Find it, Fix it!

If your students have ever left your classroom a HOT MESS...listen up: you need to try "Find it, Fix it." I heard about this game when I was student teaching and this is probably one of the only things that have very consistently been a part of my teaching practice ever since. It almost feels weird even writing a blog post about this game because it is so easy and quick but honestly you guys, this will change your life. I feel like sharing this with you is a public service.

Let me preface this by saying that the best solution to a messy classroom is avoiding ever having a messy classroom as much as possible. In my classroom, the things that I do to keep the classroom mostly organized and neat fit into three categories:

• Clear, consistent organization and expectations: We have a designated, clearly labeled place for everything in the classroom, and my students know where those places are. For example, our classroom library bins are clearly labeled, and the books that go in them are labeled to match. When I labeled my books individually to match their book bins, it made a huge impact on how often and how well my students put books away in the classroom library. I explicitly taught my students how to use these bins, and reteach this skill periodically. 
• Targeted classroom jobs: I have identified parts of the classroom that get messy frequently and targeted those areas with our classroom jobs. For example, each table group stores their supplies in a cubby, and I noticed that we are often so rushed at clean-up that this area can become disorganized. I have a team of "Official Organizers" whose job now includes making sure that our supply cubbies are appropriately organized. Targeting students' jobs in this way puts the bulk of the responsibility for cleanliness and tidiness on them, and doesn't leave me stressing over cleaning up after them. 
• "Our" classroom: I try to build a sense of ownership of our space in my students. I invite my students' input and help in organizing the classroom and setting up our systems throughout the year, and use careful language when talking about our space. If the classroom becomes messy, we will discuss how this affects us (they will say things like, "If the class is not organized, we waste time looking for the things we need"). We also discuss how a messy classroom affects me as their teacher, the custodian who cleans our space after school, the principal who may pop in to our classroom, etc. This approach does not work for every single child, but by the end of the year I have found that most students can understand the necessity of a clean space.

With all of that being said...even with those three things in place, there are still going to be days where I find scraps of paper scattered on the floor, someone forgets to put their wobbly stool away, and there is a book crammed in between some book boxes. This is not a magical dream world where every student is motivated to be clean all the time. This is where my favorite game comes in: Find it, Fix it!

How to Play Find it, Fix it!

1. Secretly look for something out of place in the classroom. I often pick 3 things to allow more students the chance to "win."
2. Announce that you have seen something that needs to be found and fixed. I will usually say, "I spy 3 things in the room that need to be found and fixed. Who will be the people to find and fix them?"
3. Give students time to zoom about the room tidying and cleaning. While they're working, monitor the thing(s) you identified so you'll see which student corrects it.
4. As things are being found, I will often say, "One thing has been found, but two more remain!" This helps them stay focused on the goal at hand.
5. When everything is found, or the classroom is sufficiently tidy, bring the class back together. Announce what needed to be found, and who fixed it. I give the winners 5 points in Class Dojo!

This game is so easy, and gets the classroom tidy quickly. For me the best part is that my students enjoy playing the game. Even though they catch on really quickly to the fact that they're just helping clean the room, I always have a group of kids at dismissal begging me to let them play Find it, Fix it! They are so motivated to try to earn the Dojo points. Honestly anything that motivates my students to clean is alright by me!

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