Combo Class Management

Last school year I had the pleasure of teaching a 1-2 combo. It was my first combo. And it was great! I got to keep some of my firsties from the previous year, change up my teaching techniques, and get amazing parental support.

The hardest part of teaching a combo class, is the classroom management. I struggled with, "How do I get my students to be able to know what to do, when to do it, and allow me time to work with smaller groups of kids?" I finally came up with this board:

They can do the three things in any order. I set the timer for the day (usually 45 minutes). They have to learn to manage their time too! The numbers next to the students' names are the order they go in to work on the computer. At the computers, they have a choice of three-five different tasks they can work on during their 7 minutes. To the left of this board is an explanation of what the different tasks mean as well as their spelling words for the week.

My favorite part of this board, was that it allowed students to walk over, know exactly what they are to do, and it becomes part of their routine. This made life SO much easier for subs walking in the door. I would write in my sub plans, "They are on auto-pilot during this time. You can monitor the class and check in on ______ and _______ as they tend to 'forget' what to do at times."

I thought about printing off each individual student's tasks for the week and put it in their BEACH Binder, but thought better of it. I didn't want to be responsible for more paperwork and be committed to this board, should I decide to change it up.

I also have a board at the back of the room with almost the same idea, but for math. This board (which I don't have a picture of) had these tasks: computer, iPads, Task Cards, Flash Cards, Math Notebook (Interactive Notebook by Yvonne Crawford).

I'm hoping to use these boards again even though I'm not teaching a combo class this year. It has helped so much in just classroom management of daily life alone, that I can't see giving it up!

What types of reading or math classroom management helps you during the day?

Ahhh Sheet!

I am proud to say that I do not have dry erase boards for my students. I have something that I feel is more useful. Sheet protectors.

If you were to walk into my classroom, you'd probably see at least ten sheet protectors on my walls. My students each have two in their binder and one in their desk. Sheet protectors are one amazing product. Seriously. Amazing.

They keep paper clean. They make everything in it shiny (unless you like the matte look. I won't judge.) and organized. They have holes in the side that are PERFECT for sticking pushpins through so you can hang them sideways. I LOVE SHEET PROTECTORS!!!

Back to my wonderful invention. So Each of my students has a clipboard with a sheet protector clipped to it. Inside the sheet protector is a blank piece of paper on one side, and a copy of lines for writing on the other. 

The beauty of this is that they are also able to use this for other things as well. If I want them to work on a worksheet to practice math skills, they can slip it in. I usually use this for practice for minute math before their actual test. They love it because I can give them feedback as they are working before their actual test. I love it because they can get practice in and feel more successful when the actual test comes around two minutes later.

At the end of the year, I let the kids take the sheet protector, their felt square eraser, and their marker home. Next year, we start with a clean sheet protector. I LOVE IT!