what I'll do

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Home : 2003 : May : 23

what I'll do
By Jennie

I mentioned this idea to the fourth grade teachers I work with who have had the kids. They think this is a wonderful idea. I am glad to see that others are thinking in a similar way.

Even with this year's current arrangement
with no boundaries between groups, I have strived to move the rows on a regular basis. Kids get on each other's nerves when they are in the same rows all of the time, and the kids who are unpopular (and who nobody wants to sit beside) get a chance to sit with others. I am thinking of moving these kids every month maybe. One teacher I work with (in grade 2) has a "special inner

circle" of the privileged kids who are especially well behaved and do well with their classwork and homework. She feels that this works, so everybody strives to be in this special group. I teach fifth grade, so I am not sure if this sort of arrangement will work in my room. I sort of feel that I would be the same kids all of the time. I do feel that it would be helpful to have a competition between the groups for privileges. I'd also like to assign group names for the two groups: maybe something like Eagles and Seahawks. "Eagles, you have completed all of your homework today, so you may go outdoors for recess." "Seahawks, you have earned more points for good behavior, so you may go outdoors for recess."

I like your idea of using chests. Great storage idea. One storage chest could face the "Eagles," and the other storage chest could face the "Seahawks." Crayons, scissors, colored pencils, glue, etc. could be in those drawers. I'd also like some bookshelves where the kids could store some of their books. We have the desks with the baskets, and some kids make them look so messy with books and everything else hanging out. I think I'll let them have math, science, spelling, and social studies books in their desks--the books we'll use often. The other books I'll have them keep on the shelf to keep their baskets from overflowing.

This is my fourth year of teaching, and I am always looking for new ideas to help facilitate classroom management and instruction.