Introduction to Classroom Routines and Procedures
Turning through the streets of Southgate, lined with charming, older homes - leads you to the red brick, historic school building that houses the city’s Pre-K through eighth-grade students. Anchoring this quiet, Campbell County city is the Evergreen Cemetery. And while Evergreen Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Northern Kentucky, the city itself is relatively small. “Small school, big pride,” says Southgate Superintendent Greg Duty.
“It’s who we are as a small community school district.” Southgate was incorporated in 1907 and chose its name to honor the prominent family of Richard Southgate, who moved to Newport in 1795. The forebearers in the Southgate family were said to be “keepers of the South gate of London.” As this town would be the southern gateway to Newport and beyond, it was deemed just the right name, and a city was born (“A Brief” n.d).
Just as the city serves as the gateway to Newport, the school serves as the gateway to opportunity for the children in the community. Maddie Roy works with some of the littlest Southgate Lions as a kindergarten teacher. “Maddie is one of the best when it comes to classroom routines,” Superintendent Duty shared.
Background
Establishing clear routines and procedures remains one of the most effective ways to cultivate growth and achievement in the classroom. According to Roy, “...it has a large impact on the success of our class. It allows students to feel safe and secure knowing what to expect and teaches them how to thrive as a student.”
Although routine and procedure are often used interchangeably, they are not the same. A routine is a habit we form by repeating the same set of steps. An example of a routine may be an established way for students to enter the classroom every day. A procedure is a set of steps we take to complete a task. An example of a procedure may be the steps established with the class on how and when the student groups will independently transition from collaborative work to the personalized, blended piece of the lesson. Clear procedures and routines can be a difference-maker for all students.
What it looks like in Schools
Ms. Roy is a daily witness to the impact of establishing clear routines and procedures. “My biggest success story must be when I had a new Kindergarten student join our class in March who was already 6 years old (soon to be 7) and had never been in a structured educational environment before. Needless to say, we had a lot to learn about routines and procedures. With him specifically, he needed to know what my expectations were and that I would stick by them faithfully. After weeks of relationship building, positive reinforcements, and consistent and clear expectation setting, he became our class rockstar!”
She uses what she calls reteaches to ensure students are able to be successful each day, she said. “When a student fails to meet expectations after one correction, I take note that they have a reteach with me. Reteaches happen during the first 5 minutes of recess when the student and I have a conversation about the behavior they exhibited and how we can do better the next time. Once we identify the solution together, we practice it. For example, if a student kept running in the halls after being corrected, we will practice walking with safe feet. These reteaches always end with an I love you, and I am proud of you! Even though reteaches are a consequence for unexpected behavior, this one-on-one time together really helps build relationships with the foundation that we are a family, and we work through obstacles together.”
Sometimes those obstacles can surface in the form of students refusing to follow routines and procedures. In that case, she uses a variety of strategies. “Sometimes I praise a student close to them who is following expectations. Other times I give that student a leadership role that seems at random. I have also had quick individual chats with a student that begins with the question What can I help you with? to try and identify the root need that is not being met. If those strategies fail and the student is still not cooperating, that results in a reteach or being moved into a different location of the classroom to take a break. During their break, they watch a visual timer that lets them know when they can return to their desk.”
A day when the activities deviate from the regular schedule can also prove to be a challenge, she said. “Whenever there is an unusual day like picture day, field trip days, late arrival days, etc. it makes our class routines harder to manage. On days like these, I try to be extra consistent with my positive reinforcements as well as consequences.”
Getting Started
While Ms. Roy and her colleagues continue to reinforce routine and procedures throughout the school year, starting the year with them is critical. “...Setting the tone,” she said, “and explicitly teaching expectations at the beginning of the school year is crucial for these routines to be effective. The first week of school, I walk through what each part of our daily routine sounds likes, feels like, and looks like. We practice each procedure 3+ times until every (or most) student meets expectations and feels confident doing it. For example, if we are practicing raising our hands without talking, I will have the students talk to a partner until they hear my attention-getter. If there is even 1 student who continues to talk, we will try again. This encourages students to work as a team to meet expectations.”
Ms. Roy's students work independently at their desks with a voice level 0.
Ms. Roy's students sitting crisscross on their sit spots.
One of the most effective ways to teach routines and procedures is to act them out, she shared. “ I act out both the expected behaviors and the unexpected behaviors. If we are working on walking to our sit spots from our desk, I will hold up a green checkmark sign as I walk quietly and sit crisscross on a sit spot. Then, I will change out my sign to a red X and run from a desk, roll around on the floor, and yell as I lay down on a sit spot. The students think this is hysterical and it also gives them a visual of what to do and what not to do.”
With August and the start of a new school year soon upon us, it is our hope that the resources you find here will support your efforts in establishing and/or fine-tuning the foundation of your classroom management- your routines and procedures.
Until next time...keep growing the Bluegrass.
Jess
References
A Brief Revised History of Southgate. NKYViews.
