Procedures: Different routines to think through BEFORE the beginning of the year.

Many of us are stepping into new roles this year. Whether it is our first year teaching at all, or our first year at a new school, or our first at a new grade level, being intentional at the beginning of the year, before you ever see a student, can save you so much time, and mental sanity throughout the entire year. The best piece of advice I got when starting my teaching career was to think out my procedures and make sure they are clear and intentional. After 7 years of secondary teaching, I have a list of student facing procedures that I revisit, and adjust each year to fit my context. I also revisit this list before the start of the second semester when students come back from winter break. I am sharing in hopes that it will act as a resource for you when you are starting your next school year!

• Entering  the classroom
  • What noise level do you want them to be at? 
  • What do they do when they first walk in? 
  • Should they borrow their supplies before class? 
  • Where can they find the warmup? Where are you while all of this is happening?
• Exiting the Classroom
  • What noise level do you want them to be at?
  • What needs to be done before the bell to make sure the room is ready for your next group of students? Ie: trash picked up from the floor, materials turned in etc.
  • Are there daily deliveries that students need to return before they leave?
• Bathroom Passes
  • In a perfect world, how often would you want to allow students to use the restroom?
  • How will you track restroom usage for documentation to identify patterns if need be?
  • Will a student helper be useful?
• Borrowing supplies
  • Where in the room will the supplies be located?
  • How will students be held accountable for returning your supplies?
  • What time of the class period will you allow students to borrow the supplies?
  • Who will be in charge of making sure supplies are returned (maybe student helper?)
• Late Work Policy
  • First, what is your district/campus policy on late work?
  • How will you go back and check late work? Will it be turned in in a different location?
  • How will students communicate special circumstances to you?
• Turning in assignments
  • If you have paper assignments, where in the room will students turn in these assignments?
  • What time of the class period will students turn in assignments due? (before the bell ringer? Part of your exiting procedure?
• Phones and technology
  • First, what is your school’s policy on cell phones?
  • Where will students store their devices durning you class. (I find that it is helpful for students to have options when it comes to their phones. I let students put it in their backpack, face DOWN on the top right hand corner of their desk, or in the lock box charging station)
  • What are the consequences for unauthorized use?
  • What are the rewards for responsible use?
• Incentive System
  • What opportunities are you going to provide for students to gain positive feedback?
  • How are you going to track it?
  • Who is going to be in charge of tracking it?
• Student Jobs
  • What opportunities are you going to have for students to share responsibility over their learning space?
  • How are you going to rotate the jobs for everyone to get an opportunity?
  • How are you going to hold students accountable for doing their job well?
  • Where in the room are you going to track who has what job for that week?

Thank you!

I hope that this is helpful, and I wish you the best for the upcoming school year. Remember mind, body, and then classroom. In that order 🙂