Simplifying Absent & Missing Work

Moving from teaching High School to Middle School has been a wonderful experience in so many ways. It has also come with a learning curve and areas I needed to grow in. One of these areas I found myself needing better management in was Absent & Missing Work.

I like to joke with my students by telling them I have the memory of a gnat when they ask me if we did anything important while they were gone. Sometimes I don't remember what we did 3 days ago, and sometimes I do...but they ask at the most inopportune time it gets pushed off as "we will talk about it later" and then we never do.

So to help with my poor memory, and to give the student a simple reply while I am also explaining the directions they interrupted, I created a simple running Google Doc and QR Code that has saved me SO MANY headaches!

Here is what my system looks like:

1- Google Doc 2- QR Code Handout 3- Missing Work Reminder

Here's what you will need:

• Google Account to access Google Docs and Google Slides

• Free QR Code Generator Website (I use this one)

• Printer/Copier

• White or Colored Paper (I personally use Pink/Yellow paper to help it stand out)

• Optional: Bitmoji & Small Sterilite Drawers

How do they work together/How did I create these resources:

THE GOOGLE DOC: Each week I am required by my school to have my plans written in Planbook.com by Thursday night. Once I get my plans written out, I hyperlink all the resources I will need that week into my plans for easy access (I create all my resources in Google Drive if possible). Then it's just a simple copy/paste of my lesson plans to my running Google Doc with the most recent dates at the top and the oldest dates towards the bottom, just adding and adding (see example above).

Here is what a sample day looks like in my "6th Grade History Homework/Missing Work" Google Doc:

Notice that they aren't super elaborate plans in my Google Doc. This is being accessed by parents and students only. They don't need the nitty-gritty, so I'll take out any personal notes to myself or specific directions on how to do an assignment. They usually only look at what was homework for the day. So I make it simple for them to get the gist of what we did. If they have questions beyond that, they will email me and I can give additional explanations if needed. I also go ahead and highlight any due dates in the Google Doc to help them stand out from the other information.

**Also, SUPER HIGHLIGHT here, now that you have a Google Doc with your running lesson plans and due dates, you can send this link to your parents when they email you about upcoming absences, missing work questions, missing work due to illness, etc! It's an incredible time saver!**

THE QR CODE: Once I created my Google Doc I copied the share link and pasted it into a free QR Code Generator online (see example below). The website generated a QR code that I downloaded onto my computer. Now I can paste it as a picture into whatever document, slide, etc that I wanted to include my Google Doc QR code in.

THE QR CODE HANDOUT: Now that I had my Google Doc and QR Code, I went ahead to Google Slides and created a half-sheet handout. I inserted the QR Code as a picture into the slide, added my Bitmoji for a fun touch, and included a very short explanation of how to access the information (see example below). I print the full sheet out at school and make copies usually on pink paper to help it stand out from the rest of the white copies they receive from other teachers. Then I just use a paper cutter to divide them in half to save paper and again, make it stand out from regular papers. I can give this handout to students with an easy way to access what our lessons and homework assignments were when they were out.

Now parents and students have all the information at their fingertips without me having to recreate the wheel each time, and this one QR code is good for the life of the Google Doc!

So now when that student comes up to you, in the middle of you taking attendance, you can simply hand them a sheet, welcome them back, and continue doing what you were doing without missing a beat!

THE MISSING WORK REMINDER: Now I take this system to the ultimate level of 'awesomeness' with these Missing Work Reminders. I found with my 6th-grade students that many times they were missing work due to losing their homework sheet, not simply for forgetting to do the assignment. Well, I was getting tired of keeping a bunch of extra copies (besides the few I keep on hand for accidents/miscounts/etc) and running back to the copy machine over and over again. So taking that same QR Code I created a Missing Work Reminder sheet where now the student has the ability to print out a copy of the homework at home (or school library). They can also make a copy of the document in Google Drive and send me a digital assignment, if printing is not an option.

Like the QR Code Handout, I created these in Google Slides but this time at a quarter sheet (see example below) and on yellow paper (because that is what a color we have in abundance at my school).

I will usually print out Missing Work Reports from my online grade book (we use Infinite Campus in my district) about once a week to give to students during their longer Study Hall time on Wednesdays. If they have a missing assignment I will give them one (or more) of these sheets to fill out with the name of the assignment, due date, and dates it can be turned in by. These sheets also include our late work policy as a reminder of how many points they will lose each day late.

It just another visual of what they need to do, a way to access the assignment if they lost it, and another mode of communication of missing/late work for parents.

How do I keep them all straight and easily accessible:

In my classroom, I have a "Student Center" bulletin board and table by my door that has extra student supplies, our sign-out log, missing name papers, and our absent/missing work handouts.

Since all of these handouts I created are half or quarter sheets of paper they fit perfectly into the small Sterilite drawers! (PS- don't buy these from Amazon they are WAY more expensive there, Walmart is half the price)

I just labeled the drawers with my drawer labels (soon to be found in my TPT store) and color-coded them to the color of each of my handouts (because I am extra like that). Simple and easily accessible for me and my students at any time.

I have found a lot of great success in this system. I know I am a little bit more "techy" than some teachers but honestly, this saves me so much brain power I just don't know what I would do without it.

I hope this helps you formulate your own system for managing and simplifying Absent & Missing Work!

All the Best,

Emily