Classroom Jobs Are Worth It!
Like any other aspect of teaching, there is a fair amount of work involved in getting your classroom running like a well-oiled machine. Every procedure that you want your students to do requires teaching and practice.
Classroom jobs for students are no exception. But the result will be a classroom that is neat and tidy, with students that are able to find what they need when they need it, are ready to leave at the end of the day without a chaotic rush, and are invested in the daily running of the classroom.
The best part of assigning classroom jobs to your students is that you can transfer the responsibility of the daily routines of the classroom to them. They’ll feel ownership of their classroom. An immediate benefit for you as the teacher is that you’ll be able to teach without interruption. Instead of asking the class who would like to do a certain job and getting 30 hands frantically waving in the air, your students will already know who performs which jobs and you can seamlessly slide into your next activity.
Designing A Useful System
Here are some tips and ideas to help make your student jobs system almost effortless!
1. First, you’ll need a way to display your jobs and the names of the students.
- Pocket charts are a simple but effective means of display. Students will be able to move their names around easily when you rotate jobs. Just make sure you can see it from anywhere in the room so that you’ll be able to call on the helper you need.
2. Then, write down a list of all of the routine tasks that you do each day.
You might be surprised how long this list is when you actually write it down!
- The jobs should be able to be performed without teacher direction once the students learn them.
- You may find yourself adding and deleting jobs as the year goes on.
- Try to have a job for each student in your class.
- There might be some jobs that can have 2 students assigned to them. An example could be the board erasers or snack helpers.
- Have a “Teacher’s Helper” for random jobs that may come up unexpectedly.
3. Decide how the jobs will be assigned.
- Rotating jobs after a certain amount of time is a good way to make sure that everyone gets to do each job at least once. A possible problem with this approach is rotating too often – students need to do their job often enough and long enough so that it become almost second nature. This ensures that the classroom runs smoothly.
- You can allow students to choose their own jobs. You’ll need to decide how to determine in which order students choose – discuss this with your class so that they’ll know ahead of time. For example, you could use the criteria of who needed the least reminding about their job the week before. Getting students on board with this before choosing will help avoid any complaints.
4. How long will students keep their jobs?
- Keeping their jobs for at least a week is recommended. This helps ensure that students can really learn to do them properly and the jobs then become routine.
Successful implementation of classroom jobs will empower your students and allow them to feel ownership of their classroom. It doesn’t hurt to take some of the routine tasks off of your plate either!
Do you have any ideas or tips to share on a classroom job system? I’d love to hear them!
I designed these cute classroom job cards with a building blocks theme. I just love how bright and cheerful they turned out! I tried to include as many jobs as I could think of, to take the work out of the task for you. The pack also contains an editable option with and without images, should you wish to add your own job titles and/or images. This editable option requires the use of PowerPoint, so you can type your own text. To edit the job cards, open the file, click the text box provided, choose a font, type your text and print! I have provided a set of simple instructions to help you along the way!
You can either set up a bulletin board with jobs and student names, or create a clip chart and add named clothespins.
Legos-themed bunting (standard and large sized) is included in the pack to give a cohesive look to your display area.
LIST OF CLASSROOM JOBS:
- caboose
- calendar monitor
- clean up monitor
- door holder
- librarian
- line leader
- lunch monitor
- messenger
- pencil pal
- table wiper
- teacher’s helper
- energy patrol
- attendance monitor
- bathroom monitor – boy
- bathroom monitor – girl
- board eraser
- chair stacker
- litter monitor
- paper passer
- plant monitor
- pledge leader
- recycling monitor
- substitute
- sweeper
- weather reporter
- tech support
- first aid helper
- germ patrol
- homework monitor
- journal helper
- mat helper
- message board helper
- pet helper
- bell ringer
- sink monitor
- snack helper
- book bag helper
- book collector
- post master
- shoe helper
- sign holder
- supply monitor
- milk monitor
- art assistant
- photographer
- recess helper
- spill crew
- water monitor
- backpack helper
- news reporter
- desk inspector
- time keeper
- centers organizer
- media assistant
- hall monitor
- cubby keeper
- file manager
- secretary
- lunch count
- greeter
- ipad monitor
- score keeper
- quiet patrol
- class reader
- equipment helper
- banker
- class cheerleader
- lunchbox monitor
- table captain
- class pointer
- fountain monitor
- vest helper
You might also be interested in other legos-themed classroom decor. Just click the links below to explore further!
2. Matching Editable Legos-themed Chalkboard and White-fill Labels
3. Matching Editable Legos-themed Calendar Cards
4. Matching Editable Legos-themed Word Wall Cards
Great tips! It can be so hard to think of a job for everyone. This really helps!
Thanks so much, Susan! It was also a bit of a trial finding all the images to match, but I was happy with the finished result!
Thanks for this great job list! I appreciate all the tips of setting things up as well. This is a great post!
Thanks so much! Glad you found it useful!
These look great! Thanks for the list of jobs, I think you have listed more than enough!
Haha – you can never have too many!
I love the lego theme! Thanks for such a comprehensive list of jobs. You have several I've never thought of.
Thank you so much! I really enjoyed the color in this theme – it was great fun creating these resources!