A Simple Behavior Management Strategy: Meet the Desk Fairy

Are the insides of your students’ desks always messy? Then maybe they need a visit from the desk fairy!

Here’s a simple classroom management and organizational strategy to motivate your students to keep their desks clean.

Meet the Desk Fairy

Are you tired of your students’ desks looking like this?

Yeah, me too. And the worst part is every time they need something inside their desk, everything (notebook, crayons, pencils) falls out.

Their desk needs a visit from the desk fairy.

The desk fairy lives in the classroom, usually with a small door on the wall or a decal sticker on the board which the phrase “the desk fairy is watching.”

If the desk fairy’s note is on the student’s desk, they must clean it. After they tidy it up, they receive a non-edible reward. Students are motivated to get the prize to keep their desks clean, and teachers don’t have to worry about an avalanche of school supplies falling on the floor. It’s a win-win situation!

Low-Prep Set Up

You have to do some prepping. Before school started, I went into a student’s desk and cleaned it up. Then, I took a picture of what the inside of a clean desk looks like (i.e., notebooks are neatly stacked, crayons are in bags, and papers are in folders).

Next, I wrote a class letter in the voice of the fairy. The letter should introduce what a desk fairy is and what it does. Last, I created a desk fairy note. The note shows the desk fairy and the photo of a clean desk I took earlier.

During the morning meeting, I read the desk fairy’s letter. After reading the letter, let students ask questions and explain the desk expectations. For example, where should they put their folders? Or school boxes? Where should they put their papers? What should they leave on top of their desks?

After you explain everything, you are ready to implement this strategy. Have the desk fairy visit several messy desks. After students clean their desks, you may give them a non-edible reward.