Submitted by Susan Cavin, York, South Carolina
Idea posted July 18, 2005
I have been following the procedural ideas regarding numbering, and thought I would share what I did in my middle school classes (sixth and seventh grades) this year.
I assigned everyone a "secret code number" on the first day of class. This number was their class period followed by the number assigned by listing their names alphabetically. (Students assigned to class later were just given the next number.)
The beauty of the system is that everything works on the numbers 1-25, and each class is differentiated with a special class number for their "period," so a fourth period student becomes 401 and a tenth period student 1001. (I had a 401, a 501, through 1001.) I labeled small pebbles with the numbers 1-25, which I used to pull for random questioning within a class. (Dataworks popsicle stick idea.)
The day after I gave out the numbers I gave a "pop quiz." All the students had to do was write their name and their number on a scrap piece of paper. I only had one person all year who couldn't remember their number.
I required the numbers be put on all written work in the upper right hand corner and circled. That way any student in class could collect and alphabetize papers, and I could begin grading and recording! The students loved being able to help.
Then I decided to prepare a set of file folders for each class using the number codes. I used these to file student work portfolio style. I collected examples of lots of work: theory papers, journal quick writes, essays, listening tests, rubrics, and check lists on performance skills. The neat thing was that I reused each when students changed each quarter! (In previous years I wrote names each quarter.) This made my life so much simpler!
The students loved the "secret code" idea. And they loved helping me with small jobs. Using numbered pebbles made selection of students to be called on more objective. More students were engaged and actively listening because they never knew when they would have to answer, repeat, or explain. I knew I wasn't just calling on those who always knew the answer.
I have also used this labeling system on all books and supplementary materials. The student with that number in the next class will always let me know if damage has occurred in his/her book.