Classroom Clinic - Tidy Tips
“Dear classroom clinic,
I know it’s still September but I always end up with an untidy classroom at the end of nearly every lesson! How can I avoid spending my time (at break, lunch and after school) tidying tables and picking up items from the floor? I want to nip it in the bud now!”
It’s so frustrating but please don’t let it stop you from continuing to plan engaging and possibly ‘messy’ lessons. All you need to do is plan ahead for this behaviour.
Use the same routine each day so that the students get used to how you expect to end the lesson. Be prepared for the bell or buzzer to go at the end of the lesson (if there is no audible signal then also be ready for the corridor filling with students who have been dismissed form other classes!) – you always want to seem calm and prepared in front of the students.
Ensure you leave time for the students to clear up after the lesson. Try and think ahead and get the students to organise your classroom and resources for you:
- If you need to stick in sheets, then have the students prove they have done this by showing you their books before they hand them in and lose all of their work.
- Count back in any equipment they have borrowed: “No one is going anywhere until I have 3 green pens back… thank you, two green pens are still missing, have a look around you… one left… thank you.” We have even known colleagues to get students to name and label a glue stick per pair. This ownership of ‘Beyonce’ or ‘Stanley’ (they get very creative with names) ensures that equipment is looked after and you can easily tell if anyone has lost or misused ‘their’ item.
- Have the students hand in their books so that you can lay them out easily for next lesson – maybe you could ask them to put them in a pile on their tables and hand them in together so you can easily hand them out to tables next time. If you need to mark their work then ask them to hand in their books open to the correct page etc.
End the lesson with the students standing in silence ready to go (unless the school rules say otherwise). Standing is important as it means the students will have everything packed away, bags on, and chairs pushed in. This means when you are happy that the students are ready to leave, they can exit the classroom without making lots of noise getting read and will not distract other students. Dismiss the class row-by-row or group by group to avoid silly behaviour at the door.
Stand by the door when you are dismissing students are you can then control the exit in the same way as you controlled the entrance. It is important to note that although you are standing at the door you should never block the exits – if a student leaves without your permission they will receive a sanction, but you should never try and put yourself between a student and the exit as this can be dangerous.
The key is to be really careful with your timings and make sure you have 5 minutes spare at the end of each lesson to get the students to leave the classroom as they entered in. Think about the strategies above and make sure you use the students to tidy up. You could also consider a table-check before you dismiss each group so they have to take responsibility for their surroundings before leaving the lesson.
Please let us know your question/issue by emailing: training@prosperoteaching.com
Teaching Blog
No results found.....