How to keep your work at school

Certainly there are professions where, when you leave for the day, the rest of the day belongs to you and your home life.  That seldom seems to be the case with teachers, with lesson plans, grading, and posting taking up most of the time spent at home.  Here are a few ideas to cut down on that time that interrupts your time spent at home:

1. Plan to grade while students test.  When your students are busy taking a test, you can grade the previous assignment.  Post the results during your prep period.  Repeat the process, and you'll only be one test behind at all times.
2. With the exception of the required essay-style tests that seem to need more grading time than other tests, make it easy on yourself when you grade them.  Even if your school isn't in the 21st century and uses online testing regularly, learn to place the answer column on one side of the paper so you can line them up and grade many at one time.  The one Answer D in a sea of Answer Bs will let you know that there is a wrong answer in the group. And regarding those essay tests, make a rubric that will make your life easier to grade them.
3. Assign numbers to your students.  Then put clear plastic holders on a bulletin board.  When the students come in with completed homework, you'll know at a glance which papers are missing.  Note the missing assignments and you can enter that later during a prep period. With this method, you'll also be able to tell which students are missing!  This can be a system where you put missed assignments for absences.  
4. Now what about those lesson plans?  Unless you are a brand new teacher, you'll likely have used your plans in previous years.  There's no shame in re-using the plans. If you want to upgrade the plan, do it in small steps so you aren't overwhelmed by a huge plan to implement.  If you ARE a new teacher, then have fun making plans that will last for several years.  Your first year will be the most difficult and will involve bringing most of your lesson planning home, but in the long run, you'll be able to re-use them for many years to come
5. Another lesson plan tip: Don't plan for just one day.  Plan for a whole week. And plan to let the kids take control of their learning. How? Develop a project-based learning unit where students take control of their education.  All you need to do is monitor their progress.  You don't have to stand in front of the room all the time!

These are just a few of the ways you can cut down on the time you spend away from your family and friends on weekends and evenings.  With a little advance planning and your own ideas on how to cut corners, you can have more time for family fun!

Check out my Middle School Social Studies project-based learning resources on Teachers Pay Teachers on these topics:
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Ancient Egypt
All state histories - here is an example from NJ