Students will either rise or fall to the expectations you set. One of the reasons they fall is because we don't set up the classroom with enough structures and routines. If you don't take your class seriously, neither will your students.

To facilitate an environment where students are held to strong standards, be professional and model what you expect from them. Having a general structure to every class period really helps students know what to expect. Have a warm up at the beginning of class every day. The warm up can be a review from previous class periods or a preview to what is happening today. The warm up tells students that the second they walk into the room, something is expected of them. Have it on the board and ready to start so that they could start during passing period while you are in the hallway. The body of the class should have a mix of guided instruction and student work. The work should be targeted to exactly what you want them to learn and not a random worksheet. While they are working, to ensure complete understanding, walk around the room and check on the students. This tells the students that you care about them actually doing the assignment. If you sit behind your desk and grade or check email, it tells the students they are not important enough for your time. Walking around will also eliminate many discipline problems before they occur. A student will be less likely to misbehave if you are right there overseeing what they are doing. A closure activity/statement is also an excellent way to ensure that students are working. If they know they have to produce something during the period and that you will hold them accountable for the learning, they will be more likely to produce something. This could be an overarching question, or answering your learning target or objective.

The first and last five minutes are the most important times when establishing a routine. Be on time to class and expect the students to work from bell to bell. Do not be late, or that tells the students it's okay to be late. Don't end early and let the students line up at the door either, it tells the students that closure is not necessary and that the work they did for the period couldn't have been that important. It also distracts other classroom if your students are loud at the door.

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