Part 2: Classroom Routines and Procedures

Student sharing Student sharing should only be done for specific purposes, or if a student chooses to use it as a reward (this should be approved through the teacher beforehand). This policy will go home to parents the first week of school. This way, parents can help enforce the student sharing policy from home.

Room Helpers Room helpers will be established for a number of reasons. At this age, students should be developing a sense of responsibility. Part of developing responsibility includes taking on tasks in which students will be held accountable for. Having a job in the classroom is a perfect way for students for students to explore and develop the concept of responsibility. Students may also gain a sense of fulfillment and feel as if they are a valued part of the classroom, seeing as they are completing jobs that are needed to be done in order for the class to run smoother.

If students don t feel teacher appreciation, their whole education has failed. --Michael Balkers

Assigning jobs to students will also allow the teacher to focus their time and attention on what they view as more important tasks. These tasks may include writing lessons, planning classroom activities, ect. Jobs done in the classroom will aid the school day in running smoother, which will overall enhance student learning. A chart/list of jobs will be available for the class to see; student names with be lined up each week next to the assigned job. During the first week of school, a description and demonstration of the job will be given to the class. Along with that, the procedure of how jobs are rotated will also be explained.

Homework Homework will be assigned to assess students over concepts learned in the classroom. Homework will never be sent home to teach students; that is the teachers job. Homework will have a designated box in which only work done at home, should be turned in.

Students will receive 2 homework passes a semester. These passes omit students from having to face any type of penalty for not turning homework in on the assigned due date. Its the students responsibility to fill out all the information on each pass they submit. The pass will only be accepted the same day that the homework is due. If students fail to turn in the pass on the designated day, they will receive late credit for the assigned homework if they choose to do it or no credit if the assigned homework is not turned in. Homework will be accepted up to 3 class days after the homework is assigned (see example below). This is because homework is sent home to practice a concept. Homeworks usefulness for a concept decreases as students learn different concepts in the classroom.

Free time Free time will be defined as, time left over after the completion of a task. If all tasks are completed in every content area, the student should use their free time to do instruction activities that enhance their knowledge in content areas. These activities could include: reading from their independent reading book, playing a math game, using the computer, working in a word study center, ECT. When using free time, students should not be disruptive to the classroom. Students can also use free time for bathroom and water breaks. This privilege should be used appropriately, and should not be taken advantage of.

Use of time after student work is complete When students finish their work, they will either have free time or have the choice to do a content related activity. If free time is designated, the student will have their choice to do any instructional activity of their choice. If the teacher announces the student must do a content related activity, they must chose an activity related to the subject during that class period.

Example: The class is taking the end of the unit math test. They have the whole 50 minutes to complete the test. A student finished the test with 15 minutes left in the class period. The student decides to use the class computer do play a math game that previews the next unit the class will be working on. This would work for doing a content related activity. The teacher announces at the beginning of the class that a content activity must be chosen if student finishes early.

Dismissing Class Dismissal for anything will be done at the teachers discretion. Its important for students to understand that the bell does not dismiss the class. Students should trust and have confidence in knowing the teacher has their best interest at hand; students should realize the teacher will allow them enough time to transition to the next activity. The simple words of class dismissed by the teacher will indicate the class is free to transition.

Passing out papers & announcements This will be one of the job assigned in the classroom. *Students in the class will never have the opportunity to pass back graded work to other students. The teacher will pass back graded papers to their students to ensure maximum privacy. If students wish to share their grades with peers in their class, they may do so.

Bathroom, Drink & leaving the classroom Students will be required to take a pass when they leave the room for any reason (leaving the class as a group will not require a pass). In order to ensure I know how many students are momentarily absent from my room, there will only be 2 passes available. If no passes are available for students to use, they must wait until a pass is returned. Only under extreme emergencies students will be able to leave the classroom without a pass; which will be at my discretion.

The students will be required to line up in a strait and single file line at all times, when leaving the classroom. They will walk to their spot in line, or they will go back

to their desk and attempt at walking to the line until they successfully do this task. The class will not be dismissed until the entire line is quiet.

Handing in papers There will designated inboxes for the students to turn in their assignments. Inboxes will be labeled Homework, Classwork & Graded papers. During the first week, the teacher will discuss where and how papers should be turned it. It would also be beneficial for the teacher to get the students input in this discussion. Finding a system that works, and that the students will use and follow will lead to papers successfully being accounted for. If the class finds that this procedure is unsuccessful, changes should be made.

Field trips The proper documentation will be sent out 3 weeks before the scheduled field trip date. Documentation will include a permission slip, contact information for the chosen destination and details for the actual field trip. The time frame of 3 weeks will allow for any permission forms not being turned in or lost to be accounted for. Notices for field trips will be sent out to parents 1 week before the date of the actual field trip. These notices will serve as reminders to parents and allow for parents to make any needed arrangements.