Maintaining Classroom

“Across the various grade levels the average number of disruptions in classes where rules and procedures were effectively implemented was 28 percentile points lower than the average number of disruptions in classes where that was not the case.”

Robert Marzano

One of the most important and often neglected elements in classroom management is establishing and maintaining rules, routines, and procedures. The teacher may set the rules, but not implement them effectively. Routines may change from day to day requiring teacher time to explain them. Procedures are often taught effectively the first time they are used, but not reviewed consistently. These three elements form the foundation for building an effective learning environment for the students. The elements have to be carefully planned and consistently implemented. 

1. Rules:

Discussion	Student ideas
Have a discussion about behavior. Ask the students the following question: What rules have you had in other classrooms that you thought were good rules? List their ideas on the board or on chart paper. How did those rules help you learn? Look at the rules. Is there anyway that they fit together?	Don’t hit. Stay in your seat during class. Don’t make loud noises. Don’t talk when others are talking. Don’t make fun of others. Take turns talking. Walk in the classroom. Be quiet during work times.
The students may say that these rules can be stated in two ideas.	Respect others or treat others well. Respect others’ property or take care of property.
Spend a few minutes each day talking about the two rules. Have the students give examples of what these rules would look like. Have two or three students “act out” how each rule looks.	Respect others/treat others well Wait to talk until the other person stops. Listen when someone is presenting in class. Be kind to others by saying good things about them. Share materials and games with others. Respect others’ property/take care of property Put things back when you use them. Ask before using others’ things. Use books and other materials with care.
At the end of the week or during the next week, have the students write a brief essay about one of the rules.

2. Routines:

Event	Routine Solutions
Before class Start the day right with routines for students when they enter the room. Some of these may be special tasks or jobs assigned to specific students.	Put personal things away. Sharpen pencils. Choose an activity in one of the centers. Complete jobs that have been assigned.
At the bell Students need to know what to do when they enter the classroom from the playground, cafeteria, etc. It should be the same process every day so that it is automatic.	Read the board to see the riddle of the day. Read the board to see the math problem of the day. Review any special happenings for the day. Do it as a class.
Taking attendance Take attendance when the students are busy on another activity unless you have a student routine for attendance	Have attendance be one of the rotating jobs in the classroom.
Lunch count If there is a school lunch, there may need to be daily lunch counts. Some schools may give the students choices.	Have lunch count be one of the rotating jobs in the classroom.
Collecting homework Students will have homework on a more regular basis at this grade level. There will also be homework for multiple subjects.	Have a box or tray for the homework. Boxes may be for specific subjects. Do homework packets each week with directions on what to do each evening - you only have to collect it once a week. Have a student collect homework from each student during math journals or daily oral language. Then no student can say they forgot to turn it in.
Distributing materials Much class time is used for distributing materials. This is often when students may disrupt other students.	Have the materials they will use first on their desks before they enter in the morning. For grouped desks or tables, provide sets of materials and have a group leader distribute them to the group.
Obtaining materials Students may need materials during the day. Students may need to get things such as crayons, pencils, tissue, etc.	Have materials in containers placed where students have easy access.
Checking homework Homework should be examined and discussed, daily. It should be an integral part of the instructional activities for that subject. Homework that is “busy” work will not be done well and students will believe that it is not important for their learning.	Students can examine their own as the class discusses it. They would then note one thing they might have done better. Students may exchange homework if they work in groups. Check as a group and each student writes a brief statement about his/her level of success in the homework.
Transition times There will be transition times between classes and activities. Students will go to special classrooms and lunch. Transitions need to be brisk and timely so students don’t spend too much time standing and waiting. This is an area that is often mishandled. Teachers start the process too soon and some students start too far in advance of the others. To check the time taken, write down the time when it is started and then when the transition takes place.	Choose an attention signal to let students know that an activity will change in 3-5 minutes (set the time and practice, use the opportunity to help the students estimate time, make it a goal for them to be able to estimate correctly). Then give the signal again to change the activity.
Leaving the classroom Students leave the classroom for breaks, lunch, other classes, and at the end of the day.	Student passes hanging on the wall (for individual students) Have students line up in alphabetical order or some other assigned order. This reduces noise and other problems in your line.
Late homework By this age, most students will be responsible for their own homework.	Students place late homework in a special tray. Individual students who are having difficulty, keep a chart showing how often they have their homework on time.
When work is finished Most students will be able to be responsible for having something to do when they finish work.	Write in their journal. Finish other work. Read a book. Find hands-on, quiet activities for students to choose from when they are done with work - tangrams, domino math, puzzles, etc.
Assignment guidelines Teach students the format for most assignments at the beginning of the year. Make note when everyone in the class meets the guidelines.	Names are placed in a certain spot. Date is put next to name. May develop special ideas for different content (example: they must show their work in math).
Cleanup The custodian’s job is to do regular cleaning. Students will learn responsibility and respect for property by having routines to clean up areas that they have used.	Put all materials back where they are stored. Choose a group leader to check cleanup. Pick up all pieces of paper on the floor.
Asking questions Continue to encourage student curiosity. They may get so excited when they are interested in a topic that they can’t wait to share their ideas.	Raise hands when at tables or desks during discussion. Take turns during small groups. If appropriate: “Ask three before me” which means ask three other students before the teacher.
Tardy students Students in these grades should be responsible for getting up on time, having breakfast and getting to school on time.	Discuss entering late, encourage them to complete the arrival activities and then go to their desk or group. Encourage entering politely and not disrupting the other students.
End of day Summarize and reflect on the day.	Reflection may be in a journal. Use up to five minutes for the students to write what was special about the day, what they learned and/or what they might work on the next day.

3. Procedures:

Activity/event

Procedures

Describe the introduction of the writing process. For a history class, assign students to write diaries of children during the time frame they are studying. Each student would pick a name and family context to write a diary that lasts 1-2 weeks. Introduce the steps in the writing process as the students go through the activity.

Writing Process Pre-writing: During pre-writing, you conduct activities to build the context for writing. After which you should have the class brainstorm ideas using a web and organize those ideas with details in a T-chart. Drafting: Students should use the T-chart as a framework, and put the main ideas and supporting details into sentences and paragraphs. They should not worry about the grammar and punctuation at this stage. Revising: This is the point at which students should consider their readers, and try to be clear and understandable. Editing: Students should check for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Publishing: This is the final step when all of the expected qualities should have been met and the presentation and appearance checked.