Choices and Routines in the Classroom

One of the most important things that you can do in a classroom is to set up a routine. When routines and procedures are carefully established in the classroom, students know what’s expected of them and how to do certain things on their own. Having these predictable patterns in place allows teachers to spend more time creating connections with the students and having productive instructional time. The teacher that I do my service learning with knows this and does her best to give her students a routine that they can follow by having the class schedule posted in the classroom, setting timmers so students know when to move on to the next task, and clearly stating what she wants to be done during the time allotted. Because she does this the students know they have a certain period to get their work done which helps keep them on task. She also doesn't change what order in the day each subject is taught which gives the students reliability. 

I have been able to help in the classroom during the reading and writing portion of the class. During this time students are given the choice to start with reading or writing and then switch halfway through the allotted time. As an adult choosing what subject to start with first doesn't seem like that big of a deal but as a student whose entire day is planned for them, this gives them a sense of power. To much power can go to their heads however and occasionally they may act out. Instead of bringing attention to bad behavior this teacher points out the good behavior she sees in the class which from what I've seen compels the misbehaving students to be good.