Even More Classroom Routines

Somehow this idea turned into three posts...

Make Up Quiz/Test: If students are absent on the day of a quiz/test, I write their name on the board under the heading Quiz/Test. Then I check the attendance to see if their absence if excused or unexcused. If unexcused, I erase their name and give them a 0 (school policy). If excused, I take their quiz/test and write their name on it and hang it on a clipboard. I remind them the next day to come in and make it up. If they don't come in that day, I put a 0 in the grade book. If they never come in, then the 0 stays and I don't have to worry about a missing grade. Some students see it and then it reminds them that they have something to make up.

Hot Dog Style: I only grade quizzes and tests and I have a green basket that all papers are turned in to. The papers are folded vertically with the white side showing and their name written on the outside. Then I can grade it and write their score on the inside. A student can pass out papers to the class while respecting everyone's privacy.

Seating Arrangements: This year I'm attempting survivor games, which is a year long competition among groups of students. I picked the groups at the beginning of the year and they have stayed together all year. Not my best idea I suppose. Each quarter I rotate the students to a new group of desks. Within those four desks, they get to choose where they sit.

Questioning: I feel like this is one of my best teaching strategies. My most used are: "How do you know?" "Because why?" "Are you sure?" "Can you explain?" "Can you be more specific? "Can you give me an example?" "What would happen if..." "What is the easiest part of...?" "What is the hardest part of...?" "What do you think?"

Some questions that I need to use more often: "Can you explain that in another way?" "Can you draw a diagram that explains this idea?" "What is a common error a student might make on this concept?"

What are some of your favorite classroom routines?