Absent Student papers- another idea.

We all know that from time to time, nearly every student will be absent at least once in a school year.  I saw the best idea the other day on Pinterest. The idea is you take a file crate, set up 31 folders, labeled from 1-31. These numbers stand for the date of the month. Print enough copies so that each student has one.  Take the remaining of the copies (the ones for absent students) and place them in that day. 

What I love about this is the fact that a the students can go to the crate and collect the papers they missed for their time absent without the teacher having to search and then go make copies.

What I dislike is, the students have a entire month where they can "collect" their missing assignments.  There are problems with this.  There will always be the one student who doesn't check until the end of the month, there is a great risk of another student helping them self to the remainder of the papers because they keep loosing theirs, and this allows the teacher a chance to be forgetful.

Why not set it up where there are 5 folders. Each of the five are labeled Monday thru Friday.  On a Post-It, write each days absent students and then stick it to the inside of each folder.  As the students collect their assignments, they can mark off their name for the day.  I would also set up, on a clip board, each days assignments for the week. It becomes the students responsibility to collect their missed work.  I would also give time on Friday evenings to collect missed work, take home for the weekend, and return by Monday.  

With this said, on Monday morning, I would then collect the absent work.

With having this system, the teacher will then have a daily list of students absent and a list of the work they missed.  If the teacher uses a binder to organize this, then I would suggest a 3" so they can file the weeks list behind the daily folders.   This way the papers can be retrieved when necessary.

Again, these are just ideas that I am collecting so that I can look back on them when I get my own classroom.