Tips for moving classrooms a lot

[ginforall]

Hi, so according to my timetable I will be in 12 different rooms next year and will have to move rooms between period 1 and 2 (when there is 0 mins of moving time), sometimes to the other side of the school. I teach secondary maths.

I've started trying to think of ways to make my life easier for this and so far I have:

• having a list of starter ideas that I can just write up on the board as soon as a I get in the room.
• estimate a minute if the class look a little unsettled, everyone puts heads down on desk and have to silently put their hand up when they think a min has passed (may have to in case it to estimate 2 mins if logging on to the computer is taking a while)
• treating myself to a new work bag which is bigger, maybe with compartments.
• not planning to use technology in some lessons, so just write up work on the board old school style, no ppt.
• try where possible to cut down on photocopying so I have less to carry around (although lack of textbooks in rooms wont help with this).

Any other good ideas? Trying to stay positive about it all and come up with a bit of plan. But also know that there will be some days which will be a nightmare and I can only do my best.

[Mistressiggi]

In this scenario, do the pupils go into the room before you get there, or do they wait for the teacher in the corridor? If allowed in I'm thinking I could arrive to some kind of nonsense I have to sort out before I can even start teaching. But waiting in the corridor has its own problems.

[MsJaneAusten]

No worksheets will be ridiculous with mixed ability. Hole punch books and treasury tag to secure sheets.

This ^^

I’m planning to give out the next lesson’s sheet at the end of the previous lesson, complete with a ‘Can you complete this before Ms Austen arrives?’ challenge for them to do while they wait for me to hike across the school.

I’ve asked HOD to order lots of lidded plastic boxes so that exercise books and set texts can be left in classrooms.

[ginforall]

@Mistressiggi for us students will already be in room the room unless it's straight after break or lunch. I am fully expecting some issues to deal with when I get there. Especially as a couple of times I'll be moving from the other side of the school, taking the least direct route as I'll have to follow the new one way system.

[Malbecfan]

We had a maths teacher who used to fire 10 questions at us at the start of a lesson (in the 1980s). So she would pick on child A and say something like 12 x 7. Then when they gave the answer, she would bounce it to someone else saying "halve it". Then something else. It forced us to listen to what the previous person had said so we were always silent.

You could plot your "route" round the class in advance so that in your 3 lessons per week or whatever, you ask everyone. Change the route once you have done it once to stop complacency.

[Nc13t765tyrv]

Do you have a mathsbo subscription? If not, its really cheap. They have AMAZING starters on there that you can project or even print and shoce under a visualizer if that js quicker. I use it at the start of every lesson anyway!