Routines are the lifeblood of a well-run classroom.
Because, done right, they save tons of learning time. They keep students focused and on task. They cut way down on misbehavior.
They also make your teaching life a lot easier.
For everything you do as a class repeatedly, there should be a specific, well-taught way (routine) you do it.
But routines can be fraught with danger.
There are dos and don’ts that can be the difference between a smooth running of the rails and complete disaster.
For example, I recently met with a teacher who explained emphatically that she had been doing everything right.
She modeled her routines explicitly. She practiced until her students proved they understood. She consistently held them collectively accountable.
Yet, she was still struggling.
Her routines felt laborious. Her students would perform them, but reluctantly and often poorly. Every transition was becoming a downer and a drain on her patience.
Now, it’s important to point out that as students get older, they need fewer and fewer routines. The look and feel of them are also unique to the particular grade level.
For example, how you expect a second grade class to enter a classroom versus a ninth grade class would be very different.
The way you teach routines and how much modeling you do should also fit the grade level. We’ll be sure to cover this topic in the future, but it’s really no different than matching any other area of instruction to your age group and maturity level.
With this particular teacher, however, who had 10+ years of experience, this didn’t appear to be the problem.
So what was it? Why did her routines feel like drudgery? Why did they take the energy out of the room, prompt misbehavior, and induce grumbling and complaining?
The answer is a simple little thing, but it can be a very big deal: She was (and her students were) doing them too slow.
For routines to be most effective, for them to be sharp and efficient and for students to be motivated to perform them, they should be done as fast as possible without becoming sloppy.
This is where you’ll find your students the happiest and most attentive to the task. This is what keeps the train running tight on the rails from one success to the next, which then transfers to everything you do.
It works because speeding them up adds an element of challenge, which is not only fulfilling and enjoyable for students, but it will change their perspective and attitude toward performing them.
It will also save you time and stress reteaching, reminding, and redoing them again and again.
So this coming school year, try performing your routines just 10% faster. Make em’ snappy. Push your students to complete them with the same precision and excellence you expect while doing academic work.
Ask for more, better, faster, and more efficient and your routines will never feel miserable, militaristic, or laborious again.
Rather, they’ll feel like success.
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Totally agreed😊
The fast paced lessons yield an enthusiastic outcome even if routine work is being carried out…
Thank you so much for this reminder. I read your articles constantly, and re-read them, and my teaching has benefited from your advice—I am much calmer and my students are much happier. Of course, I still continue to work on my skills so I appreciate when you re-visit strategies. Often I find I have drifted off the main point. Thanks again.
I’m so glad to hear it, Hedy! I try to circle back every few weeks to touch on topics I hadn’t covered in a while.
Great tip! I am a Portuguese teacher in the immersion program.in Utah. I try to go slower to make sure all of thrm woukd follow my instructions. I noticed that when I went slower to make sure they understand some of tge students would be disinterested and would affect the others, but when I went faster it was always more fun for them and for me. I will make sure to have them know the vocab before giving them a routine, thrm go a little faster and try to go faster every time we do the routine until it is at the speed I want (just like a train).
Thanks Lilian!
This is exactly one of the main topics I had in mind about next year.
You definitely caught my attention with the notions that routines have dos and dont’s and that they must be age appropriate. The latter makes sense, yet I’m not really sure what the difference between a second- and ninth-grade entrance would be. I find these nuances difficult to navigate without the benefit of more experience, and that’s what you’re supplying here.
However, even as a newer teacher, I was encouraged to see I got the speed and challenge aspects of routines right. I was bored with attendance-taking every class and saw it could become a drag and drain on classroom energy, so I started timing it and making it a competition between classes (I’m a specialist). Instead of being tedious, it became a matter of mysteries to solve each time: who was the fastest class so far, and how fast would this class be today? And it was over very quickly so we could get on with important things. All my Kindergarten classes, for example, made it down to 13 seconds at their fastest by the end of the school year!
But I need to learn more and am very eager for the articles about avoiding the pitfalls of routines.
Important point about the age ranges. I’ve read articles like this and think of adopting an idea not realizing the article failed to communicate what grade levels their agenda was successful with. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Matthew. With every article, I keep in mind that we have readers teaching a wide range of grade levels.
I am already implementing this habit with my kids. I put time limits (depending on grade level & task) I set a timer/ look at clock, give verbal reminder half way or near end. Make the start as enthusiastic as you can; “ok,READY?…GO!….COME ON LETS DO THIS!!”
I will admit, sometimes its because I lose track of time😉. Oops. LoL
Agreed. Time management counts too much in every success of life
That’s a great clarification which few, even veteran teachers are able to realize, verbalize, and pass on to others. Very helpful!
Glad to hear it, Lisa!
Thanks. This is a great reminder! I am a second grade teacher, about to start my second year and I am determined to sharpen routines and my classroom management skills. Reading your stuff daily is helping it sink in and break old habits.
I love reading your articles. What is most helpful to me is when you tell a story or give a specific example. It would be great if you could share a detailed routine with us. What do you say, what do the students do, how long does it take?
Even if it doesn’t exactly apply to my class, it would give me an idea of just how detailed you get with it. And if there is an article you can point me to, that would be great too.
You’re welcome, Sue. There are several such articles in the Teacher Modeling category of the archive.
Michael
That’s totally right. To have a teaching routine is of crucial importance yet it’s difficult to reach and sometimes even if we follow a certain protocol we break in the middle of the way because we are human beings. Thank you so much for the good article we will try to follow the tips.
I have two of your books and started implementing your system last year. I apologize if you have answered this question, but how do you recommend carrying out your system through specials and recess? If I go pick up my students from specials or recess and another teacher talks to me about student behaviors, do you recommend I tye it into my warning and consequence system or handling it separately? Each teacher has different tolerance levels and without seeing the incident it is hard to know all the circumstances.
Hi Emily,
This is a great question. In the best circumstance, the specials teacher will handle their own misbehavior rather than handing it over to you—which can put you in a difficult position and make it hard to ascertain what really happened. I’ll be sure to cover this topic in a future article. In the meantime, yes, it’s best to fold it right into your plan.
Hi there! I’m an elementary art teacher and I’ve been prepping myself on teaching my routines and procedures. While teaching them, should you explain /why/ we’re doing what we’re doing?
For example, “We will wait to enter the classroom until everyone is quiet and still so that you will be focused and ready to learn when we begin.”
Or, “We store the brushes this way so that the bristles stay nice and straight,” Or, “I’m waiting for your undivided attention so that I can show you what to do next”.
Thank you so much for doing what you do! I just finished reading your “Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers” for the second time this summer.
Hi Rae,
Yes, definitely. Your students are more apt to perform routines willingly when you explain why or, more specifically, how it benefits them and the class as a whole.
Classroom management has always been a challenge so I appreciate your information , As a substitute teacher , establishing routines is very different because I am following already established procedures by their teacher. I see what works by the student behavior , If the behavior is good I follow established procedures . If not, I adjust or add something to the routine and will give a reason for the change plus a motivation to follow the plan.
Thank you for the hints. I had a tough year last year and was told Ineeded to take a classroom management class. Since then I am taking an on-line course and reading your blogs. I see things I was doing, things I needed to work on and things my special education certificate did not prepare me for in a general education classroom. Again, thank you!
You’re welcome, Patricia.
I thought I saw management for Art, Music and P.E. teachers somewhere. Can you please share the link to that again?
Hi Julie,
Just click on the orange book in the sidebar at right.
So students who struggle with following procedures are still held accountable right? If they know the procedures and choose not to follow them, then doesn’t that fall under the classroom rule of following directions?
Yes it does.
You have talked about reviewing the CMP after initial learning “every day for the next three or four weeks.” Does that mean just reading through the rules and consequences, reviewing expectations for one or two procedures, or going through every procedure in detail?
Hi Denise,
It just depends on your class and how practiced and effective you are at teaching your plan. It can mean a quick run-through or a detailed modeling of one particular area. The quote is just a rule of thumb.