Is it just me, or are the pencils on the floor multiplying exponentially throughout the day? Broken pencils, chewed pencils, beheaded pencils with no eraser … makes me wonder what I’m doing in my classroom while all these pencils are being tortured to death, because I certainly never see it! 😂
😜 If you are like me and the pencil struggle is real, I have some engaging teacher moves to suggest – make picking the pencils up a JOB or a GAME, and suddenly those pencils become valuable. And if you sing a little song about picking them up, all the students that never seem to hear your voice suddenly perk up and start doing things … because, well, music. I’m not sure WHY this happens, but I AM sure that it is like a mini-miracle every day in my classroom, so try it out – and let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear if the miracle works in other classrooms, too.
So, here are the three engaging teacher moves I have for you, in more detail ✅
Make it a game 🔥
Have you ever played “Secret Scrap”? Students have two minutes at the end of the day to pick up as much off the floor as they can, show you their handfuls, put the trash and supplies from the floor back where they go, and THEN you announce a winner (I literally just choose the kid who needs a “win” the most that day, for whatever reason). Not only is the room VERY clean, but the pencils are off the floor, AND the custodian loves your classroom! And you! This one is one of my all-time favorite teacher moves!
Make it a job 💰
Call it what you will, having access to an electric pencil sharpener is every kid’s dream. Sharpening pencils is SO satisfying! If they get paid in your classroom economy, they will be even MORE eager to do a good job! Need a classroom money system with some “free to you” incentives for your students to buy? Click here to purchase Monster Money, or click here for a blog post on how I use classroom money and incentives in my classroom. Many of our students need to learn the feeling of success a “job well done” brings, so this teacher move also helps instill a life lesson.
Class Dojo Dollars | Classroom Money Rewards | Individual and Class Incentives
Sing them a song 🎵
I will admit, I never thought this was an intermediate teacher thing until this school year. But after spending time working through Howard Gardener’s Multiple Intelligences and “My Kind of Smart” surveys with my students, this is our reality – if kids aren’t focused on the way you are doing things, it might not “gel” with the way they learn (this news is nothing new to us). But if they are “music smart” or “body smart” and you start singing and getting a rhythm going for clean-up, something magical happens. Try it!
Don’t like to sing anywhere but in the shower? Play some cool clean-up music if you hate to sing (no Elmo, for goodness sake) and see what happens. There are some great options on Spotify’s “clean-up song” playlists if you don’t have time to create one of your own! Then you can show your class your own personal teacher <dance> moves – my husband says I have no rhythm and shouldn’t dance in front of anyone, but the kids think I’m COOL, haha! Gotta love the admiring silly factor of third graders!
💜 Need a <FREEBIE> to get you motivated, and show those kiddos where to put their pencils in an OBVIOUS location? I got you!! This link includes a colorful “Sharp” versus “Dull” pencil container sign set, to help your students put pencils where they go. It’s the small things, LOL 😂 See below for matching classroom products.
Levels of Understanding Posters | Proficiency Scale Posters | EDITABLE
Bright Library Labels | Classroom Library Book Bin Labels | Premade and EDITABLE
Book Hospital Sign | Classroom Library Bin Label | Editable
Don’t forget, the best part of the classroom is YOU – your engaging personality, your sense of fun, and your connection to your students. Engaging teacher moves gives you a way to make routine things like cleaning up and sharpening pencils FUN, without the nagging and frustration that usually comes with daily clean-up. Let me know how it goes in the comments, and if you have any OTHER strategies that work well for you!
🤩 Hang in there, Teacher! You got this!
~Beth