Why You Need To Freshen Up Your Class Routines

This time of year things tend to get sloppy.

Students are feeling the lazy pangs of summer approaching. It’s in the tea, the daily grind, and the changing weather.

Left alone, this feeling will morph into poorer and poorer performance. Only you can do something about it. Because it will never correct itself.

There are a number of ways.

You can spend time preparing ever sharper and more compelling lessons. You can update seating arrangements, juggle the schedule, and raise your standards. You can announce a cool new project.

But the easiest way is to freshen up your routines. Here’s how in three steps.

Step #1

Change each routine in at least one significant way. It can be combining two or more routines into one long routine. It can be adding steps to an existing routine.

It can be short-cutting, adjusting a route, or speeding up the pace. Whichever you decide, be sure that the change offers a greater challenge. This is key.

Step #2.

Include an aspect of fun. If you add an extra step, make it creative or amusing. (For example, walking to an X taped to the floor and dancing a one-second jig.)

If you’re combining or shortening a routine, then add a quick fist bump, odd movement, or silly facial expression at the end. It sounds weird, I know, but it works.

Step #3

Be sure you have fun with it. How you model your new routines makes all the difference. Teach them as a positive and a benefit to the class. Express yourself. Playact. Dramatize.

But be precise. Teach your new routines with exacting expectations. Then, just like the first week of school, let your students practice. Give feedback and praise. The practice should also be fun.

Note: The younger the students the more routines and modeling you’ll do.

A Weekly Jolt

The best part about changing routines, and the whole purpose of it, is that it transfers to everything you do.

It will awaken your sleepy class and improve their energy and motivation. It will erase the malaise and drudgery of the last weeks of school and provide the spark you need.

But you don’t have to teach all of your new routines in one day.

You can model one or two a week if you wish, which is a great option because it adds a jolt of fun and novelty every few days.

Just remember, like so much of effective classroom management, it’s the little things that make the difference.

For more on routines and how to teach them the SCM way, check out the Procedures & Routines category of the archive.

PS – I’ll be taking next week off for spring break, but will still post new content to the SCM Facebook page.

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