When you have well-organized
routines and procedures
for your classroom, you model
and prompt organized behavior
from your students.
Organization

 The six task presented in this chapter are designed to
help you organize your classroom to be efficient and
to prompt responsible behavior from your students.
 If possible, complete task before the school year begins
so that you have solid organizational structures in
place from the first day of school.
 Essential information should be included in your
Classroom Management and Discipline Plan.
The Story of . . . .

 Two Different
Professors
 Two Different
Methods
 In Which Class Would
you Be More
Successful?
 http://youtu.be/dxPV
yieptwA
 http://youtu.be/d1jyPCiOqc
Task 1: Arrange an Efficient
Daily Schedule

Task: Arrange or modify your
class schedule so it:
 maximizes instructional time.
 includes a reasonable balance of teacherdirected, individual work and cooperative
group activities.
 creates responsible behavior from
students.
Task 1: Arrange an Efficient
Daily Schedule

 To work through the information in this task, first
write down your schedule of daily activities within
your subject, the amount of time spent on each, and
whether the activity is teacher directed, independent
work, or a cooperative group task.
 In other words, outline a typical lesson plan for each
subject.
Task 1: Arrange an Efficient
Daily Schedule

 For example if you teach Math from 9 to 9:50


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5 minutes – Independent warm–up exercise & attendance
10 minutes – Teacher-directed introduction of new concepts
10 minutes – Independent work
5 minutes – Teacher-directed correcting and clarifying
5 minutes - Introduction to cooperative exercise
10 minutes- Cooperative group task
5 minutes – Teacher-directed introduction to homework
In general, teacher-directed instruction is usually the best way
to begin class.
Task 1: Arrange an Efficient
Daily Schedule

 Main points:
 Make sure that you have a reasonable balance among
the types of activities.
 Within each activity, avoid having any one type of
task run too long.
 Schedule independent work and cooperative/peer
group tasks so that they immediately follow teacherdirected tasks.
Task 1: Arrange an Efficient
Daily Schedule-Trouble Spots

THE LAST FIVE MINUTES OF CLASS PERIOD
 Try to end each class with a few minutes of teacherdirected instruction.
 If you schedule independent work time during the last
part of the class, students may begin to think that once
direct teaching is finished, they are free to do their
work –or not.
 By scheduling the last activity as teacher-directed task,
you are making it clear that class time to work on
assignments is indeed for the purpose of working on
assignments
Task 1: Arrange an Efficient
Daily Schedule

 In summary, a well
designed schedule
ensures that students
experience a varied but
balanced range of
activities with in subjects.
 If students are kept
engaged with activities
that are scheduled for
reasonable lengths of
time, responsible
behavior will likely result.
Task 2: Create a Positive
Physical Space

Task: Arrange the physical space in your
classroom so that it promotes positive
student-teacher interactions and reduces
the possibility of disruption.
Arrange student desks to:
 Increase visibility
 Increase accessibility
 Decrease distractibility

11
Task 2: Create a Positive
Physical Space

 Minimize disruptions caused by high–traffic areas in
the class.
 Whenever students are out of their seats there is a
greater potential for misbehavior.
 Arrange the room the room so that students who are
moving about (to sharpen pencil, get supplies, etc.)
will be less likely to distract students who are working
at their seats.
 Directly teach students how to move about the room
without disturbing others.
Task 2: Create a Positive
Physical Space

 In Summary: the physical space in your classroom
should be arranged to prompt responsible behavior
from students. Arrange desks to assure:
 You can circulate around the room.
 Students can engage in the instructional
activity.
 Distractions are minimized.
Task 3: Use an Attention Signal

Task: Decide on
an age-appropriate
signal you can use
to get student’s full
and immediate
attention at any
time.
Task 3: Use an Attention Signal

 Teach them to respond to
the signal by focusing on
you and maintaining
complete silence.
 Characteristics of an
Effective Signal




Mobile
Auditory
Visual
Movement
Task 3: Use an Attention Signal

You must teach
students what the
signal is and how
to respond to it
from the first day
of school.
Task 4: Design Effective
Beginning and Ending Routines

The activities and procedures you use to start
and end each school day or class period have a
significant influence on the climate of your
classroom.
Task: Design effective and efficient beginning
and ending procedures to communicate to
students class time is valuable and will not be
wasted.
Task 4: Design Effective
Beginning and Ending Routines

The seven critical times and issues are:






Entering Class
Opening Activities
Dealing with Students Not prepared with materials
Dealing with students returning after an Absence
Procedures for End of Day or End of Class Period
Dismissal
Task 4: Design Effective
Beginning and Ending Routines

 Entering Class
 Goal 1: Students feel welcome and immediately go to
their seats and start on a productive task.
 Greet students outside your door as they enter your
class.
 Have a task prepared that students can work on when
they sit down.
 Task should be relatively short, 3-5 minutes, should be a
review that they can perform independently, but
instructionally relevant.
Task 4: Design Effective
Beginning and Ending Routines

 When you finish attendance, give the students
feedback on the correct responses for the task.
 Collect the papers so that later you can enter the
score or check mark in your grade book to indicate
that students completed the task.
 Students need to know that this initial task counts, or
they will soon cease to work on the task.
Task 4: Design Effective
Beginning and Ending Routines

 Opening Activities
 Goal 2: Students will be instructionally engaged while
I take attendance.
 Utilize a Seating Chart for Attendance
 Leave Seating Chart for substitutes when you’re out.
 Goal 3: Students who are tardy will enter class with
minimal disruption.
 Student is to quietly take their seat.
 Do not stop what you are doing.
 Procedure must be taught.
DEALING WITH STUDENTS NOT
PREPARED WITH MATERIALS

Goal 4:
Establish an effective
procedure for
dealing with
students who do not
have required
supplies.
DEALING WITH STUDENTS NOT
PREPARED WITH MATERIALS

 To be effective, a procedure does the following:
 Ensures that students can get needed materials in a way
that does not disrupt or slow down instruction.
 Borrow from you or another student w/o bothering or
stopping instruction.
 Establishes reasonable penalties that reduce the likelihood
that students will forget materials in the future.
 Last to leave class.
 Reduces the amount of time and energy that you, the
teacher, spends with this problem.
DEALING WITH STUDENTS NOT
PREPARED WITH MATERIALS

 Clearly communicate what materials you expect
each day.
 Verbally to students and in writing to students’ families
in syllabus or notice that goes home on the first day of
school.
 At end of each class period during the first week of
school, remind students what materials they should
have the next day.
DEALING WITH STUDENTS
RETURNING AFTER AN ABSENCE

 Goal 5: Develop procedures for students who have
been absent so they can easily catch up on missing
notes and assignments.
Develop a system that suits your needs and saves you
time and interruptions.
 Students know where to find the assignment
 Students know where to find handouts
 Students know the policy for turning in missing work
PROCEDURES FOR END OF DAY
OR END OF CLASS PERIOD

 Goal 6: Develop a procedure for wrapping up the
day, class period, or activity which will:
 ensure students don’t leave the classroom before they
organize their materials and complete any necessary
clean-up tasks,
 provide you with enough time to give students both
positive and corrective feedback.
DISMISSAL

 Goal 7: Develop dismissal procedures so students do
not leave the classroom until you dismiss them. The
bell is not a dismissal signal.
 On the first days of school and periodically thereafter,
remind your students that they are not to leave their
seats when the bell rings.
 The bell is a signal to you – you will excuse the class
when they are reasonably quiet and when all wrap-up
tasks are completed.
 You decide how the class is dismissed. By rows or by
class depending on their behavior.
Beginning and Ending Class

In summary, the beginning and ending of the
day or class period play a major role in
setting the climate of the classroom.
Opening and dismissal routines that are
welcoming, calm efficient and purposeful
demonstrate to students that you are pleased
to see them and that you care about class
time.
Task 5: Manage Student
Assignments

Task: Design
efficient and effective
procedures for
assigning,
monitoring and
collecting student
work.
Task 5: Manage Student
Assignments

Good strategies for managing assignments
accomplish the following:
 They let students know that you put a high value on
completing work.
 They prompt more responsible student behavior
regarding assigned tasks.
 They help you effectively manage student
assignments without taking unreasonable amounts
of time.
Task 5: Manage Student
Assignments

 Be specific – tell students exactly how and where
they should record information or where they can
locate a record of assignments.
Task 5: Manage Student
Assignments

 Teach students to keep their own records for assigned homework.
 Notebook
 Weekly Assignment Sheet
Task 5:Collecting Completed
Work

 If possible collect work
personally from each
student.
 Give immediate
feedback:
 Positive
 Corrective
 Know immediately
which students have
not completed work - &
students know you
know!
 Students have to face
you & not disappoint
you.
Task 5: Manage Student
Assignments

 Procedures that are less time intensive:
 Have students hand in by rows/tables
 Have a student helper
 Designated baskets
 Lack interpersonal contact and immediate feedback
advantages.
 Until you grade, do not know who turned in
assignment.
Task 5: Keeping Records &
Providing Feedback

IMPORTANT:
 Provide regular feedback to students on:
 Completed work
 Current grade status
Grade book information is critical for monitoring and
evaluating student performance. It is imperative that
you enter grades in a timely manner.
Task 6:
Manage Independent Work Periods

 Design efficient and
effective procedures for
scheduling and
monitoring
independent work
periods.
 Without direct Teacher
supervision, off-task
behavior can easily
result
 There is more potential
for off task behavior –
which can lead to
inappropriate horseplay
and disrespectful
interactions among
students – when
students are working
independently.
Task 6:
Manage Independent Work Periods

 Suggestion:
 Be sure that any independent work you assign can be
done independently by students.
 If you assign students task that they cannot complete
you set them up to fail.
 Do the work, but fail because of excessive errors
 Not do the work & fail because they didn’t complete
 Do the work, but deal with feeling & looking helpless
Task 6:
Manage Independent Work Periods

 Suggestion:




Modify product
Provide alternative assignments
Work together, small groups
Provided guided notes to students.
Task 6:
Manage Independent Work Periods

 Schedule independent work times in a way that
maximizes on task behavior.
 Develop a clear vision of what student behavior
should look and sound like during work times.
 Provide guided practice on tasks and assignments work with students in a teacher-directed activity for
the first 10 to 50 percent of an assignment.
 Develop a specific system that enables students to
ask questions and get help during independent work
periods.
Summary

 This chapter guides you through organizing your
classroom to be efficient and to prompt responsible
behavior from your students.
 If you are able to complete theses tasks before the
school year begins you will start off on the first day
of school with solid organizational structures in
place.