Thomas M. Hays, Washougal High School, Washougal, WA
CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION
Appropriate for grades 6-12.
OVERVIEW: I use this activity as a first day of class routine, to
establish a seating chart and teach a lesson or review in map
reading.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this activity is to begin the very first
day of class with a reminder of the ways we use social studies
skill for everyday tasks.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to:
1. Establish a random seating chart.
2. Introduce or review plotting of location on a grid system.
ACTIVITIES:
1. Meet the students at the door and instruct them to sit
anywhere in the classroom they would like.
2. Fan a number of playing cards that correspond to the number
of desks in your classroom. I have the students each draw
one card and keep it to themselves.
3. Next, instruct the students to consult the map of your
classroom drawn on your chalkboard, butcher paper or other
presentation. The map should have the columns of your
seating chart labelled as hearts, spades, diamonds, club and
face cards. The rows should be labelled Ace through however
many desks are in that column, and by whichever face cards
you choose for the last column.
4. The students are then instructed to stand and locate their
seat corresponding to the card they picked.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. Deck of cards.
2. Chalkboard, butcher paper, overhead, et al.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: This is a fun activity to accomplish a hum
drum task, that sets a tone for taking an active part in learning
and applying social studies skills.
FAN THE DESKS
SAMPLE SEATING CHART
__________
| |
| Teacher |
|__________|
Hearts Spades Diamonds Clubs Face
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | |
| A-H | | A-S | | A-D | | A-C | | K-H |
|_______| |_______| |_______| |_______| |_______|
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | |
| 2-H | | 2-S | | 2-D | | 2-C | | Q-H |
|_______| |_______| |_______| |_______| |_______|
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | |
| 3-H | | 3-S | | 3-D | | 3-C | | K-S |
|_______| |_______| |_______| |_______| |_______|
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | |
| 4-H | | 4-S | | 4-D | | 4-C | | Q-S |
|_______| |_______| |_______| |_______| |_______|
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______
| | | | | | | | | |
| 5-H | | 5-S | | 5-D | | 5-C | | K-D |
|_______| |_______| |_______| |_______| |_______|
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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org