Daily Assignment #34: Physical Movement of Students

Physical movement of students, within the classroom, during transitions can be a challenge.  We do this in many different ways throughout the day. It can happen smoothly or be absolutely chaotic. If a teacher says, "Line up for lunch,"  chances are chaos will result.  Some students will get in line, some will chat, some will start fooling around and some may never make it to lunch.  Movement within an activity/lesson or after an activity/lesson is also a crucial time.  A lot of instructional time can be lost with these movements.  Therefore, we need a repertoire of strategies for dividing and moving the "herd" in  quick and efficient ways.

Here is a list of a few strategies:

1. by individual names'
2. alphabetical order
3. reverse alphabetical order (beginning with Z)
4. table groups
5. teams
6. partners
7. teacher begins with one student, then that student selects the next student, and so on (be careful with this one, you don't want to create an isolate in the class)
8. style of shoes, tie, slip on, velcro
9. style of shirtsleeves, long, short, none
10. shirt style, designs, stripes, solids, words
11. colors, "if you have on blue..."
12. pets, "if you have a dog..." or  "if you have 2 pets"
13. assigning jobs for groups, while other students get seated or lined up
14. making supplies/materials in easily accessible places so that congestion doesn't occur
15. pacing of activities/lessons e.g., one group moves from one activity to another, before the next group switches

I'm sure you have other strategies, as well.  If you would like to share them with us, please do so.  

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Best Effort,

Linda103