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How to Catch Up on Missed Schoolwork Quickly

Last Updated: April 5, 2024 References

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 121,034 times.

When you miss class, the work can start to pile up quickly. All those assignments and deadlines can be pretty overwhelming, but don’t panic. Talk to your teachers and friends about what you missed. Then, make a plan for tackling your workload, prioritizing the most pressing assignments. Take breaks, reward yourself, and stay positive to boost your productivity. Catching up on missed schoolwork isn’t easy, but with a little organization and strategy, you’ll be better equipped to handle the challenges that come your way.

Talking to Teachers and Friends

• Say something like, “I’m sorry, but I’ll be out of class tomorrow for a family reunion. Please let me know what I need to do to stay on top of my work.”
• You may need to provide a note from a doctor or parent. Check with your school administration to find out.

• Say something like, “I’m so sorry I was out yesterday with the flu. I’m doing my best to get back on schedule. Is there anything important that I missed?”

• You might say, “I’m sorry, I’ve been really busy with soccer lately and I’ve fallen behind on some assignments. I want to do everything I can to catch up. What would you recommend that I do?”

• While talking to students is helpful, it shouldn’t be a substitute for communicating with your teacher. Ideally, you should do both.

• You may be able to meet with your teacher before or after class for extra help.
• Keep in mind that your teacher probably won’t have time to re-explain the entire lecture. Look over all your notes and materials beforehand so you’re as prepared as possible. It may be helpful to come in with a list of questions.

Making a Plan

• Break down big assignments into smaller sub-steps, and nest these under the big assignments on your checklist.
• Don’t forget to check off items when you complete them! It’ll feel super satisfying.

• Put a star next to your top items or highlight them.
• You can color code by priority, underlining the most pressing items in red, the moderately pressing ones in yellow, and the least urgent ones in green.
• If you’re having trouble determining a top priority, ask yourself, “If I only had time to complete one assignment, which one would it be?”

• If you need even more structure, you might schedule your workload by time of day (morning, afternoon, and evening) or even by the hour.
• Input your schedule into a planner or online calendar and refer to it regularly.
• Consider turning a weekend into a “Homework Retreat”. Schedule out an entire weekend to do the assignments you missed. However, don’t overstretch yourself, and make sure to schedule breaks, snacks and other things to keep you energized.

Being Productive

• Say to yourself, “I’ve got this. I’ve caught up on work in the past, and I can do it again.”
• It may help to do something fun before you buckle down, like going for ice cream with friends or taking your dog on a walk.

• You should do something completely unrelated to your work during your breaks. Look at funny memes, take a walk, grab a snack, or chat with a friend. [9] X Research source

• Make sure your rewards are appropriate. Don’t give yourself a huge reward for finishing a relatively small task, and don’t select an insignificant reward for a major task.
• Make your rewards meaningful, specific, and immediate. For example, you might reward yourself with a quick trip to your favorite restaurant for lunch.

• It's fun to laugh and joke with friends, but do your best not to get distracted. Take turns reminding each other to stay focused.

• Teens need around eight to ten hours of sleep each night. For better sleep , try to go to bed around the same time everyday. Staying up late on the weekends can hurt sleep quality. [13] X Research source
• Eat a balanced diet containing lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins, like chicken. Always eat breakfast, and drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated. [14] X Trustworthy Source HelpGuide Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, evidence-based mental health and wellness resources. Go to source

• Do your best to balance your social life, extracurriculars, and schoolwork.

Expert Q&A

• Be honest with your teacher if you think a deadline is unreasonable. They may give you an extension once you explain your situation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
• If you have a ton of work to finish, it’s easy to get paralyzed. However, remember that it’s always better to work on something than nothing. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If this missed work was avoidable, think about ways you can stay on top of your work in the future. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• If a friend asks you over but you have missing schoolwork, simply tell them that you have some assignments to catch up on. Later, you could invite them over for a study session with pizza. No one said that studying had to be boring!
• Use a to-do list and grade everything from priority 1 to 4 (1 being the highest and 4 being the lowest).

• Cutting class can be tempting, especially for college students, but it can lead to hours of missed school work and stress down the line. Thanks Helpful 26 Not Helpful 2

You Might Also Like

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about catching up on school, check out our in-depth interview with Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. .

• ↑ http://www.students.org/2013/09/25/miss-day-school/
• ↑ https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/tips-help-child-get-back-track-missing-school/#.WXpe4DYqteB
• ↑ http://www.parents.com/kids/education/homework/catch-up-on-homework/
• ↑ http://time.com/2933971/how-to-motivate-yourself-3-steps-backed-by-science/
• ↑ https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-rule-of-52-and-17-its-random-but-it-ups-your-productivity
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins
• ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814050009
• ↑ https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep
• ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-eating.htm

About This Article

If you’re behind on schoolwork and need to catch up quickly, start by creating a chart or checklist of the assignments you need to accomplish including their due dates. Next, use highlighters to color code the assignments by priority by underlining the most pressing items in red, moderately pressing ones in yellow, and the least urgent ones in green. Once you know what needs to be done, create a detailed schedule you can follow. Just don’t forget to give yourself time for a 20-minute break every hour or so. It might seem counter-intuitive, but rest actually increases productivity! For more tips on catching up on missed schoolwork, including how to approach the situation with a positive attitude, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Simple Solutions to Track Missing Work

Tracking & collecting missing work may just be the bane of many teachers’ existence. It can be so hard to keep everything straight & incredibly frustrating trying to hound students to get it turned in.

Aside from simply throwing zero’s in the gradebook and moving on, there’s no simple solution. But I do have some tried-and-true suggestions for how you can take this big problem and turn it into something much more manageable.

To make this plan work smoothly, you’ll need two classroom helpers: an absence secretary and a class secretary. Simply choose responsible students that tend to finish their own work early & ask if they’ll help you out. Once you train a student, I’d recommend keeping the same secretary for at least a quarter before switching up roles.

Tracking What Work is Missing:

*Class Secretary makes a list of what’s missing: When papers are collected, s/he goes through them & sees what is missing. S/he then writes down whose paper is missing on a post-it note or cover sheet. [Ideally, the class secretary would also know who has been absent & would mark which papers are actually late & which are missing due to absence.]

*Keep a running total of what’s missing: Each day, you quickly scan the post-it notes or cover sheet & record missing work in your gradebook. You also record what is missing either in a Word doc that can be printed & posted in the classroom or on a dry-erase board that is posted in the classroom. (If you are a paperless school, you can also use a Google Doc.) This provides a running tally of any work that is missing. For absent work, the teacher records on the document or white board when the assignment is due. ( Click here to have an example form sent to you . )

*Students fill out a form each time they’re missing an assignment: Students who don’t have an assignment finished (whether they’re late or absent) must fill out a (brightly colored) form saying why they don’t have it & when they plan to finish it. They turn this in when the rest of the class turns in their assignment. This makes it easier for the class secretary (and/or you) to see whose paper is missing. ( Click here to get an editable sample form . )

Letting Students Know What is Missing:

* Keep extra copies: Always run off a couple extra copies of worksheets/homework assignments & have a designated spot to keep them. Train students that when they lose a worksheet, they can should check the folder instead of asking you for a new one.

*Absence secretary tracks what you do in class: Your absence secretary should have a form to fill out for each student who is absent that records what was covered in class, any homework, and any assessments they need to make up. These forms are then placed in a designated place (or in the classroom out-box if that is part of your classroom procedure). The absence secretary staples any papers to the form. S/he also is responsible to collect the extra copies & place them in the designated spot.

* Absent students look to see what they missed: Absent students are required to collect their form that the absence secretary filled out for them. They must also check the missing work document/board to see when items are due. ( Click here to get an editable sample form . )

Making Up Assessments

*Create a Testing Center (middle school/high school): If your school doesn’t have a testing center, talk to your administration about starting one. Testing centers can take place in study hall or in a separate monitored room.

When a student misses an assessment, teachers would write on the top of the assessment the date it must be taken by & turn in that test to the testing center. Students are then responsible to go to the testing center during their open periods to make them up.

Please note that study hall teachers or testing center monitors would need to have good policies to ensure students aren’t cheating (e.g. student must sit in a specific spot, desk must be cleared, other students aren’t allowed to talk to them during testing, etc.)

Collecting & Updating Work That’s Turned In:

* Track daily what’s turned in : Have a designated in-bin that is only for work that absent/late work. Go through that bin daily to update your gradebook & the missing work document/board. This does not mean it needs to be graded right away, just updated that it’s been turned in. These papers could then be placed in a file and graded weekly or bi-weekly. Let parents & students know that if papers are turned in late they are not necessarily graded as quickly.

Alternatively, you can have students turn in absent/missing work to the class secretary who will update the document/board for you. Or students could cross their own name off the list designating they’ve turned it in.

What procedures have you found helpful for tracking missing work? Share them with a comment below.

And to make things a bit easier for you, I’ve put together an editable example of the absence secretary form, “I don’t have my work because” form, and the running total of missing work document.  Click here to get all 3 forms now .

And if you’d like more information about teaching students procedures, check out our free training  How to Reduce Disruptions without Yelling, Begging, or Bribing

You may also find this related post helpful:  “ 17 Ways to Get Students to Actually Do Their Work “

What to Read Next

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I alphabetize papers as they come in, and post “missing” designations in the grading program. Every Friday, I print out a list of missing work and circulate the list in class. If I don’t have time to copy the list, I display it on the Smart board. I also have a spot on the board where I count down the days to the end of the quarter. When students are working, I have the opportunity to speak to the chronic latecomers and get them back on track. I have a deadline for late work, and the grade is set at 50% of the grade they would have gotten had they handed the work in on time. I don’t give homework, so I can make sure that the students understand what they are doing as I circulate.

We have a time for “ketchup & pickles” every 2-3 weeks. (I list missing assignments on the board as needed, but I make sure to update it the morning that K & P will happen.) Students who are missing work are “Ketchups” (catch up on work) & those who are not are “Pickles” (pick a fun activity). Building in this extra time helps me stay caught up without getting stressed!

I have heard this saying but nobody has explained what that meant. I will most certainly have a ketchup and pickles option.

Having a “Late Work” manila folder stapled to the wall is a life saver, as students turn in late work their, and it keeps it separate from other, on-time work. When students are absent, I write their name on that day’s handouts and homework at the beginning of class. I then put those papers into that period’s designated “Absent” folder on the wall, and students pick up their work when they come back. Writing their name on the handouts in my handwriting, also lets me know that when a student turns it in in the “late work” folder, it’s actually not late, they were just absent.

Thanks all! So helpful, including article.

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Best Back to School Ideas 🍏

End the Unfinished Work Battle: Catch-Ups and Pickles

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Are your students struggling to complete their work? Up to your eyeballs in missing or unfinished work assignments? Then you might need to institute a “Catch-up and Pickles” routine in your classroom as a way to win the missing or incomplete work battle! This is seriously my favorite unfinished work routine!

A few weeks ago, I posted a Reel on Instagram about some of my more “controversial ” grading practices. Between you and me… they really aren’t that controversial… just good teaching! But folks LOST THEIR MINDS! And honestly, it shed light on a bigger problem: the struggle of incomplete work.

Controversial Grading Practices

You’re probably wondering what those controversial grading practices were. I’ll let you watch the IG Reel to see all three, but the one that had most teachers up in arms was the belief of not putting anything less than 50% in the grade book.

This one line led to me being called many things, but most teachers asked, “What about missing or incomplete work?”

To which I responded that I rarely struggled with incomplete or missing work. I can think of one time I had to put a zero in the grade book because of a missing assignment – ONCE – in 13 years of teaching. Those are some pretty good odds!

Unfinished Work Routine

So, how can this be?

First, let’s clear up some things:

• No – I didn’t have perfect students who completed every assignment without asking.
• No – I didn’t work at fancy schools with high volumes of parents involved who made sure the work was completed at home.
• And, no – I didn’t work myself to death chasing down students.

I rarely had missing or incomplete work because I planned time in my week for students to work on missing or incomplete assignments.

Today, I’m sharing this simple yet HIGHLY effective routine that basically eliminated the struggle to get students to complete missing or incomplete assignments.

This magical weekly routine that solves the missing work problem is fondly called, “ Catch-up and Pickles. ” But, that’s really just a fancy name for a time set aside on a Friday morning so students can work on unfinished work.

What is Catch-Up and Pickles?

I shared about this concept a while ago in my “Small Group Time Exposed” post , but I feel like after all the hoopla that Reel caused, it warranted its own place on the blog!

Each day, I had 60 minutes of time built into my schedule for small group rotations. That worked great Monday through Thursday. But, I noticed that Fridays were a bit cramped. Not only did we have our spelling and vocabulary test that day but we would also have a reading comprehension assessment. Time is needed to complete all these assessments, and that ate into a portion of our small group time.

Rather than try and stuff the small group instruction into the 30 minutes that were left after completing everything else, I decided to transform that awkward time slot into productive work time.

So at the end of the week, instead of formal center rotations, I did a “Catch-Ups and Pickles” routine. Students who had not finished their work used this time to “Catch-Up,” while those who were done were allowed to “Pickles” a reading-based activity to complete.

For students, this time was dedicated to completing their work or choosing a preferred activity to complete.

For the teacher, this routine provided time to reteach lessons, pull students for  assessments , or conference with students one on one.

And let me just say… this was a wildly popular time in my classroom!

How to Find Time?

So the big question here is, how do you find the time? Everything you are required to teach in a day leaves very little time in your schedule for “makeup work,” but like I shared before… I was able to find time by reallocating the time I was using for reading centers. It wasn’t working for us on Fridays, so we changed it up.

I suggest you take a look at your schedule. Do you have some awkward or weird times?

I like the idea of doing Catch-up and Pickles on a Friday, so it’s easier to track the work that needs to be completed. But maybe Fridays don’t work for you. Look for a block of time (at least 20 mins!) and see if it works. If it doesn’t, restructure or choose a different time. This could even be something you do at the end of a unit in reading or math or on the last school day of the month.

Warning:  I wouldn’t do this one day a quarter… that’s too big a chunk of time to complete everything. Doing that is like saving all your laundry for a month and trying to do it all in one day. Someone will get overwhelmed, and it’s not going to get done.

How to Get Started with Catch Up and Pickles

Once you’ve found your time, it’s time to plan the “Catch-Up and Pickles” activities.

In my classroom, I allowed students to “catch up” on any work, whether it be math, reading, or something else entirely. You need to select what students will be working on. Maybe it’s just reading, so you do only reading makeup work.

Whatever you decide, be specific. The unstructured nature of this routine means that chaos could happen at any minute. Being clear on what students should be working on at this time (and reinforcing it each time you have a Catch-up and Pickles session) can help keep the crazies at bay.

Who is a Catch-Up and Who is a Pickle?

From there, you’ll need a system for knowing who is a “catch-up” and who is a “pickle.”

Right before we started, I’d scan my grade book for any missing assignments. Those students with missing work would go on my “catch up” list.

Another way I identified students was through their “Unfinished Work” folder. Any classwork that didn’t get completed went in there (not tests or quizzes, just classwork). Right before we’d begin, students would pull out their folders and check to make sure there wasn’t any work that needed to be completed. If there was, they were on the “catch-up” list.

Let me just say, just even having an “Unfinished Work” folder helped a great deal with handling incomplete work! It was much easier for students to keep track of their work. If they finished an assignment early, they could either grab a book to read or work on unfinished work from their folder. The finished work folder lived in their desk, and I always told them, “If you aren’t done, put it in your finished work folder!”

You can read more about the unfinished work folder here !

I kept this routine real simple, guys! No fancy slide shows…just a whiteboard and names. In one column, I’d write “catch-up” with the students’ names and a list of work they needed to complete. In the other column, I’d write “Pickles” with the names of students who had completed all their work. When a student completed assignments and turned them in, they could erase their name and put it under the “pickles” side instead.

Activity Idea for Pickles

Now, remember, the name of any student who had completed all their work or their I-Ready minutes would be placed in the Pickles column.

My students loved being a pickle! They loved the idea of choosing their own activities (even if they were reading-based).

Some activities my students could pick from:

• Writing and illustrating stories – Pretty popular! Especially the illustrating. I showed students how to make a mini-book with lined paper folded and stapled together.
• Playing an educational computer game – Probably the most popular!
• Creating or playing on the IPad – Don’t worry, I was very clear about which apps they could use during this time!
• Completing a reading center game – Students could do this with their friends. I’d put any stations we had completed that week in an area towards the back of the classroom, and students could grab one to play. This also worked well for any student who needed to complete a station activity for their “catch-up” activity. Need reading center ideas? These were always a hit !
• Free choice reading – They could choose their own book and where they’d like to sit and read. They could also read with a buddy.
• Helping a friend complete their work – This one was pretty popular! I allowed it as long as they weren’t just telling their buddies the answers. Honestly, it was a win-win: The student got help, and the student helping was learning more! Bonus- it freed me up to complete DRAs, fluency checks, or reteach skills as needed.
• Teacher assistant – Sometimes I needed help, so if they were done and didn’t want to do one of the other activities, I’d put them to work, helping to organize papers or filling the mailboxes with returned work.

Unfinished Work Routine- Catch-up and Pickles

So there you have it, teacher friends. This is the simple, routine way I kept my students on top of their work. I mean, what teacher wants to feel like they are constantly chasing students around trying to get them to finish their work? NOT ME! Now you don’t have to!

Free Catch Up and Pickles Download

Want to grab a few resources to help you get started? Click below and have this resource sent straight to your inbox! Now you can easily implement a Catch-up and Pickles routine in your classroom this week! This free download includes printable tracking sheets, whiteboard labels, and an editable PowerPoint file.

More Great Ideas!

Check out these other great ideas to try in your classroom!

• 5 Tips for Dealing with a Chatty Class
• How to Organize Your Google Classroom for 2nd Grade
• Help Students Take Ownership of Their Learning without a Data Notebook
• End of the Year Survival Tips
• Categories: Classroom , Classroom management

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Top 10 Strategies For Catching Up on Missed Schoolwork and Ending The Year Successfully

It’s that time of year when many of the sessions in my private practice involves a discussion with my child or teen clients about strategizing ways to catch up a long list of missed assignments and end the school year successfully.

As a child psychologist and Modern Parenting Expert, I’ve unfortunately seen this scenario play out with many of my clients every year and it breaks my heart. It makes sense that many kids find themselves overwhelmed by late work in the second half of the school year. The first half of the year takes off slowly, allowing the child or teen to ease on in to homework, projects, and the material. Then, Christmas break happens and the child gets used to a slower pace for a while, and then January hits with a BANG!

Teachers mean business after the holidays are over. There is no more easing into the material and work, and the expectations are very high when it comes to producing work. In addition to this less-understanding attitude of the teacher, the academic material naturally becomes more complex and intense too. This scenario oftentimes creates a situation where it becomes very easy for kids and teens of become overwhelmed by the new demands of the second half of the school year.

But I have good news for you: even if your child is SUPER behind in their schoolwork, they can still end the school year on a positive note (and pass all of their classes!) by using the 10 strategies below. These are the same exact strategies that I use with all of my private practice clients, and I’ve seen many families rejoice with relief at the end of the year when their child brings home their well-deserved good grades.

The Strategies

Strategy #1: If you haven’t already, talk to your child’s teacher(s) to get an accurate accounting of the missed assignments and ask for extra time to get these assignments turned in.

For younger kids, the parent definitely needs to take control of this. Kids who are in elementary, middle school, and  junior high just don’t have the communication skills necessary to have this important conversation with their teacher(s) and then report accurately back to mom and dad. Do yourself a favor, and take charge of this conversation yourself.

For kids who are in high school, these older kids can be encouraged to have this discussion on their own; however, if your child has a history of procrastination, lying, or academic anxiety, then it is probably better than you get involved in this conversation as well.

The point of this conversation is to get an accurate accounting of what assignments are actually missing. I know that when both my kids were in school, the online grading programs were not always accurate (we used Aries), so talking to the teacher(s) is the only way to ensure that you are getting an accurate idea of the amount of work that needs to be made up.

In addition to discussing which assignments are due, also see if the teacher is on board with your child turning in the assignments late. I’ve found that most teachers (even the grumpy ones) would rather a student turn in their work late than not at all, so most teachers will work with you on a new timeline for missing work.

Strategy #2: Make a realistic weekday AND weekend plan for completing missing assignments.

Now that you know exactly what you child is up against, sit down with them and create a realistic plan for getting it all done. What does realistic mean? It means that both you and your child need to come to terms with the fact that this won’t get fixed overnight. This will take time.

I recommend starting off slow because most kids at this point are so overwhelmed with the idea of making up so much work, that they need to first see that they are capable of tackling this big task. Many parents (and sometimes kids) want to start off by planning that the child or teen will spend all of their free time on homework.

This is just setting your child up for failure.

Look at your list of missing assignments and due dates. Plan to have your child work on 2-4 missing assignments per day on the weekday and more on the weekend (depedning on weekend family activities). Don’t expect your child to complete more that this even if they were able to complete 4 assignments in a half an hour and they have tons of time left in the day. Make a plan and stick to it. The point is to help your child see that they can take a problem, devise a solution, and work consistently on the solution successfully.

Especially with kids and teens who also experience anxiety, this step of the plan helps to manage the anxiety surrounding the missed work. When kids are using all of their cognitive capacity to worry about their academic work, they don’t have much cognitive energy left to actually work on their assignments. By creating a realistic plan, managing the anxiety surrounding the academic stress, and then plugging away every day at the plan, your child or teen will actually be able to work on their assignments more efficiently.

Strategy #3: Go For The Quick Win.

This step is counterintuitive to what most parents instinctively want to do. I’ve seen many parents set their child or teen up for failure when they encourage their child to work on hard assignments first, but this ALWAYS backfires.

For example, let’s say your plan is to have your teenager tackle 3 missing assignments per day and you tell your child to work on a science report that is worth a lot of points as 1 of their assignments for the day. More than likely, this assignment takes a long time to complete because it is really involved. Many kids and teens get discouraged at this point because they don’t see the plan working.

Instead of going for those larger projects first (and I totally understand the reasoning behind why you would want them to start with these projects) start with the “easy wins” first. Choose short assignments, Or assignments in the classes that your child likes or finds easier than other classes.

The point here is to allow your child to experience progress and success. If  they see the plan working, then they are more likely to continue with the plan and have a better attitude about working on their missing assignments.

Strategy #4: Create a New Habit Routine – And Don’t Forget The Reward Phase.

Scientific research shows us that creating a “Habit Loop” is the best way of establishing – and keeping – positive behavior patterns. The image below illustrates Charles Duhigg’s Habit Loop. A new behavior needs a reminder (like a particular time of the day) which influences the desired behavior. In order to keep the habit going, the subject must experience some kind of reward after performing the behavior such as some well-earned video game time, the ability to facetime a friend, etc.

Most of the time, I recommend that the reward be something that the child likes to do in their down time. 

For more on the Habit Loop, check out THIS ARTICLE on my Parenting The Modern Family blog .

Strategy #5: Take Care of HALTS Before Starting Homework.

It’s hard for anyone to concentrate if they are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, or Stressed; as such, be sure these common discomforts are addressed. I always recommend that kids should have a snack before starting homework – and research backs me up here. A healthy and quick snack increases their glucose level (the energy needed for your child’s brain to function well), so ensuring they are not hungry goes a long way in helping them get their missing assignments done.

If your child or teen seems angry – or bothered by any other negative emotion – then allow them to deal with that emotion. For example, if your child is angry that they need to do homework instead of play outside with their friends, allow them to talk about their anger and then have a positive discussion with them that they can play with their friend as soon as their homework for the day is finished. If you allow your child to “push down” their emotions, then they’ll just sit there giving cognitive energy to their emotions instead of their homework.

Likewise, if your child is lonely, offer to sit with them while they work – or have the family dog or cat keep them company. If they are tired, re-evaluate their bedtime. Maybe they need to go to bed a half hour earlier. And if they are stressed about their homework, help them decrease their stress levels by using this technique .

As you can see, taking care of your child or teen’s physical and emotional needs goes a long way in meeting the goal of catching up with their missed assignments.

Strategy #6: Consider Pausing Extracurriculars For a While.

If your child or teen has a long list of work that needs to be made up, it might make sense to pause their extracurricular activities. This really isn’t meant to be a punishment per se, but it is a natural consequence of taking care of major responsibilities first. You know your child and the situation regarding their extracurriculars best, so if it makes sense to “pause” their extracurriculars, then go ahead and do so.

Strategy #7: Deal With The Overwhelm.

Dealing with overwhelm is a life skill that most kids haven’t learned yet. Yes – this is a LEARNED SKILL.

It can be very frustrating working with a child or teen who only focus on the goal (getting all the missing assignments completed) and not the small steps in attaining that goal (working on one task at a time). Many young clients sit in my office and focus only on the overwhelming idea of a mountain of work that must be done. When I begin working with them about developing a plan to address their missing work, they shut down and can’t seem to even concentrate on thinking of a plan. They tell me, “That will never work – I have too much to do,” and I have to remind them, “Yes, but you can’t do it all at once. You can only do one task at a time, so which task should you concentrate on first?”.

When your child starts “spiraling” at the thought of so much work that needs to be done, bring them back to reality by reminding them that they can’t do every task right now. Ask them to choose only 1 task to think about (and try to make it a quick win – see strategy #3 above).

Strategy # 8: Get Educational Support For Your Child.

Many kids ignore assignments because they are too difficult for them. Every child has their own unique strengths and weaknesses, which means that most kids won’t be great at every class. If your child is struggling with a particular subject (especially in the last half of the year when the subject matter becomes more complex and difficult) then consider a tutor.

Now, a tutor can mean several things. One type of tutor is someone who has been trained in education and makes a living helping kids overcome their educational struggles. This can be very expensive though. I often ask parents if they have a teenage or college-age person in the family who might be able to come and work with the child for a short period of time. Older kids often like mentoring younger family members. Not only is this a cheaper alternative, but I’ve seen this situation really be effective.

If you need to, get creative with looking for someone to act as a tutor for your child.

Strategy #9: Remember To Take Breaks.

Adults have learned to “power through” things, but kids and most teens still have not developed this life skill yet. Because of this, they will need to take frequent breaks when working on long session of homework. I recommend that kids and teens should take a break every 45 minutes, take a 10-15 minute break, and then get back to work again.

A great technique is the pomodoro method, and this method has some scientific backing that it is very useful. All you have to do is set a timer (there are even tons of pomodoro apps for your phone!) for 45 minutes. When the timer goes off, let your child take a break. They can look at their phones, watch a short Youtube video, go to the bathroom, etc. Set the timer for again for the break time (10 or 15 minutes). When the timer goes off again, that’s the signal that it’s back to work. Set the timer again for 45 minutes and repeat.

You can even challenge your child or teen to work through several pomodoro sessions. This method works well because the timer never lies, and the child learns to take their cues from the sound of the timer.

Strategy #10: Contact a Child Therapist To Help Your Child Work Through Difficult Feelings That Are Holding Them Back From Achieving Their True Potential.

There’s nothing I hate more than seeing kids or teens not living up to their full potential, but this happens a lot when they are also dealing with feelings of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or difficulties with concentration (such as ADHD). The only way for your child or teen to move past these feelings that are sidelining them is to deal with them in therapy.

In my private practice, I am passionate about helping kids reach their goals. As a child psychologist and Modern Parenting Expert, I have specific training in helping kids overcome obstacles that are common to this generation of young people. I have helped kids and teens overcome problems with motivation, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and many other issues.

Call (909) 326-2562 today to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation to see if I am a good fit in working with your child. Or click here to use my online scheduler to schedule the phone consultation today.

Your child or teen CAN overcome any obstacle with the right support!

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How to Catch up on School Work Fast (9 Great Tips)

Even if you may have missed a lot of work, it is always possible to catch up on study if you set your mind to it. Yes, that’s probably a cliché line you’ve probably heard many times, but that’s only because it’s true. So, do not get discouraged when falling behind. Here are some suggestions on how you how to catch up on school work fast and avoid ending up in a similar situation in the future.

Table of Contents

Do not let procrastination dictate the terms!

Sure, procrastination can be helpful on rare occasions, but in most cases, it is likely to be the main reason why you are in this difficult situation in the first place. It may sound like a cliché, but ‘mind over body’ is a real thing. So just tell that little voice inside your head that you are getting started right now. Not tomorrow, not later, but right now!

In fact, don’t even wait to complete reading the rest of this article. Open the requirement file for your schoolwork this very instant and write down at least a sentence or two. You can then come back to this article and read the remaining tips. The hardest part is always getting started, so if there’s one thing you take away from this post, it’s that you should not put off on starting for later.

Put together a rough game plan

When you have a lot of missing assignments, you are going to have to prioritize the list of pending work. Do not spend too long on this step though. The longer you spend contemplating how you are going to do the work, the less time you will have to do the actual work. Here are some quick steps to get you started with this.

• Quickly go through the list of pending work and make a note of the deadlines
• Tackle the assignments with an earlier deadline first
• If you have work with similar deadlines, do the more difficult ones first
• Try to see if there’s any assignments for which you can get an extension

Try to ask for extensions in advance, hopefully with a good excuse. Even if you get shot down, you will at least know the deadlines are non-negotiable. This can help you stay focused on completing the tasks within the allocated timeframe. If you are not sure how to do this, here’s our guide for how to ask your professor to accept a late assignment.

Focus on one task or assignment at a time

It’s easy to lose focus and get distracted when you have a lot of tasks to finish. However, trying to do everything simultaneously can be disastrous for the quality of your assignment. Your thoughts and written content will probably be all over the place if you try to do this. So, finish one homework or assignment first before you move on to the next.

Building on what we mentioned above, you should do the difficult assignments first. This is because you’re going to have a lot more steam in the beginning when you make the initial resolution to catch up on work. You’re gradually going to get tired as you catch up on more and more work. Hence, it would be better to leave the easier tasks for later.

Quantity over quality

When you need to catch up quickly on homework, you cannot afford to try and turn in high quality work. You will need to compromise on quality to churn out the content faster. You just need to ensure that you get a passing grade. We have a dedicated guide on how to do an assignment in one day while padding your paper with ‘good filler’ rather than mindless fluff.

Do not keep looking at huge pile of work you have left to do

Constantly checking how many more assignments you have left to complete isn’t going to make to your task easier. Neither is it going to make the pile any smaller. It’s actually going to do the opposite for you, because:

• It’s either going to make you scared and lose hope that you won’t be able to catch up on everything in time
• Or its going to make you complacent that you’ve already done so much so you ‘deserve’ to take a break

Don’t be too hard on yourself for falling behind

Even if you have a lot of missing assignments and things seem hopeless, try not to beat yourself up. Self-pity is worthless in this situation because it’s only going to make your task harder. This is especially the case if the reason you let work pile up was due to unavoidable commitments. If you were instead negligent with the schoolwork, then learn from your mistakes and avoid repeating them in the future. In any case, getting worked up and stressing yourself over what has already happened isn’t going to help you out of this mess.

Practice restraint and be reasonable with your breaks

This is one is easier said than done. When working your way through a lot of overdue homework, every time you complete a work, you may feel like rewarding yourself with a break. You should try to put off the urge to take a break for as long as you can. When you can’t take it anymore and absolutely need a breather, make sure you are not going overboard. The best way to avoid this trap is to promise yourself a much bigger reward after you complete all the pending work.

Try to do a little every day

Consistency is the key to avoid ending up in a similar situation again. Trying to do a little of work every day will be much better for you than trying to catch up on a lot of work in a short window. If you make a habit of this, your future self will really thank you for it. If you are not sure how to pace yourself, we have a writing time calculator which tells you how much work you need to everyday to complete an assignment on time.

Keep motivating yourself to stay on track

Trying to reflect on why you are studying your chosen course can help you find the motivation to keep up with homework. Is it to get a good job, have a comfortable life, or just because you are passionate about your field of study? Use these deeper desires to make sure that you do the related coursework and assignments in time.

Remind yourself that the purpose of assignments is to improve your understanding of the theory and concepts and apply them by yourself to different scenarios. Letting work pile up and then rushing to finish them in one sitting will not help you retained the information in your memory for too long.

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Why it’s hard for students to “just turn in” missing assignments, and how to get them unstuck

Mar 29, 2023 | Blog

With the end of the semester on the horizon, many students may feel overwhelmed by low grades or feeling behind in some of their classes.

As a parent, it can be stressful to see that your student has overdue work, or get notifications from their teacher that they’re missing assignments. 

It’s even more frustrating when you’ve told them over and over again how important it is to “just turn it in”…but the work is still showing up as missing.

The reality is that no matter how simple it might seem to an outside observer, doing missing work is almost never as easy as “just getting it done.” If they haven’t done the work yet, there’s a good chance that something is getting in their way. 

If you can figure out what the problem is before jumping in to help them (or make them) do the work, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of success.

In our experience, there are usually 3 main reasons students resist submitting their missing work…even when it seems like “just turning it in” would be SO much easier!

Reason 1: They think it won’t make a difference

Once the due date for an assignment has passed, students often de-prioritize it and move on to focus on upcoming assignments instead. It’s tempting for students to justify this by thinking “there are lots of other assignments, missing one or two won’t matter.”

But what they often don’t realize is that because of the way most grading scales are weighted, even one or two zeros can have an enormous impact on their grade. Showing students the difference it makes to turn in just a few assignments can increase their motivation to get the work done. 

Here’s an example of the difference it can make to turn in just a few missing assignments before the end of the semester:

Overall grade with 3 missing assignments: 78.3%

Overall grade when assignments are turned in: 90.1%

It’s hard for students to calculate these averages in their head, so it can be really powerful for them to run the numbers and see firsthand exactly how much they have to gain from making up their missing assignments.

When we do calculations like this with our students, they are almost always surprised by how much this makeup work could improve their grades, and feel much more motivated to submit the assignments when they can see for themselves the difference it will make.

Reason 2: They think it’s too late

Another reason students often resist doing makeup work is that they think it’s too late to get credit for it. 

Even if they’ve done the math and know that submitting the work would make a difference in their grade, they still won’t want to turn it in if they think the teacher won’t accept it.

Especially for introverted or anxious students, it can be very intimidating to have conversations with their teachers. They might think they’ll get in trouble for asking to submit their work late, or worry that the teacher will say “no.”

The good news is that many teachers are flexible with their late work policies and allow students to turn in overdue assignments even when it is past the “official” deadline to submit them.

So if students can find the courage to ask for help, there is a good chance that their teachers will respond positively and allow them an opportunity to make up the work.

For students who are struggling to reach out to teachers, we often find it is helpful to roleplay these conversations in coaching sessions if they’re not sure what to say, or work with them to email their teachers if they’re not sure what to say.

Reason 3: They feel overwhelmed

Students who are behind on their work often have challenges keeping track of due dates, managing time, breaking down complex assignments, prioritizing work, staying focused, or following through with plans….which is why they fell behind in the first place. 

These challenges can become even more daunting when they are behind in their classes, and trying to complete makeup assignments on top of their normal workload.

This can feel so stressful that a lot of students avoid or put off doing makeup work even when they   know   how much it would improve their grade.

For these students to get their work submitted, it’s essential to help them find ways to…

• Break down the assignments so they have a realistic plan for getting the work done that they’re confident they can actually follow through with
• Lower the stress they feel while they are doing the work so they will be less tempted to avoid it
• Visualize the progress they are making so they can see that their efforts are making a difference

Providing support

When students have a lot of makeup work to complete, having some additional support to help them work through it can be invaluable. 

For some students, this may mean finding a tutor to help them with the content they didn’t understand when their teacher was first presenting the material. 

For other students, having a family member or friend nearby as a source of moral support to keep them company while they are working (and a motivating reward to look forward to as soon as the work is completed) can be enormously helpful.

Other students may benefit from working with an academic coach to help them get unstuck and started on their missing work. Sometimes, having someone else who is not a family member step in to help can reduce stress and conflict at home and make it easier for students to take the steps they need to get back on track in their classes. If you think this type of support would be helpful for your student, please feel free to reach out and we’ll be happy to help! 

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Tips for Organizing Student Work

By Mary Montero

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Whether you’re a new teacher or have many years of experience, odds are you still find yourself trying to find your desk under all.that.paper from time to time. Then you add in students who forget to turn in assignments and it can be really overwhelming to sort through who needs what. However, the good news is, with a little bit of planning and organization, you can minimize these challenges and develop a system for organizing student work.

Whether it’s helping absent students catch up, tracking missing assignments, or just finding the best way to sort papers that need to be graded… organizational systems are always a popular topic of conversation in our Inspired In Upper Elementary Facebook group . Here are some of my own tips and tricks, as well as contributions from our group members, to help you stay on top of the paper trail so you can spend more time teaching and less time stressing.

Students Who Receive Pull-Out Services

First of all, I always recommend having different makeup policies for students who miss classroom work due to pull-out services. If possible, I am careful to arrange my schedule around IEP and gifted services so that my students don’t always miss the same type of classroom instruction. This makes it easier to excuse occasional missed assignments.  As a gifted and talented teacher , I always encourage teachers to consider their pull-out services their work for that time period. I believe in giving different work instead of more work, though this may not always be possible.

Sometimes it’s also possible to coordinate schedules seamlessly. For example, one of my IEP clusters received daily phonics pull-out services at the same time we were working on phonics in our general education classroom. This year, all of our pull-out services (reading, math, and gifted and talented) happened at the same time. Because of this, those students never had to make up any classroom work from that same time.

Laura B. shared this great advice in our group, “As soon as students leave for services I have them hand me their papers and I make a note on them, drawing a line where I feel they should have stopped, which is dependent on the individual student. I give them the percentage they received adjusted for work completed.”

Procedures For Collecting Assignments

It sounds really simple: complete an assignment, turn it in, and receive a grade. However, we all know that feeling when we go to grade a set of papers and realize several are missing. These systems can help with that!

First, set up a specific area in your classroom where students can turn in their work. This will help you ensure that all the work is in one place, and it will make it easier for you to collect it when you need it. 

After trying many systems, I’ve found that subject-specific trays or color-coded folders (Amazon affiliate links) work the best. When I had a free minute during the day, I’d pull that tray and quickly sort the papers alphabetically. We used a numbering system where each student added their classroom number beside their name, which made this process even faster. Then I added a sticky note to the top of the pile with the names or numbers that were missing. As students turned work in late, they crossed their name off the list. By doing this, you can quickly track which students have turned in their work and who needs a reminder. I found that collecting papers the same day greatly reduced the number of missing assignments. As more time passed, papers were accidentally taken home, got lost in the blackhole of student desks, were accidentally thrown away, etc. Oftentimes the assignment was finished and just never made it to the turn in location, so this method helps tremendously. 

Teachers in our Facebook group had similar suggestions. Here are a few:

“I have done this with clothespins on the side of a tub. The kids who haven’t turned them in will still have their clothespin on the tub.” Nancy K

“I use dividers with pockets and hot glue them onto a wall. Each kid has one so I can see at a glance who didn’t turn it in. Then when they get collected they are in the order of the gradebook so that’s a bonus!” Taylor B.

“Make it a daily job. My students put their # on papers. The student who has that job goes through to make sure all numbers are there. They report to me if a number is missing.” Colleen M.

Missing and Incomplete Assignments

As a classroom teacher, you already know how tricky it can be to keep track of missing assignments and provide opportunities for students to complete the work. I’ve found that it’s much easier to stay on top of assignments throughout the grading period instead of waiting until the last minute. I personally track missing assignments daily and provide frequent opportunities for students to catch up..

How I Keep Track of Missing Assignments

• I keep the sticky notes with the name of the assignment and missing names/numbers on my desk. This is an efficient way to see at-a-glance who has missing work each day.
• A spreadsheet is a great way to track missing assignments over time. I keep a main sheet with all students’ names that I can print (or use digitally) as-needed for various tasks during the year (permission slips, assignments, etc). I use one for a running list of missing assignments.
• I enter grades into our digital gradebook weekly. Any assignments marked as missing can be printed or emailed to parents. 
• Consider using digital tools such as Google Classroom, Seesaw, or Edmodo to cut down on paper assignments. You can collect work, grade assignments, and provide feedback all in one place.

How Students Manage Missing Assignments

• Each student has a color-coded folder for incomplete assignments. If they finish other tasks early, they can work through items in their folder next. This specific folder reduces lost papers!
• We have weekly choice time where students can select a center, play brain games, work on projects, etc. All missing assignments must be completed first before choosing a different activity. 
• In years where I’ve been lucky enough to have a teaching assistant or parent volunteers, I’ve used some of their time to help students with these assignments.

More Tips From Teachers

“Post everything, even paper assignments, in Google classroom and have students mark it as submitted when they finish it.” Kristine A.

“Google Classroom keeps track of what has been turned in and what hasn’t. You can set up due dates and if students miss a due date it gets marked as missing. It allows you to return work that you have graded or return work before you grade it if the student turned it in unfinished or incomplete. When I grade my student’s work it gives me a list of those who have not turned in the assignment. I click one button and it puts them all into a BCC email. I add their parents to the mass email too and then send a message saying this work hadn’t been turned in. You need to train your students to check their email regularly. The parents usually see the email first. Google Classroom also gives the kids a To Do list that shows current assignments, as well as all late or missing work that needs to be done. Parents can also sign on as a guardian to get a weekly report of their child’s work history.” Kerri C.

“I make students keep a contract/agenda/must do-may do sheet. It has all required assignments for the week and any extra items they can do if finished early. When students turn it in, they get a piece of candy (you could do tickets, points, etc). I’ve had the best success with it the past few years. I keep a checklist on top of the stack and mark off their name when they turn it in. This helps me see quickly who hasn’t finished.” Angie C.

“I do a weekly 30-minute block for catch up, rework, or complete. We clean out desks and organize as a class before the 30 minute block. Students who are done have a choice of quiet activities to do—games, Legos, art. It’s a chance for me to check in with kids and catch missing/late work. It’s also a time for kids to rework something that didn’t meet expectations. I also have a missing work board that is updated throughout the week. Students can work on missing/unfinished work if they finish something early. To get their name off the missing work board, they complete a very brief work habit reflection slip that is signed by me upon reviewing work with them. There are more names and the need for explicit teaching in work habits at the beginning of the year. Kids learn how to monitor time and work completion. Kids need explicit teaching and practice with work habits.” Tracy S.

Work for Students Who Were Absent

We do a lot of learning every single day, and not all of it can easily be made up when absent students return. I recommend thoughtfully considering which missing assignments need to be completed and which ones can be skipped. I also evaluate which assignments need to be completed together at school and which ones can be sent home. I sometimes have a teacher center during weekly choice time where I can help students with missing or makeup assignments. 

To manage the paper for missing assignments that will be sent home, I write the absent student’s name on each paper as it’s handed out and leave it on their desk. At the end of the day, I staple all assignments together.

If a student will be out for multiple days and a parent has requested makeup work, I collect the daily papers, textbooks if needed, and put everything in a rubber banded stack with a cover sheet. I always write a little note letting the student know how missed they are.

Here’s how other teachers handle paperwork for absent students:

“If a student is absent, I put their names on the papers they will need and put it in a specific tray at the front of the room. BONUS TIP: As soon as I pass it out, one copy goes into a drawer in my cart for masters, and then the rest go into the next drawer for extras (for the inevitable “I can’t find mine” kids). If I’m out in the extras drawer, I can easily find the master to make more copies, without worrying about using my last.” Beth W.

“Our team does an absent packet every day. On the left is what we did during class and the right is any work that needs to be turned in. I only require kids to make up graded work.” Michelle J.

Managing the paper trail of missing assignments can be overwhelming, but with a little bit of effort and organization, you can make it more manageable. By following these tips, you will streamline your workflow, save valuable time, and provide a more efficient learning environment for your students.

Have your own organizational ideas to share? Join our FREE Inspired in Upper Elementary Facebook group to be part of the discussion!

Mary Montero

I’m so glad you are here. I’m a current gifted and talented teacher in a small town in Colorado, and I’ve been in education since 2009. My passion (other than my family and cookies) is for making teachers’ lives easier and classrooms more engaging.

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A Better Way to Handle Missing Assignments

Published: November 04, 2022

In a perfect world, all students would submit their work on time. However, for a variety of reasons, this is rarely the case.

Google Classroom is great for allowing teachers to assign work and for students to submit work. As a classroom teacher, I enjoy the convenience of finding student work organized in Google Classroom rather than trying to manage a stack of papers for each assignment. However, I run into the challenge of providing a list of what a student still needs to complete.

Missing Assignments Report

Google Classroom lacks a missing assignments report. When a parent or guardian requests a list of what their student is missing, I cannot send the list from Classroom. In a particular class, I can go to the People tab and drill down to a student, filter for Missing Assignments and then copy and paste that information into an email. 

Customizable Missing Assignments Reports

Fortunately, there is a free and better way to share a list of missing assignments. Schoolytics allows teachers to sync their Google Classroom classes. After logging in, a “Missing Assignments” report is easily accessed.

Create a Filter

Do you just want a list of what a student is missing this week? Or maybe just homework assignments that are missing? Schoolytics allows you to use the filter options at the top to customize the information you want to share. Change the date range from the default “Last 30 days” or filter for class or grading category.

Post to the Stream

If you want to communicate with students about their missing assignments, the Stream is a great option. When selecting to message student assignments the options are “Email” and “Stream.” Click on the Stream to send a list of live links that only the student can view. This shows up right in Google Classroom. The note, either for Email or the Stream, is customizable.

Share with Guardians

Use the 3 dots menu throughout the Schoolytics platform to export information to a Google Doc, Sheets or PDF. Selecting “Save to Drive” creates an editable and customizable missing assignments report that you can send to a parent or guardian. As a classroom teacher, I particularly love this feature since I have control over what information is being shared rather than a generic report that might generate more questions than it answers. 

CC Guardians

A district-wide Schoolytics plan allows you to directly share missing assignments reports with parents and guardians. Under the email option, there is a checkbox to allow you to CC Guardians. 

• Select the email option.
• Checkbox CC Guardians to send a list of missing assignments.
• Customize the email subject line.
• Customize the assignment message. The list of missing assignments will be dynamically generated for each student.
• Document that you notified students and their guardians of their missing assignments.
• Bulk send to students and guardians the report

Save Time with Schoolytics

I save hours of time each week by using Schoolytics to gain insights into student performance, quickly know which assignments have been submitted, and creating reports for better communication about student performance. Schoolytics is a tool that enhances my use of Google Classroom and saves me time. 

About the Author

Alice Keeler is a teacher and author of the book “Stepping Up to Google Classroom.” Find her on Twitter @alicekeeler and on her blog, alicekeeler.com . 

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How To: Help Students to Complete Missing Work: The Late-Work Teacher-Student Conference

• Self-Management

The reasons that students fall behind in assignments are many. Students who are just developing homework skills , for example, often need more time than peers to complete independent assignments, can find it challenging to focus their attention when working on their own, and may not have efficient study skills (Cooper & Valentine, 2001). To be sure, student procrastination and avoidance in work assignments is a widespread problem. And many students who fall behind in their work also develop a maladaptive, self-reinforcing pattern of escape-maintained behavior: as these students owe ever-increasing amounts of late work, they respond to the anxiety generated by that overhang of overdue assignments by actively avoiding that work. And thus the problem only grows worse (Hawkins & Axelrod, 2008).

When a student begins to slip in the completion and submission of assignments, the teacher can take steps proactively to interrupt this work-avoidant pattern of behavior by meeting with the student to create a plan to catch up with late work. (It is also recommended that the parent attend such a conference, although parent participation is not required.) In this 'late-work' conference, the teacher and student inventory what work is missing, negotiate a plan to complete that overdue work, and perhaps agree on a reasonable penalty for any late work turned in. Teacher, student (and parent, if attending) then sign off on the work plan. The teacher also ensures that the atmosphere at the meeting is supportive, rather than blaming, toward the student. And of course, any work plan hammered out at this meeting should seem attainable to the student.

Below in greater detail are the steps that the teacher and student would follow at a meeting to renegotiate missing work. (NOTE: Teachers can use the Student Late-Work Planning Form: Middle & High School to organize and document these late-work conferences.):

• Inventory All Missing Work. The teacher reviews with the student all late or missing work. The student is given the opportunity to explain why the work has not yet been submitted.  
• Negotiate a Plan to Complete Missing Work. The teacher and student create a log with entries for all of the missing assignments. Each entry includes a description of the missing assignment and a due date by which the student pledges to submit that work. This log becomes the student’s work plan. It is important that the submission dates for late assignments be realistic--particularly for students who owe a considerable amount of late work and are also trying to keep caught up with current assignments.  A teacher and student may agree, for example, that the student will have two weeks to complete and submit four late writing assignments. NOTE: Review this form as a tool to organize and document the student’s work plan.  
• [Optional] Impose a Penalty for Missing Work. The teacher may decide to impose a penalty for the work being submitted late. Examples of possible penalties are a reduction of points (e.g., loss of 10 points per assignment) or the requirement that the student do additional work on the assignment than was required of his or her peers who turned it in on time.  If imposed, such penalties would be spelled out at this teacher-student conference. If penalties are given, they should be balanced and fair, permitting the teacher to impose appropriate consequences while allowing the student to still see a path to completing the missing work and passing the course.  
• Periodically Check on the Status of the Missing-Work Plan. If the schedule agreed upon by teacher and student to complete and submit all late work exceeds two weeks, the teacher (or other designated school contact, such as a counselor) should meet with the student weekly while the plan is in effect. At these meetings, the teacher checks in with the student to verify that he or she is attaining the plan milestones on time and still expects to meet the submission deadlines agreed upon. If obstacles to emerge, the teacher and student engage in problem-solving to resolve them.

Attachments

• Download This Blog Entry in PDF Format: How To: Help Students to Complete Missing Work: The Late-Work Teacher-Student Conference
• Cooper, H., & Valentine, J. C. (2001). Using research to answer practical questions about homework. Educational Psychologist, 36 (3), 143-153.
• Hawkins, R. O., & Alexrod, M. I. (2008). Increasing the on-task homework behavior of youth with behavior disorders using functional behavioral assessment. Behavior Modification, 32, 840-859.