Independent work in the classroom is so important for so many reasons! It teaches students how to build confidence and higher self-esteem. It allows the student to have time away from an adult constantly prompting them. Independent work promotes building skills students will need for their future. There won’t always be somebody there to prompt. Here is how to set up a 3 drawer work bin system.
Create the System
You can find 3 drawer bins anywhere – Target, Amazon, Walmart, etc. I like to put the bins on the left side of the work space because you read left to right. Once you have the bins, create the visual system. I like to cut, laminate, cut and Velcro the 1, 2, 3 numbers to put on each drawer. Laminate the 1, 2, 3 strip and keep put together as a landing board. Students will grab the number to match the number on the bin. They will then take out the work that is in that corresponding bin. When students finish the work, they can either put the work back into the bin or put it in a basket. I place the basket on the right side of the work space. You can either create an independent work center or have at each students’ desk. Here is free access to the 3 Drawer System Visuals.
Decide What Work Will Go in the Bins
It can be really fun to incorporate seasonal activities into independent work bins! With Halloween coming up, I printed the Halloween No Prep Activities for my student. I keep a 12-drawer bin system next to my independent work station to store activities for each month. I also love having some non-seasonal activities already made for when I need students to focus on a specific skill, such as tracing or counting.
Making Sure Work is Mastered Skills
Independent work should always be work that the student has already mastered and can complete independently. I often assess students on the task ahead of time at my center to make sure it is an appropriate task for independent work. As shown in data sheet above. If the student has not mastered the skill or work, you will often see undesired behaviors. Prompting during independent work takes away student independence! If students do need a prompt, consider using non-verbal prompting, such as pointing, and prompt from behind the student. Use these free Task Box Data Sheets to track students’ independent progress!
Need Help Motivating Students?
A lot of the time when I coach teachers, I hear that students won’t work independently. I know the perfect solution whenever I hear this! Incorporate student’s interests into their independent work as shown above! I once had a student who would cross his arms and refuse any time he went to my independent work center. I collaborated with his mom about what he loves to do at home. She told me his favorite cartoon that he watches everyday when he gets home from school. I created some tasks where he had to match the main characters, match letters from the title, and sort characters by color. He could not believe it when I showed him the tasks. He was so motivated and completed his independent work no problem! Over time, I faded one of his favorite tasks to an academic task that I wanted him to maintain skills for. I continued to do this until all 3 tasks were tasks I wanted him to complete.
Starting a 3 drawer bin system in your classroom is a great way to introduce independent work to students. You can create 1 system for all students to use or 1 system for each student. I’ve seen many teachers keep 3 drawer bin systems next to or on students’ desks.
If you’re looking for more tasks to add to your independent work library, check out this blog post!
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