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Classroom Jobs

First of all… I am sorry I have neglected my blog for the last 3 weeks. I have been exhausted everyday after school, and just not motivated at all! I guess moving to a new school and being in a new grade really took it out of me! I will say that I LOVE everything about my new school and grade. It has been such a smooth transition and beginning few weeks of school. And most of all I LOVE my class. I have a great mix of personalities, and they have been great to work with. One thing I am really loving about moving from first grade to third grade is the level of independence you get at the beginning of the year. I can already count on my kids to help around the room, complete assignments, help others…. (and not to mention tie their own shoes). I started the second week of school with classroom jobs, and it is going great! Here’s a picture of the job chart.

This picture was taken the first day of school, so everyone is “on vacation”. I hot glued the paw print notecards to ribbon, and used Command hooks to hang them from a closet door. I also used some Velcro at the bottom of the ribbon to keep it from swaying back and forth when I open the closet.

The jobs we have are:

Clip Chart Manager- At the end of the day this person passes out “brag tickets” (positive notes that are sent home if you clip up) and this person also returns everyone’s clothespin to “Ready to Learn” for the next day.

Lunch Count Manager- This person helps me take lunch count by counting how many packed lunches we have each morning. And at the end of the day this person returns all of the magnets to number order for the next day.

Computer Manager- This person turns on our 6 student computers each morning, and turns them off at the end of the day.

Line Leaders- I have a boy and a girl line leader each week (I use a double line whenever we are in the hallway so that our 28 person train doesn’t take up the whole hallway). Their “job” is to be a good model of hallway behavior so that everyone behind them is reminded of how to act.

Bathroom Monitors- Again, one boy and one girl each week. They are only to report unsafe behavior (no tattling!) in the bathroom. We had to have a big discussion on tattling vs. reporting before starting this job. They are doing great so far.

Librarian- This person is in charge of checking the library for messy book boxes, books left in the wrong spot, books bent or folded, etc.

Messenger- This is my “runner”. He or she has the job of taking lunch money or notes to the office in the morning, and picking up our lunch cards before we go to lunch. Anytime I have something to deliver or pick up, I send the Messenger!

Custodian- Everyday the custodian is in charge of putting down/putting up chairs at the extra table, cleaning up big scraps of paper on the floor, and every Friday cleaning the desks with Clorox wipes (my favorite job!)

Materials Manager- The Materials Manager is in charge of many things. If we are out of pencils in the spare bucket, out of paper at a center, out of Kleenex, etc. this person lets me know or takes care of it himself. Also whenever we turn in classwork, this person collects it from the basket and puts in in a neat pile for me.

Teacher’s Assistant- Basically- if there is anything else I need that is not listed above, the Teacher's Assistant takes care of it. If I need help carrying things, if I need a model to explain something, if I need a back rub after a long day (just kidding!) I also let the Teacher’s Assistant pass out papers.

Each week 12 kids have jobs, and all the others are “on vacation”. I keep an Excel Spreadsheet to keep track of who has had each job so that I can rotate fairly and make sure everyone gets a turn at everything. Also on Friday I pay the kids using our “school money” called Cardinal Cash. And throughout the week if someone is slacking on their job I can remind them of pay day coming up. This is my first year using classroom jobs, and I cannot believe how much time it saves me. In my first grade years I was the one straightening the library, wiping down desks, returning the behavior and lunch clips, turning on computers… now I have more time for the important stuff!

Anyone have any cool jobs that I didn’t think of? I thought about adding another since there is an odd number of cards on the ribbons. Hope you are all enjoying your Labor Day Weekend! I will try to stop in more often now that I am settled down in third grade!!

Classroom Tour!

I now have two days in third grade under my belt! On the first day before the students arrived I snapped some pictures of the room while it was nice and tidy. Check out the before and many after photos!

Here is my classroom before I started unpacking. I ended up getting rid of the teacher desk you see, and having only a table for both my “desk” and guided reading.

And here is the after!

  

           Class library and “meeting place”                             My area/guided reading table

           Student  Mailboxes                             Class Job Chart                         Center Area

          Math Wall                                 Clip Chart and Lunch Check in        Hallway Bulletin Board

There she is! My new room! I hope my kiddos are starting to feel at home. They think I am totally obsessed with dogs. LOL!

Monday Made It- DIY Lunch Count Magnets

Well today is my last Monday of summer. Next Monday I will be meeting 29 third graders for the first time, and teaching in my new room for the first time. Oh boy, so much to do until then. Anyway, here is my Monday Made It. I needed some magnets for lunch/attendance check in. I went to Staples and Target looking for some that were all the same that I could just write numbers on with a Sharpie. I was going to have to cough up about $20 to get enough that were the same size. So I decided to make my own. I wanted this project to be simple, though. I have seen a lot of very cool DIY magnets using clear stones and scrapbook paper, but I knew I didn’t have much time to give on this project. So I headed to Hobby Lobby and found everything I needed.

I got a pack of 50 magnets for $6.99, Gorilla Glue for $4.99, white spray paint for $3.27, and wooden buttons for $1.47 a pack. I got two packs, but now I have to go get another one because I’m now at 29 kiddos. Ok- so I spent the $20 that I didn’t want to spend at Staples, but at least I have extra magnets, and spray paint and gorilla glue for future projects.

Making these magnets was pretty simple. First, I spray painted the wooden buttons all white.

After they dried, I started gluing the magnets to the wooden buttons. Make sure you get glue that works for metal and wood, and read the directions on how to use it. If you get Gorilla Glue, you have to wet the surface first. So I used a sponge and got the button a little damp before applying a small amount of glue.

Then I put the magnet on, and carefully placed it somewhere to dry. You have to keep all the magnets spread out or they will start attaching to each other and cause a mess. I also had to put a heavy book on top of them and let them sit for 1-2 hours.

After they were completely dry, I used a black Sharpie and wrote the classroom numbers on them. Pretty easy! Here is how they look on the board.

August “Currently”

Alright, this is my first time linking up with Farley for a “Currently”. I love reading them, so I gave it a shot. Here it is, and just a short post because like I say below I need to get busy on my Monday Made it! Enjoy your Sunday!

First 20 Days of Reader’s Workshop

Officially one week until I report back to duty! I am actually getting really excited. I don’t know very much of what to expect being in a new school, and in a new grade, but I’m not the only one. The rest of the third grade teachers will be learning with me. That is very comforting! Anyway, I know I post A LOT about Reader’s Workshop. I guess that’s because it’s one of the only things I get to keep (mostly) the same in my transition to third grade. I am using the same back-to-school lesson plans this year that I used the last 2 years in first grade. That’s because the first 20 days or so are all about teaching procedures. The kids will learn how I run my Reader’s Workshop, what they will be expected to do, and we will talk a lot about reading and what good readers do. So even though the rest of my day is completely unprepared right now, I am good to go for Reader’s Workshop. I revamped my lessons plans and now have all 20 lesson plans in one product at my TpT store. It’s only $3…Check it out!

I have been posting these lessons week-by-week for awhile, so if you have already purchased one of the weeks, you do not need to purchase the 20 days packet. You will want to keep buying the weekly packets. There are 4 weekly packets. The first packet is my free download if you want to take a peek!