“Effective and efficient beginning and ending
procedures create an inviting and supportive environment; they communicate that
time is valuable and will not be wasted.”
(Sprick, 2009; Babkie, 2006; Emmer et al.,
2003; Marshall, 2001)
Classroom management consists of
many interrelated procedures and components which work as an effective system if
each is planned and implemented appropriately. Designing effective and
efficient routines for the beginning and ending the day of school is one set of
these crucial classroom procedures. As the quote mentions above, these routines
offer consistency to the school day and tremendously influences the classroom
climate. As an elementary classroom teacher I would plan these routines ahead
of time and be prepared to begin implementing them and teaching them on the
first day of school. Below is a list of times throughout the day when routines
might be necessary.
Student Arrival
As students enter my classroom my goal for
them is to feel welcomed and to independently begin adjusting to the school
day. I would have the classroom set up and ready to go with their morning task
as well as music playing. I student taught in a classroom where the teacher
chose a musician to study each week and played that music each morning and each
afternoon. This is something I very much enjoyed and would like to incorporate
into my own classroom. With the classroom set, music playing, I would then
stand at the door and greet all of my students as they entered the room. This
greeting would consist of briefly communicating with students such as asking
how they are, how their night/weekend was, or about any other life event I was
aware of. Sprick (2009) supports this concept, “greeting students as they enter
provides a subtle but powerful message that you are aware of students and what
they are doing from the minute they enter the classroom, not just after the
bell rings” (p. 80). Students will know to put their things away, turn in any
necessary paperwork, and then begin their morning task (which in the case of my
fictional 3rd grade classroom would relate to math as it is our
first subject). Once students independently finish their morning task they
would know to select their lunch choice and then read quietly until everyone
has finished. Students would continue to work on this morning task until after school-wide
announcements.
Student Dismissal
My previous blog titled,
classroom schedule, factored in twenty minutes at the end of the day due to the
importance of having enough time to make sure it concludes on a positive,
relaxed note. This time will be dedicated to cleaning up the classroom/organizing
supplies, clarifying homework and its goals, and student reflection of their
day. During this time I would keep the climate relaxed and consistent by
playing music that is similar to the morning choice. I will also implement a
few additional techniques to make it more of a fun and positive transition, see
below. Lastly, I would say good-bye to each student and if possible, walk them
to their dismissal location.
Mystery
Object- at the end of the day clean up
can often be hard to do, but with this technique I hope to motivate students to
appreciate their classroom while working together to clean it. I will ask
students to look for a mystery object
that we should put away/clean up/dispose of, then I will give students a set
time (2-3 minutes) and see if we can work together to accomplish the goal.
Student Reflection - I also want students to know that I
appreciate their honesty and feedback. Through a 3- 5 minute reflection I will
ask students to think about their day through a variety of questions. My goal
would be to keep the questions somewhat consistent from day to day, but they
would look somewhat like this:
- Did you meet/exceeded our guidelines for success today? Explain with examples.
- What did you like about school today? What was one challenge you had?
- How can I better help you learn tomorrow?
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