14 of the Best Classroom Jobs – Continually Learning
Classroom Jobs are so important to help the classroom run smoothly. I recently wrote a post about how to simplify your teaching. It is easy to get overwhelmed with everything you have to do during a teaching day. One tip I mentioned was to have the students help you with all the little things. Having the students help with classroom jobs will save you so much time, so you can focus on all the important things.
This is a list of jobs that I use in my classroom that I find extremely helpful.
1. Classroom Custodian
Responsible for making sure the classroom is neat and clean.
I normally have more than one student for this job. This person is not the ONLY person to clean the classroom though. All students need to help clean up, especially their own areas. This person can help others clean up or at least tell people when they have trash under their desk or need to clean their area.
2. Morning Meeting Leader
Responsible for leading morning meeting at the beginning of the day.
It is always helpful to have a student in charge of procedures at the beginning of the day and end of the day. In my classroom, I had a morning meeting every morning. This student ran the morning meeting by picking activities or calling on people to share. Normally I would help a lot, but just in case I was absent, this student could help the substitute.
If you don’t have a morning meeting, you can have a student in charge of morning procedures or checking agendas in the morning.
If you want to learn more, I wrote a post about Morning Meeting that you can read here.
3. Closing Circle Leader
Responsible for leading closing circle at the end of the day.
At the end of the day, I had a closing circle. It is a lot like Morning Meeting. This student ran the closing circle. If you don’t have a closing circle, you can have this student help with the end of the day procedures or call groups to pack up.
If you want to learn more, I wrote a post about Closing Circle that you can read here.
4. Pencil Sharpener
Responsible for making sure the class always has a supply of sharpened pencils.
One thing that takes a lot of time is sharpening pencils. Part of the morning procedure in my classroom is to have two sharpened pencils ready for the day. Then, I have two cups for “Sharpened Pencils” and “Unsharpened Pencils.” Throughout the day, if students need a pencil, they will put their unsharpened pencil in the cup and take a sharpened pencil. This way, no one is sharpening their pencils while I’m teaching or others are working. At the beginning of the day, during morning procedures, the pencil sharpener student will sharpen all pencils in the “Unsharpened Pencil” cup.
5. Paper Monitor
Responsible for passing out papers.
This student passes out any papers during the day and collects the papers if needed. This just saves me time, so I can continue to teach or give directions while a student is doing this.
6. Operator
Responsible for answering the phone.
*This one may be a controversial one at your school. If you want to do this, talk to the principal and secretary to make sure it is okay.
This student will answer the phone in the classroom. For younger students, you can have a script at the phone for them to read. I also keep some paper or post it notes for the students to write down the message if needed. This job is one to teach responsibility and reliability, along with communication skills. I always stress how important this job is. Also, this is one that students love!
A lot of the time, the phone ringing is usually for a student to go somewhere or something that a student could easily tell me. IF it is important, the person will usually ask for the teacher. I just feel like this saves me a lot of time. I can continue teaching or working with a small group, while a student takes care of the phone.
7. Messenger
Responsible for delivering messages and for student mailboxes.
Whenever I need to send a note to another teacher or to the office, I have a student to give it to. This student also is responsible for putting papers in the student mailboxes. Passing back graded papers or giving out flyers takes a lot of time. I use student mailboxes in my classroom. All the important papers that they need to take home go in the mailbox and then during the end of the day procedures, they will get everything from their mailbox and take it home with them. This student will put any papers in the student mailboxes throughout the day. Normally they will do this during morning procedures, read aloud, cool down time, or any free time they have throughout the day.
8. Attendance
Responsible for taking attendance and delivering it to the office.
Most teachers will take attendance. Most of the time, the attendance folder needs to be taken to the office at the beginning of the day. This student will take it to the office every morning. Sometimes, you may even let the student fill out the folder.
9. Lunch Count
Responsible for taking the lunch count and delivering it to the office.
This is like the attendance person, but at my school the lunch count needs to go to the cafeteria. This person will fill it out and take it to the cafeteria in the morning. Sometimes you could have attendance and lunch count be the same person, but I like every student to have a job so I usually separate them.
10. Teacher’s Assistant
Responsible for helping the teacher at any time.
This job is always a favorite of my students. Usually, I will use this person for any little random jobs I have during the day, like stapling or sorting papers. This person is usually a responsible student, so I trust them to do about any job that comes up throughout the day. It is always nice to have a student to always go to for help. This student also erases my board during the day, which saves me a lot of time!
11. Librarian
Responsible for keeping the class library neat and in order.
If you have a classroom library, then you know it can get super unorganized and messy. This student will make sure all the books are put away neatly. I also have a bin for returning my classroom books, so this student will put these books away in the correct spot. Usually, I will have to teach the students how the books are ordered and I always tell them if they are unsure where something goes, just ask me. I love to see my books neatly in order and it’s also easier for the students to find books if they are neat. This job is really important and would normally take me some time to do it.
12. Door Monitor
Responsible for opening, closing, and holding doors for the class.
When walking in the hallway, I try to stay towards the middle of the line to keep an eye on everything. Therefore, I can’t hold the doors. If you do have a lot of doors to hold, this job will be very useful. In my classroom, this student is also the line leader. When the class passes through the door, they will just go back to the front of the line to be ready to open and hold the next door. I like having a student for this and then students won’t fight about who gets to do it, since it is an assigned job.
13. Technology Monitor
Responsible for keeping all technology in the classroom charged and ready.
In my classroom, we have mini computers and iPads. I like for them to be put away by the number on it and to be plugged in so they are always charged when we need them. This student is responsible for doing this throughout the day. I also teach this student how to use certain things on my computer in case there is a sub. I will show them how to pull up the computer programs we use daily. This student will also turn on the projector or any other technology I use throughout the day. I normally have time for this job, but I like knowing that a student can do it and help a sub if I am absent.
14. Substitute
Responsible for filling in for any absent worker.
All these jobs are great and very useful to help save time, but students are always absent from time to time. I usually have a couple substitutes so they can fill in for any student that is absent. A lot of students really like this job, since they can essentially be every job in the classroom. I do make this job sound important, because it is important for our classroom to run smoothly! This student needs to pay attention and know how to do every job, which isn’t an easy task.
Some Management Tips!
*I like every student to have a job at all times. This just helps solidify that we work together and everyone helps to make our classroom a successful learning environment. I don’t have enough jobs for each individual student and class sizes change year to year. So, I normally pick a couple jobs that might be more challenging and I will assign 2 or 3 students to one job.
*I change the jobs monthly. This gives the students enough time to get really good at their job, but it also changes enough so they don’t get bored.
*I let the students apply for their jobs with an actual job application. Then I will pick which student gets which job based on their application. (Just like the real world!) Also, this helps if all students want to be the same job. This is the job application I use, download for FREE on our store here!
*On the job application, it is helpful if you have a ranking system for the jobs, like the top 3 jobs you want. So just in case a lot of students apply for one job, you can give them a job they want.
*I tell the students once they get a job, they can’t apply for that job again until everyone that wants to do it has done it once.
*I display a job chart in my classroom and put the student number in each job position so I can easily see who has which job. (Because I do forget from time to time)
So there you go! These are all the classroom jobs that I find extremely helpful and save me a lot of time in the classroom, so I can work on the more important aspects of my job. I hope this was helpful to save you time in your classroom!
Thank you for Continually Learning with us!
Kyle and Sarah
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