Creating a markbook using Google Sheets

Last week, my colleague and I were honoured to once again lead a 3-day workshop for educators through ETFO.  There were many wonderful, yet nervous peers, but once we got going, they really owned their learning.

As per usual, we over-planned, and alluded to many other things we would have liked to teach, and one of the topics that was broached numerous times was, "How do I set up my online markbook?"

This was a great question because there are a few tricks and tips that educators should follow in order to save themselves some time.

I will outline the steps, as well as provide a Youtube video below.  Hope this helps.

Step 1:
Create a folder in your drive titled "Marking <year> <grade level>"  (Example: Marking 2015-16)

Step 2:
Create a sheet called "Master Class List"


Once in the sheet:

Step 3:
Label the first 2 columns - Last Name   - First Name

Step 4:
View>  Freeze  (here you will freeze 1 Row and 2 Columns) - You will have to do each one separately.

Step 5:
Input the student names in columns A and B
The row 1 will be where you put the assessment titles throughout the year

Step 6:
Rename your sheet to "Term 1"

Step 7:
Conditionally Format your cells

Step 8:
Duplicate your Sheet and rename it "Term 2"

Step 9:
Make copies of your Master List for each subject/strand that you teach and rename them

Step 10: (Optional)
Make folders within your marking folder and organize them by subject

Contact me at: parkerri@hdsb.ca if you have any questions, or follow me on Twitter @TeacherParker

First Summer Post - Creating Crib on Google Draw

Cribbage (Crib).

   One of the first "adult" card games I remember learning as a kid.  I'd like to think that I have pretty good mental math skills, and I'd like to think that a lot of that comes from my dad's family's love of crib...that and Euchre.

I grew up in rural Scotland, and visited Canada a few times before moving here.  One of my early memories is that on those visits, a crib board was always out, with someone, (cousins, aunts/uncles or grandparents) battling over a game.

If you are not familiar with Crib, you can find the rules here.  It is a lot to explain in the blog, so check the rules out.

Basically the mental math comes in because the students are adding quickly as they place the cards down.  You get bonus points for having 15 in your hand, or reaching 15 in the round.  Players quickly have to pick up on the sequences that make 15, and try to play accordingly to get to 15.  After they get to 15 in the round, they have to try to get to 31, so again, playing your cards strategically works to the players advantage.

Recently, I have been trying to buy as many crib boards as I can.  They aren't cheap, and the cheap ones aren't good.  I hit up Value Village, Dollar Stores, Walmart, but could only get a few.  Finally, brainwave.  Use Google Draw to create a mini-board.  I have to thank @alicekeeler for sharing how to turn a Sheet into grid paper, which enabled me to create the mini crib board.

The students can make their own copy, share it with who they are playing.  As they move around the board, they'd put an X, or a new colour on the space they've moved.  The downside is that they cannot play this from different locations due to the need for cards, but it is a great classroom activity if they complete their math work.... As long as devices are present :)

Crib Board

Enjoy