As a teacher, you’ll already know that providing jobs for your students is a helpful way to build a sense of belonging and community within a classroom environment.
It gives students a feeling of purpose, and allows them to build various skills that they will carry with them throughout their lives.
Sometimes however, it can be difficult to come up with new and interesting ideas in regard to classroom based tasks.
You want them to be suitable for the child’s learning capacity, but you also want them to be challenging enough to engage them.
If you’ve been on the hunt for some meaningful jobs for your students, then don’t worry, because you’ve come to the right place.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of what we believe to be the most interesting and engaging student jobs that you can use today.
To find out more, simply keep reading below, as we take a closer look.
Why Is It Important To Give Students Classroom Jobs?
Now, before we go ahead and jump straight into our list, first, let’s take a look at the reasons why it’s so important to give students jobs within the classroom.
Many institutions won’t bother to give students tasks to perform outside of the curriculum, but this means that they’re missing out on helping them to build essential skills for the future.
Helping out is good for everyone, not just for the students. Teaching can be an incredibly strenuous job, and it often feels as though you’re being pulled from all directions.
This can make it hard to see every task throughout the day.
Having students help out with designated tasks can make it much easier for you as the teacher, to get on with the crux of the job.
It’s great for the students because it helps to give them an added boost in terms of self esteem.
If they know that they have a job to do, and they’re provided with a sense of authority over that task, this will give them a feeling of accomplishment when they’ve successfully carried it out.
This is especially good for students who struggle with self confidence, as it gives them the chance to prove themselves as capable.
For example, if a shy student who normally struggles to fit in were given the task of ‘teacher’s helper’, this would allow them to develop crucial social skills, and allow them to make new friends.
Indeed, creating jobs for your students is beneficial for everyone.
1. Announcer
This job is very straightforward, and involves selecting one of the students to be your personal megaphone.
Every time there is an important announcement to be made, you can divulge it to your announcer, and they can repeat it in a loud tone so that everyone can hear.
This one is great for confidence building, and although it may seem logical to give this task to some of your more theatrical students, the quieter ones may benefit more.
It is a chance for them to have their voice heard, and feel as though they’re important, as the rest of the classroom must listen to them.
2. Secretary
This job is perfect for students who are slightly older, and builds a number of different skills. In order to be the teacher’s secretary, students must answer the phone on the desk, and respond in an appropriate manner.
For example, ‘Hello, you’re through to Mrs. Jone’s office, I’m Michael, please may I take a message’. They can then take the name and number of the caller.
Although this might seem a bit tricky for students at a kindergarten age, it’s completely possible for them to learn these skills with just a little bit of practice.
Besides, the calls that come through most of the time are usually from parents who need to leave a note.
It’s a great chance for students to learn manners and phone etiquette. It also gives you the chance to take more calls, without the stress of having to run to the other side of the office.
Having a secretary there gives you more time too.
3. Breakfast Monitor
Most schools will have breakfast available for their students at the commencement of the day, and for teachers, this can be an incredibly hectic time.
Often, things are spilled amongst the commotion of a group of children all reaching for the same item.
An alternative is to employ a breakfast monitor to hand out the snacks for you.
They can pass out any milk, breakfast bars, or fruit to the other students, and make sure that everyone has received their breakfast.
In addition to this, the breakfast monitor can also be in charge of tidying up after the breakfast session is finished.
They can stack up any trays that have been used, and pick up any stray bits of paper or cartons after the students have cleared out of the room.
4. Caboose
Those who have been teaching for a while will already know that for some reason, students don’t like being the last person standing in a line.
This can sometimes cause a bit of commotion, as students will argue over who will be the ‘caboose’.
This job title will solve any future skirmishes, and ensure that you always have one student who’s designated as the one standing last in the line.
As well as being the last person in the line, you can also give them some additional duties, such as placing them in charge of keeping the line in order, and making sure that there’s no talking whilst the teacher is speaking.
Giving a child a sense of authority can help to build their confidence if they’re not typically the most outgoing of the bunch.
5. Work Monitor
This is a great job for a child who’s particularly skilled in terms of organization, and enjoys checking off tasks.
For the work monitor role, a student will be responsible for checking that everyone’s completed their work.
When you set a particular assignment, they can then go ahead and check to see if everyone’s finished it.
You can hand them over a clipboard along with a pencil, and each time someone finishes their work, they can check off a box next to that particular child’s name.
After the designated working time is over, they can then bring the list over to you, and you can check to see who’s finished their assignment and who hasn’t.
They can even help to let you know throughout the duration of the class whether a child is struggling with the assignment or not, and may need some extra help.
In addition to checking work in real time, work monitors can also help to make sure that all students have completed their homework on time.
They can check and collect any homework papers, and tick it off the list accordingly. This will help to save you time and energy when it comes to figuring out who’s done their work and who hasn’t.
6. Uniform Checker
If you’re classroom struggles to look its best at all times because of a few rebellious students, you can employ an uniform checker to make sure that everyone is spick and span.
They can check, according to the uniform guidelines, that everyone is dressed appropriately, and in keeping with school rules.
This is a great job for students who like to be neat, and enjoy organizing others too. As well as checking for any breaks within uniform rules, the checker can also help other students.
When it comes to doing zips up, or tying shoelaces, you can employ a capable student to help with these tasks.
In addition to helping out in terms of making sure that uniforms are neat, the checker can also take care of the coats in the coat room.
Oftentimes, in the hubbub of arrival, coats can often fall and get strewn over the floor in an untidy manner.
The uniform checker can make sure that all of the coats have been neatly hung up, and that all shoes are in line.
7. Whiteboard Cleaner
This is a good task for children who like to keep things neat and tidy, and enjoy having a hands on role.
The whiteboard cleaner job is pretty straightforward, and just involves making sure that the whiteboard is cleaned up after each assignment.
They can also be in charge of making sure that the date is written correctly on the board each day.
If you don’t have a regular whiteboard, this job easily translates to interactive whiteboards too.
8. Pet Helper / Botanist
This is a dual role, and both or neither may apply to your particular classroom. Many kindergarten schools will have class pets that need to be taken care of.
Popular choices include rabbits, hamsters, fish, and guinea pigs. The role of the pet helper is very simple and yet important, and involves making sure that the animal is fed each and every day.
Make sure that you outline to the young student how much food is required, and when they need feeding. In addition, they can refill any water attached to the cage.
The student can also check that the habitat looks nice and clean, and report anything back to you if need be.
If your school classroom doesn’t have any pets, but it does have some plants scattered around the place, this can also be made into a job for students.
They can be in charge of making sure that they’re watered every day.
The role of the botanist may sound simple, but it’s actually a great opportunity for learning. Students can discover the different amounts of water that plants require, and how some need more than others.
It can help to open up a whole new world for them.
As well as making sure that the plants are adequately watered, students can also make sure that there’s no spilled dirt surrounding the area, and that any dead leaves are removed.
9. Morning Greeter
This is a great job for a student who has impeccable attendance, and is always there on time in the mornings.
You can give them the job of ‘morning greeter’, which involves standing at the doorway of the classroom, and greeting incoming students with a ‘good morning’.
This is a great way to start the day, and can really set the tone for the commencement of lessons.
It can also make students feel welcome in the classroom, and bring positive energy to the area.
If you want to, you could have your greeter say goodbye at the doorway at the end of the day too, or give words of encouragement, such as ‘you did great today’.
Have your morning greeter say ‘good morning’, followed by the student’s name so that everyone feels seen.
10. Learning Assistant
This is a great job for students who do particularly well at paying attention to what’s going on in the classroom.
They’re essentially responsible for listening to everything that’s being taught, and if for whatever reason, a child is late or enters the classroom in the middle of the session, they can quietly explain what’s happening.
This is an incredibly helpful job for both students and teachers, as many of you reading this list will already know how disruptive it can be to have to stop in the middle of a lesson, and rehash everything that’s been said.
This is also beneficial for the student, because it ensures that they’re always listening intently, just in case they need to reiterate anything that’s been said.
11. Materials Manager
Sometimes, when there’s a creative task that your students need to perform, it can be somewhat chaotic, as everyone bursts out to grab the various materials at hand.
There is a far better system that can be put in place, and this involves employing one of your students as a materials manager.
The materials manager is responsible for handing out items to students based on the particular assignment and what they’ll require.
This may include items such as books, scissors, coloring pencils, and paper.
The other students can form an orderly queue, and then the materials manager can pass them the things that they need.
This will ensure that things run far more smoothly and efficiently in terms of assignments.
12. Classroom Representative
This job won’t always be applicable, and therefore can be given as an extra duty for a student that you’ve already assigned a job for.
The classroom representative is an important role, and you can announce to your students that you’ll be choosing one, so that they can put forth their best behavior in order to be selected.
The classroom representative should be a ‘model student’, and will be given the task of showing people around the school.
For example, if you have a temporary teacher hired at your school for a week, they can help to show them around and make sure that they’re acquainted with their surroundings.
As well as showing adult members around the classroom and general schooling area, the classroom representative can also help new students to feel at home.
If there is a student who has just started at your school, the classroom representative can familiarize them with the classroom and where everything belongs, as well as answer any questions they may have.
This can be incredibly beneficial for new students, as there’s only so much that teachers can do in terms of helping a new student to settle in.
The classroom ambassador can introduce them to new people on the schoolyard, as well as guiding them through any new lessons they might need help with.
This can also be helpful when you have a student come in from a different class, as they can quickly help them to catch up.
13. Kindness Detective
This is a great job for students, and can help to spread happiness and positivity in the classroom. The kindness detective is responsible for spotting random acts of kindness within the classroom.
This can vary from a student offering congratulations to another who has done particularly well in an assignment, or one student helping another with a difficult task.
After they’ve witnessed an act of kindness, they can mark down the students name, as well as the reason why they’re included.
At the end of the day, you as the teacher can go through the list, and read aloud the acts of kindness awarded that day.
You can reward your students with something as simple as a sticker to show their good behavior.
Having a kindness detective is a really great way of spreading positivity, and it also encourages more acts of kindness in future, as the students see that this kind of behavior is rewarded.
14. Librarian
This is a great job for students who show a particular fondness for reading, and involves making sure that the library is always in check.
Perhaps your school doesn’t have a library per say, but it will have a book shelf that needs to be kept in order. The librarian will be set for this particular task.
The librarian makes sure that all of the books are kept in order, depending on the system that your school works by, perhaps placing them alphabetically, and making sure that they adhere to this system.
If a book is ever put back in the wrong place, the librarian can help to rectify this, and move them to the right area.
As well as organizing the books in the library, the librarian can also help to make sure that all books are returned by students in time.
If students are allowed to borrow books from the library, the librarian can report any that haven’t been returned.
Another great task for the librarian is to recommend books to other students. If, for example, they want to borrow a book about pirates, the librarian can help to direct them to the right place.
They can also do basic admin, such as making sure that they’re appropriately stamped according to the date borrowed, and making sure that noise is kept to a minimum when students are in the area.
15. Recycling Monitor
This job is great for stressing the importance of taking care of the environment by making sure that everything is recycled properly.
Sometimes, students will simply place an item in the wrong recycling bin without thinking, but having a recycling monitor makes sure that everything reaches the right place.
This also means that you don’t have to do any sifting through at the end of the day, to make sure that nothing is awry.
As well as making sure that everything is recycled appropriately, the recycling monitor can also make sure that the bins are taken to the correct collection spot at the end of the day.
This can help to save teachers a lot of time at the end of each session.
16. Cleaning Crewmember
This is a great job for students who like to stay organized, and can help to ensure that the classroom remains neat and tidy.
The cleaning crew member role can be assigned toward a few students, depending on the size of your classroom.
Essentially, the cleaning crew member is responsible for making sure that everyone’s desk is neat and tidy.
The crewmember can then hand out stickers to people who have kept their desks particularly neat and tidy throughout the day.
They essentially act as inspectors to make sure that everyone is taking part in keeping the classroom clean.
As well as this, cleaning crew members can also be responsible for handing out items such as cloths to students when they need them in order to clean up.
They can also carry out an inspection at the end of the day, in order to make sure that everything is in the right place.
They themselves can also conduct general tidy ups throughout the day to make sure that everything is spick and span.
17. Runner
The class runner job is pretty straightforward, but can be incredibly helpful in terms of making sure that classes run as smoothly as possible.
Not every school has a system where each classroom has a telephone whereby they can call one another. As a result, it’s always a good idea to have a class runner on hand.
We all know how disruptive it can be when you find yourself needing to deliver a message to someone in the middle of a lesson, and you have to physically stop to go and do so.
By having a class runner, you have someone at hand who can ensure that all messages are carried out, without having to disrupt the classroom.
If you have a message that you need to deliver that’s particularly long, then you can simply write it out on a piece of paper to hand to the child to take to another classroom.
18. Tech Team Member
As you may have already guessed, the tech team member is responsible for making sure that all of the tech based items in the classroom are kept in order.
The tech team member can make sure to switch on the computers at the start of the day, as well as making sure that they’re all switched off at the end of class.
This is a great job for those who enjoy computer science, and are particularly knowledgeable in the subject.
The tech team member can subsequently help any students who are struggling, and answer any related questions that they may have.
As well as this, they can also carry out smaller jobs too, such as making sure that everything is plugged in to charge overnight, and handing out any android devices to students when required.
The tech team member job is a great way to hone in on the skills of a student who’s particularly gifted with computers.
19. Stationary Monitor
This job is great for students who like to keep things neat and tidy, as it involves making sure that all of the stationary in the classroom is appropriately monitored.
The monitor makes sure that all of the rubbers, pencils, scissors and other items are returned by students each time that they’re used.
They can also be in charge of counting the stationary items to make sure that none are missing.
As well as this, the stationary monitor can report if anything is running low, such as coloring pencils, and need to be replaced.
The stationary monitor can also make sure that all of the pencils are sharpened, and can do this at the end of the day ready for the next.
This can help to ensure efficiency in the classroom, and means that students won’t need to spend ages sharpening their pencils in the middle of an assignment.
20. Lights Monitor
The lights monitor is essentially responsible for making sure that all of the lights are turned off each time someone leaves the classroom. They can then go ahead and turn them back on when everyone returns.
Whenever the teacher needs to switch around the lights, they can call on the lights monitor to do so.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, there are a whole host of different classroom based jobs for students that you can employ today.
Assigning tasks to your students helps to give them confidence and a sense of purpose to carry throughout the day.
Classroom jobs are important for teaching responsibility to students, and also provide a large sense of accomplishment.
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