Safety in Routines

     As I get my classroom organized for students to walk into on Sunday, I need to think not only about organizing the physical space, but also organizing the routine of the day. As Harry and Rosemary Wong remind us, having routines makes a classroom a predictable and safe place for students to learn. If routines are not in place, students spend too much time worrying about where to sit, what to do next, and how to obtain or turn in materials and not enough focus on the learning objective. So during the first week, I need to make sure that students know the following:

1. When students enter the room, they should go to their seat and look at the agenda on the front board so they can anticipate the learning activity and objective. Please don't socialize at the back of the room until invited to sit down.
2. Each lesson starts with a teacher-directed section, so they should have their notebook, pencil or pen, book, and any homework ready to go.
3. Homework gets turned into the labeled trays that sit on the materials table, where extra paper and pencils, staplers, hole punchers, tape dispenser, and paper clips are available for student use. Colored pencils are for coloring, not as a replacement for a lost pencil.
4. Independent work time needs to be quiet. People work best without distractions and noise.
5. After the closure, students will be dismissed from the room (wait for it!).
6. Grading is done in a consistent way, and grades are put into the electronic grade book within a week of the assignment's due date.
7. Homework is turned in on the day it is due. If it isn't turned in, it needs to be made up as soon as possible, preferably during break or lunch. If late homework becomes a pattern, parents will be notified to help break the pattern.
8. The school's Moodle site is a student's best friend. Assignments for the week, handouts, glossary, links, test calendar and other resources are readily available for student use. There should never be the excuse "I didn't know" or "I didn't have it."

Hmmm... pretty long list. But it is fairly standard stuff, and if I take a week to touch on all of it, it shouldn't be overwhelming. With attention to expectations and practice to meet them, my classroom management will be a well-oiled machine within a couple of weeks. And with predictable routines comes a feeling of safety and plenty of brain space for learning.