I have tables instead of desks and 25 little firsties. Sometimes students who were BFFs are all of a sudden frenemies. Or the students who didn't really talk before sit next to someone who all of a sudden becomes their new BFF and it's chatter away. Last year I tried the use of nametags taped and then velcroed to their table spot. That didn't work. They would pick at the tape or keep playing with the velcro and I'd hear that all day. It didn't matter how many times I told them to stop, it just wasn't a good plan for me. I mentioned it to a fellow teacher before school started and she gave me a GREAT idea! Instead of putting nametags on the tables, I put them on the backs of their chairs! Now, whenever I need to make a change, all I tell them is to grab their pencil and reading bookbag and their chair and switch places with someone. It doesn't take any time at all to do this and then we can move on to learning. This even works when you want to do a whole class rearrangement. I have them all bring their chairs to the front of the room and then I call out names and table colors and they go sit down. I can rearrange the whole class in less than 5 minutes. It sure is a lot quicker than moving nametags on the desks. I've only had 1 student destroy his chair nametag during a fit of un-medicated rage. I didn't replace his after that so he knows his chair is the only one WITHOUT a nametag.
