My multiage students have always moved from one working group to another throughout the day. Frequently they also worked on individual tasks. Due to the flexibility this kind of movement requires, I chose to use tables throughout the classroom instead of student desks. Because students had no desk in which to keep their supplies, I converted a number of lower bookshelves into student cubbies. Before I was able to purchase plastic containers, the local hospital donated numerous dish pans that served as the main container for supplies such as crayons, pencils, scissors, and other small items.
Below the “Pink Tub,” as the students called them, were kept their 3-ring binders, spiral notebooks, and clipboards. This system worked very well. However, student cubbies did get a bit too messy from time to time just as desks tend to do. In response to this I created a hand drawn poster and had the students color it at the first of the year. Additionally I reminded them routinely that being organized would help them with their school work and that a clean cubby is part of being organized.
- Student Cubby Poster (b/w)
- Student Cubby Poster (color)
Another part of my system that has helped with students having the right stuff at the right time of the day has been the use of 3-ring binders. They carried these with them most of the day as it included nearly everything they needed, organized in various sections. The pocket or “Pee-Chee” type folders I had them bring at the first of school were turned inside-out and punched with a 3-hole punch. They were then labeled (mostly by subject) and used as pocket dividers in their binders. I also asked that students bring a pencil pouch to keep snapped into their binders. This helped them keep track of their pencils.
Multiage-Education 