Elementary School Tips 1 From Leah Keith(aumabceds@aol.com), a first grade teacher at MacMillan International Academy for Humanities, Communications, and Writing in Montgomery, Alabama: ìTo manage make-up work, I decorate several manila folders with cut-out shapes (apples, pencils, etc.). On the outside of these folders, I write: ëWe missed you! Please complete the enclosed make up work and return it in this folder to (teacher's name) as soon as possible.í I laminate the folders and whenever students are absent, I write their name on the tab of the folder using a washable overhead marker. I place the folder on the absent student's desk. Whenever I pass out any papers, I have a student who sits nearby place the papers in the folder. When the student returns to school, he/she will find the make up work waiting on the desk. When the work is returned, I wipe the student's name off the folder and reuse it.î