Procedures

Classroom procedures provide the necessary rhythm and structure for students to thrive as learners. By establishing reliable, management systems, students can worry less about how to accomplish the more mundane tasks of the school day (unpacking their backpacks each morning), and spend their energy on the excitement of learning. These are a few of our classroom procedures, setting a consistent tone of pace and purpose. As in Harry Wong's classic management model, these procedures will be taught, rehearsed, and reinforced (Wong, 2009).

When students arrive at school, they begin by unpacking belongings in their cubbies in the hallway. The teaching assistant greets students outside and reminds students to place their lunch boxes in the bin near the front door and to pack away any coats that will be too bulky for inside learning. Stations are set up around the classroom for a short free play session until all students arrive. Choices might include a simple art project, the Lego table, or math manipulatives such as links and unifix cubes.

The teacher announces the beginning of morning meeting by playing the daily tune on the Morning meeting begins with students in a meeting circle on the carpet. Any work being completed can be neatly stacked under the table group’s supply basket (this is the method for all finished work, unless it is an individual project such as a drawing created during Guided Play, in which case the students can keep those items in their hallway cubby baskets).

Students who need to use the restroom can show the teacher the ASL signal for bathroom, and are encouraged to wait until the teacher isn’t in the middle of a lesson. Most of the time the class will have a chance to use the bathroom during transitions between specials and recess. If a student needs a tissue, they do not need to ask.

If a student needs help during work time, they may first ask two classmates. If they still need the teacher, they can raise their hand and wait patiently until the teacher finishes conferencing. If the teacher is wearing the Conference Crown, however, then no interruptions are welcome...unless there is a true emergency.

Students who miss school will complete large projects during Guided Play, if possible. Families who consistently miss the bus (violating the mandatory bus policy) will be referred to the acting principal for coaching on how to make a plan going forward.

Once work time at table groups begins, students are generally expected to stay at their seats, especially for the first five minutes (a timer will be set). If they need to exchange pencils, there are extras in the table group supply baskets. Bathroom trips should wait until the end of the work period if at all possible.

The job wheel (cropped to protect student privacy) is rotated weekly and serves as a standing visual reminder of special responsibilities for each student. Line leader and caboose students serve as front and back of the class when transitioning between spaces, the special helper updates the daily schedule (see below) and runs simple errands for the teacher. The inspector helps the teacher look for chairs that aren’t pushed in, misplaced items, or bits of trash on the floor.

Students are grouped by fruit and these labels are used in multiple places in the classroom, including tables (see below). Fruit groups are used to dismiss students in clusters at multiple points throughout the day.

Procedures and routines are explicitly taught for Writer’s Workshop and math workplaces, and the expectations are posted clearly as a visual cue for all students.  

The following call and response tools are used as attention-getters and to help control the volume in the classroom:

At the end of the day, which concludes with Guided Play, students will begin cleaning up when the music begins. The expectation is that the classroom will be tidy by the time the song ends.