Classroom Jobs for Kindergarten ESL
Updated: Feb 17, 2022
I used to teach in a South Korean hagwon/academy/cram school that educates both kindergarten and elementary-age students. Yes, that DOES mean my hours were forever. My kindergartners, however, got the benefit of staying inside the classroom the longest, and therefore had the classroom decorated as their class for the year.
During this year, our school's theme was the solar system. My kindergarten was Korean aged 7-year-olds and our name was Pluto.
I tried to find classroom jobs that fit my needs and that I could realistically do inside my small classroom. All the stuff I found online was for American classrooms, which are pretty different than a Korean kindergarten hagwon. I had to get creative with a few jobs.
Instead of just saying they have weekly jobs, I made them into "missions" where each week their rocket (colored by themselves) lands on their job for the week.
This way they frequently got to try new jobs and have new responsibilities.
I also created a "launchpad" and "mission aborted" places near the planets. If students misbehave they will go to the launchpad until their behavior improves. If their behavior worsens, they get their "mission aborted" and lose their job for a day or the rest of the week.
ESL Kindergarten Classroom Jobs
Table Washers (2)- right before snack time my table washers make sure everyone has a clean table to eat on.
Snack Captain (2)- one student to give everyone hand sanitizer and one student to pass out the yogurt or plates for snack time.
Calendar Person- this student is responsible for telling us the date for today, yesterday, and tomorrow each day.
Weather Person- this student is responsible for telling the weather each morning, including the temperature and "how the sky looks." :)
Line Captain- this student is the "role model" as to how the rest of class should look in the hallway when we need to wash our hands, go to the library, or go to the gym.
Line Monitor- this student watches the line for those who are not walking nicely.
Helper- this student helps me pass out papers, scissors, glue, or other materials to the class when needed.
Directions Reader- this student is responsible for reading the directions on our book pages before we answer.
Camera Person- this job is actually done by a class vote. Each month we have a birthday party and this student gets to take the pictures of everyone having fun. I then use my favorite photos to use as the background picture on our computer monitor for the rest of the month.
Grammar Expert- because we give monthly tests, students usually have to know some grammar concept. I made a part of our classroom wall an interactive grammar activity to do during morning greeting.
Greeter- a student to ask how everyone is feeling during morning greeting.
Schedule Reader- we have a lot of books to go through in hagwons, so when one class finishes, one student can tell classmates the next book to get out.
Well, these are what I have! If you're thinking about putting jobs in your classroom, these have worked great for me so far!