Here's my system for making sure children can get sharpened pencils quickly and easily:
There is a round table near my desk. On that table are an electric pencil sharpener and two small canisters. One is blue and one is tan. It doesn't matter what color they are as long as the canisters are two different colors and/or clearly marked "Broken" and "Sharp". The electric pencil sharpener is never used by the children. It's near the broken and sharpened pencils for the teacher's convenience.
When children don't have a sharpened pencil, they are instructed to bring a broken pencil to put in the appropriate canister and then may take a sharpened pencil.
The table is near my desk so I am able to easily observe whether children are actually exchanging broken pencils for sharpened ones. There is always that child who doesn't want to bother looking for the pencil in his or her desk or on the floor nearby and would end up with twenty pencils littering his or her desk if not required to make the exchange.
I sharpen pencils before or after school, and, as I said earlier, students aren't allowed to use the electric sharpener. I am convinced that this practice is why I haven't had to purchase a new sharpener in five years.
I currently teach third grade, and you may want to tweak this system to accomodate the different needs of the kids in your classroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment