unfinished homework by youthful candidate

Fifteensquared

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Guardian Prize 29,087 by Brockwell

A second Prize puzzle in succession for Brockwell!

Like the previous week's puzzle, this was themed to coincide with a particular date, the puzzle being published on the day of the Derby. I am embarrassed to report that Timon and I managed to solve this puzzle without noticing the theme at all, despite what I can now see are many helpful hints. Brockwell has somehow contrived to include all these Derby winners in the clues or the grid (information taken from the annotated solution):

Daedalus (1794), Sailor (1820), Moses (1822), Coronation (1841), Ellington (1856), Blue Gown (1868), Pretender (1869), Dante (1945), Airborne (1946), Santa Claus (1964), Sea Bird (1965), Blakeney (1969), Roberto (1972), Empery (1976), Troy (1979), Shergar (1981), Generous (1991), Commander in Chief (1993), Galileo (2001), Sir Percy (2006), New Approach (2008), Workforce (2010), Australia (2014), Wings of Eagles (2017).

The late appearance of the blog is down to the original blogger being unable to complete it in time, leading me to take it on at short notice. Luckily I was tipped off about the theme!

55 thoughts on “Guardian Prize 29,087 by Brockwell”

Being old and having a misspent youth probably helped with this one, given that I can name most of the post-war Derby winners and a fair few from the even more distant past. More particularly, Fred Titmus was bowling off spin for England when I was a boy and interested in cricket. This was the only clue that I thought bordered on the unfair, given that unlike, say, Bradman Titmus wasn’t so prominent as to have passed into more general knowledge, and was a long time ago. It was, however, clearly clued. Overall I thought this an excellent puzzle, because despite being themed to the point of saturation it will have been accessible even to those who have scarcely heard of a racehorse. Of all the solutions I could see only one, EMPERY, that might be problematic, and I could forgive the non racegoer for having tried EMPIRE in there. Lots of fun. Thanks to Brockwell and bridgesong.

DNF as didn’t get AREAL or BLUE – I sometimes find homophones difficult.

Enjoyed the rest. Favourites included: PRETENDER, SKIMMER, MOSES, OSIRIS, STEER, RESIN

Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong

Found this much easier than last week’s puzzle and got all but two quite quickly.

For 18d I thought homophone because of “broadcast” in the clue but could not see how that worked then wondered if it might refer to sowing seeds and SCATTER fitted the crossers. Since the Prize the day before had had types of music as a theme, I had types of music on my mind and I had a vague memory of SCAT being a type of music and wondered it Ella F had been a proponent. Checked google and there it was. I was quite pleased to get that.

My LOI was BROWN BREAD. The “no longer with us” as definition held me up – but looking at supermarket websites it’s always “wholemeal” never “brown” bread. How in earth did Everyman think of that.

Loved SCATTER ( of course), PLAIN SAILING, ALLY, CANDLESTICK, DENIGRATES

Thanks Everyman and

Totally missed the theme but nothing new there. Found this a good workout although some clues like SIR PERCY B were a bit of a shrug without the theme

Cheers B&B

Ignore the bits of my post after the Thanks to B & B

(They were for a previous everyman)

Many thanks for standing in, bridgesong. You were very fortunate to have had the list provided!

Given the theme, I’m surprised that I enjoyed this so much – a real achievement to have cleverly included so many winners in both clues and answers. I particularly liked DANTE, SKIMMER, EPSOM, ROSETTE and STEER. EMPERY was a classic jorum.

Many thanks to Brockwell – I look forward to the next one – and again to the gallant bridgesong (and Timon).

Yes. Easier than last week’s, but no pushover. I usually forget to look for themes unless they are flagged, and so I missed this one. Intricate work by Brockwell. I might have linked EPSOM and ALSO RAN if had thought to look for a theme. I hesitated on EMPERY for a while (no such word?) but eventually looked it up. Took me a while to identify SIRI as PA even though I use it sometimes. Thanks B&B.

Thanks, bridgesong, for explaining the theme. I knew it was Derby Day, and picked up a few references, but did not grasp that so many answers were winning horses. I now understand the SIR PERCY BLAKENEY clue. I just managed to complete, with 3 and 9 being the last ones in with a struggle. I agree with Charles@1 that Fred Titmus is a bit obscure nowadays, though I do remember him. And I suspect PRET at 27 would defeat most non-UK solvers (comments from those in the US, OZ, etc, who will have to come in later?) So thanks to Brockwell for his cunning setting.

Well, I’m not a race goer, I didn’t spot the theme, I’d never heard of EMPERY, and I don’t think I’ve ever even come across eerie being spelled eery (and as I try to type that, I my spell checker agrees it doesn’t know it either) so I fell back on an unparsed Empire, which was at least a power. (I appreciate the forgiveness, Charles @1). So my LOI was wrong, and for quite a while so was my FOI, having cheerfully decided ALOFT was both airborne and a space at the top of a house. At.east I fixed that eventually. So, a very impressive construction, Brockwell, which I had to come here to appreciate properly. Thanks, bridgesong.

I didn’t spot the theme at all, so although I got SIR PERCY BLAKENEY I didn’t understand the classic duo bit.

Favourite was STAIRS, very neat.

Rather strange to have “gutted” and “prize” in both 22a and 7d. Was this deliberate?

Many thanks Brockwell and bridgesong.

Tx to the blog for enlightening me as to the existence of a theme – utterly passed me by as so often – and thereby resolving the impenetrable mystery of the wordplay for SIR PERCY BLAKENEY. Had also failed to parse MOSES. Had to wait a whole week for this welcome relief!

Thanks, Brockwell – a great puzzle that was enjoyable whether you know the subject or not. I spotted what was going on but had to consult Wikipedia to appreciate just how many Derby winners had been crammed in to the grid and clues – I’ve heard of half of them at most. Very impressive.

Thanks also bridgesong for stepping in at short notice and doing a sterling job on the blog.

Like Charles@1 I was well aware of FRED TITMUS – in fact more than aware as he was a bit of a hero for me when I was about 10, and I used to try to imitate his batting stance and bowling style. (A short boy needs a short hero, apparently.)

And I was well aware too of nearly all the Derby winners in the clues and grid (though BLUE and GOWN for the 1868 Derby winner seems a little obscure – if I’d known it I wouldn’t have struggled so long with 3d). The theme was strongly hinted by 17a, and I had already seen Airborne and Sea Bird before getting that far.

Having unsuccessfully dredged the memory banks for the name of that damned elusive pimpernel, I spotted SIR PERCY from the initial crosser and the enumeration, and the 1969 Derby winner soon made itself known at 19d. I thought when writing in EMPERY that non-racing types might struggle to avoid putting in EMPIRE, but that would have been ‘politician in Ireland’, of course.

Thanks to Brockwell – and well done for fitting 24 themed items so seamlessly into clues and grid. And special thanks to bridgesong for filling in at short notice.

Like so many British cultural icons of the 20th century, Fred Titmus has had a song written about him by Half Man, Half Biscuit [warning: contains naughty words]

I had heard of a few of the more recent Derby winners: given the day and the inclusion of EPSOM and ALSO RAN, it seemed a likely theme, but I’m impressed at how many Brockwell managed to fit in.

Spent ages trying to force WORE FROCK “in labour” to make a doctor… Oh well. I liked the lift and separate in SKIMMER, and MOSES. EMPERY and AREAL were new.

[Sadly, there wasn’t room for my favourite Derby winner, Psidium. An outsider, and the tipster in the paper said that if it won, he’d be Psurprised (ha ha). It did, and my auntie had backed it at 66-1!]

Like others I finished with no idea of a theme, then thought to myself why was Sir Percy Blakeney so straightforward, and googled it with the the word champion, to discover a whole world of race horses, and then realised how clever Brockwell had been!

I have three uncles all named after jockeys as a result of my grandparents being bookies, and I still didn’t spot anything!

As I live in EPSOM, I couldn’t really miss the theme. Well done Brockwell for getting so many references in there.

I was another putting in empire, which didn’t really parse, but I thought could have been a racehorse (there are lots of * empires). I liked the Scarlett Pimpernel, STAIRS for Galileo’s study, and the good surface for GOWN.

Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong.

Bravo Brockwell, this is truly a classic crossword. I too found 24 winners, but missed Wings of Eagles but CHAMPION was the winner in 1800.

2d The abbreviation for Georgia the state is GA. Is GE the abbreviation for Georgia the country?

4d Wouldn’t the winger be Daedalus’s son Icarus? Or is the point that Daedalus made the wings?

24d EERY? Really?

Even if I had thought to look for a theme, I’d never have spotted this one. I can sometimes name the occasional Kentucky Derby winner (my favorite name being Smarty Jones) but the Ascot one is well beyond me.

Thanks to Brockwell and the gallant bridgesong.

Nho any of the Derby winners, so although the theme was fairly obvious it didn’t help me at all.

Surely DAEDULUS can’t be described as a ‘winger’, as that epithet applies to the ill-fated Icarus?

Not being a cricket fan is often a distinct handicap here. I struggled to remember Fred Titmus.

Daedalus and Icarus both flew to escape; Icarus flew too close to the sun, so the wax that held his wings together melted.

Breughel’s painting of “ The fall of Icarus ” is amusing!

Valentine@18. EERY is in Chambers.

Both DAEDALUS and his son Icarus used wings to escape captivity, but Icarus fell to his death after ignoring his father’s warning not to fly too near the sun.

Yes, GE is the international vehicle registration for the country, Georgia.

The Derby is run at 17a, not at Ascot!

Valentine@18 GENEROUS Yes. GE is the code for Georgia the country. DAEDALUS Daedalus was the one who winged Icarus. Isn’t it okay to call him a winger (legendary)? (not exactly related-A line from an ad by ‘Winger’ “We are Winger, an exclusive brand playing wingmen to you and your most loved food – the chicken wings.” )

It’s funny how the subconscious works; mine told me not to enter empire and then it became clear that what had seemed a clever crossword was a real work of art. Like Ant, I had an unfair advantage; my paternal grandfather was a Newmarket doctor (human not horse) who lived next-door-but-one to one L.Piggott (Empery , or was it Eddery?), and grandma a magistrate – the scourge of the race-train cardsharps. On the other side Grandma Edith was the shrewd backer of Santa Claus – 50-1 I think she got – and Grandpa George the stable lad responsible for a savage that tried to kill him in the presence of HM The Queen and Princess Margaret. Alcide, which was the name of the savage, was favourite for the Derby of ’57 but didn’t run, due to an injury. But he won the St. Leger in a canter and beat Europe’s best in the King George the following year. I, almost inevitably, ended up an avid racegoer and punter and managed a number a betting shops.

Thanks to Bridgesong for the blog, and many thanks and another bravo to Brockwell for bringing back so many happy memories.

Il Principe dell’Oscurita@23 I do hope Grandpa George wasn’t responsible for Alcide’s broken rib…

Thanks Brockwell and bridgesong. And thanks for forgiveness Charles @1. I thought that was a funny way to spell eerie. I wouldn’t have got the theme if you told me there was one, and I wouldn’t have got the theme if you told me what the theme was. Enjoyable nonetheless.

Despite having worked long vacs in a bookies back in the 70s (which is why I never bet), the only winners in the solutions familiar to me without Googling were Dante, from the race at York named after him, and, for some reason, Blakeney. I knew Sir Ivor, but not Sir Percy!

Thanks Brockwell. Despite total ignorance of the theme I managed to solve this (except for SIR PERCY BLAKENEY) attesting to well-crafted clueing. I couldn’t parse PRETENDER or ALSO RAN but all else made sense. My top picks were DANTE, MOSES, NACHO, STAIRS. Thanks bridgesong for the blog.

I forgot that I hadn’t posted earlier – thanks Brockwell and bridgesong.

[When we lived on the top of Dog Kennel Hill, Brockwell Park was our local park. We had a cat who lived in our flat. We decided to take him for a walk in the park. Dogs converged from all round, and the cat ran up me and stood on my head, hissing at the dogs!]

Thanks for stepping in with the blog, another fine puzzle from our new setter. I thought of empire for power, and checked eire for eerie , a few spellings in Chambers but not this , though I did find eery so checked EMPERY and there it was. I think this was the only clue a trifle unfair, the definition fairly obscure and the wordplay (spelling) unusual. I was surprised how many winners I knew, about half of the themed answers. SKIMMER perhaps a little dodgy , we need to split of the “sea” for the wordplay leaving just bird for the definion. Chambers gives seabird for skimmer but I suppose a seabird is a bird. Minor quibbles for a puzzle I really enjoyed.

I think I can be forgiven for missing the theme, as I hardly know any American racehorses, let alone British ones. And like all who didn’t see the theme, I was baffled by SIR PERCY BLAKENEY, and also a bit miffed at EMPERY (take an MP, insert him or her into an obscure alternate spelling of eerie, and arrive at an archaic word for empire–um, if I wanted to do the Azed I’d be doing it already, thanks). Thanks for the blog, which shed the remaining light necessary to un-baffle and un-miff me, respectively.

Mrpenney@30: I take your point about the obscurity of EMPERY, but of course it’s only in the grid because it was the name of a racehorse, not just for obscurity alone.

I had no idea there was a theme – even if I had spotted it, the subject is one I know zilch about!

I enjoyed this puzzle apart from my failure at 24d which I had entered unparsed EMPIRE = power. Never heard of EMPERY or spelling of word eerie as eery.

New for me: cricketer FRED TITMUS; SKIMMER bird.

Favourites: GRAIL, SKIMMER, TROY.

Thanks, both.

Brockwell has done a grand job in so thoroughly exploiting a theme I know nothing about.

26ac, GRAIL: G + LIAR reversed (not all, as stated)

27ac, PRESIDENT: I’m never keen on being expected to know brand names, unless they’re as famous worldwide as, say, Coca Cola. Other sandwich shops are available, as they say on the BBC, but Pret might not be, where you live.

2dn, GENEROUS: not Ga., the US state, then? Took me a while!

21, 19 SIR PERCY BLAKENEY: “if we had heard of either of them, we might have understood the clue”. Ditto, but still wouldn’t have got the theme. Only got the name by googling Scarlet Pimpernel.

24dn, EMPERY: nho this word and maybe its archaic status should have been indicated, for those who don’t know lists of Derby winners? Then I might not have just biffed EMPIRE, wondering if the setter might have made a mistake in the spelling of eerie. (Of course, when one thinks such things, it’s never actually the case).

KeithS@8: I had ALOFT pencilled in for a while, too!

Our Phar Lap and your Red Rum are about the only horse names I know, but I pottered on through, except for the wrong Empire. Of course eb was right at home, and lovely family history from Il Principe (welcome back, btw). Thanks all.

Thanks both. An ingenious construction I suppose and a genius blog all things considered.

I really enjoyed FRED TITMUS; I have no idea what recess of the brain he stepped out of, but step he did.

Note to self: If there are things going on that you don’t understand (E-MP-IRE, ‘Champion duo’, AREAL) there is probably something afoot that you can’t see – a theme perhaps.

Further note to self: You know nothing about horse-racing and should only ever bet with money that you find on the street.

Like others I had EMPIRE for 24d – unable to parse, wondering whether there was another meaning to EIRE. Other than that it went in smoothly.

The “Derby” theme was obvious enough but I know nothing about horses; I guessed that several names must be in the puzzle. No problem! But oddly enough the name BLAKENEY stood out for a strange reason. It must have been that same year (1969) that I idled away my time, along with several fellow-students, an upturned class, and cards with letters on them around a table. You know the sort of thing – DIY Ouija. Anyway it was just before Derby day and someone asked the obvious question. The ‘spirits’ didn’t oblige – well, not with “Blakeney” at any rate, but they gave a clue to a rank outsider called “Shoemaker”. That horse came second at long odds. I’ve never been a gambling man (also I was skint in those days), otherwise I could have made a killing with an each-way bet!

Enough of the personal anecdote stuff. I think LAPP rather tickled my fancy (and was hard to suss – until it occurred to me, how else does he get hold of all those reindeer?).

Thanks all round to Brockwell and Bridgesong.

….upturned glass , not class…

Rather sadly, Fred Titmus is probably more remembered for losing his toes in a swimming accident in the West Indies, than for his off spin bowling.

Bridgesong @31: that’s why I’m no longer miffed! Thanks again.

muffin@38. I wish to correct you there, for while I, as a long time fan, remember the incident in the West Indies well, he was more widely known for his skill as a bowler. He played first class cricket in five decades (1949-1982) , the final occasion when he popped into Lord’s cricket ground to have a chat with his Middlesex mates and was asked by Mike Brearley if he fancied bowling for them, as the pitch looked likely to offer some spin. By then he was almost 50 and had been short of a few toes for 14 years.

In a crossword related afterthought, I wonder if the setter was pondering using FREDERICK, the 1829 Derby winner, either in grid or clue, as that was TITMUS’s full first name, of course.

Minor quibble in that Santa Claus aka St. Nicholas was ethnic Greek born in Patara in what is now Turkey so not a Lapp.

Laccaria @36 I have a minor quibble in that Santa Claus aka St. Nicholas was ethnic Greek born in Patara in what is now Turkey so not a Lapp.

Mazzyg@41. Fair enough, but as Laccaria@36 has pointed out, if he doesn’t live in Lappland, how does he get hold of all those reindeer? It may not be accurate, but it raised a smile. 🙂

Mazzyg and SH Perhaps he used a forwarding address? I once used a forwarding address to Rovaniemi in Lappland – though no post arrived there!

I knew a lot of the Derby winners but didn’t think to look for theme. Fred Titmus also famous for losing some toes in a boating incident but a little unfair on the non-cricket fans. Thanks both

Thank you to bridgesong for the blog and for all the comments. All of the criticisms made are totally fair and taken on board. My original aim was to get 12 Derby winners in the clues and 12 in the solutions, with the Derby being a 12 furlong race. However, ll Principe dell’Oscurità has added Champion to the list, to make it 25. I totally missed that one and not sure if I’m happy or sad about it. Appreciate all the positive comments.

Due to my own ignorance of the theme, I didn’t appreciate this puzzle enough when I did it last weekend, but now coming to the blog I can see how very clever it is. Congratulations to Brockwell/Grecian for including all those horse names – I am in awe! I am also very appreciative of bridgesong for stepping in to share the solve, to Timon for assistance with the blog, and to other contributors to the varying responses and interesting tangents. (Just to note that I too failed at the last hurdle – even though it’s not about steeplechases – by biffing EMPIRE at 24d.)

GRECIAN: Do I take it that you are the mysterious Brockwell ? If it’s any consolation, I am black and blue from kicking myself over missing Wings of Eagles. In any case, given that it’s been going since 1780 (or was that The Oaks) or 1781, it was almost inevitable that an unintended reference crept in. CHARLES: Over the years I’ve thought about that many times. George was a very naughty boy in his youth, and was disinherited by his father, a thoroughbred breeder in Ireland, hence his work. But he was Irish to the core and I saw him enough with horses and his worship of them, to believe he would never be capable of doing such a thing. (Bruised and swollen rib, but not broken). GRANT In FREO: Thank you for the kind thoughts. I’m back up off the canvas, boxing on, and might appear now and again.

Another thought for GRECIAN: It’s very easy to miss a Derby winner. I was at the Newmarket July Course in ’91. In the little copse that houses the pre-parade ring five bored two-year-olds for a listed race were plodding round. In the centre was a mad thing on it’s hind legs – the lad sensibly gave it the full length of the leading-rein and let him get on with it. “Good grief, that’s got some spirit!” I thought, and forgot to do anything about it. Less than 12 months later he won the Derby. Dr. Devious, by a strange quirk of fate, died at the grand old age of 28 in Arborea, Sardinia, a short drive from where I live.

Many thanks Brockwell, bridgesong and contributors. A really interesting puzzle and blog. It took me half the week to finish but that’s fine: much enjoyed. Eventually twigged the theme and thought “Blimey, that’s clever”.

[Haven’t found an authoritative list but was aware as a child of some locomotives (including Deltics) named after famous racehorses. Sir Percy and Blakeney vaguely rang bells but I may have been confusing with Sir P with Sir Ivor. Classic Dunk not to remember the details.]

Did you know that there is such a thing as a Sir Percy Scarlet Pimpernel bracelet? I’m not kidding, and that’s why I failed on 19d BLAKENEY, while getting 21d SIR PERCY.

Secretariat, Northern Dancer and Sea Biscuit are the only race-horses I know, so this theme didn’t help. I nevertheless marvel at Brockwell’s skill in working so many horses into this crossword, without resorting to weird surfaces or convoluted constructions.

Thanks Brockwell for the fun, and bridgesong for showing me how brilliant the puzzle is.

Thanks for stepping in bridgesong and for highlighting the theme (and hence making sense of Sir P B), agree that it’s a remarkable effort to get these into place so neatly and a sign of a good puzzle that all made sense otherwise, I gave myself a smug point for not settling for EMPIRE but was helped by having seen that spelling of EERY before, while AREAL is a common enough word over here but pronounced unlike Aerial so that was my last one. I was surprised to encounter a type of bird completely unknown to me but maybe I dimly recall them as scissorbills (as i learned when googling to check – i used google a few times on this one). Thanks for a meaty challenge Brockwell.

Gazzh@52, I’m not sure that all those horses would have appreciated your last sentence.

I’m still waiting for your response to my response to your comment at @24 CHARLES.

Charles June 10, 2023 at 2:36 pm Il Principe dell’Oscurita@23 I do hope Grandpa George wasn’t responsible for Alcide’s broken rib…

Do you hope, do you really hope; or is this some pathetic attempt at humour?

Comments are closed.

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Two Magical Solutions for Dealing With Unfinished Student Work

Unfinished student work is an ongoing challenge in any classroom.  I’ve seen teachers in tears because a student ‘just won’t get anything done.’  I’ve seen teachers lose their temper because they are trying to so hard to get students caught up.  And I’ve seen teachers with complicated forms for organizing who owes what work.  Seen it, done it, over it.

You don’t need a personal assistant to manage all that madness. Just two simple solutions and unfinished work drama is a thing of the past.

The Unfinished Work Notice

These simple little notes are a major game-changer.  I keep them printed and ready to pull out as needed, but to be honest, once I’ve used one with a student, I almost never need to again!  I love these notes so much, I’ve included them in both the Positive Parent-Teacher Partnerships Course AND the Classroom Management Makeover Program .

At the beginning of the year, I have a discussion with the class about the work we’ll be doing and the importance of time management.  I explain that I’ll always give them enough time to complete work, I’ll always provide support and help when needed, and that I’ll always do my best to break down big tasks into manageable parts and give reminders about remaining time. Those things are my job.  Their job is to stay focused and do their best work (even if something is tricky or not their favorite task). 

Then I show them the Unfinished Work Notice and I explain that sometimes things might happen that keep students from finishing their work.  A student might get sick one day and need to go to the nurse.  A student might start playing around and not use their time wisely.  Or a student might feel frustrated or not want to do something. Last, I explain that I understand how all these things might happen, but in the end, what’s most important to me is their LEARNING.

So if for some reason, the work can’t be completed at school, we’ll just use the Unfinished Work Notice.  I simply fill it out, staple it to the work, and send it home. The work is due back the next day with a parent signature.

WHY THIS WORKS

It’s quick! When I use an Unfinished Work Notice, there is no discussion or arguing.  I quickly attach the note and move on.  This helps eliminate lengthy conversations about why work wasn’t finished or who is to blame or why a student doesn’t want to do it.

It’s fair! I make sure students understand that this is not a punishment, but simply a way to make sure they don’t miss out on important learning.  If the work can’t be finished at school, then it has to be finished at home.

It’s a deterrent!   Kids don’t want to take the work home, so knowing that this is the next step helps keeps students on track and focused. They realize that the work will be completed at some point so it’s smarter to get it done at school.

TROUBLE-SHOOTING TIPS

These notes work wonders for students who tend to waste time and for students who tend to argue and try to refuse work.  Typically, once I send one home with a child, we rarely have an issue again. BUT, if you find you’re having to use them daily or even weekly with the same child, then it’s time to stop and rethink the situation.  What is the underlying issue that needs to be addressed?

You might also put something in place for what happens when a child takes the work home but doesn’t return it completed. What will your next step be?  I typically contact the parent at that point and let them know the work will be coming home a second night and needs to be completed.

*IMPORTANT: These notes should NOT be used for students who are struggling with the material or task. If a child has not completed work because they do not understand or have the skills to do so, interventions or modifications should be provided. 

Ketchup and Pickles

If you haven’t already heard of Ketchup and Pickles Time, you’re in for a treat! Not the edible kind, don’t worry.  All you do is set aside a chunk of time each Friday for students to “catch-up” on unfinished work or “pick” from a variety of options.  I find that 20 minutes works well but you could adjust to 15 or even 30, depending on your schedule. 

During this time, some students are completing unfinished work while others pick from enrichment choices or activities.  This allows the teacher to provide i ndividual or small group support to those students working to catch up.

You can download the “Ketchup and Pickles” cards for free in my TPT Store here .

This strategy gives students awesome motivation during the week because they are excited about “Pickles” and don’t want to waste time with “Ketchup.”  During the time itself, students are also motivated because once they finish with their catch-up work, they can move on to a “Pickle!”

Plus, because you have a built-in time, you’re able to get all students caught up with any unfinished work BEFORE you move into the next school week.

I typically include the same set of Pickles each week, occasionally adding in special choices from time to time. My standard Pickles are Buddy Reading, Buddy Writing, Math Fact Practice (games or tech), Book Reviews, and sometimes helping the teacher with class jobs such as cleaning, passing back papers, etc. 

I was able to essentially eliminate unfinished work drama with these simple strategies.   What have you found to work best?  Share your favorite tips with us!

You might also like:

Real Ways That Parents Can Help at Home

Sharing Student Progress With Parents (The Right and Wrong Ways)

Tough Talks with Parents

A Teacher’s Guide to Better Parent Conferences

3 thoughts on “Two Magical Solutions for Dealing With Unfinished Student Work”

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of setting aside some time at the end of the week for “unfinished work” and pickles (choice activity) for those completed. Love it! Thank you, glad someone is more organized than me!

Oof! I understand you mention you wouldn’t necessarily do this if a kid is struggling, but alarm bells are going off for me re: undiagnosed disabilities. What if a child “isn’t using time wisely” and has an undiagnosed executive functioning disorder or a learning disability? As a mom of a child with ADHD and tics who advocates yet the school says my child’s grades are “fine” and won’t grant an IEP, and doesn’t ever consider behaviors (ex. Talking out or not staying on task) to be due to his disability, this is a huge red flag. Just send the work home saying the child didn’t finish it.

Absolutely, Rebecca! Great point! This strategy is meant to be used in a nonpunitive way and should only be used occasionally with any given student. In a situation where a child is often struggling to stay on task or complete work, the teacher would need to determine the cause and collaborate with parents to come up with a plan that supports that child.

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5 Easy Tips for Handling Unfinished Student Work This Year

Teaching is no easy task. We are responsible for teaching life lessons, standards, and everyday skills. One of the biggest skills we teach our students is responsibility for their work. Because of this, unfinished student work is one of the most important things we can tackle in our classroom. How do you help unfinished student work get finished? With these five easy tips for dealing with unfinished student work. 

Tip 1: Decide What Is Important

I have said this before and I will say it again. You don’t have to grade anything which is one of many grading tips you should check out! Now, this doesn’t mean that the work we are giving students isn’t important. Sometimes, students just need extra practice. So, if you have a student who hasn’t done something that you’re not going to put in the gradebook, assess whether they need to do that activity or not. Again, this isn’t saying your work isn’t important, it’s all about picking your battles.

Tip 2: Have a Singular Turn-In Spot 

What if your student has the work done, but didn’t turn it in? What if they turned it in, but not in the right place? We are collecting work from centers, interactive notebooks, and more! If we had a turn-in spot for all of these different forms of work, we would have turn-in baskets everywhere. In addition, we are going to have students who are bound to get confused. That’s why you need a singular turn-in spot. Why should you do this? First, you won’t have papers all over the place. Piles can be easy to forget, so having one pile of papers makes your life way easier. Secondly, students know exactly where everything goes so you will have less unfinished or missing work. 

When I was in the classroom, I had my central location right next to their mailboxes so I could easily hand everything back. Plus, at my central location (here’s a little teaching hack for you) I had pencils and highlighters there for students to use. I had my students highlight their name before they could turn it in to cut back on “no name” papers. You can learn more about this one-location station in my Learning Centers Made Easy Course. 

Tip 3: Have a Designated Unfinished Work Area

I know, I just told you to have one place for all your work, but you don’t want to be finding unfinished student work  in the turn-in pile. An easy way to avoid this is to have an unfinished work spot for your students. When I was teaching, my students had a box they could decorate and inside that box they had a “Catch Up” Folder. Inside this folder there was a “finished” and “unfinished” side. When students were finished with their work but we weren’t going to turn it in yet, they would put it on the finished side of the folder. If they needed to do more work, they would put it on the “unfinished” side. This worked well to keep my students organized . Plus, it cuts back on lost papers because we know how desks and backpacks can be black holes. This also meant that students could go back and see what they needed to do. In addition, I could easily open up my chronic non-finishers folders and see what they haven’t done. 

Tip 4: Create a Catch-Up Day for unfinished student work  

We all have busy weeks and we all have a lot of curriculum to get through, but that new curriculum will be a nightmare if we don’t get the work done first. That’s why having a “catch-up” day is important. Now, this isn’t a full-day. What I would always do is have my catch-up day on Friday because we had “Fun Fridays.” In order to participate, my students had to have all their work done. This was usually enough incentive for unfinished work to get finished. Please keep in mind, finished means finished well and not rushed and a hot mess.

My catch up day and Fun Friday wasn’t a full day event, it was in the afternoon. We would do spelling tests and other assessments and center work in the morning. Then in the afternoon, we would have Fun Friday. If they weren’t done, they could go and get their catch-up folder and finish up their work. This not only helped me not give up instruction time, but it also lessened the amount of work I had to send home especially if a student was absent. Again, I could choose what was the most important work for my student to do and send that home so it was prioritized. 

Tip 5: Send the unfinished student work  Home (Carefully) 

I’m not a big fan of a lot of homework. I used to give a lot of homework which was more of a district thing. I am more of a fan of a flipped classroom which is when you give the student a video to watch at home of your lesson then they do the work in the classroom. This helps make sure you don’t have to re-teach in school the next day. Any work that I did have to send home, I would send an unfinished work note   (which you can get by clicking the link) along with the missing work. On the note , there were a few different options to check so the parent knew why the student had unfinished work. 

This is a simple way to tell parents why the work  needs to be done. Now, I usually had to send this note home one time because it started a conversation with their student. Therefore, it was an easy way to communicate with parents . I never sent these home with students if the assignment was something they were struggling with. This was only sent home with work that I knew they could do but were simply leaving unfinished. An example of something I would send home would be center work along with the center. 

Between students missing school, having a bad day, lacking focus, and any number of “other” things going on, we are going to have unfinished student work . Instead of pulling your hair out trying to get it all done, you can follow these five simple tips which will help you battle unfinished student work. 

Until Next Time…

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Student Opinion

Should We Get Rid of Homework?

Some educators are pushing to get rid of homework. Would that be a good thing?

By Jeremy Engle and Michael Gonchar

Do you like doing homework? Do you think it has benefited you educationally?

Has homework ever helped you practice a difficult skill — in math, for example — until you mastered it? Has it helped you learn new concepts in history or science? Has it helped to teach you life skills, such as independence and responsibility? Or, have you had a more negative experience with homework? Does it stress you out, numb your brain from busywork or actually make you fall behind in your classes?

Should we get rid of homework?

In “ The Movement to End Homework Is Wrong, ” published in July, the Times Opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang argues that homework may be imperfect, but it still serves an important purpose in school. The essay begins:

Do students really need to do their homework? As a parent and a former teacher, I have been pondering this question for quite a long time. The teacher side of me can acknowledge that there were assignments I gave out to my students that probably had little to no academic value. But I also imagine that some of my students never would have done their basic reading if they hadn’t been trained to complete expected assignments, which would have made the task of teaching an English class nearly impossible. As a parent, I would rather my daughter not get stuck doing the sort of pointless homework I would occasionally assign, but I also think there’s a lot of value in saying, “Hey, a lot of work you’re going to end up doing in your life is pointless, so why not just get used to it?” I certainly am not the only person wondering about the value of homework. Recently, the sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco and the mathematics education scholars Ilana Horn and Grace Chen published a paper, “ You Need to Be More Responsible: The Myth of Meritocracy and Teachers’ Accounts of Homework Inequalities .” They argued that while there’s some evidence that homework might help students learn, it also exacerbates inequalities and reinforces what they call the “meritocratic” narrative that says kids who do well in school do so because of “individual competence, effort and responsibility.” The authors believe this meritocratic narrative is a myth and that homework — math homework in particular — further entrenches the myth in the minds of teachers and their students. Calarco, Horn and Chen write, “Research has highlighted inequalities in students’ homework production and linked those inequalities to differences in students’ home lives and in the support students’ families can provide.”

Mr. Kang argues:

But there’s a defense of homework that doesn’t really have much to do with class mobility, equality or any sense of reinforcing the notion of meritocracy. It’s one that became quite clear to me when I was a teacher: Kids need to learn how to practice things. Homework, in many cases, is the only ritualized thing they have to do every day. Even if we could perfectly equalize opportunity in school and empower all students not to be encumbered by the weight of their socioeconomic status or ethnicity, I’m not sure what good it would do if the kids didn’t know how to do something relentlessly, over and over again, until they perfected it. Most teachers know that type of progress is very difficult to achieve inside the classroom, regardless of a student’s background, which is why, I imagine, Calarco, Horn and Chen found that most teachers weren’t thinking in a structural inequalities frame. Holistic ideas of education, in which learning is emphasized and students can explore concepts and ideas, are largely for the types of kids who don’t need to worry about class mobility. A defense of rote practice through homework might seem revanchist at this moment, but if we truly believe that schools should teach children lessons that fall outside the meritocracy, I can’t think of one that matters more than the simple satisfaction of mastering something that you were once bad at. That takes homework and the acknowledgment that sometimes a student can get a question wrong and, with proper instruction, eventually get it right.

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Somewhere From Here

#54U: Unfinished Work

Managing all those pieces of work students didn’t complete, didn’t hand in, or that got lost in my classroom was one of my biggest stressors as a new teacher. With more than 30 students in my class, seven subjects, and five days of work a week, there is inevitably a lot of “stuff” to manage – both for teachers and for students. Over the years I developed a few easy systems that helped reduce stress for me, and my students. Here are my top five strategies for managing unfinished work.

1.Why Is Work Not Being Completed?

Are your instructions and expectations clear. Do students understand the assignment and have clear deadlines? Provide your students with an age-appropriate written copy of the assignment and how you will assess their work. Go over it verbally, and check in personally with students you know will need extra help.

Reconsider the overall workload. Are there assignments you could be shortening, or removing all together? Are you giving students enough time both in class and at home to complete work? I always tried to make sure that students had both weeknight and weekend time to complete assignments. That way families can decide for themselves what works best for them.

Remember, you don’t need to collect or grade everything students do in your class! At the heart of differentiation is the idea that not all students need to do exactly the same assignments. An easy way to do this is to work with individual students to help them prioritize what work, and how much work, they need to complete in order to meet their learning needs.

How are you supporting individual students that struggle?

I tried my best to include strategies for differentiation in all my lesson plans – thinking about content, process, and product. One strategy I used was to have regular lessons about different kinds of graphic organizers, and explicitly teach how to choose the best one for a task and how to use them. Graphic organizers are great for everyone, not just students that are struggling! For students who struggled I would often focus on assessing content knowledge by only assessing the ideas in the graphic organizer.

2. Teach Time Management Skills

A Three Part Agenda of Today, Work To Be Finished and Due Dates helps students see the big picture. I dedicated a large white board to the Three Part Agenda (I think I just dated myself there!), and students also had a copy they would update as they completed tasks. We would start every day by reviewing each part, and I would do an informal check-in to see how things were going and if I needed to adapt due dates.

As they year progressed I would introduce different systems for keeping track of assignments, including things like using a paper agenda, digital programs like google calendar, and homework apps. I encouraged students to try out different systems to see what worked for them, and then to share back with the class any new strategies they found worked for them.

A Planning Guide is great for any sort of longer assignment. At the start of the year I would provide a complete Planning Guide, and students just needed to check off as they finished the task, but as the year progressed I would give students more responsibility for making their own plans for how to break up a large assignment and setting their own goals (while making sure I supported those students who still needed it).

3. Set Up Systems

TBF is short for To Be Finished . We started each morning with half an hour of TBF time to work on things we had already started, and also had other periods dedicated to TBF. Students had the choice of what they wanted to work on, and usually had free choice of where to work as well – including quietly in the hallway. I would use this time to check-in with students, and read Asking For Help Tickets, and meet with students as requested (more on that later).

Asking for Help Tickets serve multiple purposes. I primarily used them as a way to encourage students to feel comfortable and take responsibility for asking for help with anything from requesting a new place to sit in the classroom, understanding a science concept, or needing time to clean their desk. It was also an important tool for me to make sure I didn’t miss things. And finally, asking students to list what they have already tried was a positive encouragement for students to be independent.

I also used a Turn In Spot (a washing bin) with Student Numbers so students knew where to hand things in – and I would know where to look! Students could volunteer to help me sort through the Turn In Spot during TBF time by sorting different subjects into piles, and then putting each pile in numerical order, so I could easily see what was missing. Then they could quietly go to each student and ask them if they had assignment X to hand in.

4. Model Completing Your Work, and What To Do When You Can’t

This is a more complicated strategy. One of the things I did when we reviewed the Agenda was think out loud about my own planning. So sometimes I would say things like “I just realized that I have the Learning Letters due on Tuesday, but I am out Tuesday night so won’t be able to finish correcting them. Why don’t we make them due on Wednesday instead”. Or, and this is the important part, I would say “I’ve fallen behind on my planning so I think we will do a double period of science tomorrow to give me time to plan the next steps in our Inquiry, is that ok with everyone, or do you have another idea?”

As the year progressed students would often have ideas about what we could do instead. And they would start to use this kind of thinking in their own planning. For example, a student might hand in an Asking for Help ticket that said “I had hockey three nights this week, so I didn’t get my Learning Letter done, but I did finish my Math. I’ll work on the Learning Letter on the weekend and have it done by Tuesday.” And my answer would be “cool! Thanks for letting me know”.

5. Be Generous!

Finally, and I can’t stress this one enough. Be generous. Both to yourself, and your students. Our world is busy and stressful. We often know very little about what is happening in our students’ home lives – maybe they are over scheduled, there is family illness, or there is no quiet place for them to work. Too many children live with food insecurity and family violence. Thinking about homework needs to be low on their priority list for these children. There are so many important reasons why students don’t complete work.

Once I decided to always take a generous approach in my own heart, it made all those pieces of missing work so much less stressful for me, and for my students. And usually we managed to work something out so that students did the work they needed to do to learn what they needed to learn, and I got what I needed to be able assess for learning and of learning.

I hope these strategies help you deal with missing work with your own students. If you decide to use any of them I’d appreciate it if you’d post it on social media and tag me at @kitesintheclassroom on Instagram and @classroomkites on Twitter.

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Kirsten Tschofen

From Canada, to Copenhagen, to Alaska, always on my way to Somewhere From Here. View all posts by Kirsten Tschofen

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More than two hours of homework may be counterproductive, research suggests.

A Stanford education researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.   "Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good," wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .   The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students' views on homework.   Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.   Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.   "The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students' advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being," Pope wrote.   Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.   Their study found that too much homework is associated with:   • Greater stress : 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.   • Reductions in health : In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.   • Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits : Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were "not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills," according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.   A balancing act   The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.   Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as "pointless" or "mindless" in order to keep their grades up.   "This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points," said Pope, who is also a co-founder of Challenge Success , a nonprofit organization affiliated with the GSE that conducts research and works with schools and parents to improve students' educational experiences..   Pope said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.   "Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development," wrote Pope.   High-performing paradox   In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. "Young people are spending more time alone," they wrote, "which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities."   Student perspectives   The researchers say that while their open-ended or "self-reporting" methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for "typical adolescent complaining" – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.   The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Clifton B. Parker is a writer at the Stanford News Service .

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Center for Computational Experience

Unfinished Homework

• Hui, Donald

Unfinished Homework tells the story about a teenager who stuck on his homework and needs to ask his dad for help. Little does he know that getting help on his homework will not be as easy as it seems. This game puts the player into the role of the character in order to create a more personal connection between the game character and the player.

huidonald_6414_2286149_Unfinished_Homework.html