Classroom Management

For my PreK - second grade students, I have drawn symbols on my gym floor to give them their own special "listening spot". The symbols I use are numbered and color coded, such as green frogs, red apples, orange buses, black bears, etc.

I use five different symbols/colors and repeat the combination starting with 1 and going through 5. For my school, I only need 24 symbols, as that is my largest class size. I got permission from my principal to use permanent markers to color these symbols in a semi-circle around the free-throw zone of our gym.

I space them out to give the students enough room to sit comfortably on them without touching the next student. I can assign students to a spot and then when I need to talk to them I ask them to return to their listening spots. In a semi-circle, I can see everyone, no-one is fighting over who they will sit by, and I have instant groups (all the greens, numbers, etc.).