Since there are too many jobs (60) to describe here, I will list a few of the ones I personally often use in my own classroom, so that the reader can get a feel for the kind of jobs kids do in my classroom. Of course, I like to say often that the beauty of this work is that there is nothing prescribed, and that it is a process and not a method (very important point).
Accordingly, other comprehension based teachers may want to use some of the other jobs in the overall list and not these. Other teachers may want to make up their own jobs to fit how they do things. We are all “individual teaching artists”, a phrase coined over thirteen years ago on the moretprs list by Moco Loco Thompson in Beaufort, SC. It is a phrase that has stuck with me over the years.
That is what I feel we really are, artists merging our own personalities with those of our kids to create learning paintings/settings with the shades and colors of the CI paints that reflect our own whims and interests and class chemistry. Some of us may prefer certain jobs over others. Some of us might choose to do stories all year, and others, like master CI teacher in Maine Skip Crosby, might hang out doing PQA with his classes until March or so, and that is a long time to do PQA.
So, besides the PQA Counters and the Story and Quiz Writers and the Story Artist mentioned in the two previous posts, here are other positions that kids can enjoy doing in my classes:
[note: the complete list of all 60 jobs can be found here in the next post tomorrow. ]
Distributor/Collector of Quiz Sheets
Distributor of Pencils – the eternal pencil battle is one that I won’t fight; I buy them at Big Lots and hand them out like candy. We really only need them for (infrequent) free writes and dictee anyway, and the quizzes.
Actors (described previously)
Professeur (there can be two of these) – these are deciders who quickly decide on things like if the house is red or blue so that the teacher doesn’t have to take a side when students suggest cute answers. Either Professeur 1 or Professeur 2 (if Professeur 1 is absent or can’t decide) take immense pride in making decisions when I ask them to. This is one of those jobs that really bring shy kids who are intelligent into the classroom process.
Mais Bleater – auditions for this position are hilarious. This job is described in PQA in a Wink!
Où/Where Person (instantly lowers the kids’ affective filter in class) – this is another job of major importance, also described in PQA in a Wink!
Quand/When Person (also instantly lowers the kids’ affective filter in class), also described in PQA in a Wink!
Word Chunk Team (WCT) Controller 1 (this is the most left out kid in class who couldn’t even get into a group for the WCT game. He gets to pick which team raised their hand first as described above. He goes from being left out to being a decider.
Word Chunk Team Controller 2 (this is another kid in need of feeling needed – this one judges synchronicity of signed group responses as described above.)
Word Chunk Team Controller 3 (keeps score during the game and also watches – very important – to see if all the heads in the group go together to consult before the hands are raised, to keep one member from dominating the group as described above.)
Master of Gestures – described in detail in Stepping Stones to Stories! This is a new job this year with big potential.