Let’s face it, good classroom management is what makes our teaching world go ’round. Without it, our classroom is the opposite of a well-oiled machine. That’s why I rely on class jobs for students in my classroom, and I implement them as soon as possible.
It’s difficult to juggle everything we, as teachers, need to do everyday. So, delegating some tasks to our students is the most logical option! Plus, giving students jobs around the classroom helps them learn responsibility and instills a positive work ethic from an early age.
Class Jobs for Students
Class jobs are one of my secrets to a clean and organized classroom. Want to learn my 5 other organizational tips? Check them out here! Class jobs also help minimize disturbances throughout the day and help to keep my focus where it needs to be.
I have jobs that require my students to be mindful of their roles all day long, like Positivity Police and Volume Control. My Positivity Police are on the lookout for good choices being made in the classroom and students going above and beyond. When they see it, they quietly give the student(s) a Positive Token (click here to download this freebie!). Later on, I’ll reward those students with a shoutout, ClassDojo point, or a small treat.
Volume Control has the job of being my ears! If they notice the room is getting too noisy, they will call a chant to remind students to quiet down. They usually go with, “Too Loud!” and the rest of the class responds with, “Quiet Down!” This is great because I don’t have to stop what I’m doing to get students to lower their voices. Volume Control has it covered!
Choosing Classroom Tasks
Other class jobs for students happen at specific times:
- Snackster does his/her job daily. They will call each group to get their snack, then they remind students when snack time is over about 10 minutes later.
- Mail Movers are responsible for putting graded work and school flyers into students’ mailboxes on Thursdays. The students take all of the paperwork home after school using their Thursday Folder- a FREEBIE in my TpT store, and return the folder to school on Friday.
- Spelling Supervisors do their job once every two weeks because I alternate vocabulary and spelling weeks. They will pass out the paper, remind students and give the spelling test to each of the 3 differentiated groups. Note: I will quickly give the spelling test to the Spelling Supervisors themselves earlier in the day.
I’ve created ALL of my classroom jobs based on the things that didn’t use my time wisely. Stop trying to do it all! Think about what tasks you can release to your students, and turn it into a positive for them instead of a negative for you. If you’re wondering how students can make smart choices and be responsible for completing their jobs, read my Behavior Management blog post to learn about setting a strong foundation of expectations in your classroom!
Classroom Incentives and Rewards
I “pay” my students in ClassDojo points at the end of the week for a job well done. I’ve done different things over the years, including no incentives–which works perfectly fine if you set that expectation. However, I choose give them 5 points if their job was completed. If they didn’t do their job, or didn’t do it as expected, we will have a quick chat about it, and they won’t get paid. Harsh? Not really. Setting clear expectations of what a job entails, and expecting it to be completed is the way the real world works. That’s why I put the responsibilities of each job in plain sight so students know what they’re expected to do!
Don’t forget, keeping a positive line of communication with students helps build trust and keeps positive behavior at the forefront. Read more about my positive communication system here.
Students can use their ClassDojo points to purchase things from our ClassDojo store on Fridays. I change out class jobs every 2 weeks because that’s what works best for me. It also allows for students to get good at their role and be able to advise the new person when it’s time to switch.
Table Jobs in the Classroom
Along with class jobs, students have “Table Jobs” to further maintain the cleanliness of our classroom. Everyday they complete a clean-up task with a partner at their table. They have the same table job for an entire quarter. Everything is spelled out for them on these editable table signs. They know who their parter is, what their job is, and a quick description of the job’s duties. It’s so easy and makes such a big difference on the state of the classroom at the end of the day.
It takes a bit of modeling, practicing and explaining at the beginning, but pretty soon students catch on and cling to the routines of their class jobs! If you’re looking for Behavior Management ideas and how to set clear expectations, read this post and if you need some advice for classroom organization, check out this one!
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-Courtney💕
