As a middle school teacher and a mom of 3 kids (who are now all in school!)I’m all about making my school life easier so that I can actually be a good human being the rest of the day. Implementing these five practices have changed my school life and they’ll help you, too (especially the classroom jobs part!).
1. Numbering Students
Let’s just start off by saying that I don’t call my students by their numbers, okay? I call by their names but I use their attendance order in multiple ways.
Labels – instead of labeling everything with student names that would have to be replaced each year, I use numbers. You can find the numbers on my mailbox, their book bins, clipboards, and Amazing Work board. Basically, anywhere you’d need to identify somebody there’s a number on it.
Attendance – This is a bit drill-sergeant-ish but it’s the most efficient way I’ve found to do attendance. I’ll say, “Sound off!” and whoever is the first person on the attendance list will say their number and if they are going home or staying for lunch. For example, the first person says, “One. Staying.” The second person says, “Two. Home” until attendance is done. When everyone is paying attention this could take less than a minute.
Organizing Completed Work – When I want to mark or hand assignments back, I put their sheets in attendance order. That way when I go to put work in their mailbox, the assignments are in the correct order so I’m not wasting time looking for their number.
2. Mailboxes
This brings me to my mailbox. I bought this beauty my second year of teaching and 13 years later it is still going strong.
I’m not big on having loose paper everywhere and I definitely don’t like putting graded assignments on students’ desks. It takes way too long to find everybody so this is a super-efficient solution.
The mailboxes are numbered using a binder clip with a vinyl number sticker on the front.
One of the classroom jobs is Mail Distributor so that person is the one who would put any newsletters, assignments with feedback only, and work for absent students in the mailboxes.
Assignments that have been graded are put in by me to respect student privacy.
3. Classroom Jobs
To be honest, classroom jobs can be hit or miss depending on the class. A lot of the time, it will be the same students who are the ones doing all of the work. You know who they are.
That’s why I’m using a combination of Houses and individuals as the ones who are doing the job. Read about The House System here.
Depending on the job, students will work as a team to ensure their jobs are completed by the end of the day. Individuals can earn house points by being hired for the individual jobs.
Here’s a list of jobs you can assign to your students:
Team Leader (individuals from each table group)
Clean Up Crew (house)
Class Librarian (house)
Tech Support (house)
Electrical Inspector (individuals)
Bin Boss (individuals)
Materials Monitor (house)
Interior Designer (house)
Mail Distributor (house)
Class Messenger (individuals)
4. Drawers for Photocopies
Have you found yourself desperately searching for a handout a minute or two before you need it? Maybe you have piles of paper all over your desk.
Use these stacking scrapbooking drawers to organize your photocopies and clean up your space. Label each drawer with a day of the week and keep another drawer for extra copies.
Here’s the secret, though. You need to do all your photocopies at the beginning of the week or even better, the week before. By doing this, you’ll save time by not having to run back and forth to the photocopier. This means your other prep periods can be used for planning and grading assignments.
Once your copying for the week is done, sort all your copies, clip them together with a binder clip and put them in the correct drawer. Everything you need for your lessons will be right at your fingertips!
5. Planning at Home and Marking at School
This was a game-changer for me last year. All my planning was done at home, which meant that all my teacher resources were at home with me – not taking up space in my classroom. I was able to stay focused on planning one subject at a time so my brain wasn’t constantly switching tasks. I also wasn’t interrupted as much (I mean, come on. I have 3 kids) so I felt more productive that way.
When you teach middle school students, the marking of assignments is a lot – especially when you have 30+ students in your class. This means that you need to really consider what you are going to grade, what you’ll give written feedback on and what assignments can just be oral feedback.
In order for feedback to be meaningful, it needs to be timely. That’s why I use my prep periods for grading. If I can grade one whole set of assignments during a period then I know that I’m taking something off of my plate and helping my students to know what they need to work on.
What strategies and tools have you used to make your life easier? Comment below or DM me on Instagram to share. If you are looking for a set of editable classroom jobs, don’t forget to check these out.
I’m Lauren, from “From Math to Music” – your go-to person for all things Math and Classroom Community.
Being a middle-school teacher and a mom of 3, I know how hard it is for busy teachers to create resources that allow for deep thinking and build classroom community. That's why I love sharing tips and tricks that you can you use in your middle school classroom right this minute.
