Seat Shuffle

(If you haven't seen my Monday post, you probably should. It's here.)

Wednesday. Eighth grade U.S. history, fourth period. 

I generally wait to deal with attendance until after I've gotten the kiddos started on the day's assignment(s). So, I had done my introduction, passed out their work, and explained what they needed to accomplish. (They had vocabulary, questions, and a game on the Bill of Rights.) 

They had been inattentive, but not loud, so I felt I had been able to get my message across. I told them to get started on the work.

Then, with the seating chart in my hand, I visibly started working on verifying who was absent. 

The first corner seat was empty. I called the name. The student was on the other side of the room. 

As he hurriedly reclaimed his assigned seat, a handful of other students suddenly remembered where their actual assigned seats were. There was a flurry of movement as kiddos shifted to where they were supposed to be. 

I mean, what am I, new? Did they really think I wasn't going to check? 

I waited until they once again settled, and then I began working on attendance again. Suddenly, the room was a whole lot more settled than it had been. 

I haven't had a group try the whole seat swap thing in a while. I suppose I was due for the challenge. Sigh.