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Assigning classroom jobs to students is a great way to teach responsibility. But it doesn’t all have to be about work. There are plenty of things you can do to make jobs fun for the kids. Have them fill out job applications. Give them lanyards and badges for their assigned duties. For example, make a name card for the line leader, attendance taker and so on. Then put the job titles in the badge lanyards and give them out to the students who have those responsibilities for the week.

Here are a few more ideas for incorporating jobs in your classroom:

Make an Announcement: Tell your students that you will be assigning classroom jobs. You can give them a few examples of job titles, or show them the lanyards you have already made. Explain that job duties are serious and define your expectations of them as classroom “employees.”

Go Over the Job Descriptions: For the jobs that you entrust to your students, you should clearly outline what expectations you have for them. You should also decide how many of each type of “employee” you will need. For example, it would be difficult to function with more than one line leader, but you could have several classroom trash monitors. You will probably need to rotate jobs on a regular basis so that everyone has a chance to do several or all of the jobs.

Make the Assignments: When you award jobs for the first time, it is a good idea to go over the process with the students. Because you probably will not have enough jobs for everyone, remember to remind the students that jobs will change regularly and everyone will have a chance at some point during the school year to fulfill one or more job duties. Award the lanyards and give the students a copy of their job duties.

Track Performance: Just because you have assigned jobs to your students does not mean the work is over for you. You should monitor their behavior while they carry out their daily tasks. If they need extra instructions or guidance, be sure to give it when needed. Show them how they can improve, or let them know that they are doing a great job. If they do well, you might find a way to award them a “promotion” during their week on the job. For instance, on Thursday and Friday you might give them additional responsibilities because they have shown they can be trusted to take care of their job duties.

The easiest way to keep track of your classroom helpers is to set aside a certain time each day for jobs to be performed. You may also need another activity for students who do not have jobs. Many teachers find that it’s best to do jobs at the end of the day, but scheduling conflicts may make it necessary to find another time. No matter when you incorporate job duties into the school day, it will help you teach your students about responsibility.