I am getting ready to make/buy my job helper chart for my 1st grade class... For those of you experienced 1st grade teachers, what are the mose essential jobs for 1st graders... It is not important to me to be sure that all of them have a job every week.. I just want the most managable system with the most important jobs..
I have one line leader, one messenger (takes papers to office), one caboose (end of line), one teacher's assistant, one librarian, one mail person, 4 book cart drivers (we share book carts between classrooms daily), 2 room checkers (check floor at the end of the day), and two substitutes (for those who may be absent). The rest of my kids' clips go on a spot called "vacation" until it's their turn to start "working" again.
My jobs are listed in a two column chart and with the entire bottom labeled "vacation". All the other jobs have their own cell in the chart. The kids all have a clothespin with their name on it and I just rotate it by moving the clips in a circle. I move the clips each Monday. It worked well this year. I don't have a copy of the chart at home, so I'm sorry I can't attach it.
The jobs I had last year were:
line leaders (girl & boy)
clean-up crew - sharpened pencils, erased boards - had 2 (my kids did not sharpen
their own pencils)
locker & boots - made sure lockers were closed & nothing hung out and straightend boots
in the hallway during winter
ball bag - we have a bag for recess balls (could also straigten indoor recess games)
bathroom guards (girl & boy)
librarian - took books to library on library day & straightened our books too
substitute - took job of whoever was absent
runners - delivered messages to other teachers (had 2)
messengers - delivered messages to office
computers - turned computers on in the morning & turned off at night
We are required to have a job for every one of our kids each week. My class jobs were as follows:
Electrician - turns of lights
Door Holder
Line Leader
Classroom Manager - in charge of keeping classroom neat and tidy
Librarian - checks class library, straightens rugs and pillows if need be
Bulletin Board Manager - checks boards in classroom and hallway and lets me know if something needs to be re-stapled
Board Manager - wipes down whiteboards at the end of the day
Caboose - monitors the rest of the line
Homework Manager - passes out stickers to those who completed and returned homework
Paper Manager - helps pass out papers or collect papers
Computer Manager - turns computers on each morning and off at the end of the day
Plants and Pets Manager - watered plants and fed our class fish
Messenger - delivers messages or retrieves messages from office if needed
Teacher Assistant - helps me with anything I need
Pencil Manager - reminds me when the dull cup is filling up to sharpen pencils
Clipboard Manager - responsible for taking our class behavior clipboard (school-wide thing) to and from specials and lunch
Substitute- helped with any job where someone was absent that day
Line Leader
2 Door Holders
2 Assistants (they did the office runs, computers, and just about anything else I needed; I kept them the same all year)
2 Bathroom Watchers (1 boy/1 girl)
2 Substitutes (incase any one was absent)
All my jobs changed biweekly except my assistants. Once I got the assistants trained I didn't want to worry about training others. I will say that I did have a couple others who could step in just in case any of my assistants were absent.
I have 9 jobs in my classroom. If a child doesn't get a job, they are considered "on vacation" and they will get a job the week after. Here's mine:
1. Messenger: brings things to/from the office, other classrooms, etc.
2. Line Leader
3. Caboose: is at the back of the line. Makes sure kids are doing what they are supposed to be doing, and reports to me if someone is not following hallway rules. Also turns off classroom lights when we leave the room, closes the door, and hold the doors for the class.
4. Librarian: Tidies up the classroom library, and takes the library books up to the school library.
5. Calendar helper (does the calendar jobs)
6. Weather Watcher (does the weather and posts it for the day, does the graphing, etc).
7. Substitute: Fills in for someone if they are sick
8. Paper Passer: Passes out paper or anything else that needs to be handed out
9. Housekeeper: stacks chairs at the end of the day, does litter patrol, table inspections, etc.
I have 10 jobs so that everyone has a job every other week.
Teacher Assistant - runs errands and helps the teacher and is line leader Electrician - "End Friend" and turns off lights when we leave the room Librarian - takes care of classroom library Girls' RR Inspector - Makes sure the girls are quiet/mannerly and clean in the RR Boys' RR Inspector - Makes sure the boys are quiet/mannerly and clean in the RR Supply Clerk - helps the T.A. pass out supplies/papers Chef - Calls quiet students up for snack Custodian - Inspects the room for cleanliness before we leave for the day Recycler - helps student Custodian carry our classroom recycle box to the big bin Substitute - fills in for a student who is gone
I just choose 1 student each day to be the helper and they do all the jobs for the day. It's a lot easier than trying to remember who has each job each day.
I, too, have one helper of the day. They love being the helper. They do everything. And management-wise, it's a piece of cake for me. I buy those colorful handprints from Carson Dellosa (or something like that) and put each child's name on one. Then, I hole punch the middle finger at the top and hang them on a hook. At the end of each day, I flip a hand over onto another hook, and I'm ready for the next day.
I also have only one helper a day. It's one less thing to manage! If the helper of the day is absent, we flip to the next person, and the absent child gets to be the helper the day they return. I use a clip chart for this. All of the students' names are written on one side of a narrow piece of cardboard, and I move the clothespin down.
I used to have all of the jobs but after years and years of c hanging them weekly, I decided to choose 1 line leader and I let that student choose 2 door holders. We have several double doors so 2 are needed.
It took up so much time changing jobs and that is what helped me decide to change the way I did it. Everyone gets to be the leader at least twice during the year and some of the really deserving ones, get to do it a third time.
Yes, I switch to one helper per day and it's much better than having a ton of jobs. The students like it too! Thanks for the helping hand idea. I think I will try it also!
I also only have one helper a day and they are called my VIP. I have a cover that slips over the back of their chair for the day that has a pocket for their name. If they are absent I am the VIP and then I put them in the rotation for the next week as they get to share an item from home on the day they are VIP.
I have a job pocket chart and apples with each child's name on them. I keep the names in a basket separated by gender and rubber banded together. I pull the child's name from the top of the stack and put it in the leader slot. The next day they move down to door monitor, then caboose and then back into the the back of the stack.
The leaders lead the line, hold the flags, go to the office, teacher's helper. The door monitors hold the doors when we go places and take turns answering our classroom door. The Caboose "watches" the line when we go places and also helps monitor the bathroom.
We also have a Star Student with our Saxon Math. However, I really like the one helper a day idea so I might combine the two and have the Star Student be the helper of the day as well. For those of you who have only one helper, do you have two line leaders (boy/girl) or do you walk in one line? We usually have two.
I have a job for every student:
-Line leader (1)
-Messengers (2)
-Lunch Count (1)
-Trash Collector (2)--puts the trashcans in the hallway
-Librarians (2)- straightens up the class library daily
-Floor Checkers (2)
-Center Sheriff (1)- THe person in charge if someone needs help at their center
-Greeter (1)- Choose the greeting and activity for our Morning Meeting
-Math Meeting (1)- Leads the class with our calendar activities
-Caboose (1)
-Substitutes (2)
-Gardener (1) Waters the plants
-Paper Passers (2)
I use the little pockets you can but at a teachers store and make 2 columns, so it's about 2 by 7 pockets. I use the fat popsicle sticks and glue a picture of the child's face to the top of the stick. I rotate them clockwise every Monday.
my kids each have a job-I feel like it makes them become a stakeholder in our classroom community! We have the regular line leader, line ender, lunch tub carriers (2), messenger, zoo keeper, hall monitor, line monitor, recess helper, 2 calender helpers. And some fun ones Techie (turns off/on any needed technology @ beginning and end of day), DJ (picks our working music), cheerleader (chooses which cheers we do throughout the day to celebrate),
07-21-2010, 04:04 PM
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