Cleaning up is the STUDENTS' responsibility!

- Do lots of modeling in the beginning of the year and throughout as needed.  Have the class watch certain students “show us how to do it”.   Make a class list of diagram what a clean desk looks like, or what the classroom looks and sounds like when children are cleaning up.  Brainstorm qualities of a clean room together. Be specific about what you want and teach for it.

- No one goes to lunch/recess until desks are clean.  What better motivation for kids to clean up than the lure of food or free time outside?  I give my kids 30 seconds to clean up their areas (not just desks- the chair and floor area, too), then send around the Clean Up Crew to inspect.  If any part of the child's area does not look like the diagram above, the child has to fix it.  At the beginning of the year, allot several minutes for this time: it wil get shorter throughout the year.  Remember: administrators, parents, district visitors, etc. can visit your room at any time.  Have the kids keep it clean!

- Consider a class rule: no throwing away trash at ANY time without permission.  Some kids will find a staple or paper scrap and walk the long way around the room to the furthest possible trash receptacle and then meander their way back to their seat.  Not only does this rule eliminate that problem, it also creates order when the entire class needs to throw away trash, such as after a cutting project.  When I stopped teaching in the inner city, I didn't need this rule anymore, but I do still use it during projects.  I call kids to the trash cans one row at a time, or boys then girls, etc. 

- Call one side or the room (or table) at a time to you can see who should and should not be at the trash can.  You can also have students throw away trash when they line up to go to music or lunch, if those activities follow your lesson.

- Give a time frame for cleaning up and, if needed, a consequence.  “I need you to be ready for math in three minutes (or when this bell goes off).  Anyone who is not ready will ___ (fill in penalty)”.  Counting down from 10 to 1 also works well, especially with younger students because they can easily gauge how much time they have left (and you can count more slowly or quickly as needed).  You will rarely have to enforce the negative consequences, but do be warned that if you hype the children up, they will act like it’s a race- things will get done quickly, but also loudly and sloppily. 

- Don't assume that kids have any seen any sort of organization before.  I once said to a child, "These books are all facing different directions!  Is this how you put away books at home?".  He blinked and said, "No, I just shove them all under my bed!".  This isn't about socio-economics, not neccesarily.  Some parents, just like some people, are more organized than others.  Your classroom might be the first time a child is asked to stack something neatly or keep a desk tidy.  The children NEED to learn to organize themselves, especially at school- why not be the one to instill the value of that in them?  I had a particuarly messy child (from a disorganized family) who told me at the end of the year, "This was the first time I ever knew where anything was in my desk".  I smiled and asked her, "Doesn't that feel good, to know that you are taking care of your things and you know how to find them?".  She was beaming from ear to ear.  Her natural tendency is still to leave things strewn everywhere, because that's her home environment- but she has experienced pride in keeping her belongings neat, and I really believe that will stick with her. 

IT IS WORTH EVERY MINUTE YOU SPEND TEACHING ORGANIZATION AND CLEANLINESS TO KIDS!

Taking care of one's belongings may not be a skill on standardized tests, but is critical to survival as adults.