I am going to stick with talking about routines again this week. Specifically, let’s start at the beginning, with the simplest routines, and the areas in which new (and not just new!) teachers often struggle. The way that class (the day) starts sets the tone for the class period. Capturing the first five minutes in a way that is welcoming, efficient, and focused makes a difference. When a teacher does not have a well developed opening routine, this becomes apparent around October or November when they are struggling with classroom management. Worry not, if you think this is happening in your classroom, it is fixable.
A well designed opening routine can also result in the more efficient use of time during the class. In his book about executive functions in the classroom, Mitch Weathers contends that teachers run out of time because this time at the start of class is used ineffectively. In my experiences in classrooms, I completely agree. Getting class started in a meaningful and useful way, and with clarity about expectations, makes a difference in so many ways.
Picture a student walking into your classroom from a busy hallway, recess, a walk across campus, or a school bus ride. They have perhaps joked, jostled, or talked with friends, they perhaps had a negative interaction with a peer, they rushed to run an errand with another teacher. Providing a set quiet and focused time, where everyone has a clear purpose, allows them to center themselves and get closer to ready to work. Many teachers set a timer for this time period, and some even play some form of calming music in the background.
You have two goals to accomplish in these opening minutes. You need students to be ready to work in terms of the materials they need, and you need to get their brains ready to work. Many of the most successful teachers use this first 5 minutes or so in the same way every day, and design it in a way that puts the responsibility for getting started squarely on the students. And no, I am not just talking about high school students here. Middle and upper elementary students love routines and responsibility too! Here are three simple questions to get started:
What materials or work do students need to have out in their workspace?
What materials or personal items should not be out?
What visual cues are available in the classroom to help build this routine?
Think about what students need to know and be able to do in order to be ready to work, and what you need to accomplish before that work starts. Students need, first and foremost, to know that they are welcomed to class and that they are known for who they are. So, once you have greeted them at the door and welcomed them to class, they need to get ready to work.
As the teacher, you most likely have to take attendance, check in with students who have been absent, perhaps even handle other office type work such as collecting forms, delivering messages, tracking down children who are missing. If students are unoccupied during this “housekeeping”, then you will lose their attention. No matter the age, how well behaved or respectful, a group of humans left with nothing to do will lose focus and precious time will be used getting them back to focus. This is not the way you want to begin class. Instead, use the time needed for housekeeping tasks to your advantage, and engage the class in meaningful work. Get their brains engaged by having them reflect, practice, and think about the work to come. When you finish your tasks, which incidentally you will also do more efficiently without distractions, you now have the opportunity for some quiet and subtle check-ins with students who may need it.
There are several ways to get the work started. Some teachers have the question or task posted as students walk in, and expect students to get started as soon as they are ready. They get their materials out, put their backpack under the chair, and then look to the board for a prompt or begin work on something that was handed to them as they walked in. Alternately, in his book, Executive Functions for Every Classroom, Mitch Weathers suggests that once students have their materials ready and once everyone is ready to learn, only then engage the class in an opening prompt. Weathers explains that starting students on this task at the same time reduces the amount of time in class during which some students are working, and others have finished. It is this gray area where you will find discipline problems emerging. Either way you choose to try it, this opening prompt can activate prior knowledge and engage the students with retrieval practice.
So, as you start class, be thinking about what work or task students can engage in that will refresh their thinking about yesterday’s instruction so that it can be built on today. A major benefit of using an opening routine is also an opportunity for students to have a couple of minutes to independently pull themselves and their thoughts together. I strongly recommend, therefore, that the expectation be that this is independent work, that talking is limited, and that students know what they should do when they finish. (I also highly recommend that your opening routine does not involve an open laptop!)
Now that their brains are ready to learn, and that their working memory has been activated, you have also gained some valuable information. You may know how many of them accurately recall and understand the work from yesterday, and thus what level of review is needed. You may know how many have experience with today’s topic and what that experience might be. You may even know that they are not quite ready to learn, and that some decompression or mindfulness work is in order. You and they are now more ready to have a successful class.
Weather, Mitch. Executive Functions for Every Classroom; Creating Safe and Predictable Learning Environments (Grades 3-12). Corwin, 2024, Thousand Oaks, CA.
This is so interesting! I have so far only thought things from the perspective of a student. It's refreshing to read content that is tailored for teachers.