I like what Wong says about telling students where they are going to sit. I also plan on have students do O'Clock groups (group them based upon color of shirt, favorite food etc during first week and then when you want a group say form 6 o'clock groups) I also plan on having seats in rows with the center open. That all said, how in the world do I seat them alphabetically the first day without having a long line in the hallway?? I could put numbers on desks, 5,10,15 etc (which will become their student numbers) and say you sit in seat 25.....but how do they find seat 25 without wondering and whining????? HELP :help:
I agree that alphabetical is a good way to go the first day of school. I will have the students' names on name tents (just pieces of bright cardstock folded in half) on each desk. I plan on putting out all 6 name tents (for 6 different periods) in the morning on the appropriate desks and just having each period flip to the next name tent at the end of the period. Also, you could put a copy of your seating chart on the overhead--I'll do this too as a back up. Hope this helps!
I tape a seating chart to the board and ask them to find their seats. Then, when the bell rings to start class, I quickly read out each row and make corrections as necessary. It takes about 2 minutes, max.
I'm having the kids wear name tags the first week of school, so I plan on just placing their name tags on their desks. I don't want to do alphabetical, insead, I'm sitting two boys and two girls at each group (I have 4 desks put together to form groups) to try to minimize chit chat.
I'm going to make a seating chart and duplicate it onto an overhead sheet. I'll make one up for each group of kids. I will have it up as the kids walk into class. The seating chart will be numbered as will the desks. They will come in, find their name on the seating chart and the number, then find the actual desk and the number. Hopefully this won't be too hard, but I know I will get a couple of confused students who can't seem to look at the numbers and figure it out.
I have mine done alphabetically unless it is a group of students I had last year then I know who can handle sitting by whom. I've done mine on a power point and will have it on the SmartBoard when they come in.
That beginning-of-the-year seating chart is more so YOU can learn their names, than for the students themselves. With them all seated randomly, go row by row. "Row one, go stand by the wall, please." Then fill the row, alphabetically. Etc. After Fall Break, when you've got all the names (and at the secondary level, that's often 200 or more!) you can get more creative with the seating charts. The important thing is, you MUST have a chart, otherwise you'll have arguments and pushing and even fights. Find out beforehand who has vision problems, etc. They will get preferential seating.
A while back I had one class three years in a row. It was great... day 1 of year 2, I announced "same seats, same policies. Any questions???" and started teaching right away. Day 1, year 3, I didn't even bother. They came in, sat in the right seats and I started teaching. They were a magnificent group of kids
If you have time to kill you could allow the students to sit where ever they want and then once the bell rings go "Are you comfortable? Good, because you are going to have to arrange yourselves alphabetically, on your own, in 5min...if you do it in 5min you get candy (or something?)... time starts... now!!" That way the kids are interacting, actively finding their own spot and no one is standing against the wall waiting to find their seat. Then, after 5min, check to see if they are right =o)
Great idea! I think I might try this! I was just trying to figure out a way for students to find a seat!
I'm going to either start in a U or as pairs facing the front. I know that my class will be chatty - I taught all of them before - so I'm planning to nip that right away. I'll decide who sits where, and then have name tags sitting on the desk as they come in. I'm also going to have Bell Work for them to do too. Speaking of seating arrangements, has anyone used class sociometry as a way of grouping? That's when each person has the chance to write down the names of 3 people they would like to sit beside, and one they would rather not. You can then do statistics to see who is popular, rejected, isolated, etc., and group popular with rejected as a means of elevating their class position. it is an interesting theory, and I have done it before, but I found that the groups became too chatty. Anyone else?? I don't think you could start the year with it, but it is an idea for later on.
I generally don't "group" students for long periods of time due to the chatter. I tell my students at orientation where their desks are, then when they come in day 1, they already know. If I have made any changes, I leave name tags on the desks.
I LOVE Avery Removeable labels! They stick great and come off cleanly. I use them to put the student names on their desks the first day of school. They just come in, find their name, and have a seat. I write their names in different color ink as well since I have some students more than once per day.
I've put removable index cards with all the students' names on it. I found that students love it when they know who sits in a desk the class before and after them.
I use name cards but I will not start it until next week. Basically, every student in my class has a different seat every day of the week and with different people everyday of the week. I have tables so each student will work with every other student in the classroom and will take different roles depending on which part of the table they are at. It gets tricky when you are traveling because a lot of the organizational things that you would like to put on the desks cannot happen when you only have the class for one period. I have found that this setting really helps struggling students because when they make a mistake it is the groups fault and not the individual but if the individual does well I can help their self-esteem. Oh, and I give them a detention if I notice them switching cards trying to get with their students and they also get a nice earful. After the first student moves a card, they usually don't try too much to change the cards after that. The only thing I really need to worry about is a bunch of gossipy 7th grade girls
I've been instructed to have my students placed along the walls of the classroom, facing the wall. The rationale given for this is that you always know who is paying attention, and where their focus is. Thoughts?
Face the wall? You do not need to have them face the wall. You will know soon enough who is paying attention and who is not. You need to see their faces when you are teaching. I seat the students in groups of two, so that each has a "buddy" to get help. I post the seating chart on the Smartboard when the students arrive. I regroup every 5-6 weeks. Good luck!
