Cleaning up after lessons

- Do lots of modeling in the beginning of the year and throughout as needed.  Have the class watch certain students “show us how to do it”.   Make a class list of what a clean desk looks like, or what the classroom looks and sounds like when children are cleaning up.  Be specific about what you want and teach for it.

- Consider a class rule: no throwing away trash at ANY time without permission.  Some kids will find a staple or paper scrap and walk the long way around the room to the furthest possible trash receptacle and then meander their way back to their seat.  Not only does this rule eliminate that problem, it also creates order when the entire class needs to throw away trash, such as after a cutting project. 

- Call one side or the room (or table) at a time to you can see who should and should not be at the trash can.  You can also have students throw away trash when they line up to go to music or lunch, if those activities follow your lesson.

- Give a time frame for cleaning up and, if needed, a consequence.  “I need you to be ready for math in three minutes (or when this bell goes off).  Anyone who is not ready will ___ (fill in penalty)”.  Counting down from 10 to 1 also works well, especially with younger students because they can easily gauge how much time they have left (and you can count more slowly or quickly as needed).  You will rarely have to enforce the negative consequences, but do be warned that if you hype the children up, they will act like it’s a race- things will get done quickly, but also loudly and sloppily.