All Lined Up

In Front of the Class

by Linda Starr, Education World®

Make line-up easy and educational by using it to reinforce skills you are teaching. For example, if you are teaching the multiplication six tables, you might create a set of index cards (one per student) for reinforcing that skill. Write 6 x 1 on two or three of the cards, 6 x 2 on two or three of the cards, and so on. As line-up time draws near, hand a card to each student. Then announce, All students who are holding cards whose product is 42 can line up now; students holding cards labeled 7 x 6 will line up. Then call out other products of 6 until all students are lined up. More examples:

Reinforce state capitals by handing each student a card with a state name on it and announcing that the student holding the card with the name of the state whose capital is Providence can line up now. Or reinforce a variety of math skills by handing out cards with numbers on them and calling on students to line up if their number is divisible by 5, if their number is a prime number, if the factors of their number are all even numbers...

No More "Cutting"

Do your students complain about kids who cut in line or kids who are always first in line? To solve that problem, first have students line up alphabetically by first name. Then, each week, the student who was at the head of the line the week before goes to the end of the line. This is a very fair way to ensure that all students get a chance to be at the head of the line -- and the end of the line.

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