Twists On Taking Attendance

Taking attendance is a daily task that can be easier and more fun than calling names and waiting for “here” like some game of Marco Polo. Many classes use seating charts, but I like to rearrange the position of my singers regularly, so that doesn’t work for me. Here are some ways to take attendance that are alternatives to seating charts.

-NUMBER OFF: every student gets a number. Start class by having everyone number off. Catch those not present and log those numbers into the records. Fast and easy. You could make each class 1 to the end, but I give everyone in the program a unique number (women’s chorus 1-56, concert choir 57-105, etc.) so we can easily check attendance for all groups before a concert or on a field trip.

-PULL YOUR TAG: every student has a tag that is velcro-ed to a board. You can be as artsy as you like, but I have found it easiest to use inexpensive poker chips with Velcro “dots” found in any big box store. Singers pull their tags off the board on the way into rehearsal and drop them in a bucket. You can easily see at a glance who is absent by checking the remaining tags.

-METRONOME: set a metronome at 80 bpm. Call out last names and have the students shout “here” on alternating beats… Anderson – HERE! – Baker – HERE! – Calland – HERE! Every day you get through the roster without someone missing their mark, speed up 10 clicks. Eventually the choir will be able to go faster than you can read names, so you’ll settle into a comfortable, quick tempo around 180.

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For larger choirs (over 50) I prefer the TAG system, with each section having their own board. It moves quickly and by placing the different section’s boards in different areas of the room it prevents traffic jams. For choirs under 50, I like to start the year with METRONOME, and then after reaching break-neck speeds, transfer over to NUMBER OFF. This allows me the chance to get some reinforcement on putting names with faces at the start of the year before hitting max speed.