Is it just me, or does it seem like classroom jobs are just another thing to manage? I don’t know about you, but I cannot count the number of times I forgot to change jobs literally 2 minutes before students walked through the door. The panic sets in and then it’s a flurry of changing jobs so that students can see what job they have when they walk through the door. One day I thought to myself, there has to be an easier, more manageable solution. And there is. Let me introduce you to – the classroom helper!
What is a Helper of the Day?
I want to start by saying that I absolutely love for students to have responsibility in the classroom. That’s where student jobs can be phenomenal. However, they are not an easy, sustainable solution. There is a lot that goes into choosing jobs, changing jobs, how long a student will keep a job, whether or not you’ll have them apply for jobs, so on and so forth. Instead, the student helper of the day is a simple system that everyone loves and benefits from!
Each day you choose a new student to be the helper of the day. Then, they take on ALL the class jobs for the entire day! Choosing a student can be done randomly, it can be connected to your Star Student of the Week, or you even start with the order of students by their number.
You may be saying, well what about if you need a line leader AND a door holder? Try two helpers of the day instead! Students can rotate more quickly and you have two amazing little helpers to get ALL the things done.
Does helper of the day still seem too overwhelming to change? Try a helper of the week instead! Take more things off your plate. If you don’t want to remember to change it every day, change it every week!
Why is a Student Helper a Better Solution?
One thing I love about class helpers over class jobs is the fact that everyone gets a chance to be a helper sooner than they may get to rotate through all the jobs. If you have 25 students, every student gets an opportunity to be the helper over the course of the month. Even more frequently if you decide to have two helpers a day!
No more changing 25+ jobs or having students fight over certain roles. The helper has ALL the jobs! Students also love this system. They get excited each day to see who the new helper will be. It still teaches a massive amount of responsibility and students get to work on an array of skills helping throughout the day.
Simple Student Helper Assembly
Implementing a student helper system is as easy as 1-2-print! Simply print the template of your choice, then type and print student names and pictures (you can even add in actual student photos), and finally add Velcro dots to the back of the sign and student cards. Bam! You are set up and ready for the entire year! If you get a new student, it’s super easy to add a new card for them and put in the rotation. I like to have a basket next to our sign where all the cards go. You can even have a student helper randomly choose new helpers for the next day! They will LOVE the ownership they can take in their classroom.
Watch it Here!
Want to see more tips for how to easily step this up in your classroom? Watch a YouTube video HERE to see how I set this up!
It’s FREE!
The best part of this system is that it’s FREE! There are TONS of custom templates whether you want a class helper of the day or of the week. You can edit and print student names and photos. There are 24 clip-art cards included, and you can easily add your own student photos to make it even more personalized! Grab yours now with the link below!
Easy Management All Year Long
Want your classroom to run smoothly from start to finish from day one? Grab the deeply discounted Classroom Management Bundle below! It is jam packed with everything you need to have your classroom almost run itself. From teaching procedures to centers and more, you will be set for the ENTIRE year!
Classroom Management Growing Bundle
I really hope you enjoyed learning all about how to ditch classroom jobs and start a student helper system instead! Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up-to-date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course, more fun FREEBIES, including the Class Helper FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how-to videos! If you want to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.
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