If your students have made a mess after an activity and there’s chaos in the classroom, then here are 5 tips that will help you get your clean up routine running smoothly.

1. Tie it to something they care about

2. Set a timer 

3. Break the task down

4. Praise compliance

5. Stagger the reward

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Today I am going to give you five tips on how you can get those cleanup routines in your class working smoothly. If you have got chaos in your class, maybe they have made a mess after an activity or maybe you just want them to clean up at the end of the day and set the table straight. If you are finding it difficult to get your students to participate in the cleanup routine of your class then here are four tips that will help you.

1. Tie it to something they care about

The first thing is this, you need to tie the cleanup routine to something they care about. If they’re waiting to go out for lunch you need to just lead with an “If-then” statement for example “If you want to go out to lunch on time, then you need to clean up” or “If you clean up then you get to go out for lunch”. Tie it to the thing that they care about, “If you want to get out of class, if you want to get out when the bell rings at the end of the day, then you need to get the class cleaned up in a timely fashion”. Tie it to something they care about. If they’re waiting for free time or If they’re waiting to go out for an activity give them those “if-then” statements to help them understand the urgency of participating. 

2. Set A Timer

Set a timer. Timers are great for creating urgency and timers also take away the locus of power from you. So what you can do is set the expectation, then say this is the reward when you’ve finished and then you set the timer. Maybe put it on your laptop and project it up on the screen so that they can visually see time running out.

For example, you could say, “If you do not get it done by the end of the timer or when the timer runs out we are not going out” or if you are not done, you are going to miss out on your playtime”. Tie it into the timer, then what happens is they start to race the timer. They start to work not against you but against the timer, that will create a sense of urgency. It will also help them to visually manage their pace at which they are responding. Tie it to something they care about. Set a time limit and then break the task down.

3. Break The Task Down

This is especially important for smaller children, preps, grade one or grade two. Sometimes they can be overwhelmed by the task. They see the mess and they go it’s too much, I can’t do it and then they don’t do anything. So what you have got to do is just break the task down, For example, “ok Tommy I want you to pick up all the blue blocks, just the blue blocks, Shannon I want you to pick up the red blocks and Dean I want you to pick up the yellow blocks”. When you break the task down they then feel like it’s manageable. Once they have done that we can set the next task “Fantastic the next thing you need to do Tommy is pick up the cars, Shannon you’re putting the books back on the shelf etc. 

Break the tasks down if children feel overwhelmed or if they feel like it is too big for them. I can not clean my desk, it is too hard, there is too much rubbish, Well ok I want you to just start by getting the rubbish bin and bringing it to your desk, then sweep the cuttings into the bin. You have to break it down for them. Then that way they do not feel so overwhelmed by the task and they are more willing to attempt it.

4. Praise Compliance

The fourth thing is to praise the people that are being compliant. Walk around the room while the cleanup is happening. Name the kids that are complying well, Stacy I love the way that you have just responded to this and you are getting your desk clean, Thank you so much and Thomas you are doing a fantastic job of cleaning the back area in the bookshelf. Verbally and very demonstratively praise the kids that are doing the right thing. That will encourage the other children who are maybe reluctant or going slow or unwilling to get on board and start participating.

5. Stagger The Reward

The last one is this, sometimes you need to stagger the reward. Do not be too quick to punish the entire class because some of your kids have not complied. Some of the kids might have cleaned up and some of them have not. One of the ways that I stagger the reward is, “if you want to go out for lunch you need to clean up your desk area” or “If you think you’re ready to go out then stand behind your desk with your hand on your head”. Then I just walk around and check their particular area, “Ok Stacy you can go out for lunch now. I still have some kids mucking around, some kids not doing it but thank you, Thomas, you can go out for lunch, No Jack that is not cleaned up appropriately you need to keep on going”

I allow the kids that have finished to go out while the other kids get kept in. Sometimes if you keep the whole class in it can be counterproductive. If you’ve got a really stubborn child who doesn’t want to get on board and who doesn’t care, they’ll just sit there and they’ll punish the whole class and they won’t take their part seriously. It can also distress some kids who maybe have been compliant.

The first time I did this when I was a new teacher I had a timer and I asked the class to clean up, there was just one little girl, great little girl. She was in there cleaning, she was doing it but some of the classmates weren’t. Because I had said nobody’s going out until it’s clean she burst into tears. She said we can’t do it, we can’t clean it up before the timer runs out because they are not helping.

Then she just went to pieces and she was just inconsolable. You don’t want to punish the whole class because for the kids that are compliant it can be quite stressful for them and pretty unfair too. Some kids do not want to work and just sit back and let all the good kids do all the work. Stagger the reward and that may help to place some importance on the kids that are being a bit reluctant.

So that is five tips on how to get kids to clean up the classroom in a timely fashion.  The first thing is to tie it to something they care about. Secondly, set a timer so that they’re working to a time limit. Thirdly break the task down for reluctant kids. Give them one step at a time, actually talk them through the cleanup. Number four, Praise compliance. Praise the kids that are getting on board and being compliant. The last one is to stagger the reward. If some kids are cleaning up quickly make sure that they get their reward, even if the others have not done it. Then that way you’re not punishing the whole class. 

So that five tips on getting your class clean in a timely fashion. I hope that helps and you got a ton of value out of that. Don’t forget to like, comment and share with somebody who you think will benefit. 

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