The Tricky Business of Getting into Line

Getting in line and/or waiting in a line is a part of life from which we can’t escape. When you’re 5 or 6 years old, the concept of getting into line is serious business.

Often times getting in line at school happens at a time when you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, such as on the bus to go home, or to the cafeteria because it’s time for lunch. The rush puts extra stress on an already stressful situation. Just a little forethought and a small arsenal of tricks, go a long way toward minimizing chaos and turning line-up time into an opportunity to reinforce a concept or skill.

Considering filling your bag of tricks with these suggestions:

• Keep a small (8×10”) wipe-off board, a dry erase marker and eraser near your classroom door. Write one student’s name on the board and hold it up to your class saying “If this is your name, come to line.” Do this until all children are in line. This is a great way to teach name recognition. When first names have been mastered, use only last names.
• Using two identical sets of flashcards (you decide what numbers you want to use such as 1–20, a random selection, even numbers, odd numbers, etc.) Pass a card to each child prior to line-up time. Using your set, display a card to the class and ask the child that has that same number to come to line. Ask them or tell them what number is on their card when they hand the card back to you. If you are working with older children, you can present this concept as a math fact such as “The person who has the sum of 5+6 please come to line”.
• If you find yourself in a bigger hurry and you need to have several children line up simultaneously, try using the months of the year to gather the herd. An example would be, “Everybody who has a birthday in January, come to line.” It would be helpful to have a birthday list near your line-up area for times when you want to use this strategy.

Being the first in line has traditionally held “magical” power. Usually the first in line, gets the best ball on the playground or the best seat on the bus. Take the pressure off being “first” by using these tricks:

• Call the children out of line instead of letting them run onto the playground/gym/bus/cafeteria. Arrive in a collective manner and then dismiss them from the line one or two at a time. This will encourage the children to be attentive and well behaved as they are waiting to enter the next activity. Inevitably, somebody has to be last…there’s no way around it, but you can set a precedence that being first in line does not always mean you’re first to get out of line when you get where you’re going.
• If you really want to throw your students for a loop, after lining everybody up, head to the back of the line and circle your classroom before leaving so that the child who was last in line, is now at the head of the line.

Take charge of the line-up process and arrive at your destination in a controlled manner. Encourage your students to pay attention and expect the unexpected while interjecting a little fun and learning into an unavoidable part of your school day.

Rebecca Eckenrode, Early Education Teacher
Classloom Blog Writer

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Originally published at blog.classloom.com on February 24, 2016.