We all have had that student, the one who misses class and then does not get the make-up work. He doesn’t ask for the work, he forgets what day he missed, or he whines to you that he needs the work…in the middle of a lesson. Even worse is when the student misses some work or a test, and doesn’t care to ask about it until he realizes that he is going to have an F on his report card for that six-weeks unless he takes the test. By this time, he can’t remember the test material!
This is the method I have come up with, based on some other ideas I have read, to help expedite the process. I will have a folder for each class, with the big paper clips labeled with each day of the week. For each week, I will put the materials from each day (or a copy of the notes given) into the corresponding paper clip. When a student is absent they will go check the folder. If the clip for the day they missed is still on the outside of the folder, then there is no make-up work. If the clip is not on the outside, then the student must retrieve the correct day’s stack of work, remove the assignment, and replace the remaining assignments back in the folder. Sounds pretty easy to me! Hopefully my students will be able to manage it easily. 🙂
I am going to use a similar process for students turning in work or picking up graded work; there will be “drop boxes” labeled for each class, one for turning in work, and another for picking up graded work.
Adventures of a Music Teacher 