How to teach classroom routines and procedures?

Spending the first week or weeks of school teaching, modeling, and practicing routines and procedures will help the school year run smoother every day. There should be a procedure for how students enter your classroom, how they leave, and everything they do in between. Establish Routines and Procedures in 3 Steps: 1. Create a class schedule. 2. Decide how you want students to transition to each activity and the exact actions they should do while the activity is taking place. 3. Teach the procedures you decided. To teach this arrival procedure, it’s best to meet students at the door and talk and/or walk them directly through each step every morning. Review procedures that often happen as a whole group, such as how to wash hands, sit in chairs correctly, and use a low voice. Taking the time to plan and teach classroom routines and procedures is the key to having a well-managed classroom. You will minimize behavior disruptions, and students will feel more comfortable in the classroom, knowing exactly what to do and expect each day. Consistency is necessary to make your classroom routines and procedures become student habits. At the beginning of the year, go over routines and procedures daily. Throughout the school year, redirect students immediately when they are not following a procedure.

To teach classroom routines and procedures, identify your goals and think about how you want your classroom to function, considering the skills and habits you want your students to develop. Choose your routines, you don’t have to choose a routine for every single goal you have in mind, but it also doesn’t hurt, the more routines you have implemented, the easier it will be for students to move about the classroom independently. Next, it’s time to teach your routines, it’s wise to start with one or two each day because you don’t want to overwhelm your students. First, explain the reason for the routine, then go through each step of the procedure giving examples and non-examples of what it should look like. Give students plenty of opportunities to practice their routines, consider hanging visual aids like posters, charts, or checklists in the classroom for students to reference. Monitor the routines once students have learned them, keep an eye on how they are working, if you notice they are not meeting your expectations, then revise or reteach them. Consistency is key when it comes to routines, try and stick to each routine as closely as possible because predictability fosters a sense of security in students, and when they know what to expect each day it will make for a more productive and successful learning environment.