We all wish that we could get all our students to arrive on time, but at least we can have strategies to minimise the disruption.
Strategy 1.
A teacher observed always had a 5-10 minute warm-up/re-cap activity at the start of every lesson, usually in pairs or small groups. Late arrivals were directed to a separate table where a special activity would be waiting for them, with instructions. Discussions about lateness were then initiated by teacher at a time chosen by her, when it did not disrupt the class.
Strategy 2.
In this case, students who arrived later than 4-5 minutes into lesson knew that they would be responsible for the final plenary summary session at the end of the lesson, i.e. they would have to summarise main points of the lesson for the rest of the class. This tended to have the effect of making students keen to arrive on time next lesson.
Strategy 3.
A variant on 1 & 2: late arrivals had to sit in a particular place/table; when the warm-up or first activity of the class was over, the late arrivals had to produce a re-cap of the previous lesson. Again, as with the previous techniques, the regularity of this meant that it became a well-drilled routine and gave a discipline to the class, absorbing late-comers relatively easily.
Strategy 1 & 3 also penalise late students by taking from them the choice of where or with whom they sit for the lesson; they stayed on the ‘late table’.
Clearly useful though these techniques may be, 2 things need to be borne in mind:
Ø it could be argued that it legitimises lateness by accommodating it;
Ø teachers need to use their discretion in deciding whether students can always be blamed for their lateness; this may vary depending on time of day; you may wish to be sensitive to particular student problems.
Strategy 1.
A teacher observed always had a 5-10 minute warm-up/re-cap activity at the start of every lesson, usually in pairs or small groups. Late arrivals were directed to a separate table where a special activity would be waiting for them, with instructions. Discussions about lateness were then initiated by teacher at a time chosen by her, when it did not disrupt the class.
Strategy 2.
In this case, students who arrived later than 4-5 minutes into lesson knew that they would be responsible for the final plenary summary session at the end of the lesson, i.e. they would have to summarise main points of the lesson for the rest of the class. This tended to have the effect of making students keen to arrive on time next lesson.
Strategy 3.
A variant on 1 & 2: late arrivals had to sit in a particular place/table; when the warm-up or first activity of the class was over, the late arrivals had to produce a re-cap of the previous lesson. Again, as with the previous techniques, the regularity of this meant that it became a well-drilled routine and gave a discipline to the class, absorbing late-comers relatively easily.
Strategy 1 & 3 also penalise late students by taking from them the choice of where or with whom they sit for the lesson; they stayed on the ‘late table’.
Clearly useful though these techniques may be, 2 things need to be borne in mind:
Ø it could be argued that it legitimises lateness by accommodating it;
Ø teachers need to use their discretion in deciding whether students can always be blamed for their lateness; this may vary depending on time of day; you may wish to be sensitive to particular student problems.
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