Ashley Dispenziere
Artifact 5
Routines: Steps, description
Pre-day routine: Students will enter the classroom calmly and put their backpacks on their
assigned hooks, and books and materials needed for the lesson in the desk cubbies. After the students are
settled in, for the time being, they will work on the computers, read in the reading corner, work on some
brain-teasers at their desks quietly, or read. The task will depend on their table’s assignment. These
assignments will vary from week to week.
Post-day routine: Students will clean up their workspace and close out any computer program that
they are working on. Each table will be called upon one-at-a-time to get their backpacks and coats and sit
back at their desks. This is a silent routine. No speaking should take place. The quietest table will receive
a marble in their “quiet” jar. These jars are a form of reinforcement for the students. As a group finishes
their marble jar, they will choose a prize from the prize-box.
Language-Arts-routine: As the students are ready for their language arts block of the day, they
will, again silently, clean up their work space from whatever they were doing prior to that and take a
water/bathroom break to avoid any otherwise preventable interruptions throughout the lesson. The tables
will again receive marbles for performing this task quietly. Each table leader of the week will get the
proper materials such as paper, books, crayons, or anything else needed. The table leader will switch each
week so that everyone gets a chance.
Interaction routine: When the students have time to interact, they must stay calm and respectful of
other people and conversations around them. Using the spelling method, a letter will be placed on the
board each time the noise-level is over the limit. If the word of the day is spelled (such as cat, or sun),
then each group will remove however-many letter the word spelled from their marble jars. To get the
attention of the teacher or a classmate, the student will either raise their hand and wait to be assisted, or
wait until their classmates current conversation or task is finished, stressing mature communication skills.
To introduce these routines, I will run each routine step-by-step on the first day of school with the
students. This way, nothing will be a surprise or new to them.
So, when they walk into the classroom on the first day, I will tell them where to put their
backpack, materials, and where to spend the rest of their free time. When doing lessons and interactive
learning, I will make sure that the students know about the appropriate noise-level, team leader positions,
and reward system for appropriately finishing a lessons, and gaining marbles.
If the marble jar does not work, then I will find an alternative system to ensure a calm
environment for learning. It will depend on the class and their own response to a reward system.
At the end of the first day, I will walk the students through their end-of-day routine. They must
clean up their workspace and gather their belongings to keep the classroom neat and organized, to
promote the best learning environment for them, and to build effective habits for them to get into.