Strategy of the Week 8/20/13: Routines and Procedures

Strategy of the Week #1:  Routines and Procedures

(Adapted from The First Days of School by Harry & Rosemary Wong)

Procedure:  What the teacher wants done

Routine: What the students do automatically

Why are procedures important?

• Students need to know how you expect them to behave and work in the classroom.
• Clear and well planned procedures allow for several learning activities to be taking place at one time, with minimal disruption.
• Procedures increase on task time.
• Classroom procedures tell a student how things operate in a classroom, reducing discipline problems.

Examples of Procedures

• How to line up to leave the classroom (where does each child stand, where are the stopping points along the way)
• What to do when you have a question
• What to do when you need to go to the restroom
• What to do when you finish your work early
• How/where to put materials (backpacks, finished work,
• How to sharpen a pencil

Procedures in “Real Life”

• Airplane: Each flight begins the same, with the procedures for an emergency.  It helps passengers to know exactly what to do, and how to do it.
• Traffic light: We know to stop at a red light, slow down when it is yellow, and to go through the intersection when it is green.
• Restaurants: In a restaurant, we know that there is a menu, we make a choice and order with a waiter/waitress.

Consider the following procedures:

• Stand at your door every morning to greet students.  Make eye contact, and say “Good Morning” to EVERY student.  Do not begin your day without a proper welcome as students come to school.
• When walking with a line of students, walk toward the middle/back of line, where you can see all students.  Establish stopping points on your route, so students know exactly where to stop and wait for you to give them a signal to keep going.
• Establish a line order for students.  This provides the security of knowing the place and the neighbors every time a child is in line.  It also helps the teacher to determine if a child is missing.
• Assign each child a number.  When calling students to line, to go to the bathroom, or to get their things, call out a range of numbers, “Students 1-5, please get your things.”
• Establish a closing statement for dismissal.  Do not allow students to leave seats until you dismiss them.  Statements could be “Have a nice day”, “”Thanks for learning”, “See you tomorrow”.

If you are interested in planning, or discussing other classroom procedures and routine, be sure to fill out the Partnership Interest Form below.  I would love to support you!

Partnership Interest Form