A few ideas for procedures/routines in your classroom.
Entering the Classroom---Do you want them to come in the room in a line? Do they go straight to their desks or do they get their supplies first? My students were supposed to wait in a line until I told them they could come in. When they entered the room, they would come in quietly, go to their seats, take out their supplies and start their bell work. If students came in too loudly, we practiced again and again and again and again until they got it right.
Starting Class (bell work)---Most teachers and teaching experts agree that having a bell work assignment is best in getting your class settled and on task to learn. My bell work was usually a review of the work from the day before. Students should be able to finish their bell work within 5 minutes. You don't want bell work to go on forever. It's happened to me where we've discussed the students' bell work assignment and I look at the clock and cringe because the rest of my lesson will be rushed. This should not be the most important part of your lesson!
Getting textbooks--My students were in teams, pairs or rows. I excused parts of the classroom (1 row, 1 group or 4 pairs) at a time to get their text books. When they were done, I excused another part of the class until everyone had their books.
Turning in homework--Homework was always tricky for me. I usually assigned homework, always due on Friday. On Friday, during bell work, I would have students take out their homework and putting it on the left hand corner of their desk. I would walk around, and while monitoring students, would stamp their work. This way I knew that these students turned in their homework on time. I then excused the students one row or team at a time to turn in their homework. For the homework, I had in-trays for each class period. Sometimes the students would get lazy, and put their work in a different period's tray. If this happened, I would reteach the procedure and, if one student specifically was bad about it, I would take them aside and talk to them about it. I usually didn't have too many problems though.
Getting supplies--Supplies were usually in a specific spot. I had a table at the front of the classroom where I put all the supplies I needed for the day. I then told the students, one row or team at a time, to go and get the supplies they needed to bring back to their group. When students worked independently, I was more relaxed about them getting their supplies as long as they did it quickly and were on task! Sometimes that was a huge struggle though!
Passing out papers--If it seems that I didn't do anything in the classroom, it's not true. I did teach. BUT, I let the students work also. I kept papers in a pile at the table in the front of the room. I told the students "One person from each row, get enough papers for your row." The students took turns getting the papers from the front of the room and passing them out to everyone else.
Passing back work--I kept student's graded work in a crate. Each class period had a hanging file folder, and I just put their work when it was graded. I then had students that finished their work early (usually toward the end of the class period), pass out the papers to everyone else in class. If there was a student that wasn't there that day, the students just put their paper back in the correct folder.
Sharpening Pencils--When do you let them sharpen their pencils? I was never strict about students sharpening their pencils, as long as it wasn't when I was teaching or other students were talking. I told them to sharpen their pencils at the beginning of class. Some students use it as an excuse to dawdle and talk to their friends. So, I also told the students that there was only one person allowed to be at the pencil sharpener at a time. I also told the students that they needed to raise their hand in order to sharpen their pencils.
Going to the restroom--The good old restroom. So many students like to use the restroom as an excuse to leave the room and avoid class. And sometimes to meet up with buddies or girlfriends or boyfriends. So, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, have a sign out sheet. Teach the students that they need to ask to go the bathroom, sign the sheet with their name and the time that they left. They should also have a pass. If possible, try to give students an allotment each semester for "free" bathroom passes. Maybe 5 a semester is a good number? It all depends on you.
Second of all, make sure that your students know the appropriate time to use the restroom. I always told my students that the appropriate time to go to the restroom was when I was NOT teaching. A lot of times, unless the students have a health issue, they are fine with "holding it" until the end of the class period. I often told students, "When you finish working on this, then you can go." Most of the time, the students forgot they even asked me. If the students finished their work and remembered to ask me again, then I let them go. There are, of course, times with real emergencies. I always thought it would be hard to distinguish between a kid faking it and a kid that really needs to go. Honestly, you'll know the difference.
Classroom discussion/Answering questions--- Students need to raise their hands when answering questions in a whole class discussion. This is extremely important, otherwise students will believe that it's okay to shout out. Choral answers and reading are completely okay as long as students are taught how to do it properly.
Working in Groups--- This routine will differ with each teacher depending on their personality. But the important thing is this: If you want your students to work successfully in teams, they NEED to be taught how to work in teams. Tell them your expectations before they start working. I always told students that every student had to have their own paper, the noise level couldn't get too loud and if they were goofing off they got one warning from me to go back on task. I tell students beforehand what the consequence: I call it team or partner probation. I will break up the groups and partners and they can't work together for the rest of the assignment. And sometimes, if the kids are super naughty, they can't work with that certain friend of theirs that makes them want to act naughty.
Working in Pairs--Same as above!
Working independently-- Solo time or independent time means students are to be working by themselves. I didn't do this a lot, because I think 7th graders work best in a social settings by teaching and helping each other. I also want to add that I did play music in the background when students were working. I told my students that as long as I could hear the music, the noise level was okay.
Cleaning up the classroom and Class Dismissal--- Cleaning up the classroom is important. I got in trouble from the custodian my first year of teaching for having a dirty classroom. I was too exhausted at the end of the school day to make my students clean up. After I got a scary notice from the custodians, I made my students clean up for me. I wouldn't let anyone leave until the classroom floor was spotless. Sometimes I told students to each pick up 5 pieces of trash before they left. Making your students clean up after themselves after each class period will really help you keep your room tidy.
On another note, just putting supplies away can take a long time for students. They like to dawdle and talk. I always waited until there were just a few minutes of class left to have my students clean up. Just make sure that you watch the time. There have been COUNTLESS times that I have lost track of time and we are chaotically scrambling to clean up.
I also liked to make students sit in their seats until I told them they could leave. I was kind of bratty, but at the beginning of the year I would tell my students: "I dismiss you, not the bell." Sometimes students would be a little eager to leave. I would just gently remind them to sit back down and I usually made them wait until everyone else had left, to prove a point to them.
Remember, the key to any successful procedure is practice, practice and more practice!
If you have any other procedures/ comments please tell me so I can add them in! Also, I will be getting two new awesome contributors to this blog to give another point of view, so you're not just hearing from me!
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