Hi everyone, I will be a first year Kindergarten teacher next Fall and am super excited!! I'm coming across an endless amount of great information to prepare myself. The challenge is how to weed through the endless amount of info....I would appreciate any advice or tips to set up my classroom. My question is ...Does anyone have any ideas for a job chart system? What jobs do you incorporate in the chart. I've seen people use pocket charts and some other store bought charts. Thanks! Mariana
Hi, I do two systems..it depends on my mood that year. One of them is to take a picture of each child. Then I have sentences on strips that say, "I am the door holder." "I am the line leader." and so forth. I make sure each child has a job. Next, I cut out the picture of the child and put a magnet on the back. I then just go in alphabetical order and put their pictures beside a job. I then rotate the pictures every morning. The other system is to make a class list and at the top write the job: line leader, door holder and so forth. Then I use a push pin to just move down the names. This is really simple and the children get to recogninze very quickly where their name falls on the list. Good luck and hope these help!
Hi- I don't have a lot of classroom jobs, it just creates more work for me and I like to work smarter, not harder so I just have one "Leader of the day", which is like "Student of the day". That one child gets to wear our "leader vest" and he/she does everything I need. When there are things that require more than one person I have the LOTD select friends to help. This method is great and requires very little prep, space on my walls, or time. I have a co-worker who is forever calling out "Who is my door holder? Where is my ______?!?" and when she is absent she e-mails me elaborate lists of who gets what job and asks me to change the job chart etc, you get the picture, maybe that is what inspired me to simplify things- it just seems like a huge pain
I have jobs for the kids in the classroom. I change them each Monday Line Leader (the Star of the Week) Door Holder Caboose Paper Passer 2 Messengers Flag (leads us in the Pledge) Calendar Person
Thanks for all the tips. This gives me a better idea how to set up a job chart. I'm just curious Vannapk, what jobs other than line leader do you incorporate? And, AMK how do you organize your job chart? Do you use a pocket chart? Thanks, Mariana
I have a job for each child. I pretty much have them do it as they come in and we discuss it for our morning meeting. I have: Line Leader Caboose Door Holder 2 Weather people (one to do the sentence and one to dress the bears) Calendar 2 People to take the attendance down to the office Counter Flag (pledge leader) 2 Clean up Crew Song leader Librarian Vacation They rotate each day and the person on vacation does the dutys of anyone absent or if they aren't behaving or need "assistance". It isn't very much work for me, I have a system. Good luck!
I have a small pocket chart I use. I made the signs for the jobs using clipart. Then I just write their names on colored paper. I just change the names each week.
I teach 4 year olds. I have 18 of them so I have 9 jobs. The kids know that they have 1 week on, 1 week off. Every Monday I change the job board. My 9 jobs are: line leader, caboose, lights, snack helper (who goes with my assistant to the cafeteria every day to pick up snack), paper plates (puts them at everyone's seats while we are washing hands before snack), plant waterer, and 3 supply managers (1 for each table- when we need crayons markers glue etc., they get for their particular table). My jobs are on a small bulletin board in my room- the jobs are written on big flowers, and everyone has a "busy bee" cutout with their names on them that I use to rotate. Every Monday I announce the new jobs during circle, and if someone is absent I appoint someone to do their job for the day and inform them of what the job is when they return to school. I also chose to have my "circle helper" that does the calendar and weather change every day instead of every week. I found that it gave me more of a chance to work with each kid and they all sit nicely on the carpet waiting for me to announce whose turn it is that day- a great simple way to get them all ready to work in the morning.
I don't use a job chart, but the kids still do the jobs. I have found that kids at this age love to help, so I use that to my benefit. When I see a student doing a great job, I give them a die-cut paper star that they write their name on. They then put their star into a star gift bag. When I need a helper, I pick a star. The kids LOVE this!!
I have one leader a day. I post the name on the bulletin board under 'Today's Helper is:' The helper passes out papers, any supplies, is my line leader, messenger, etc...It saves time and energy. If the person who is chosen for helper is not in school that day, I take the next name off of the top of my stack and place the absent person's name back on top so they can be the helper the next day.. It has worked out well.
I just have one helper each day. That student is the line leader, helps with the calendar and whatever I need that day. I use a clipboard with a class list and several columns next to each name. Each student gets to be the leader on his/her birthday. Otherwise they don't know when their next turn is coming up. Each morning I pull out the clipboard and they all sit quietly waiting to see who will be chosen and know that I will not choose a child who is not ready to listen. I write the month & date in the columns to keep track of those who have already had turns and to see who has been waiting the longest. Several students like to play school during free choice time and use a clipboard from the writing center to write their own class list of playmates. Their friends all sit nicely hoping to be chosen.
I also have a job for each child in my class. I rotate jobs each Monday and they have the job the entire week. I have the kids picture and name on a computer printed label attached to an index card. I use cute gingham library pockets with the job name attached. I just move the cards to the next pocket each week, so I never have to keep track. Way easier for me. We take our jobs very seriously. I've even had to fire children from their jobs because of repeated warnings about how to do the job correctly. This is HUGE for Kindergarteners. They love the responsibility and really understand the value of a job when they realize it can be taken away for poor performance. It makes a big impact when someone actually does get fired. My kids especially love being the nurse's aide (they take sick kids to the nurse) and alternate (take over anyone's job who is absent or gets fired). My principal really questioned how well my kids understood what alternate mean, then he asked them. They told him exactly what the alternate does. It was so cute! Here's a picture of what I do.
I have preschool... we change jobs on Monday, but let the kids pick which job they want (or a lot of our part-time kids, we'll assign them a job if they aren't here that day). We talk about how we don't have enough jobs for everyone every week, but if you don't have a job this week, you'll get one next week. I rarely hear any complaining. We have: line leader (2) door holder (2) flag holder (1) errand runner (2) passing out cups (2)... probably THE favorite job bathroom cleaner (2) floor sweeper (2) Sometimes both kids on a job will be absent or otherwise can't do it (if you refuse to listen, you're not passing out the cups!), so we'll ask someone else to do it. They know they have to be good listeners in order to get chosen.
My LOTD (leader of the day) does everything: line leader, calendar helper, picks the caboose, chooses all the songs we will sing and in what order, sometimes I let him/her pick which book to read, passes things out, collects things, passes out badges in AM and collects them in PM, checks for clean-up of centers and floors, chooses what games to play in gym, gets first turns with popular activities/toys, there's a lot more I'm sure I'm forgetting but you get the picture. The way I choose my LOTD is kind of fun and educational to boot. I have all the kids names on sentence strips in an envelope. I pull one sentence strip out of the "need a turn" envelope and I glance secretively at it and put it in the "had a turn envelope" (they love this part, giggling, laughing, and trying to guess who it is). Then I write the first letter of the LOTD's name on our ACTIVBoard. All the students who begin with that letter stand up. Then I add the next letter and so on and they sit down as they realize it's not their name and the last one standing is the LOTD. After the name is complete the LOTD highlights his or her first and last letters in yellow and then calls on students to highlight each letter in between with a different color. The first and last letters in a word are part of our literacy assessment so that's one way to get in some daily practice We also have some other games we do with the LOTD's name, like mix up the letters like a puzzle and put them back together again etc. My LOTD also gets to take home a special literacy bag, here's a link to the literacy bag page on my site: vanna's buddy bags needless to say, the Literacy Bags are also a big motivation to be the leader
kindergarten classroom setup Hi Ladies, Thank you for all your job chart ideas. On to the next question...Does anyone have advice on how to set up a kindergarten classroom? Perhaps some links, suggestions, lists to go by?? What should I focus on truly having in my room before school starts? Thanks, Mariana
I love pocket charts! I am always looking for ones on sale. I dont buy pocket chart stands b/c they are so expensive...instead I buy the clothes rack and use shower rings to attach it. Here is the link to the clothes rack I use: http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1355919&cp=1331610.1331979.1770206&parentPage=family
I kept it simple this year...the snack person was my line leader, calendar helper, etc! Being hired a few days before school started it was the easiest thing to do! That way I didn't have to try to slap together some type of chart or anything like that! It worked really well...the kids really didn't mind that they didn't have a job everyday! I think next year I'm gonna try something new! Miss J-I really like the star bag idea...that rocks! My kids would have loved that this year!! AMK-You are a genius with the clothes rack! I was trying to find a way to utilize more of my pocket charts but don't have anywhere to put them! I love that idea!!
I also have just one helper each day who does everything. The complicated job charts are too much to keep up with and take too much time during the school day.
I only have 4 jobs...flag holder, weather watcher, snack helper(napkin passer) and counter. It is just for the "routine" aspect- to get them used to it. I do it every day in the same order. Kids names are in an envelope in ORDER. I pick a new flag holder every day- and everyone else moves "down one spot" to a new job. (kinda fits in with the math curriculum)
I have a job for each student. They keep thier jobs for a week and we change jobs on Monday's before we go home. (That way they can do their job right away on Monday.) Some of my jobs: Table washer-(2 wash the tables before snack), Snack-(2 pass out the snack), Paper towels-hands each child 1 paper towel after they wash their hands, Calendar-(uses the pointer to lead us in counting the date and clapping the pattern), date reporter-(hangs up the date and leads us in saying it), door holders-I have two becuase we have so many doors to go throught, messenger, pledge leader, pointer, cheer leader-(we use Dr. Jean cheers-this person choses the cheer we use), tally marker-tallies how many boys girls and in all, yesterday today and tomorrow-moves the cards and uses the poiner to lead us in reading, weather watcher-looks out the window and reports the weather, weather grapher-adds the picture to the graph, equiptment-carries out the recess balls, inspectors-(I have 2 or 3 depending on the class they make sure each area is cleaned up correctly), days in school $-adds the penny to our count, days in school puzzler-add the puzzle piece, days in school counter-counts how many days we have been in school and adds the straw and dicut, asssitant teacher-helps with any extras, nurse helper-walks students to nurse, lunch count, yes/no graph leader-reads the question and leads us in counting each answer, lights helper-turn off/on the lights, unemployed-2 these students know they don't a have job this week, substiture-2 these students do the job for anyone who is absent, some years I have fish feeders, plant waters, etc. I have a chart with 1 pocket for each child-there are two pockets that say table washer, substutite, ect. and 1 pocket for each job that only has one. Each child has a popcycle stick with thier name and picture on it. On Monday's right before dismissal I move each child's stick over 1 pocket. I love this becuase once kids figure out the system the never ask when is thier turn to be ....
You can print out the cheers here: http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2004/06_june/06_2004a.html
I've simplified...I have a Queen/King of the Day! I decided to go with this because it was taking so much of my time at circle. I'm half day! The King/Queen can pick a "helper" if they so desire! I still post the jobs so that they know what they are responsible for. The king or queen gets to wear a crown!
Morning Routine Hi, Can someone please share a detailed description of your morning routine (for Kindergarten) including Calendar etc.. I've never taught Kinder and I'm aware you do weather, calendar etc. The more details the better!!! Thanks!!!!
This will be my first year teaching. I actually just wrote up my Calendar routine (we will do it during math time at 10:15). I also have listed the Maine Learning Results that it covers. I will post it for you: Procedure for Calendar *Calendar helper(s) will be determined by the classroom job chart. Monthly Calendar - There will be a pattern for the month, determined by the teacher (ex: ABAB, AABB, etc.). Student will take a colored square for the day that matches the pattern out of the storage baggy. Student will write the numerical date on the square and tape it on the calendar in the correct spot to represent the day of the week and month that it is. - The whole class will count the days of the month to the current day with the calendar person leading the count. - Student will lead the reading the following posters with the whole class: o Days of the week o Months of the year Monthly Tally Marks - Student will add a tally mark to the monthly tally mark sheet using a marker. These tally marks will represent the days of the month that we are actually in school. - On every fifth day, the student will add the diagonal tally mark and write a 5 underneath the group. The student will lead the whole class in counting by 5s and then 1s to get to the current number of tally marks. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow - Student will change the days on the chart (the day tags will have Velcro on the back) to represent which day it is today, which day it will be tomorrow, and which day it was yesterday. - Student will lead the class in a reading of the chart, once successfully completed. Reading of the chart will be done in the form of a song: ~~The Today Song~~ (To the tune of "Frere Jacques") Today is _______. Today is _______. All day long, all day long. Yesterday was ______. Tomorrow will be _______. Oh what fun! Oh what fun! Code Date - Student will write the day’s code date (ex: 8-30-07) on the white board using a dry-erase marker. - Student will lead the whole class in reading the code date (ex: eight dash thirty dash zero seven) Weather - Student will look out the classroom window and decide what the weather is like today (ex: sunny, rainy, snowy, etc.). - Student will move the weather calendar hands to represent the day’s current weather. - Student will color in a box on the monthly weather graph to represent what the weather is like on that particular day. This graph will tell the class the type of weather we experienced during the month - Teacher will ask the whole class questions about the graph (which weather occurred the most? how many more days was it sunny than rainy? etc.) Days of School - First, student will fill in the place value chart to represent how many days we have been in school. They will use straws to represent the days we are in school. Student will add a straw to the “ones” place. Once 10 straws are in the “ones” place, the student will place a rubber band around the group of 10 and place them in the “tens” place. Once 10 groups of 10 are in the “tens” place, the student will place a rubber band around this group and place the group in the “hundreds” place. - Next, student will write the number of the total days we have been in school on a colored circle and will tape it up on our number line caterpillar. - Student will then lead the whole class in counting by 1s up to the number of days we have been in school. Teacher may decide to have the class count by 2s, 3s, 5s or 10s as well. - Student will add a sticker to a box on the 10 frame chart. We will then count by 10s up to the number of days we have been in school. Posters - Student will lead the whole class in a reading of the posters on the wall: o Colors o Ordinal numbers o Numbers 1-10 o Community helpers Tooth Graph - Teacher will ask if anyone has lost a tooth that day. If a child has, student will add a tooth cutout to the graph. - Teacher can ask students questions about the graph. Learning Results Covered: English Language Arts A. Process of Reading 1. Seek out and enjoy experiences with books and other print materials. 2. Demonstrate an understanding that reading is a way to gain information about the world. C. Language and Images 3. Make valid observations about the use of words and visual symbols. Mathematics A. Numbers and Number Sense 1. Demonstrate and understanding of what numbers mean. 2. Understand the many uses of numbers. C. Data Analysis and Statistics 2. Make tallies and graphs of information gathered from immediate surroundings. G. Patterns, Relations, and Functions 1. Recognize, describe, extend, copy, and create a wide variety of patterns. Science and Technology F. The Earth 1. Describe the way weather changes 2. Analyze the relationships between observable weather patterns and the cycling of the seasons. L. Communication 5. Make and read simple graphs Let me know if you would like more detailed instructions or clarification. Hope this helps you out!
Thanks! Wow! Great detailed description of your morning routine. I will definitely follow it. Do you have a picture of this set up by any chance?? Thanks, Mariana
Mariana, I don't have any pictures yet because I have not set up my classroom. Once I get it all set up, I will definitely post some pictures for you!
I do the leader of the day as well. I found it to be such a hassle to switch the jobs around and I dont' like th eextra work. I love Vannapk's idea on how to say who it is. I usually just pick a name and announce it, however my students also know that they had to have a good day the day before. I won't chose a helper who was a hinderer the previous day. So if their name is chosen I let them know that I'll put them back in the cup and hopefully their name will be chosen again real soon...I usually am sneaky and pick it someday that week when I know that they are ready for the "responsibility".
I also have a job for each student, but they keep that job for the whole week. I do have line leader and caboose that changes each day though. If you want to know want kind of jobs I have, feel free to pm me.
I had many of the typical student jobs like lineleader, caboose, door holder, snack helpers, messengers. I also had other jobs like Castle Keeper (made sure the castle reading area was clean), weather reporter, pointer/leader, chair person, paper passer, paper collector and server (counted and recorded the students for each lunch choice). As far as rearranging the room I make sure I have noisy centers away from quiet centers. If your in need of suggestions for centers, be sure to check out Debbie Diller's book Literacy Work Stations. She gives lots of advice on what kids will do at workstations and shows you some ways to set up. Some defenite areas to have: Calendar, word wall, library, art area, abc/word study area, computers, small group work area.
Need Chair Pockets!!! Hi everyone, I desperately need Kindergarten chair pockets.. Does anyone know where I can get them? I went to Really Good stuff website but they are incredibly expensive!!!! Thanks!!! Mariana
Hi, Does anyone use the caterpillar number line?? Where you have each circle segment used for a day? How does this work? I want to put one near my calendar wall. Thanks, Mariana
I am planning on using a caterpillar number line. I am on the lookout for a template for a face. Other than that, I think I am just going to the caterpillar going up the wall and maybe around the heater...not sure yet. We are going to add a circle with a number in it each day that we are in school. I will probably do every 5 numbers in a different colored circle.