The Daily Cafe

Choosing a spot

#1

I have 30 2nd graders and about 15 spots to read that are very desirable, 5 of them extremely popular. Does anyone have a fair way to decide who gets the special spots each day? It seems like I can’t really come up with the perfect plan, which to me means easy :slight_smile:

#2

I would suggest getting your kids involved in making a plan for the special spots. This way, they’ll all have to come to a consensus and follow their own decision :).

Maybe you could suggest that only Read to Self and Work on Writing are allowed in these areas. That way, everyone could get a choice at least twice a week (if I’m thinking right :).

#3

I assign my kids a day of the week and when it is their day they get first choice of where they want to sit.

#4

My 5th graders felt that pulling name sticks from the cup was the fairest way. I have several “special chairs” (ie: lawn chairs) that they all want plus beanie baby plushies as reading buddies. Plus, sometimes I use the order of how they finish their assignments as the “first come first serve” method. I generally do not tell them that I am doing it so as to not encourage rushing, I just let it happen naturally.

#5

I use a random pick method for my students. Either small cards or popsicle sticks work. That way children know I am not picking only a specific set of students for the favored spots. While I have space and something “special” for all of the students in the class, some items are always more popular. :slight_smile: Random assignment works for most kids, and for those who do best in pre-assigned spots, they would be out of the mix anyway.