previously reserved for paid subscribers, including GPT Store access to use custom GPT bots; the Memory feature to give their conversations a sense of continuity; uploading photos and documents to discuss them with ChatGPT; browsing the web to give more current context; and advanced data analysis. 

Also: 6 ways OpenAI just supercharged ChatGPT for free users

These changes can make it hard to determine who will find free ChatGPT adequate and who should spring for a Plus subscription. As a ChatGPT Plus subscriber, I'll explain below in exactly which cases you should use one or the other. Once GPT-4o is widely available, I'll test it to see how it performs for free users and ChatGPT Plus subscribers and report if any further differences arise.

You should use ChatGPT Plus if...

1. you use chatgpt a lot more than the average user.

With GPT-4o giving free users many of the same capabilities that were only available behind a Plus subscription, the reasons to sign up for a monthly fee have dwindled but are not completely gone. Free ChatGPT users will be limited in the number of messages they can send with GPT-4o, depending on usage and demand; however, OpenAI doesn't specify that limit. 

Also:  Microsoft Copilot vs. Copilot Pro: Is the subscription fee worth it?

OpenAI says ChatGPT will switch automatically to GPT-3.5 when free users reach their limit. ChatGPT Plus subscribers have five times the capacity of free users. Paid users will be able to ask GPT-4o five times as many questions as free users and will still have access to GPT-4 when they exceed their limit. We expect OpenAI will increase the limits for GPT-4o for both free and paid users. 

2. You can't wait

OpenAI says it is beginning to roll out GPT-4o to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and ChatGPT free users today, with Enterprise users coming soon. During the Spring Update live stream, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announced that the new GPT-4o model and the rest of the updates will roll out iteratively to customers over the next few weeks. This means that only a fraction of ChatGPT users currently have access to the new features, with this number increasing shortly.

Also:  How to subscribe to ChatGPT Plus (and why you should)

If you don't want to wait until you get the new update in your account to use Plus features as a free subscriber, you can get a Plus subscription now to stave off the excitement. Note that you can cancel the subscription whenever you want.

ChatGPT Plus users still get early access to new features that OpenAI rolls out, including the new ChatGPT desktop app for macOS. This early access will soon include the new Voice Mode, which will roll out over the coming weeks. OpenAI will also launch a Windows version of the app later this year.

3. You want a tool to create charts and tables

ChatGPT is getting an upgraded data analysis feature that enables users to create interactive charts and tables from datasets. The upgrade also lets users upload files directly from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, in addition to the option to browse for files on their local device. These new features will be available only in GPT-4o to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users.

Also: ChatGPT will put your data into interactive tables and charts with GPT-4o

With these capabilities, you could upload an entire research study to ChatGPT and ask it to generate a table with certain parameters ( always check that the info ChatGPT enters is correct). Then, you could click on a cell and ask ChatGPT a question about it or prompt it to create a pie chart. The pie chart, which would also be interactive, can be customized and downloaded for use in presentations and documents.   

You should use free ChatGPT if...

1. you don't want to pay a monthly fee.

When GPT-4o is available, ChatGPT users will no longer need a Plus subscription to access most of the features that initially attracted subscribers. OpenAI is making GPT-4o available to all users, whether they are paying or not. 

ChatGPT free users will be able to access the multimodal GPT-4o with GPT-4-level intelligence, get responses from the web, use advanced data analysis, upload files and photos to discuss with the chatbot, access custom GPTs in the GPT Store, and have more helpful experiences with Memory -- all of which used to be ChatGPT Plus benefits.

Also: The ChatGPT desktop app is more helpful than I expected - here's why and how to try it

Although it's unclear whether free users can generate images natively in GPT-4o (OpenAI did not disclose this during the event), free users will have access to GPT bots in the GPT Store. If DALL-E access remains a Plus feature, free users can still access the DALL-E bot in the GPT Store. 

2. You're a casual ChatGPT user

There is no need to upgrade to a ChatGPT Plus membership if you're just a casual user who doesn't reach the usage limits of GPT-4o. The new GPT-4o model is rolling out to ChatGPT free users with usage limits beginning today, but OpenAI hasn't specified this limit. Plus users will have a message limit that is five times greater than that of free users, with Team and Enterprise users getting even higher limits.

Also:  ChatGPT vs. Bing Chat vs. Google Bard: Which is the best AI chatbot?

If you're a free user who doesn't use ChatGPT often and stays within the usage limit, you wouldn't get much benefit from a ChatGPT Plus subscription now. I expect OpenAI will amend the subscription benefits or the price as time passes and GPT-4o becomes widely available.

Artificial Intelligence

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NBA conference finals 2024 streaming guide: Free trials, TV schedule, channels

• Updated: May. 20, 2024, 8:39 a.m. |
• Published: May. 19, 2024, 10:31 p.m.

The Indiana Pacers will battle the Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals while the Minnesota Timberwolves will face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. Here's a guide on how to watch both matchups. (AP Photo/AJ Mast) AP

• Robert Fenbers, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The postseason is winding down with the Eastern and Western conference finals of the 2024 NBA playoffs set to begin May 21-22. The Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks remain. If you have parted ways with your cable provider, or need to catch either of the two juicy matchups, we’ve broken down the best way fans can watch the conference finals for free .

Take a look at the best options for streaming services that have free trials or promotional deals for new customers who don’t have cable.

What are the best streaming options to watch the NBA Eastern and Western conference finals?

You can watch the conference finals live for free with DirecTV Stream (free trial).

You can watch every game of the conference finals for a small cost with Sling TV (promotional offers). NOTE: There is only one game in the Eastern Conference Finals to be broadcast on ABC. Watching ABC affiliate games with Sling TV is only possible with the help of an over-the-air HDTV antenna . You may purchase one under $30 on Amazon . After the antenna is set up, you can watch any ABC games and the NBA Finals, which will air exclusively on ABC beginning on June 6.

You can watch the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics for free on FuboTV (7-day free trial).

The Western Conference Finals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks is also available for free on DirecTV Stream (5-day free trial).

What networks / TV channels are the NBA conference finals on?

All Western Conference Finals games will air on TNT. The Eastern Conference Finals is on ESPN with the exception of Game 3 May 25 on ABC.

Cable Channel Finder: AT&T U-Verse , Comcast Xfinity , Spectrum/Charter , Optimum/Altice , Cox , DirecTV , Dish , Verizon Fios

Where can I stream the NBA conference finals for free without cable?

DirecTV Stream is the only streaming services that will have every game of the NBA conference finals. It offers a 5-day free trial and is the best service to sign up with for the conference finals since it carries all of the channels that will broadcast games the rest of the month and beyond.

FuboTV , which has a 7-day free trial, offers the ability to watch for free only the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics . This is because FuboTV does not carry TNT , which is where all the Western Conference Finals games will be broadcast exclusively.

When do the Western Conference Finals start?

The Western Conference Finals will begin Wednesday, May 22. The third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves will face the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks.

What is the Western Conference Finals playoff schedule?

All times are Eastern.

Game 1: May 22, 8:30 p.m., TNT | Minneapolis, Minn.

Game 2: May 24, 8:30 p.m., TNT | Minneapolis, Minn.

Game 3: May 26, 8 p.m., TNT | Dallas, Tex.

Game 4: May 28, 8:30 p.m., TNT | Dallas, Tex.

Game 5: (if necessary) May 30, 8:30 p.m., TNT | Minneapolis, Minn.

Game 6: (if necessary) June 1, 8:30 p.m., TNT | Dallas, Tex.

Game 7: (if necessary) June 3, 8:30 p.m., TNT | Minneapolis, Minn.

When does the Eastern Conference Finals start?

The Eastern Conference Finals will begin Tuesday, May 21. The top-seeded Boston Celtics will face the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers.

What is the Eastern Conference Finals playoff schedule?

Game 1: May 21, 8 p.m., ESPN | Boston, Mass.

Game 2: May 23, 8 p.m., ESPN | Boston, Mass.

Game 3: May 25, 8:30 p.m., ABC | Indianapolis, Ind.

Game 4: May 27, 8 p.m., ESPN | Indianapolis, Ind.

Game 5: (if necessary) May 29, 8 p.m., ESPN | Boston, Mass.

Game 6: (if necessary) May 31, 8 p.m., ESPN | Indianapolis, Ind.

Game 7: (if necessary) June 2, 8 p.m., ESPN | Boston, Mass.

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Why every American needs to see ‘Civil War’ | Opinion

• Updated: May. 19, 2024, 8:20 a.m. |
• Published: May. 19, 2024, 8:20 a.m.
• South Jersey Times Guest Columnist

By Andrew J. Donnelly

Every American needs to see the current movie “Civil War.” It is very rare that a film sticks with you after seeing it in theaters. It is also very rare that a director, in this case Alex Garland, can portray this kind of story in a way that neither bends one way or the other in terms of politics. Garland, who also wrote the film, does this brilliantly by telling a dystopian narrative through the eyes of photojournalists played by Kirsten Dunst, along with Wagner Moura, Cailey Spaeney and Stephen McKinley.

It’s set in the near future, where the United States has erupted into a civil war between several seceding factions and a loyalist faction. The sitting U.S. president (Nick Offerman) is serving a third consecutive term, even though this is unconstitutional. He has ordered airstrikes on American citizens and has usurped all power into the executive branch.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.