following some advice
From Wong:
3 Ways to Take Roll Efficiently and Effectively
1. Look at your class and refer to your seating chart. Mark whoever is absent.
I assigned each kid a number. I made the seating chart. I taped the numbers on the desks (to my surprise, none of them have disappeared yet). I told each kid their seat number as they entered the room. I did not start the class with role-taking! I did not involve the class in the role-taking process! However, I kinda forgot to take role... I remembered the empty seats but realized as I checked my seating charts that not all of the kids sat in the seat I told them to because I knew the ones that were supposed to be in the empty seats were present! Hmm...next time make sure the kids sit in the correct seats...
2. Have folders or something personal in a box at the door.
My Spanish II class is small - only 10 kids. I let them sit wherever they want. I lay their journals out on a desk for them to find and take to their seats. The journals that remain tell me who is not there. This works perfectly. I don't even have to mark anything during class because I can set the leftover journals to the side.
3. Have each student's name on a clothespin.
I didn't use this one.
Can I just mention how annoying the blasted neighbor's dog is right now...
To increase the amount of time the student works to learn:
1. Have an assignment posted daily to be done upon entering the classroom.
Thanks to summer school, a warm-up posted on the front board is a natural step as I prepare myself and the room for the students to come. This is certainly not hard for me to remember to do and my students (even though they could stand to move a little faster) work quietly for the first several minutes.
2. Teach procedures and routines to minimize interruptions and maximize uninterrupted learning time.
We did not go over "how to be quiet as Sra. Smith speaks." I am not talking about side comments and chatter as I teach. I am talking about keeping your mouth shut because I just want you to listen to the Spanish. I know that you don't understand everything that I am saying. Just LISTEN! I am pleased that you are so responsive and like to repeat and interact with me, but sometimes you don't need to understand - I just want you to HEAR THE WORDS!
3. Constantly monitor students so as to keep them on task.
I think that I have been doing a great job of moving around the room. Well, maybe not in my Spanish II class because they are so small. However, I definitely hit all 4 walls and every student in my 33- and 35-person classes. I was pleased today when EK (who tells me that she is going to switch classes and clearly has no motivation to do anything in my class) raised her head off her desk after a little "I know you may not be staying in this class but I need you to work with and help your partner" talk and practiced the conversation with her partner!! :) I love answering little questions about pronunciation and meaning as I walk around the room.
