Teaching Rules & Procedures
In the previous pages you have identified the
rules/guidelines/expectations and procedures that you will use in your class.
Now demonstrate how you will go about teaching these to your students. Begin
with a paragraph or two that explains your overall approach. Then, write out
two activities or strategies (one for a rule and one for a procedure) that you
cold use to teach your students about these rules and procedures—so they will
know them and can be successful in your class.
The fundamental key to success in
teaching and enforcing rules, guidelines, expectations, and procedures is
repetition. It is important that your rules and guidelines are brought up in
class on a regular basis so that students have a fresh memory of their
expectations in the class. As students get older they will be more aware of
general rules that younger students still forget, but even in the older grades
reminding them of class specific guidelines or procedures can make a huge
difference in the students’ success and the general function of your classroom.
Keeping the information they have to remember simple and straightforward will also help for both recall and reinforcement. Students are more likely to remember the slogan “Be polite, walk to the right” than “When we walk in the hallway we all need to keep to the right, so that everyone walks in the hallway keeping to their own right and the traffic moves quickly, just like on the road, helping everyone get where they need to go to learn.” Also, when you need to reference a guideline or procedure, it will be easier for you as the teacher to take a moment to utter one phrase than it will to give a lengthy explanation of behavioral expectations. This advantage lends itself to more effective class time, as well as being able to handle behavior issues with private, quick reminders. |
-In kindergarten and first grade,
using songs to help students recall and follow procedures can make routines
more solid and manageable than the teacher trying to talk over students.
Instead, as the scaffolding starts to take its place, the teacher can start the
song and have the students join in, essentially telling themselves how to act.
For example, “Our feet are facing straight ahead, our arms are at our sides,
fingers are on lips and we’re ready for the hall” is one is say used in a
kindergarten class. It minimized talking and helped the students remember what
to do.
-Often it is not the entire class acting out, but a small portion or even single students, but you may not be able to address those students individually at that time. Instead, referencing how most of the class or this table is doing a great job carefully working on their diagrams, or whatever the task may be (in this case I am referencing “Do your best work” from the Rules, Guidelines, Expectations section, which can be a hindrance to students who don’t commit themselves to what they are working on ). Making the opposing behavior positive enforces the rule, and can make students who are off task identify what they should be doing.
-Often it is not the entire class acting out, but a small portion or even single students, but you may not be able to address those students individually at that time. Instead, referencing how most of the class or this table is doing a great job carefully working on their diagrams, or whatever the task may be (in this case I am referencing “Do your best work” from the Rules, Guidelines, Expectations section, which can be a hindrance to students who don’t commit themselves to what they are working on ). Making the opposing behavior positive enforces the rule, and can make students who are off task identify what they should be doing.