Classroom Jobs for Everyone

Why do we have classroom jobs?

Classroom jobs have been an central part elementary classrooms for many years. There at a lot of different structures and formats for them. I have found that it is a structure to include all students in the classroom community. Each student has an important role that benefits their classroom family. In Conscious Discipline framework, it is important that each child has a job in the classroom to help build community. When a student is absent, we notice the impact they have on the community. I start out by introducing the jobs during our morning meetings and demonstrate what each job looks like. The second week of school is when I begin to implement the jobs. You will find that after a few weeks the students will know what each job looks like and how the job impacts that classroom. A few questions students should be able to answer is:

How does my job help this classroom?

Why having a job is meaningful?  

The first step is to make a list of all the needs you have in your classroom. List out the routines and needs that keep your classroom running smoothly.  Then assign jobs to each of those tasks. I have found it helpful to also jot down a description of what each job entails. It is okay to have more than one student assigned to each job.

Here is a list of the jobs I will be using in my classroom this year:

·        Line Leader (x 2)  - These students leads the class to different activities

·       Caboose (x 2) - These students make sure we are all in line.

·       Door Holder  - This student holds the doors for classmates as we transition throughout the building

·       Electrician - This student turns the lights on and off in the classroom

·       Germ Patrol -This student gives hand sanitizer to each student before eating snack

·       Snack Helper  - This student carries the snack basket to recess and passes out snack

·       Mail Carrier - This student delivers any paperwork to the front office or other teachers

·       Librarian - This student is responsible for the library being neat and organized

·       Gardener - This student waters the plants throughout the room

·       Tech Assistant - This student helps plug in the ipads and checks that headphones are put away after centers

·       Classroom Greeter - This student welcomes guests into the classroom and explains what we are learning

·       Calendar Helper - This student leads the class in the days of the week and months of the year activities

·       Song Selector - This student selects the songs we use for our brain breaks

·       Weather Helper - This student helps identify and graph the weather for each day

·       Supply Manager - This student helps pass out any supplies during an activity

·       Recycling - This student carries the recycling to the large bin in the hallway on Thursdays

·       Pencil Sharpener - This student gathers and sharpens the pencils at the end of the day

·       Clean Up Cop (x 2) - These students are responsible for sanitizing the tables at the end of the day

·       Substitute  -  This student fills in when another student is absent and unable to complete their job

How to display the jobs?

It is important to display the jobs in a location where all students are able to access it throughout the day. As teachers, we have so many other things to remember throughout the day that it is almost impossible to remember the job assignments for each student. By displaying the jobs in a central location, students are able to take the initiative to find their job assignment on their own if they forget. In the past I have used magnets on the board, envelopes with popsicle sticks, and pocket charts. My classroom now doesn’t have much board space so I use a pocket chart on the wall.

How often are jobs changed and how are they assigned?

It is important to change up the jobs frequently enough so that each student is able to have each job at least once. I change my jobs weekly by moving the names down one spot. This ensures that everyone has an opportunity completing each job and it is one less thing for me to have to keep track of. Every Monday I read the new job assignments during our morning meeting. I know some teachers in the older grades have students fill out a little application for the job they think they would be good at. That is another idea to help students take the jobs seriously. They change the jobs less frequently due to the amount of work from the applications.

Click Here for Classroom Jobs

This file contains 30 different jobs as well as blank/editable jobs to meet the specific needs of your classroom.

There are 4 different themes included:

• Wood
• Blue and Green
• Rainbow Colors
• Black and White