Good classroom management hinges on having thought-out routines and procedures that both you and your students know how to execute without thinking about them. Having classroom procedures that your students have internalized how to do makes your teaching so much easier and enjoyable.
Establishing important classroom routines and procedures makes the daily tasks automatic so you can focus on teaching. So, how do you establish good daily routines that every student can follow?
Whether you are a first year teacher or a seasoned educator, it’s important to teach students specifically how you want them to interact within your classroom environment. If you spend time teaching these daily routines at the beginning of the school year, you will save time and energy as you work with students daily.
Classroom procedures are the routines and actions in the classroom that you and your students do hourly, daily, or weekly.
Explicitly outlining the must-teach classroom procedures will help you communicate expectations with students and make your first week and year run smoothly!
You likely have classroom rules for students. Both rules and procedures make for excellent classroom management.
What is the difference between rules and procedures in the classroom?
The best way to figure out what procedures and routines you need is to brainstorm and list them. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Sit down with a blank piece of paper and a pencil.
Go through a typical day in your classroom and list all the things students do throughout the day. Broaden it to a week. List things that students do 1-2 times a week.
After ten minutes, take a break, walk, or do something else. Return to your list after a break and record anything else you might have thought.
Sit down for a few minutes and list what bothers you about your classroom routines.
Do students get up to use the pencil sharpener at inappropriate times or raise their hand when you’re teaching a lesson to ask a question not related to the topic? What little things do you find annoying about your current routines?
There’s a list below to get you started!
Establish effective classroom procedures and routines at the beginning of the school year. Model them all. Model the wrong way to do them.
Then, model the right way to do them. Practice them repeatedly during the first two weeks of the school year. Practice. Practice. Practice.
Praise the students who complete the procedures accurately. You will do much of this teaching during the first week of school.
As the back-to-school season wanes, you will spend less and less time on teaching these procedures because students will have internalized the systems you have put in place. You can now turn your attention to teaching content vs. processes.
However, you will need to review classroom procedures throughout the year. When might you need to review them? Well, when things aren’t working the way you want them to work.
Students will likely need a review and reminder of routine after a long break or at the end of the year once they have become too comfortable in your classroom. They may also need reminders and quick reviews after a few days with a substitute teacher.
The other time of year I spend more time reviewing procedures is the spring, when students have become very comfortable in the classroom and test the boundaries. They’re almost at the end of the school year; they’re older, wiser, and familiar with your classroom. This is the time of year when things could get out of control, so taking time to reaffirm procedures is key to your end-of-the-year classroom management.
As outlined above, teachers must create a structure and routine to help them get through the initial transitions. Establishing classroom procedures is key to helping teachers and students feel comfortable in the new environment.
In this blog post, I explore what teachers should consider when teaching procedures during the year. From setting expectations to designing a model classroom, we’ll cover everything you need to know about making the first day go smoothly.
Here are 22 Classroom procedures that you should consider implementing in your classroom. Students and teachers go through These standard elementary classroom procedures daily or weekly.
A quiet signal is one of the primary routines and procedures to implement. How will you get students’ attention both inside and outside the classroom?
Using a doorbell is popular. You can find many different ones on Amazon (affiliate link). While I have used a tool, like a bell, as a quiet signal, the most effective one has always been my voice.
Over the years, I have used different voice signals. Sometimes, I count down verbally while also counting on my fingers.
Alternatively, how will students get your attention during whole group time, carpet time, when you’re working with a small group, or when they’re at recess and need something? You might have different expectations during each of these times of day.
Where do students line up? How do they line up? Will you vary their lineup?
In Kindergarten and even second grade, I put colored duct tape on the floor. I alternated the colors, and I numbered the pieces. The pieces were straight from my door, and I had one for each student.
Students didn’t have assigned places, but I was able to tell students to line up on certain colors or numbers. This allowed me to separate students and sometimes make a game out of lining up.
How do students need to walk through the hallway? Do they need to walk silently in a line or in a group with whisper voices?
What do you expect students to do when they enter the classroom? Put their stuff away, sit down, and work on something? Turn something in or get started in choosing their literacy stations.
What about entering the classroom after recess, lunch, or Specials time?
Can students use the bathroom anytime they want? Do you have a rule that they can only use it when you’re not teaching? Or do they have to wait for certain times of the day? Do you have a bathroom sign-out procedure? What is your bathroom policy?
How do students pack up their things during dismissal time? Do you require students to tidy something up at the end of each day?
Is a table group responsible for one area of the classroom or cleaning up trash around their area? What about passing papers out that need to go home?
Do you have a dismissal routine where parents pick up specific students, or can students leave the room freely?
It always irks me when students leave their seats while I’m talking. Don’t they know any better? Well . . . no, unless I teach them.
What if students need a tissue for their noses? Can they get one? Or what about the student who needs to throw something away? Do you want them to wait until you’re done?
Thinking through some interruptions will help you respond to them more effectively.
When it comes to teaching, there are always going to be interruptions. Whether it’s a student asking for clarification or an unexpected announcement over the loudspeaker, these interruptions can disrupt your lesson plan and throw off your flow. But instead of being frustrated by them, it’s essential to think through these interruptions and respond to them in a way that benefits you and your students.
This post about blurting out may give you some ideas on procedures for interruptions.
If there are classroom or small group supplies, when should students go and get them? When do they have access to these supplies?
How about sharpening pencils? Do you have a tub of sharp pencils where students can get a new one?
Can students access their desks and supplies at any time or only during certain times of the day? How about when you’re teaching?
Depending on your students, you may or may not need to teach this explicitly. One thing students have done while I’m teaching is lean back in their chairs. It’s an easy habit to break, but not something I want them to do when teaching.
What is your expectation for absent students? Do they need to make up the work? If students are gone for an extended time, do you require them to take work with them? Parents will ask, so you need to be ready with a procedure!
Ah – this is a big one! What do you need to do when there’s a substitute? How do your students need to behave when there’s a substitute? How can they help the guest teacher out? Are expectations slightly different? In what ways?
The following anchor chart aligns with my goal-setting resources. It is one way I prepare students for a substitute and help them understand my expectations for a guest teacher.
After a day with a substitute, I will also spend time with students, reflecting on how the day went. I’ll build an anchor chart, usually a plus and delta chart, which lists things that went well and things that might need to change the next time we have a substitute.
Learn six simple steps to create organized emergency sub plans for your classroom." width="1024" height="678" />
Where do you want students to put their finished work? Is this place different for work you need to grade vs. work that can be immediately sent home?
We had mailboxes in our room. Each student had their own slot, and after we finished an activity, I had students file their papers in the mailbox. I only collected a small amount of the papers to record for actual grades.
What about incomplete work? Do you expect it all to be completed or only certain pieces of the work?
When do you expect students to complete their work? Do you want them to put it in their backpacks and take it home, finish it at the end of the day, or work on it as they have time throughout the day?
What is the expectation if students finish something early? How does this change if you’re doing something whole-group vs. in a small group?
Think about the different times of the day you might want to teach in small groups. You may have a Daily 5 Routine for reading and Math or Science Stations. How will students operate during those times of the day? How do they start the small group time? How do they transition to the next activity? How do they end the small group time?
My classroom had literacy centers in the morning with a specific routine for how students chose their activities. I provide students with choices about their small group activities. I also had clear expectations that we practiced extensively for how they acted at each station and how we transitioned between them.
We also had math centers, which I ran differently than our literacy centers, and I had science stations that differed from math centers and literacy centers. Some days, we had three different times of small group rotations. Students knew what to do within each one because I had set the expectation, and we had practiced the procedure.
Establishing routines for transitions between activities is essential to creating a successful learning environment in the elementary classroom.
One way to transition effectively between activities is to set a timer. Children need clear expectations when transitioning from one task to another, and a timer helps them understand how much time they have left to complete a task.
In addition to using timers, set expectations for all types of behavior during transitions. This can include reminding everyone to stay quiet or reminding students to clean up their materials before moving on to the next activity.
By establishing routines and setting expectations, teachers can help their students make smooth transitions between tasks, leading to a more productive and successful learning experience.
This is one procedure you will want to communicate with parents. What are your expectations for homework? Is it nightly or weekly? Do you have specific homework, or is it more interactive? Does it include work from class to finish? What is the parent’s role in completing and returning homework?
You’ll want to iron out this procedure, ensure it’s in writing, and that students and parents know about it. It will save a ton of time and headaches in the future!
Now that we have so many tech devices in the classroom, how do students use them? Where should they put the devices when they’re not working on them? Is there a central place to charge them?
The following procedures are ones that you might consider having in your classroom. Some are optional, and others are dependent on your school’s requirements.
While I did have to take attendance and a lunch count, it wasn’t something I had students do. I could easily see which students were absent and how many had brought their lunch from home. However, some teachers add this to their morning routine.
Do you want to have classroom jobs? I used them intermittently throughout the years to varying degrees of success. Generally, my use of classroom jobs petered out midway through the year.
How will students check out books from your classroom library? Is there a system, or can they get any book whenever they want?
Do you have designated greeters when someone enters the classroom? How will students act? Do you need to tell them not to shout out, Mrs. So-and-so is here!
Do you have a carpet area or a whole group area where students sit on the carpet? Do they have to sit in a certain place or anywhere on the carpet? How do they come to and get up from the carpet?
If you have community supplies in your classroom, do you expect how those supplies should be organized or kept?
This one is really important for Kindergarten and (hopefully) less important for upper elementary grades. It’s the basic how-to procedure for using the bathroom.
Another suggestion is to type out your procedures. Writing them down on (electronic) paper will allow you to think through them and see any gaps that might need to be filled.
It will also allow you to communicate those procedures with other teachers, parent volunteers, and substitute teachers. You can save them for next year and easily make adjustments throughout the year as you change your routine.
You will not need to explain all the procedures to parents. However, a few key ones are important to communicate. Remember that list you made at the very beginning of this blog post? Go back to the list and highlight the procedures that need parent support.
If students are not following your procedures, first reflect on whether or not this is a consistent issue, an issue with the entire class or certain students. Many different approaches and interventions could be implemented for students who forget procedures.
If the entire class seems to be having difficulty, review the procedures as a whole class. See above for times of the year you might want to review procedures with students.
You may also consider revising and changing your procedures as the year progresses. As students mature and become more independent, they may need a different procedure than at the beginning of the year. Changing a procedure is okay if it is a thought-out process and communicated well with students.
Involving students in changing procedures creates student buy-in and is a great classroom management strategy.
If one or a couple of students struggle with a specific procedure, review the procedure individually or as a small group.
Consider using a behavior chart if you have one or two students consistently not adhering to your procedures. These types of charts are especially helpful for special education students who need more accountability and feedback.
One of the keys to behavior management is to include a goal on the behavior chart. Either choose a goal for students or let them choose from a set of goals that you have predetermined. While you choose the set of goals, you can allow students to choose the specific goal to work on each day, giving them some autonomy.
This post explains how I use behavior charts in the my classroom. It helps in managing student behavior.
Are there other classroom procedures on your list that I didn’t mention above? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.
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