At the middle school where I teach, we give our students an agenda on the first day. It's a basic calendar, planner, and hall pass. We encourage our students to write down their assignments to help them to be more responsible.

I try to take a day at the beginning of the year to actually teach them how to use it, but not every teacher does. Some students pick up quickly on how to use it while others pretty much lose it the first few weeks and never try to get another one. It's definitely something kids need to be taught, but it's a skill that will really help them out as they get older.