32 CLASSROOM ROUTINES EVERY TEACHER NEEDS

Is it a waste to spend the first month of school practicing classroom routines? I say it's a
waste not to, as you may end up spending more time putting out fires than teaching
without practicing essential skills necessary for your "classroom health."

CREATING AN OPTIMAL ENVIRONMENT

Focus on classroom organization at the beginning of the year:

 Plan activities to personalize students' entry into your room (be at the door, welcome
letter)
 Meet with all the parents early on - they want to see you and know who will be working
so closely with their child
 Classroom set up: arrange materials in a predictable manner that are easy for students
to access
 Organize and label all materials. Labeling is essential for students who are learning a
second language and are in the preproduction or early prediction stages.
 Make the classroom feel like home. Adding a few plants, softer lighting and dedicated
areas for a reading library can help.
 The classroom set up should include a personal space for each child that belongs to
them only. Examples of this are name tags on desks, lockers, pouches over the back of
each chair, and a book box for each child's independent reading from IPICK or Reading
Karate.
 Have a predictable daily schedule that you post in the classroom. If your students are
non-readers, use pictures to show the order of the day.
 Develop a classroom discipline plan that follows your management plan and students
can easily understand.
 Give students specific jobs and responsibilities to make it a student centered classroom.
 Design the classroom so that there are areas for both social interaction and quiet areas
not associated with punishment.
 Create a positive environment by regularly using classroom awards to promote
motivation.

FACILITATING TRANSITIONS WITH CLASSROOM SETUP AND

ROUTINES
 Plan a predictable daily schedule with activities that are appropriate in length for your
age groups.
 Schedule longer blocks of time in the classroom to minimize transitions.
 Give a "heads-up" before a transition is going to occur.
 Develop transition activities to help children switch gears (a song, calling student
numbers, a quick game).
 Ask students to repeat instructions back to you.
 Use multi-modal signals to prepare children for transitions. This is particularly important
for different learning styles.
 Practice transitions through modeling and repetition. Show the students desired and
undesired behaviors that are expected as part of all classroom routines.

ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES THAT REQUIRE ROUTINES

 Beginning the day
 Entering and exiting the classroom
 Heading papers
 Sharpening pencils or retrieving supplies
 Collecting and handing out papers
 Leaving the classroom for a bathroom or drink break
 Signaling the teacher during guided reading time
 Asking a question
 Emergency procedures
 What to do when finishing work early
 Break time, if needed
 Cleaning the room; when to perform classroom jobs
 Dismissal

Remember to always have copies of your classroom routines for both students and
parents.

To get the best results, you must review the expectations and routines, discuss them and
provide lots of practice for kids to internalize your expectations about your organized
classroom.
 "Routines are the backbone of daily classroom life. They facilitate teaching and learning….
Routines don’t just make your life easier, they save valuable classroom time. And what’s most
important, efficient routines make it easier for students to learn and achieve more."
—Learning to Teach…not just for beginners by Linda Shalaway

When routines and procedures are carefully taught, modeled, and established in the classroom,
children know what’s expected of them and how to do certain things on their own. Having these
predictable patterns in place allows teachers to spend more time in meaningful instruction.

As children start trickling into the classroom, they

need to know exactly what to do. What should they
do with their homework? Where should they put
their book bags? Where do their coats and other
materials belong? What should they do while they
wait for the rest of the class to arrive? When does
class actually start? When kids know the answers
to these questions, they can move smoothly
through the morning routine and get straight into
learning.

After the bustle of putting away book

bags, coats, and homework, taking
attendance and discussing the
schedule can help bring students
together and build community in the
classroom.

Students move through many activities during the

course of a typical day, from whole-group lessons to
small-group work, from reading time to math time, from
in-class work to specials outside the classroom. It’s
important to plan for these in-between times just as
carefully as you plan your lessons. With predictable
routines in place, students can move smoothly from one
activity to the next without losing learning time. The
teachers in this section share some clever ideas for
signaling transition times and keeping track of students
as they leave the classroom for various reasons during
the day.

Just as a morning routine helps set the tone for the

rest of the day, an end-of-the-day routine helps
get children and the classroom ready for the next
day. You may want to enlist some children’s help
in tidying up the classroom while others gather
their belongings, including homework.