The new school year is beginning and the establishment of procedures will determine what kind of year it will be. Veteran teachers know this is the most important instruction in the first days of school. The students are watching and determining whether your rules are worth following. Does the teacher really want the rule followed every time? Does he/she change expectations from one day to the next? Will there be consequences I care about? Does he/she care about me? The last one is more important than you might think. If your students believe you care, they will be more willing to follow your rules and less likely to challenge you.
#1 How to Walk into the Classroom
This is so important because it sets the tone for the class each day. Will the students get to work right away, or will it take precious minutes to settle them down and begin? Do you want that battle every day, or would you rather have them walk in quietly and get to work? I establish this by having students line up outside my classroom door. I ask for their attention. (Some will continue to talk.) I give them a friendly hello, tell them I expect them to walk in quietly and start the warm-up assignment posted. I tell them that if they are on board with that rule, to give me a thumbs up. Those who are listening, and give me a thumbs up will be allowed to walk into class. I give them a warm smile and a “thank-you”. (The smile and thank-you are critical. It tells the students I am friendly and someone they would like to please.) Those who were not listening will remain in the hallway. At this point, they may wonder why they were not allowed to go inside and you will have their attention. Repeat the procedure again allowing those listening to enter. At my school, we are required to stand in the hallway to monitor students until the bell rings. This can be tricky as you have to also monitor those who have already entered. Make sure you keep an eye on those who are already inside. If they are not quietly getting to work, ask them in a non-emotional tone, to please return to the hallway and go to the end of the line. (If you have an angry, disappointed, or sarcastic tone, you are starting to make an enemy that will likely want to challenge you more.) Repeat, repeat, repeat! This procedure will be repeated each day in the first days of school until you no longer need to do it. (You may, however, need to revisit it periodically through the school year, or with certain students.)
#2 How to Leave the Classroom
When the bell rings at the end of the period, or at the end of the day, will your students be allowed to just run out the door in a noisy fashion? You may be tempted to let them do this. But it will only add to your stress level and establish the sense that the end of the day is not important. You may need to make a last minute announcement and you need them quiet and listening. The floor will likely be littered with debris. Do you want to have to clean it up yourself? Is it safe to let them run? They will be excited for the period or the day to be over and may not be careful who they are pushing to get out the door. I have my students clean up their rows (or groups). They will not be allowed to leave until their row or group has clean desktops and floors. I require they put their chairs on top of their desks, and stand quietly beside their desk. The first group to do this, will be the first group to leave. If one student is not complying, the other students in the group will put pressure on them to get moving. (You will, of course, have that one student who loves to make a scene and purposely moves slowly. In this case, I tell the rest to go ahead and leave, and the slow-moving student can stay to finish cleaning up.) Be consistent and make this a rule every single day. If you sometimes let this slide, you will continue to battle this end of the day routine. Make it a habit and the kids will fall into line.
#3 When to Use the Restroom
This is a controversial issue in many schools. Some parents will be upset if you restrict restroom use. You do need to be aware of students with medical issues, and make accommodations, however in Middle School particularly, this is one area students will take advantage and lose valuable learning time. I’ve seen students who conspire with their friends in other classes to meet in the restroom at a specified time. Others want to check their cell phones. And walking the hallways peering into other classrooms is a lot more fun than long division. In my school, we have the 10/10 No Fly Zone rule. Students are not allowed in the hallways, the first 10 minutes or last 10 minutes of class. Other teachers may use this as the only time they can go. You may want to set up a log book for students to sign as they leave and then return to class. This way you have a record of who may be taking advantage. You may choose a student to keep track of the time others are out of the classroom and write this down for you. You can require students to make up this time at lunch or after school. Some teachers allow restroom use only during independent work time, so they don’t miss instruction.
In my classroom, I give out monthy bathroom passes that students keep in their notebooks. (You can staple them in so they don’t get lost.) At the end of the month, I collect the unused passes and have a drawing for prizes from my treasure box. If a student has already used their pass, and need to go at a later date, I just require they make up their time at lunch or after school. To keep students from interrupting class to ask to go, I just have them wave their pass and I can quickly nod for them to go ahead and go. You may want to copy your passes on colored paper. I use a different color each month and then collect only that color for the drawing.
BATHROOM PASSES https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bathroom-Passes-Printable-and-Editable-7165430
#4 Cell Phone Use
This is often a school-wide policy. Students may not be allowed to have cell phones at school, but cell phone use has become so common-place as to be almost unenforceable. Kids are going to have them. Parents often rely on contact with their kids before or after school, and expect to be able to reach them. However, if you are a teacher, particularly in Middle School, cell phone use is a major distraction. Students, like adults, can be addicted to their phones. It’s such a tempting activity. And it impacts every classroom. I establish my “no cell phone” rule early in the school year. I give out one warning. The 2nd time it occurs, I will take the phone and put it in my desk for the rest of the period. The third time it occurs, I keep it for the day, and they can pick it up after school. If it happens again (and it often gets to this point) I take it to the office for the parents to pick up. Students often become livid when you take their precious phones. But if they are allowed to use them, they will not be listening and learning in your classroom. Again, as with your other rules, never do this with anger or sarcasm. Stay emotionless and matter of fact, repeat your classroom rule, and move on. Sometimes students refuse to give you their phone. I’ve had to call security (which rarely answers), call home on the spot, or call the office for back-up. They can not be allowed to refuse you. If you let this go, other students will begin to use the same tactic to keep their phones too, and the issue will get out of hand. I’ve also had parents who tell me I don’t have the right to take their child’s phone. This is more common than you might think. This is where administration needs to back you up. Just refer parents to the principal, and let them hear from the ultimate authority at your school. Often they won’t try. I don’t like to be in contention with parents. I prefer to have a warm relationship. But when it comes to learning in my classroom, I need to be able to enforce my rules.
#5 Calling on Students
I found early in my career that I was not as fair as I should be when it came to calling on students in class. We tend to call on those who raise their hand. Its tempting to do this, because they’re right there in front of us waving their hand . Plus, you know they have the answer. However, you are doing a disservice to the other students in class when you don’t call on them. How do you make sure to call on every student? I use popsicle sticks, sometimes called equity sticks. It takes some time in the beginning of the school year to write every student name on a popsicle stick, but then you have it to use all year long. I also write the period number at the end of the stick, in case the periods get mixed up. I put each period in a small jar or container and pull out a stick when I want to call on someone. The students know they will be called on at some point and need to be ready. You may want to have an empty container on hand to place the sticks after you’ve used them. Or you may just place the stick back in the container so students know they might be called on again. I try to mix it up.
Another important procedure is to return to students who give you an “I don’t know” answer. It’s easy to get out of answering a question by saying, “I don’t know”. Let them know you will be returning to them to supply the answer after it’s been given by another student. They know they will have to listen and will be required to come up with the correct response. Sometimes, when I’m establishing this procedure, I have to go back to the same student repeatedly, until they pay attention and answer correctly. But once the students know this routine, they will learn to pay attention and be ready when you call on them again.
#6 When to talk in class
This is another issue that is controversial. Some teachers like to encourage conversation in their classrooms. Is it in the students’ best interests to keep them quiet and compliant? Over the years I’ve heard many different opinions on this matter. If you’re a new teacher, be careful encouraging free talking. It could quickly get out of hand. So the answer is to have procedures in place to control these conversations. Establish times when your students can talk to each other about assignments. Learning from peers is powerful. But should be on your terms. You don’t want students to be able to interrupt as you’re teaching. And if they are allowed to have conversations with their friends any time, it will be a distraction in the class that will impact learning. One of the controlled talking techniques is called “Think, Pair, Share”. Students are given a question to think about. Then when they’ve had time to think quietly, they will pair up with another student to discuss the answer. After a minute or two, everyone quiets and you call on someone to give their response. Make sure to establish the rules beforehand. They are to be quiet and think, and then may talk to their partner when you say “begin”. When it’s time to come back together, you can count down “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 stop.” They must be quiet before you get to 1. If students are still talking, just stand and look at them without emotion. They will quickly realize they are the only ones still talking and quiet down. Praise the students who followed the rule. Another variation of “Think, Pair, Share” is to establish partners. Some teachers have an A and a B partner. More creative teachers may give them names such as “Peanut Butter” and “Jelly”. “If you are Peanut Butter you will speak first.” This allows both students to talk so that one partner does not dominate each time they interact.
Another time to talk is during partner work. Working with a partner is a great tool in the classroom. It’s helpful for your struggling students to learn from a peer, and enhances learning for the student who understands, by having them teach someone else. I tell them that if they are laughing, I know they are not working (with some exceptions). If they are not on task, they will be moved to work alone. It’s important to walk around and monitor closely. If students believe you are not paying attention, they will learn to get off task. It’s also important to establish rules for talking loudly. Peer learning can get out of hand if students are allowed to be noisy. Establish “inside voices” and use hand signals to students to lower the volume. This is another reason to monitor closely.
I have often gotten myself into a difficult situation when students blurt out answers in class. When they blurt out, my instinct is to look at them. I’ve had to train myself not to give them this attention. If students are allowed to blurt out answers, not only are they getting away with breaking the “no talk” rule, they are not allowing other students to give the answer. Once a student has been allowed to do this, others will follow suit. (I’m not sure why this one has given me so much trouble, but I have to focus on this at the beginning of every school year.) When this occurs, remind the student the classroom rules. If they persist, you may be encouraging this unintentionally. Talk to them privately about classroom rules and praise them when they comply.
#7 Computer Rules
The internet is a great learning tool, but can also be a great distraction. Youtube, Facebook, and Tik Tok are all calling to our students. Most students in U.S. schools now have their own laptops, and digital lessons are becoming the norm. Internet use in the classroom must be closely monitored. As in other areas of instruction, students will get the message that they can surf the internet at their leisure if no one is watching. If your school does not have a computer monitoring system in place, please request it. Programs like GOGUARDIAN allow teachers to see the screens of most or all of their students at once. It’s a valuable tool. When students are on other sites, you can simply press a button and they are logged off that site. The program also allows teachers to chat directly to students to keep them on task or to help with assignments. This was invaluable when schools were closed and students were learning virtually. But like any other tool, you must be vigilant in using it. When students are working online, this is not the time to take a break. Students will quickly learn to stay on task if they know you are watching. If you don’t have a program like GOGUARDIAN, then walk behind students and watch what they’re doing.
An effective teacher pays attention and the students know it!