Seating charts don’t have to be a pain.

Before: Constant distractions. Little effort. This is what I saw when I let students choose their own groups, or when I tried to create groups for them.

After: When I started randomizing my seating charts weekly, I saw a big improvement. In random groups, students understand that they are all expected to participate.

How? There are lots of methods, but I wasn’t happy with any of them. Items 1-4 of this list are the most common methods that teachers use to randomize seats, and number five is the easier, better way that I developed. I highly recommend it!

1. Popsicle Sticks

Write student names or numbers on popsicle sticks. Shuffle the sticks, then group the sticks together randomly to create groups of students.

Pros:

• Quick & easy
• Visibly random

Cons:

• Easy to create groups, but hard to make a seating chart
• Difficult to control where students end up
• Need to make a stick for every student OR students need to memorize a number

2. Deck of Cards

Have students randomly draw a card from the deck as they enter. Each card corresponds to one desk in the room.

Pros:

• Fun interaction with students as they enter
• Visibly random

Cons:

• Need different decks for different hours based on class size
• Difficult to control where students end up
• Requires labeling the desks

3. By Hand with Sticky Notes

Write each name on a sticky note. Place the sticky notes on a piece of paper. Shuffle them around until you are satisfied.

Pros:

• Easy to control where students end up

Cons:

• Slow & time-consuming
• Not visibly random

4. Random Number Generator

Use a list randomizer, like random.org/lists, to assign a random number to each student. Each number corresponds to a desk.

Pros:

• Quick & easy
• Visibly random

Cons:

• Difficult to control where students end up
• Requires numbering desks

5. ✅ Best Option: Shuffle Buddy

Enter your students’ names, rules for who can sit where (or which students to keep apart), design your classroom layout, and then just click “shuffle”. Shuffle Buddy randomizes seating charts in one click while following any rules or requirements you set.

I built Shuffle Buddy because I wasn’t satisfied with any other randomization technique, and I truly believe that Shuffle Buddy is the easiest, most effective way to randomize your classroom seating chart.

Pros:

• Quick & easy (one-click randomization!)
• Visibly random
• Easy to control where students end up
• No special classroom setup needed

Cons:

• One-time setup effort (copy/paste your students’ names and enter seating rules)

Try Shuffle Buddy