Do you get the dreaded "Did you take attendance?" phone call? I admit that I used to almost EVERYDAY! I got sick of hearing that phone ring and knew that I needed to do something about it.
That's when I added an attendance alarm to my phone. I let my students know what the alarm was for. The alarm starts off quiet and gradually gets louder and louder. If some students hear it before me (as I have a tendency to leave my phone all over the classroom), I hear someone say, "The attendance alarm! The attendance alarm!"
I've trained my students not to ask me any questions when the alarm goes off until I put in the attendance. If I just shut it off and didn't put the attendance in right away, I would forget, which defeats the purpose of having the alarm.
Now I've saved myself at least one phone call per day! I also will set an alarm if we have a special assembly or anything else that I may forget during the day.
I highly recommend alarms if you are always late for things like lunch, specials, or dismissal. Set the alarm for 5 minutes before needing to be somewhere so that you have plenty of time to clean up. It's amazing how this simple tip will help save your sanity!
What is your favorite teaching tip?
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