missing assignments organizer

Organizing Absent Work

Remembering to put out and collect absent student work can certainly be an extra thing teachers don’t always remember to do when they have 1,345 other items to worry about in any given school day.

So this is one of the classroom systems that is better when it has been thought about already and there’s a plan in place for managing the missed work and getting assignments back in a timely manner.

Any time I have something I know I will be doing more than once, I try to devise a system for it.

It helps to streamline classroom routines and helps me to remember whether I have done it or not – ha!

I remember as a new teacher sitting down to do grades my first time through and then promptly realizing how many grades I was missing because some students didn’t turn in their makeup work!

It was definitely my error in not following through, but I knew right away I was going to need a plan ASAP to remedy how I would keep track of students who were missing and how to get the work returned in a timely manner.

You might want to check out:

Need some new ideas for simple routines in your classroom? This 106 page digital book has you covered!

Includes 15 articles from Organized Classroom, including topics such as: • Organizing Absent Work • Helping Student Get Organized • Remembering Names on Papers • Organizing All the Paperwork • Bathroom Break Tips …and even more!

Now available in our Shop! And the second copy to share with a friend is half price!

See it HERE.

Best Makeup Work Folders

Some teachers prefer to have a folder with resources to manage the organization of the missing work. If it’s all in one spot, it’s much easier to keep track of. Especially if the folder is a bright color that is hard to miss.

Check out some different examples below:

A hanging wall file works perfect for filing all the extra handouts you have from the week.

How cute is this free editable custom work folder cover? Love it!

Another option is to place plastic pockets along the wall of the classroom, which have student numbers on them. This can serve for a great spot for an absent student to pick up his or her work upon returning.

A brightly colored laminated file folder works great for notifying parents of make up work.

Middle schoolers can have a makeup work area that’s always available for picking up their own work. A great way to teach student responsibility.

Adorable “ketchup” work folder!

Hang a folder on the back of each student desk. This can serve as a mailbox and a perfect spot to gather missing work to send home.

Assignment Sheet Slips to Track Missing Work

Need a worksheet to make sure the student’s work is all together and has been documented? Check out some good options I have found in various places.

A super straightforward option to use where you write in the missing assignment.

A spot for everything, including what was done during group teaching lessons.

Love how this folder cover even has a date that the work needs to be returned. Makes it easier for caregivers to know when it’s due as well.

A snap to fill in and a snap for students to understand what was done in each class.

This pdf is a little more involved, but definitely gives a clear view of everything that was covered on the day that was missed.

Lots of learning reminders on this form too…

Would you like to know step-by-step routines that put teachers back in control in just 4 weeks?

Download the FREE Classroom Systems Starter Kit now!

More Strategies for Managing Assignments from Absent Students

And today, we have a BONUS! Earlier in the morning, I noticed another topic that took off on it’s own on our Facebook Page .

From a fellow fan Tina: “ Help! I have been teaching 11 years and still have not found a fool proof way to get work out to students who have been absent and DOCUMENT that they have received it so that they don’t come back later and say they never got it… AND get it back in a timely manner… Any suggestions? “

Well, in true OC Blog style, the fans came through once again and gave Tina all sorts of suggestions!

In particular, I like to use a folder to place the absent work in as I am passing out papers throughout the day so I don’t forget. I have even been known to just place the Absent Folder on the missing child’s desk and have someone sitting nearby place the papers in the folder as they are being handed out. At the end of the Bonus e-book, I created a simple template if you wish to do the same.

Grab yours below!

What are your best tips for managing absent student work? We would love to hear them in the comments below!

Boppin’ with Brain Breaks

Need something super simple for making sure students who are absent get the work they missed when they return? I made these super fun {and VERY easy} clips

Absent Work Clips

Teacher truth time! Are your classroom computers in need of a computer desktop organizer? I've been there. Let's get them ready for you and students too!

Custom Organized Computer Desktops

Teacher job satisfaction makes a difference in everything school-related and even affect student achievement. Here are some ideas to help keep it top notch.

Secret Staff Buddies

Cubby Clips!

I adore the ideas for those who want to go paperless: scan or take a snapshot of the handouts and file them into folders. Need the paper? Read this.

PD Paper Solutions

How I Crush the Chaotic Task of Managing Makeup Work for 100+ Students

Finally, a low-prep, compact way to manage assignments when students are absent.

Paired photos of how teacher manages absent work for secondary students

It’s an all too familiar scenario: You planned an awesome lesson and your kids totally got it. You’re ready to move on, when a student enters the room with the dreaded question:

“Did we do anything important yesterday?”

Cue the inevitable searching your desk for the extra handout you set aside for them. Meanwhile, you’re funneling your remaining energy into suppressing the urge to snap back with a sarcastic, “No. We missed you too much to work, so we spent the class watching Disney shorts and making cootie catchers.” (Or maybe not suppressing. No judgment here.)

Here’s how I’ve tried to cut down on the crazy of catching up with absent students, and the new system that I’ll be implementing this year (just in time for nationwide record numbers of chronic absenteeism ).

Where I started

As a first-year teacher, I attempted to implement a personalized mailbox system. Each class period has a milk crate with a file folder for each student. As the photo shows, this system took up a lot of precious space. My entire back countertop was dedicated to managing students’ absent work. The amount of space dedicated to this system definitely was outsized compared to the frequency it was used. Individualized mailboxes are a great resource in elementary classrooms with 30 or fewer students. But mailboxes just weren’t working for the 100+ students in my secondary space.

Photo of organizational system for absent work for secondary students

When I pivoted to a new system in the next year, it was a drastic swing in the opposite direction. In an attempt to save time setting up and counter space, I pared down to a single milk crate. This was dubbed the Extra Copies Bin, and it stored all leftover handouts from a lesson. The bin was frequented by students who misplaced or needed to revise an assignment, in addition to absent students. I would add each page in an individual file folder to the crate, and use a label at the top to note the number and title of the page. With this system, I’d be labeling one or two file folders every day or so rather than 100+ folders at a time. This was appealing, since the hours of typing, cutting, and assembling that went into the mailbox system were still fresh in my mind.

The idea of the Extra Copies Bin was simple. When students returned from an absence, they would first check the large table of contents on display in our room. Then, they would pick up any pages added during their absence from the bin. In theory, this sounds easy enough. But middle schoolers have a way of circumventing our best-laid plans.

The reality was the system required too many steps for my middle schoolers. First, they had to check the large TOC and cross-reference it with their own (which, gasp, may not be accurately updated!). From there, they needed to identify the page in the Extra Copies Bin. Finally, students needed to check with me for an expected due date.

It worked … to an extent. But the system didn’t run as independently as I wanted. Additionally, students could get confused and grab a page they already had rather than the one they needed. While this may be a realistic system for high school students, my middle schoolers needed a little more guidance. It became my mission to marry the compactness of the Extra Copies Bin with the scaffolding of the mailboxes.

What I’m using now

As previously mentioned, space and ease of setup were big concerns in adopting a new system. After perusing social media for other teachers’ ideas, I settled on a hanging option. Following a few days of indecisiveness, I settled on this hanging file organizer to house my students’ absent work. ADVERTISEMENT

To set up this system, I assigned each class period a color. I already use a color-coding system to organize student binders and turn-in trays (shown in the bottom left corner of the photo below), so it was easy to keep the theme going. The organizer I chose came with labels, but I opted to make my own using removable vinyl and my Cricut for a little extra flair. Because I now only teach five class periods, I designated the final folder for those dreaded no-name submissions.

So, how does it work?

When a student is absent, I’ll take a copy of the handout we’re using that day and write their name and expected due date on it in pen. Using pen is important if you have kiddos that may want to take some creative liberties with the due date! I train students to check the folder for pages with their name following an absence, and they don’t need to ask when the page is due. Should they forget and ask me what they missed, they can be quickly directed to the class folder to claim their work.

An additional bonus of this system? When a no-name paper comes in, I can write the block of the turn-in tray it was placed in and file it in the bottom “no name” folder. No more rifling through my grading binder to hunt for no-name pages, or performing forensic analysis to track down the owner.

A perfect blend

This system preserves the important parts of the original mailbox and extra-copy systems, blending them to work in my classroom. Students are still responsible for checking for their absent work and completing it in a timely manner. But the system meets them where they are with respect to organization skills and executive functioning. Not to mention, I’m able to reclaim precious space and get the added benefit of organizing their no-name work. I have high hopes for this system!