Flip Your Clothes Pin!

This summer I came across this pin while scrolling through Pinterest:

See who handed in work. (Accessed 2014). Pinned to Teacher Life Hacks by Teacher Created Material. Available online at: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/377598749979684674/

     I actually had my homeroom Grade 8s last year when they were in Grade 7 Science and even though it was only one class I feel like I got to know them quite well. Specifically.... their habit of misplacing their work and/or forgetting to hand-it in!

     While I realize it doesn't take much time to flip through my hand-in box and see what is there, we were often busy and I'd have students walk out without realizing they didn't hand-in their work. I loved the visual aspect of this and modified it somewhat to work with the hand-in box system I already had in place.

     Viola! I made two sets of clothes pins (one for my homeroom and one for another class) that hang on ribbon lengths directly beside our hand-in box. When a student hands an item in they flip their clothes pin over so their name isn't showing and I can see with a quick glance who hasn't handed-in their work!

     It did take about a week to get my students into a routine but we are now using the system seamlessly. For a few of my students it has actually helped them become more organized because they know I will ask at the end of each class... EVERY time (no more slipping through the cracks!). For the others, it helps me keep track of them and lets me know who might need extra help to get things finished.

     What do you use to keep track of student work?