Looking for a way to get classes started quickly and increase the learning time? Wanting to find a way to leave playground behaviour on the playground? Finding that late-arriving students often disrupt the learning?
If these (or any similar issues) are causing you to stop and consider, you might find that building specific routines around transition times will be an effective technique for creating a more positive learning environment.
Regardless of their age or grade, all students need to know what the behaviour expectations are in your classroom. This is particularly true of the many periods of transition that occur throughout the school day (a high-risk time for unwanted “events”).
When are these transition times?
Identifying these transition times and then deciding on the routines you wish to build for them is a good first step towards preventing unwanted behaviours. This list might help you get started with that process:
- morning entry
- appropriate movement around the classroom
- collecting/distributing school supplies
- going to the washroom
- exiting the classroom (to go to the gym, library, music room, etc.)
- travelling in the hallways
- entering the classroom after recess and lunch
- fire and earthquake drills
- arriving late
- exiting at the end of the day
How do I establish the routines?
Once you have a complete list of transition times that occur in your classroom, you will need to think through the routines you want to establish for each one. With that done you are ready to take the plan to your students.
- Choose one transition time to start with.
- Discuss with your students the need to establish a routine.
- Have your students help you to establish what the routine will actually look like.
- Record the criteria on a piece of chart paper so that you can all refer back to it when the students get to the practising stage. For example, a primary class might establish:
Being ready to go to the gym, library, music room, etc. looks like:
• lining up quietly at the door in single file
• facing forward
• having our hands at our sides
• leaving a space between each person - Model the routine for the class (remember to check back to the chart to make sure that all the criteria have been met).
- Have several students volunteer to model for the class.
- Have the class practise the routine until the pattern of behaviour has been established. This may take some time. Consistent teacher expectations and encouragement will help to build and maintain these patterns. From time to time during the course of the school year you might want to revisit this process.
- As you are ready, repeat this process for the other transition times on your list.
What routines will work well for students when entering the classroom?
Providing a predictable activity for the students to engage in as soon as they enter the classroom is a really positive way to get them to settle and to focus quickly. The activity should be based on the following principles:
- students need to make personal connections to their learning
- content can be learned in small chunks over a long period of time
- choices about timing (should be quick to complete) and appropriate levels of challenge will determine the success of the routine over time
- the activity can come from any area of the curriculum
- the activity should be consistent in format— something that the students learn to expect and will do automatically
The following three suggestions are provided to give you a starting point. They work well with primary classes but the content can easily be adjusted to fit the needs of older students.
Clothes pegs glued to magnets make good name tags and can also be used as clips to hold work samples and other papers on to the chalkboard.
Brenda Boreham
Brenda has 35 years of classroom experience. She has presented workshops on literature based themes and literacy strategies, and has written a number of resources for teachers. She remains passionate about matching up kids with books.
This article is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Nov/Dec 2011 issue.