Roll Call Questions

“Good morning. Please answer today’s roll call question when I call your name. Today the question is, ‘What color is your toothbrush?’” The students are quiet as they listen to the answers, everyone learning another new fact about their classmates. Allison, the beauty queen, has a green camouflage toothbrush. Wesley, the president of the FFA, has a purple toothbrush. Some students giggle and others stare around the room as everyone answers the question.

I don’t remember what year I started using roll call questions. Eric, a former student who now works as an administrator at my bank, sometimes walks over and suggests new questions while I make my deposits and withdrawals. He was in my senior English class my second year at my current school, and I can still picture his red, smiling face in the row near the air conditioner. He usually arrived just as the bell rang and cheerily asked, “What’s the question today, Mrs. Warren?” as he ambled to his seat.

I started the question of the day because I couldn’t always get the students to answer “Here” when I called their names. I required the students to answer so that I wouldn’t have to look up from my grade book repeatedly, and I needed everyone to be quiet so that I could concentrate and take an accurate roll. Some students wanted to just lift their arms or grunt like wild wolves, so roll call questions became a quick solution to make everyone say something so that I wouldn’t mistakenly count anyone absent.

In 2003 I typed a list of 180 roll call questions, and in the years since then I have also printed several personal quizzes from online. I threw a few pages of Family Feud questions into the mix, too. I have questions like, “What is your favorite candy bar?” and “Name two things in your wallet or purse without looking.” (Not all roll call questions are questions.)

I recently added a new one. I close my eyes and pick a name from the class roster and call on each student to tell us something he or she has in common with the chosen student. Sometimes I ask the class to name one thing they like or admire about the chosen student. I make sure every student in the class is picked at least one time. Because I have seniors, the students have had enough experience with one another to think of answers. Sometimes they think of several.

“What was the last sporting event you watched?” reveals information about the teams the students support, and students like the chance to proclaim their love for a team in front of their classmates. I also ask, “What is your favorite number?” and, “What is something you have planned to do after school today?” I sometimes ask questions such as, “What do you think of when you hear the word medieval?” to focus them on the unit.

“What is a song you heard on the way to school?” is a fun question. “What is your biggest pet peeve?” is a question that produces interesting answers, and it inspires us all to share recent experiences. If I hadn’t asked, “How many states have you visited?” I wouldn’t have learned about Crystal’s extensive travels. Taking the extra ten minutes allows every student to be heard every single day.

I tell students that I do not accept “I don’t know” for an answer, and when a student doesn’t put thought or effort into an answer, I exclaim, “F in roll call!” and pretend to mark it in my grade book. The students know they don’t really get a grade for roll call, but they usually strive to think of good answers. I’ve noticed the students try really hard not to repeat someone else’s response. Sometimes a student further down the list will blurt out, “You stole mine,” if a classmate says the same thing he or she was thinking.

After the students get used to it, roll call becomes an important—if not essential—part of the class. This is both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I can’t find a question on my many lists that I haven’t already used, and that leaves me standing at the front of the room, shuffling through papers as my students tap their feet, click their pens, and sigh. Sometimes I have so much material to cover that I forget about it, and the students have to remind me. On days like that, I’m not really listening to their answers; I’m wondering how I will possibly finish it all before the bell rings.

One February morning, I learned how roll call questions can be used as leverage. It was one of the first sunny days of the year. Streaks of sunlight filtered through the blinds, which was a refreshing sight after months of darkness and cold. It was a reminder that spring was on its way, and the warmth and light was not wasted on my students. When I walked in, I saw that Lauren was sitting backwards in her desk, chatting vigorously with Bradley. Aaron and Martin were out of their seats and squatting next to Tabitha and Adrienne, who were massaging their shoulders. A group of girls in one corner were singing loudly. I smiled and walked to the front of the room.

Moments after I arrived, the bell rang. Some students walked to their seats, some started to get to their seats but became distracted and stopped to talk again. I could feel my heart pounding a little faster. Announcements began, and I had to tell them to get quiet and sit down. My temperature was quickly rising, and I struggled to keep my composure. After the Pledge of Allegiance, I turned around to see two students standing beside their desks. Laughter echoed around the room.

“No roll call today,” I said calmly as I started the presentation to begin class.

“What’s the question?” someone in the back asked.

“Oh, there is no question. You aren’t ready for a question today.”

The room became still and completely silent. I walked to the computer, brought up the first slide of the presentation about William Blake, and proceeded to give notes just as I would any other day. My tone was not angry, and I moved around the room at my usual pace. After I grouped the students to read and discuss Blake’s poetry, Levi called me over to him. “If we’re really good, can we do roll call at the end of class?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “But I will have a roll call question for you tomorrow if you’re all quiet and seated when the bell rings.”

That morning was the only time I haven’t asked a roll call question to begin class in at least seven years. After that day, all of the students were quietly seated when the bell rang. Sometimes the more astute kids had to remind the others about missing roll call, but taking away the roll call question that morning worked. During second block that day I realized one problem with taking away the roll call question. The office secretary buzzed into my classroom to ask me about first block. Apparently, I had forgotten to take attendance.