Provide hands-on activities for practice and mastery. Check for understanding of concepts and skills by using relevant standard materials, i.e. worksheets, text problems, workbooks, teacher prepared exercises, etc.

1) "What's Missing?" 2) "What Needs To Be Done?"

Objective: The student will be able to identify and solve given organizational problems.

Activity: Activity Sheets. Students work through and discuss the problems of fictitious students in the sheets: What's Missing? What Needs to be Done?

Assessment: Responses to the activity sheets provide a measure of student mastery of the above objective. What's Missing? In each of the following situations, a student is having difficulty with his/her school work because something is missing. Read each situation carefully and try to identify the missing thing. For each missing item, explain how better organization would prevent its loss. 1. Susan carefully wrote down her science assignment on a piece of notebook paper, folded it and stuck it in the front of her science book. She was supposed to make a list of at least five different types of adaptations which animals make to their environments and give the reasons for these changes. When she started to reach for her science homework assignment, Susan realized that she hadn't brought her book home because she didn't need it in order to complete her work. What is Susan missing and why? What could be done? 2. Juan grabbed his math book out of his locker as he ran to class. His friends had stopped him in the hall after the last class and had tried to tell him about the latest skateboards in the local bike shop. He was going to be late to class if he didn't hurry. When he reached for his math paper, Juan realized that he had his social studies notebook instead of his math notebook and the teacher wouldn't let him go to his locker. After class, he forgot to get his paper from his locker and turn it in. He kept forgetting and eventually he received a zero for the assignment. What had Juan failed to do? What should he have done? 3. Pam carefully completed her science insect collection, spending many hours carefully labeling and mounting her specimen. She was proud of her work and turned it in expecting to receive an 'A' for her collection. When it was returned, her heart fell. There on the front was a note from the teacher explaining that she had not included the class, phyla, and Latin names of the insects. Her grade was a 'C'. Where had Pam gone wrong? What could she have done? 4. Samantha tried to find her worksheet for language in the back of her notebook. She knew she had completed it last night when she worked on her homework. However, she still hadn't found it when the teacher collected the papers and she didn't have one to turn in. What had Samantha missed doing organizationally? What should she have done? 5. Gary usually kept all of his things in his bookbag. At the beginning of each class, he pawed through all of his possessions in order to find the book for that class. When he finally found the book, he still had to dig for his paper. By the end of the day, Gary was so tired of digging, he usually gave up. As a result, he frequently did not have a book to use during this fifth hour class and he didn't turn in any papers. Where did Gary go wrong? What could he do to solve his problems? What Needs to Be Done? In each of the following situations, a student needs to organize some part of his/her work or materials in order to better complete his/her work. Read each situation carefully and write down your suggestions for each student to help him/her become better organized. 1. Eric gathered all of his books together at the end of the day. Usually he stood in front of his locker for several minutes trying to remember his assignments for the night. Also he usually forgot to take at least one book home each night and so he failed to complete at least one assignment. What suggestions do you have to help Eric become better organized? 2. Tina picket up her book and opened it to the page which had been assigned for homework. She read the directions and carefully completed the assignment. When she was finished, she remembered she had to feed the dog. She left her books on her desk and got busy doing other things. In the morning she grabbed everything as she ran to catch the bus. When she got to school she realized that she had left her homework on her desk at home. What suggestions do you have to help Tina become better organized? 3. Latasha worked to complete all of her homework. When she was finished, she stacked it all up and put it in her science folder. The next day in math class, she reached for her math assignment only to find that it wasn't in her science folder. What suggestions do you have to help Latasha become better organized? 4. Henry shook his head in dismay. The teacher had listed four papers on the board which he was to turn in today. Henry had been given these papers two weeks ago and had finished the first two. He hadn't realized that all four would be turned in today. What suggestions do you have to help Henry become better organized? 5. Sally's mother told her that she had to go to bed in one more hour. Sally wasn't sure that she could finish her social studies project by then. She had bought the poster board this afternoon and had started on the project after dinner. What suggestions do you have for Sally?