Using Clipboards Effectively in the Middle school Classroom

A wonderful mentor teacher left me a set of 30 clipboards when I taught middle school.  At first, I had no idea if I would ever use them.  I shoved them in a closet and continued on with my day.

At the time, I had a few sixth graders who had what I called a "popping-up" problem.  These two or three boys happened to be in the same class, and physically could not stay seated.  They were very lovable and did not even realize it, but would suddenly be standing!  Constantly.

The two who did this all the time would very sheepishly sit back down any time I pointed it out.  They seemed to not even realize that their rear ends had left the seat.

Once I realized that they were just more comfortable standing, I gave up and accepted it.  I just moved these students to the back row.  Then, I remembered the clipboards.  At least they could work without hunching down to the desk level. Once I pulled out a couple of clipboards, suddenly I was finding uses for them everywhere!! Here are a few ways to use a set you may have lying around.

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Make-Up Quizzes:
Clipboards were amazing for streamlining the make-up quiz process.  During the regular quiz time, I would immediately label a blank quiz with the name of each absent student.  Then, I clipped it to a board and laid it along the chalk ledge with just the name visible.

When students came in during recess time to make up the quiz, I never again had to stop working with students I was tutoring.  The kids knew to come in, grab their quiz, and find a quiet place to work.

Mobility:
If each student has a clipboard, you can spread out more for group work.  Kids this age LOVE to sit on the floor.  I never had to move desks anymore.  If you are trying some task card activities or scavenger hunt-style worksheets, clipboards will help a lot.  Send one group to the back of the room and two to spread out in the hall, and suddenly group work is SO CALM!

Being able to sit on the floor helped even in cases I did not expect.  When someone showed up without homework, I would sometimes send them in the hall to work while everyone else went over it.  This used to mean dragging a desk out.  When offered a clipboard, not one single student ever preferred a desk.  I used to feel so bad having them sit on the floor until I realized how much they loved it.  They sit in chairs all day and sometimes just need some variety.

Get outside:
As we all know, middle schoolers are always begging to go work outside.  This can be a pain and is sometimes asking for trouble.  To make this work in situations were it was beneficial (like measuring shadows when doing scale, right triangles, etc.), I put blank paper on every clipboard, threw them all in a basket, and took everyone out with no hassle.  All they needed was a pencil.

There are a lot more ways to use clipboards. Get creative!  Please share a comment to tell us how you make great use of your clipboards in your own classroom.

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