Have you ever been in a classroom with more than 20 children? Have you ever found it challenging to try and manage the entire classroom?
I am sure many of us current and future educators have experienced the following questions above. Something that I have always found difficult was finding the most beneficial approach to classroom management. There were so many days I struggled to gain the student's undivided attention.
A method that has greatly helped me with classroom management was the 'small groups method.' During my employment at childcare, we decided to split up our classroom of 21 students into three groups of 7. To make it more fun, kid-friendly and memorable for the children, we decided to create names for our groups using colours. One group was called the 'green' group, the second was the 'purple' group and the third was the 'blue' group. At circle time, we split the children into their groups and informed them these will be their groups every day, in terms of seating arrangements for learning time, lunch and snack time along with lining up for recess.
To add creativity to the small groups, we painted three boxes green, purple and blue for the children to hand in their homework and other assignments for the week.
The smaller group methods significantly helped with classroom management as the children began to understand the structure of the classroom and which group they were a part of. The children were also enthusiastic over the creative aspect of the colour of their group, which made them excited every day to get into their groups. It was amazing to see how the students positively interacted with their peers inside and outside the groups. We also noticed incredible friendships blossom, as the children began to interact with other students in the classroom.
To add creativity to the small groups, we painted three boxes green, purple and blue for the children to hand in their homework and other assignments for the week.
The smaller group methods significantly helped with classroom management as the children began to understand the structure of the classroom and which group they were a part of. The children were also enthusiastic over the creative aspect of the colour of their group, which made them excited every day to get into their groups. It was amazing to see how the students positively interacted with their peers inside and outside the groups. We also noticed incredible friendships blossom, as the children began to interact with other students in the classroom.
If you ever find yourself having trouble in classroom management with a large classroom. This could be one of the best options for you. Good luck and give it a try! 😄
Courtesy of Caterina @ Niagara University.
No comments:
Post a Comment