Procedures & Routines

I believe the most important procedure students should learn are the class rules.  The class rules encompass what kind of learning community will be established, how each member of the community should conduct themselves, and also how we should respond to certain situations (including the most extreme situation being an emergency).  I will base my classroom rules on the Principles of Love & Logic.  It is important to me that students understand that they can control their own behavior and that as the teacher I will give them the chance to correct their own problems before I step in and correct it for them.  Students will learn the classroom rules by engaging in a whole-group discussion of what the rules mean.  I would then present several scenarios to the class and have them describe how the class rules apply and what should be done to correct the situation.   
10 Procedures to Teach the First Day:

• Entering the classroom- come in without talking, hang up coats and backpacks, grab a chair from the stack, make lunch choice, begin morning work on the overhead/board.
• Leaving the classroom-when teacher gives signal students should quietly put materials away, push in chair (no slamming), grab coats, and walk outside.
• Attention signals-students should be familiar with hand signals asking to go to the restroom, to answer a question, yes and no, and dismissal.  When students are collaborating they should understand the verbal cues “Give me five” and “Voices/Off”.
• Bathroom use- students should use the restroom during recess.  If there is an emergency during class they may use one free pass a week.  Once the free pass has been used they will owe the teacher a cube (one dollar in classroom currency that students earn for doing their work on a daily basis).
• Sharpening pencils/lost utensils- pencil sharpener places sharpened pencils in can at the beginning of the day.  As students need a new pencil they may quietly come up and trade their dull pencil for a sharp one.  (The dull pencil goes in a separate can).  For lost utensils, students may go retrieve one of the teacher’s extras or they may ask to borrow a neighbor’s.
• Class jobs-teacher assistant, pencil sharpener, lights, paper collector/passer, lunch counter
• Class rules (based on the principles of Love & Logic)
• What to do if you finish work early- students will refer to a list of extra activities on the board.  The list rarely changes because it has items like silent reading, unfinished work, etc.
• Emergency procedures (Fire drill/lockdown/earthquake)
• Missing/Incomplete Work- students need to ensure they are labeling their paper with their name.  Similar to the bathroom pass, students have one free pass to use every month if they need to turn in an assignment late or incomplete.  After that they may pay a cube to turn in the assignment late.  *This procedure will vary depending on the grade level of the student.  This specific procedure would be used with students in grade four and up.

Draft of a Daily Schedule:

9:05-9:25 Students arrive.  Teacher greets them at the door and tells them directions are on the board for what they need to do.  Directions state they are not to unpack their belongings yet, but to go find their nametag on a desk and sit down.  They will work on the getting to know you activity.  If they finish early they can read from the basket of books placed in the front of the room.

9:25-10:00 Greetings and introduction, students share getting to know you activity. Discussion on classroom community.

10:00-10:15 Assign student numbers and show them where their cubby/coat hook is located according to their assigned number. Practice how to enter the room and put things in the cubbies.

10:15-10:30 Recess

10:30-11:15  Teach and practice morning procedures (which are charted for students). During this time discuss where supplies go and teacher will take up any extra supplies and place them in large Ziploc bags with the student’s names (names put on in advance along with student’s number).

11:15-12:15 Introduce class rules and procedures on lining up, walking in the hallway and going to the cafeteria. The students role play what it looks like to follow these rules and what not following the rules looks like.  Compare and discuss the role plays.

12:15-12:55 Lunch and recess

12:55-1:15 Curriculum guessing game.

1:15-1:30 Teacher read-aloud Teacher From the Black Lagoon.

1:30-2:15 Students create a flip book comparing their experience on the first day of school to the story that was read.

2:15-2:45 Safe school person or teacher will discuss playground safety and emergency procedures.

2:45-3:00 Recess

3:00-3:45 Discuss and practice pack up and dismissal procedures.  Organize students for how they will leave school (i.e. who takes the bus, who will walk, who is getting picked up by parents/guardians).

3:45 Dismiss