The Lowly Index Card

On the first day of a new semester I used to attach tape to each desk with an identifying letter and number, a-1, a-2, b-1, b-2 and so on. I didn’t scatter these randomly, but put them in a logical order to be located quickly. I waited at the door as students arrived and handed each one an index card with a seat number printed in the upper right hand corner. I greeted each student by saying, “Welcome to the first day of school, here is your reserved seat. Match this number with the desk bearing the same number.” Students were kept busy finding their “reserved” seats while I greeted their classmates at the door. This solved a couple of beginning term conundrums. The student didn’t have to worry about seeking a place to sit, and the teacher needn’t worry about troublesome couples upsetting the first day of class. I always shuffled the cards before handing them out so that people entering together would not be seated together. An added bonus is that I could arrange student placement exactly as I wanted without having a few shy students plastered against the back wall.
Once students were all seated, I had them fill out the information that would be useful to me in our class. This has changed over the years, but basically I asked for first and last names on the second line left side, their birthdate on the right side, and a nickname or “American” name at the top in the center. It has always been a helpful conversation starter to also have them skip a line and write down their interests and hobbies.
First day roll is very easy at this point. I could call out a seat number and have the student in that seat say their name. If it were difficult, I would repeat it until the student was satisfied I could say it correctly. Then I would make phonetic notes in my roll book so I never caused mispronouncing embarrassment or unwittingly saddled them with a silly new nickname their classmates would be certain to take note of.
Before the end of class I would collect all the cards and now had a readymade seating chart.
As the year progressed I used the cards to call on students equitably, as well as keep notes on speeches, homework, and contacts. To my surprise, my students were especially delighted when I called them by birthdate or personal interests instead of by name. It became a guessing game and added a lighthearted touch to our lessons. Incidentally I originally got the idea for index cards from a lecture by Harry Wong when I was a brand new teacher, circa 1987. His book, “The First Days of School” is a must for new teachers as well as old timers.
There is much more to be said and celebrated about the lowly index cards, but I will keep this entry dedicated to the first day. With ESL students my trusty cards are still a mainstay of my first day and become quite dog-eared by semester’s end. I now use a separate card with all students’ names to keep roll. I appreciate not lugging my roll book wherever I might be in a classroom. All the information I need is compact, portable and easily accessible. You might say, it’s all written in the cards.