5 R’s Every First Year Teacher Needs
There are five important routines for your classroom. There are two words that matter the most during the first day, week, and month of school. They are ROUTINE and PROCEDURES. Routines and procedures go hand in hand. You can not have one without the other. If you do not have these things down pact between you and your students, It could be a rocky year.
Your routines and procedures are the foundation of your classroom management. There’s a saying that says “How you start the year is how it will go.” Therefore, you want to start your year with strong expectations, routines, and procedures.
Routines, Routines, Routines
Routines. Have routines for EVERYTHING you do. From the moment they walk in the door, until the second they leave. There should be a routine/procedure for the task. Spend this time modeling everything as well. Model what lining up looks like, what it should sound like. Have students model these activities too. It seems “boring” but nothing is boring about having classroom management.
Get your students involved in creating expectations. What does sharpening a pencil look like? What do small groups look like and sound? What does going to the restroom look like and sound? What does walking in the hallways look like and sound?
Even in sixth grade, I had students lining up and walking down the hallway. If they talked in line, we would do it again, and again, and again. They should be tired of practicing. Get creative.
Students have spent the last two month typically doing what they wanted, on their time, therefore coming back to school and having structure, discipline, and expectations can be a hard transition. Not only that, they are experiencing YOU for the first time. New teacher, new grade, new class, possibly even a new school.
Your first month should be spent in constant practicing of routines and procedures.
You can check out this checklist of routines/procedures to include when planning your first weeks of school. Grab it HERE
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE FOUNDATION
Relationships. Building relationships with your students is what makes your classroom run smoothly. If you want to connect with your students. Build relationships. It’s not realistic to think that you will have the greatest relationship with EVERY student. But you definitely need to make a conscious effort to do so.
“Great teachers focus not on compliance, but on connections and relationships.”
One year, I had a class that was T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. Their sole goal in life was to make their teachers cry AND quit. Every teacher they had had since Kindergarten had quit after them. Then they entered MY classroom. I’m going to be honest, it was a year of absolute hell. My husband (boyfriend at the time) had some to visit and left me a note saying “you don’t have to deal with this, we’ll figure it out.” After talking with my principal she said “you have to build a relationship with them.” I was NOT interested in building a relationship with this particular class. It was the toughest year of my teaching career. But guess what, the next year when I had them for a class in 7th grade, I didn’t have NEARLY as many issues as I had the previous year, because we had an understanding. I knew things about them because of building relationships.
On the other hand, the first class that I taught, I had such a great relationship with them that I am still in a few of their lives. They are off to college from first grade and that blows my mind. They are anxious to tell me how I’ve helped them throughout the years. Relationships.
This is how you win your class over. Find things they are interested in. Incorporate it into your lessons. Talk to your students. Notice things about them. Complement them.
“Strong relationships with teachers and school staff can dramatically enhance students’ level of motivation and therefore promote learning. Students who have access to more strong relationships are more academically engaged, have stronger social skills, and experience more positive behavior.” [source]
Give Them Responsibilities
Responsibilities. School is a place to learn responsibilities. They are NOT too young to have responsibilities. In my classroom every week we had a new line leader (I went in ABC order), the person behind the line leader would be the door holder, and I would try to have responsibilities for everything and every one. Everyone should have something they are responsible for every week.
Students with behavior issues, give them “special” responsibilities in the classroom. Such as watering a plant. Get creative. I often had “disruptive” students go on an “adventure” for me to another class. With a note to the teacher to just hold them for 5 minutes and send them back. Ha! It was my way of getting a break, but also giving them this responsibility to go to another teacher for me.
SHOW SOME RESPECT
Respect. There’s going to be a general respect that needs to be given in order to receive. Your students are humans too. Treat them with the utmost kindness even when you don’t feel like it. Many times, teachers feel it should automatically be given. That’s not always going to be the case. Therefore model respect for your students and hopefully they model respect for you as well.
There shall be rapport
Rapport is defined as “a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well.” This will come after relationships and respect is established. You can now have “fun” with your students because they know what is expected of them, as well as routines, responsibilities and more!
I hope this helps you have an awesome school year with your students. Remember you only get one opportunity to make a lasting impression. As I say in my classroom “Always show Kindness”.
These are all important routines and steps to include in your classroom.
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