How do you manage students’ materials? Taking turns? The helper chart? Mailbox tags? Locker tags? The clip chart? Do you label ALL of these things with their names? And then what happens when a student moves and a new student moves in? Do you race around the room from label to label to update them? No more…..
In our classroom, we use student numbers to organize our bodies in line and wellll, just about everything related to student “stuff”. I begin the year by laminating a blank list numbered from 1-22. We don’t usually have more than 22 students in a class. After getting my hands on the golden class list, I simply write my students’ names in ABC order down the list of paper. The list gets taped to the top of our mailbox bookshelf for easy reference. After a while, we memorize numbers, but sometimes visitors to our classroom may need a little help knowing who’s number is who’s. This is the ONE and ONLY time the list is perfectly in ABC order. Once a student has been assigned a number, they keep the same number for the entire year. If a student moves, their name is erased. When a new student arrives, they’re assigned the number of the student that moved last.
One of the primary ways we use them is to pick friends for questions or to take turns in whole group activities.
Instead of names, for a little privacy, we also use them on our behavior clip chart. Everyone likes their name up in flashing lights when they’re clipping up the chart. Having numbers on the chart, rather than names, when the infamous clip may be heading in the opposite direction allows for a little more dignity left in tact.
Here, as we were cleaning out for the end of the year, students grabbed buckets of goodies for them to take home. When all the numbers were gone, I knew each student had received a little somethin’ somethin’ from our classroom.
That’s it…..we LOVE our names and celebrate them in all their glory by making sure they’re on our papers and personal supplies. Things that could easily be used for all students are organized by number. We also line up in number order, so there’s no arguing about…….THAT’S MY SPOT….in line. Everyone lines up in the same spot, every time, every day…all……year…..long! Unless they’re the line leader, door holder or caboose. =) Quick easy….a little prep time that will save you a LOT of trouble with organization later…..
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Love these new ideas for using numbers, Tanya - thank you!!
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I love using numbers! I put them on the floor for kids to stand on at the beginning of the year in kindergarten! When I taught upper grades, I had kids to put their number on papers they turned in so I could easily mark a grade in my grade book. Great post! Thank-you!!
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