Classroom Organization: Managing Absent Work

Managing make-up work can be a daunting task for both students and teachers.In this video from Learners Edge (now a part of Teaching Channel), learn how to create a homework station for students to access in your classroom to ensure students have the materials and information they need when they return to school.

Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Keely from, Learners Edge.

I’m here today, to share with you a method to help your students stay on top of homework when they’re absent from class. It works great for both, middle school and high school students.

To ensure students have the materials and information they need when they return to school, try to create a self-serve homework station for students to access in your classroom. A basic upright file works well for this, but you could also use a file cabinet, drawers, or other colorful bins.

In the front of the file, include an assignment binder. Here, you can include information about work that was both assigned and collected each day. And any other important notes or reminders. This binder can be maintained by you or managed by a student volunteer at the start of each class.

Since assignment information was recorded on the board in my class each day, it was easy for a student volunteer to accurately record it. Within this file, include five folders for each day of the week and additional folders at the back labeled to your choosing, such as previous week, archives, or the names of the months.

Place any handouts, notes, or assignments in the file each day. When a new week begins, move the work from the previous week back to the archive folder. You can clear out all your folders at the end of each unit or marking period.

Lastly, provide students with reminder slips they can fill out and attach to their work to keep their materials organized. This way when students return to your classroom, they can check in with you and then, head to the binder to pick up any missing work they need. They can use the reminder slips to keep themselves organized.

Click on the link below to download templates for the assignment binder and assignment slip reminders.