How it works
An attendance question turns roll call into the first small conversation of the day: you call a name, and the student answers the question instead of saying here. This page holds 400 attendance questions, each one answerable in a word or two. Choose a grade, press Pick 5 new questions and ask one. Elementary, middle school, high school and college each get their own set.
Read the full guide
Run roll call from one phone
Open the list that reads All grades and choose Elementary, Middle school, High school or College. The page shows five questions, and Pick 5 new questions swaps them. Open More filters under that list for the Any type row, which narrows the pool (This or that, Funny, Hot takes and four more), and for Month, which keeps the question in season.
How an attendance question works
Read the question once, then call names in your usual order. Each student answers in a word or two, and that answer marks them present. Set one rule on day one: here always counts, so nobody has to answer. With a big class, take a this-or-that question by show of hands and mark the empty seats. In a lecture hall, have students write the answer beside their name on the sign-in sheet. With teenagers, tally a hot take on the board and move on.
The printed list and what the phone remembers
All 400 questions are printed under the tool in three sections: 180 for elementary, 180 for middle and high school and 40 for college. Each section runs A to Z, and every line ends with its planner number and month. This browser keeps a list of the questions it has shown, so nothing repeats until all have been shown. Filters are not stored. Pick a grade, then bookmark the page: the address now ends in #grade=high, and the bookmark reopens on that grade.
- Write the question on the board before the bell, so students who need a moment have an answer ready.
- Short on time? Choose More filters, then This or that. These this or that attendance questions take one word each, so roll call barely slows down.
- Keep the funny attendance questions for Fridays and the day after a test: press Funny under More filters.
- Give the button to a student. Reading the question aloud makes a good classroom job and frees your hands for the register.
Questions and answers
What is an attendance question?
It is a quick question asked while you take roll. Instead of saying here, each student gives a short answer, so every voice is heard once before the lesson starts. A good one has no right answer, needs no thinking time and asks for nothing private. Pencil or crayon? works. So does What would you name a class goldfish?
Which attendance questions work for middle school and high school?
The middle and high school section holds 180: 155 suit grades 6 to 12, 12 are for middle school only and 13 for high school only, and the grade list under the button sorts them. Expect hot takes on food and school life (Is a taco a sandwich?) and prompts like Give today a film title. None names a brand, a band or a show.
Are there attendance questions for college students?
Yes, 40, written for a seminar or a lecture: 8 a.m. class or 6 p.m. class? What would your major be called if its name were honest? College questions carry no month, so leave Month on Any month when College is picked, or the tool says nothing matches.
Do you have Halloween attendance questions?
Yes. Choose More filters and set Month to October. All 18 elementary questions for that month are about costumes, pumpkins and candy, with nothing scary: Pumpkin costume or cat costume? Older grades get 12 more, such as Candy corn: good or bad? Other months are seasonal too, from thankful questions in November to a free summer day in June.
What do these attendance question ideas leave out?
Anything a student might not want to say in front of a class. No question asks about dating, bodies, home life, money or marks, and summer questions ask about one free day, not a trip. The page itself asks for no names: the seen list stays in this browser.