Middle School Time Management

My middle school kids have the WORST time managing larger assignments, so I started looking for a way to remind them and keep them motivated of the limited amount of time in class to complete the research and writing of the expository papers.  I use a doodle journal to keep track of larger projects.  I break it into days, draw pictures and then color them when I finish up a section.  

I took this process and made a chart on the board of the dates we have remaining on our project.  From there, I decided a fall bonfire might be a fun theme.  The picture above is us on day two.  

This is the other monitor I'm trying in conjunction with the doodle.  I bought clothes pins from @dollargeneral and had the students decorate and put their names them.  Next, I strung some old yarn across my wall and put up placards with the names of each section of the project.  As students complete each section, they move their clothes pins to the next section.  It's a nice visual to help me and them keep track of where everyone is in the process.   Please note:  students on IEP's have abridged assignments.  So while they are doing different work, it's all labeled in the system the same way.  

And finally, the best way to keep the students on track is to stay on top of the grading for big projects.  I grade the in class projects daily. The next day when they come to class they have feedback on what they did the day before.  They can then redo that for a better grade or carry on with the projects.  Being in a #blendedlearning classroom really helps with this.