How to Help Absent Students Catch Up

How do you help students who are absent to catch up?  Here are some of my best tips for helping students help themselves and how you can assist them when they struggle with catching up on their own.

Have Things Set Up in the Classroom So They Can Help Themselves

"Were You Absent?" crate

I have a crate with a hanging file for each period I teach. I fill out a sheet for what we did that day or maybe even two or three days depending on if my plans are set in stone. Than I make copies. When someone is absent I just put their name on it and put it in the correct hanging file.  Student responsibility to check crate when they return.

Table of contents poster

I keep a binder with all of the items students should have completed.  It's basically the same as the one each of the students keeps for my class.  The first page is the Table of contents.

This is just a laminated piece of chart paper.  I write on it with dry-erase markers to keep it updated.  It helps students see what they missed as soon as they walk in.  Students know to ask for help from either teachers or accountability students (see my explanation below) to find these assignments.  Most often, I keep them in the Absent Crate I mentioned above.

Make up work poster

This is another laminated piece of chart paper.  I write the graded assignments on this one.  Most often, these will not be kept in the Absent Crate because I want to make sure:
1.  Students are given the proper testing environment, if necessary
2.  Students are given the proper assistance or information in order for it to be a proper assessment

Online homework/assignments calendar

My county uses an online repository called Blackboard, but you could just as easily have a classroom website with a Google Calendar that lists the daily homework and assignments.  I will often take pictures of the notes written on the board and attach them to the calendar so students know what needs to be done regarding those assignments.

Use Accountability Students 

These are the students who are organized, usually finish before other students, and are looking for a way to help in the classroom.  A good way to let them help is to have one of them fill out a "While you were out sheet" for the missing student.  It has a short description of what they did in class and the homework assigned.

A word of caution for this technique:  If you have a student fill out a form I suggest that you sign off on it that it is accurate. 

Making Up Stations and Labs

Divide the learning/lab into several stations

That way if a student is absent for a day or two, they can still make it up while working with the other students in the days following their return to school.

What About Students Who Are Absent for Several Days?

First, decide what assignments you must have for assessment purposes.

These are the assignments you want to help students tackle first.

Next, decide if you can modify any assignments.

Sometimes we give assignments for enrichment.  Sometimes we give assignments to help students dig deeper and think critically.  I'm not saying you shouldn't give these type of assignments to students who are chronically absent, but you may want to cut out any extra work that doesn't directly relate to what you will be assessing on the final test.

Be flexible with due dates.

My policy is that I give two days for every day the student is absent for them to turn things in.  That being said, I remain as flexible as possible.  If a student is working diligently to complete an assignment but it's taking a little longer, I tend to support that whenever possible.  To me, the learning is more important than following a strict deadline when a student is trying to catch up.

Decide what needs to be done at school and what can be sent home.

Things like labs and assessments obviously need to be done at school.  Things like vocabulary and study guides can be sent home for most students who don't have special needs.  If you send assignments home, you may want to communicate with the parents what you will be sending home and when it is due, along with any special instructions.  

Decide if you can exempt any assignments.

Sometimes, for one reason or another, students just can't make up the same amount of work that their classmates completed while they were absent.  In those cases, I look at everything I assigned a grade for during the period of time the student was absent and I decide which of those things to exempt (leave blank in my gradebook).  

How do you help your students catch up?  Which of the things I mentioned will you be using in the future?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

What Your Student Teacher Wishes You Knew

What makes a mentor teacher a GREAT mentor teacher to a pre-service teacher?  How do you make a student teacher's time in your class worthwhile?  This post shares the things your student teacher wishes you knew.

First, there are some things the mentor teacher (MT) needs to ALWAYS keep in mind:

Student teachers are often afraid of making more work for their MT!  
Just be honest with your student teacher, they are as nervous as you are.

Keep in mind that they are a student and will make mistakes. 
Help show them that it’s not the end of the world.

Remember that you do have a lot to give. 

You have been in the trenches.  Don’t underestimate how valuable both your past successes AND failures are to your student teacher’s learning. 

Know who the point of contact is for the college your student teacher is attending. 

I didn’t ask who this was at first for my student teacher, even though I was expected (unbeknownst tonme) to communicate with this person on a regular basis.  If your ST is attending an online college, this person may not have been made abundantly clear to them. Investigate this from the start and things will go more easily. 

YOU are still in charge of your classroom and responsible for student learning. 
Be strong and do what is best for your class.  Most colleges won’t insist that you do anything that you don’t feel is right, but if your student teacher has an assignment that impedes your classroom learning, have a talk with the representative at the college.

Treat your ST as a colleague and partner teacher.  Focus on how you two will develop a professional relationship. 

If you feel comfortable, try being hands-off more often to allow the ST to figure out their style and try things they want to put into practice. 

Figure out a schedule for when your ST will observe and teach

The student teacher (ST) needs to build relationships with the students the same way any classroom teacher does.

It's always best to allow the ST to observe for a full day or two, and longer, if possible.  Just allowing the ST to get to know the students first and seeing how you run the classroom is a huge help!  Knowing the students allows the ST to understand what they like and dislike and how they prefer to work.  Another option is to have the ST observe senior teachers around the building.   

On observation days, help your ST grade some assignments, do attendance, and hand back papers. This helps them understand your grading system and how you assess students. It also helps the ST learn the kids' names and get to know them better. 

Sit down with your ST before they start teaching and come up with a gradual-release schedule of responsibilities. 
The  responsibilities should include how the ST will gradually turn the classroom back over to you before they leave.  If you teach multiple subjects, choose one to let your ST focus on at first.  If you teach one subject, choose particular aspects of that subject to release to the ST.  For example, let them plan the opening activity that might include reviewing previously taught material or an anticipatory question that gets the students thinking about what the lesson of the day will teach.

After you decide the gradual-release schedule, focus on the lesson planning.

Provide your ST with the general lesson plan template and things they can immediately implement that you use to plan with. 
Ask your ST if their college already has a lesson plan template because many do.  If you can allow them to use that template instead of the one you use, that will help your ST.  If the college hasn't provided your ST with a template, give them the one you use.

Try co-teaching or partner teaching at first.
Write the plans together and divide your lessons into segments, splitting the lesson delivery. For example, she opens and closes and you present new material.  This is a great opportunity to provide more support for kids.

Use the beginning as an opportunity to do more small groups.  Some options to do this:

• Encourage the ST to modify your lessons and materials for lower students. 
• Have the ST pull small groups for remediation or enrichment. 
• Give the middle-achievement students to the ST for small groups. The low- and high-achieving students are the most challenging to grow, but the middle group often needs guidance and monitoring to keep on track.

If you're worried about the inclusion kids just keep that class or group. 
There is no rule that stays you must give them every class or group. 

Give continuous follow up and real classroom take-aways. 

Make the time to sit down and talk with with your student teacher. 

This should be daily, ideally several smaller sessions, at first. This gives the ST time to pose questions and the MT to address any concerns as they arise. After the first couple of weeks, ask your ST how often they would like to meet, but still ask often how they’re doing even if you’re not meeting as often. Sometimes an ST just needs the MT to check in on them and they will open up about their needs. 

Use rubrics for your observations of your ST. 

It will help guide you on how you need to help them and they will know your expectations.

Give direct feedback. 
Don't make "suggestions"  if it's something that they actually need to be doing.

Teach your ST about evaluations. 

They need to know what a classroom evaluation by an administrator or School Board official will look and feel like.  Having another experienced teacher come in to do an evaluation is a great way to do this.

Make sure your ST knows how to do a parent-teacher conference.
They also need to know what to do on Back-to-School Night.  Your ST also needs to be communicating via emails/phone calls with parents for students successes and concerns. 

Be helpful instead of just taking an hour of time to talk. 
Talk while helping staple homework packets, etc.  Yes, you want the ST to learn how to juggle all of the responsibilities of the job, but remember that they are overwhelmed MOST of the time. Never underestimate how much help it is to do small things like administrative duties for them every once in awhile.

What else do you think Student Teachers want or need the seasoned teacher to know?  I know there's so much more that needs to be included than what I have here!

How to Reach the “Unreachable” Students

Do you want to increase student participation and assignment/homework completion?  Do you have students who seem impossible to motivate?  Then I have some solutions for you in this post!

1. Rethink Homework

If homework isn’t getting completed on a regular basis, consider not assigning it. 

Instead:

• Make all work achievable in class time. 
• Have them break up information and present it to each other.  Students can complete a graphic organizer as others present. 

You can also read my homework post based on Myron Dwek’s Grading Smarter Not Harder. 

2. Rethink Study Guides

• First, start with the test in mind. Create study guides from the tests. 
• To help students keep track of them, print them on colored paper. 
• Have them quiz each other daily on the study guide, even if it’s just a few minutes at the beginning of class. 

3. Rethink Review and Test Prep

Turn it into a game with this Review Games Packet. 

If you have access to technology:

 Webquests, edPuzzle, Kahoot (and more) can all add excitement to a class while reviewing content. 

Offer extra credit for thinking outside the box:

I tell them they can add any information not already on the test related to this subject to the study guide for extra credit.

4. Get Them Moving

I give a specific example of this in my post on 22 Interactive Learning Structures 

Another post I did was based on Rick Wormeli’s Summarization in Any Subject. 

You can pick up a FREE copy of the Human Bingo board. 

Some other good options for getting students standing and moving:

Learning stations

Gallery walks

What are some other ways you reach those students who struggle?  I always need more ideas!

Increasing Student Participation in Class Discussions

Do you want to increase student participation in class discussions?  How do you keep the conversations on task so it becomes a valuable teaching tool?  If so, my post on class discussions is for you!

Step 1: Start With a Non-Academic Subject

You can talk about their favorite sport or food to start.  EVERYONE has background knowledge on things like this.  It eases the anxiety over having to remember what they just learned in class because no one forgets that pizza is their favorite food!

Step 2:  Teach Students How to Talk
So many times, we assume that students know how and when to talk to each other during a discussion.  As a current 7th Grade teacher and a former 4th Grade teacher, I can assure you that is not the case.  Even from subject to subject and teacher to teacher, expectations on how to talk during a discussion can be different.  So we need to explicitly teach our expectations and procedures for talking to each other.


Some ways to teach students how to talk:

Target one skill at a time, per student. 

Some need to talk LESS, some need to make more specific text-based contributions, some should practice asking clarifying questions, etc.  Help students make goals for themselves and write them down, if need be.

Practice by using very explicit sentence stems. 
For example, you might want to come up with some sentence-stems that apply to your subject, such as "When you were talking about _____, I was a little confused about _______.  Could you clarify what you meant?"  There are many free examples of sentence stems available for free on the Internet.  Model it with the teacher practicing with student, then have students practice in partners, and finally, practice whole class.

Don't allow students to shrug their shoulders and say, "I don't know".

Instead, have them say, ”I don’t know yet, but I think...” before they respond. This way, everyone knows they’re guessing and there’s no reason to make fun or laugh at their answer. You can also do a lot of lead in to it, and create success with easy questions. For example, “What’s a vocab word we can use to say _______?”, “Who can stretch this idea and add more?”, Or “I’m not sure, but I think...”.  Then they can fill in the gaps.

Teach students to use their resources to supplement their thinking.

It also helps to have very organized notes and binders for them to keep their information together. If a student tries to say, "I don't know",  encourage them to look it up!

Use bingo chips to help students know how much to talk.
In a structured discussion, give students 2 bingo chips each. When they talk, they put one chip in their team basket. Once chips are gone, they are encouraged to help their team mates speak who have chips. Sometimes this looks like them feeding the other student word for word, but all students participate in the discussion.

Do you have any tips and tricks you'd add to the list?  I'd love to hear about them!

Is Extra Credit a Viable Teaching Tool?

Does your school require you to give extra credit to students who don’t get the grades they expected?  Do you wonder how to make extra credit a viable teaching tool without creating unnecessary work for yourself?  Then my post on extra credit is for you!

Many schools are moving toward a “no fail” policy for students.  In response, teachers are turning to creative ways to help students learn the material. One such way is extra credit. 

First, I’d like to look at the pros and cons.

Pros

If a student wants to show mastery of the content in a way other than a test, you might want to consider it on a case by case basis, but it would have to be something meaningful.  I talk more about that in the "Things to Consider" section below.

Cons

If you already do the following, it might pad a student's grade too much if you add extra credit on to those activities:
Test corrections for partial credit
Extended time to complete assignments with no penalty

Things to consider before allowing students to use extra credit:

Is it meaningful?  In other words: 
Does it align to the standards you are teaching?
Could it take the place of a classwork grade or a test grade?
Will it help a student master the subject matter?

Is the student missing work that would prepare them for completing the extra credit?
If students haven't completed homework and classwork, how will they know the information well enough to complete the extra credit?  You may want to have them complete the missing assignments and give them credit for those before assigning extra credit.

How much will it count?

10% of the grade?
Replacing a test grade?
Replacing a classwork grade?

How difficult should extra credit be?

More difficult than classwork or homework?
The same level of difficulty as those assignments?

Will it include extra curricular activities that tie into what you are teaching?

For example, if a family goes to a museum, could a student present orally or in writing what they learned?  What about family vacations?
Can students play online games and take screen shots to show they have mastered the information for extra credit?
Can a student use a study guide they created to take or retake a test for extra credit?


What's your stance on extra credit?  I could always use a fresh perspective!

How to Answer EVERY Student's Questions

How do you acknowledge and answer every student's question, every day?  You may be thinking it's impossible with all the time restrictions and curriculum requirements, let alone the sheer number of questions students ask each day. Believe me when I say it is possible, and I'm here to share how!

Allow me to present my "Burning Questions Board". This one bulletin board has single-handedly cut down on unrelated comments/questions and helps nurture student wondering/creativity.  

Students write their name, date, and class period on a slip of paper, along with their question or comment.  Then then put the slip of paper in one of the library card pockets.  

I check the pockets on a daily basis or each class period if I have time.  If it's in relation to something we're currently discussing, I try to answer it on the spot with the whole class. 

If it's a question I don't know how to answer, I might assign it to my student researcher, who will use an approved device/search engine to find the answer and share that information with the class. 

If it's a totally unrelated/inappropriate comment or question, I may discard it or put it aside to address later.  If I keep it, I will write a comment on it that lets the student know why it wasn't addressed publicly. 

Do you have any tips on how to make students feel validated when they ask questions without taking up to much time?  I'd love to hear about them!

Class Schedule Cards

If there's one question students consistently ask ALL.YEAR.LONG.... it's "When is lunch?"  "When is recess?"  Etc., etc.

In an effort to help students read a schedule and an analog clock on their own, I put up a schedule.

This is a PDF that can be printed and laminated to use for showing your daily schedule. There are 15 different subject cards, ranging from "Arrival" to "Social Studies", and 20 blank analog clocks so you can draw the times in for each subject.

You can pick a copy at my TpT store.

What do you use for scheduling?  Do you think it's important to have something like this in the upper grades?  What about Middle School?

Helping Students Recognize and Manage Distractions

At a recent PBIS meeting, we discussed methods of helping students get back on track when they are distracted.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized this process needs to start with the student recognizing what distracts them.

So, I came up with a quiz that differentiates between external and internal distractions and asks students to come up with plans of action to combat their distractions.

This editable PowerPoint includes:
~14 True/False questions that help students determine if their distractions are internal or external
~An answer key that has students create a plan to combat their distractions and get back on track when they are distracted

If you'd like to pick up a copy, click here.

I will be using this with my middle-schoolers the first week as a get to know you activity, but I think it's could be used at any time of the year.  Do you have anything you use to help students combat their distractions?

Concious Discipline--A Totally Different Behaviour Management Model

Heather at Heather's Heart has been blogging about her journey through Dr. Becky A. Bailey's approach to classroom management.  I just got my copy of the book in the mail, and it couldn't have come at a better time.  I NEED HELP TO HELP MY STUDENTS!!!  There is a lot of animosity and violence going on in my room.  I have to do something different because what I'm doing isn't working... 

What is this all about?  Well, I'm just beginning my journey, but a lot it revolves around the teacher showing children how to be compassionate and make good choices simply for the fact that those choices are good and not for extrinsic rewards.

What are just a few of the resources the website provides?

• Chants/Songs to promote friendship and positive self talk
• Printable FREE posters for calming down and getting in touch with emotions
• Implementation plans for each grade level

So, as part of Heather's book study, I'm answering the following questions: 

*What are most discipline models built on?
A system of rules, rule-breaking, and consequences for the rule-breaking.  It rewards compliance and punishes rule-breaking in the hopes that both approaches will make students more obedient.  If the consequences don't work, the student is removed from the class or school (AKA: rejection and removal).  It is based on the belief that we can control others, children learn what NOT to do by being disciplined, and that any conflict will keep all students from learning.
*What is the goal of the School Family?
The teacher, students, and school coming together in moments of conflict to communicate and overcome conflict.  Instead of shying away from conflict, everyone works together to make it a teachable moment/series of events.

*What 3 premises are CD built on?

• Controlling and changing ourselves is possible and has profound impact on others
• Connectedness governs behavior
• Conflict is an opportunity to teach

*Since change must begin with ourselves, which belief speaks to your heart?

"Conflict is an essential part of life.  It presents us with the opportunity to learn a missing skill or let go of a limiting belief."  Several of my students are having a hard time when they hit any kind of roadblock to what they want to do.  They are already so angry with the world, that they lash out physically.  I would love to teach them perseverance!

*Why is self control such a crucial part of CD? What does this mean to you?
This is what I call being "warm and fuzzy."  It means that you cultivate your own garden, so to speak, before you try to teach it to others.  You don't just pretend to be happy all the time, you actually embrace the fact that conflict will happen and there are healthy ways to deal with it.  Why is this so important to me?  Well, because I NEED to learn how to do this!

*What is the purpose of the 7 Powers? The 7 skills?

The 7 powers state that each person is in control of their attitude, but not necessarily of what others will do.  When conflicts arise, they should be met with love and treated as teachable moments.

The 7 skills are learning how to say "no" when the arises and helping children learn from their mistakes, but it is also about catching those teachable moments when the conflict occurs.

Using Multiple Intelligences to Group Students

How do you group/pair students when you have a cooperative learning activity?  To be honest, I usually just pull Popsicle sticks, but that seems a bit boring sometimes.

I was reading a post by Nancy at Teaching My Friends! about how she uses Howard Gardner's Learning Styles/Intelligences to group/pair her students.  She groups her students based on the learning styles that are best suited for the task she gives them.  It really got me thinking.

So I did some poking around, and found this cool website that neatly describes each learning style and gives practical examples of each in the classroom.

Then I had a few questions for myself:

1.  How can I collect this information?  Would a survey at the beginning of the year be helpful?
2. How can I display this information so it would be easily accessible?  A laminated checklist perhaps?

This is what I came up with:

This quiz asks several questions such as: "Would you rather work in pairs/small groups or by yourself?"  It is a great tool to use at the beginning of the year to get to know your students' learning styles and how they will interact with others.  It has an answer key at the end and a chart in which you can tally students' answers for quick reference throughout the year.

You can pick this up at my TpT store.