Schedules, Routines, and Transitions

My hope for you all this winter break is that you had much needed rest and relaxation.  My winter break was spent with my family - laughing, cuddling and just enjoying life.  However, if you're like me, thoughts of school have begun creeping in as the holidays wrap up.

As you start to begin thinking about planning for the spring semester, one important thing to consider is how you are going to get your students back into a good flow in your classroom.  Getting a solid start and ensuring an environment that is conducive to learning is essential for success, whether it's the beginning of the school year or mid-way through.  Hopefully I can provide some tips to help you and your students get back into the swing of things!

Before we dive in, let's clarify several words.  A schedule represents the big picture - the main things that are done every day.  Routines and procedures refer to how to complete the schedule.  Transitions are how you move from one activity to the next. Let's look at ways to create strong schedules, routines, and transitions.

SCHEDULE

As stated before, a schedule represents the main things that are done in your classroom everyday.  Often, as a teacher, you aren't in control of your schedule to a degree.  Recess times, lunch, specials, planning time, etc.  While I believe in advocating for what is best for your students, it's also important  to be mindful of what you can control and do your best to make the most of your time with your students.  

There are several things to consider when you're building your schedule.  One of the biggest is curriculum requirements.  In our district we use balanced literacy.  We are required to provide a certain number of literacy minutes every day for our students.  There are also guidelines (while flexible still important) that guide the length of time each literacy component should take (i.e. read aloud, shared reading, writing, etc.)  When building my schedule I ensure that I am meeting the requirements set forth by my district.  

Something else to evaluate is the variety of activities you provide in your classroom:

• Active and quiet
• Large group and small group
• Indoor and outdoor
• Child directed and teacher led

You should also consider your students' attention span and how long they are able to focus on one activity at a time.  Students shouldn't be expected to sit nonstop (especially younger grades) without having a chance to get up and move their bodies.  If the bum is numb, chances are the brain is too!  I also tend to focus my small group times around time periods in my classroom when I know I will have a volunteer or aid in there to provide assistance.  

Displaying your daily schedule gives students an idea of what's to come in the day ahead.  I know I like to look at my schedule for the next day every evening before I go to bed so I know what to expect.  It helps prepare me and ease my anxiety about what is coming up....students are the same way!  Below are just a few examples of daily schedules I found in a quick search.  Pinterest is full of ideas!  

The most effective schedules are ones that have photographs of your students completing the actual activity.  More personal visuals are beneficial to younger students and concrete thinkers.  Also, having a schedule that is movable or can be rearranged is key.  Changes happen and you cannot control that everything runs smoothly and just as planned every day.  Your schedule (and you and your students!) must be flexible.  If your schedule is stapled to a bulletin board or 'unmovable' then create an "OOPS!" card!  This can simply be a post-it with the word 'oops!' written on it.  You can place it on top of your normal schedule when something unexpected like a school assembly or guest visitor pops up!

ROUTINES AND PROCEDURES

Routines and procedures refer to HOW you and your class complete the daily schedule.  How do your students come into class in the morning?  How do you conduct carpet time?  How you do line up?  How do students turn in work?  How are they expected to sit at their tables and work? All of these are questions you must consider and practice repeatedly with students before they are part of a normal routine.  

MORNING ROUTINE

One important part of your day is first thing in the morning.  How do your students start their day?  Things to consider:

• Where do students put their backpack and jackets?  During winter, what should they do with hats, gloves and scarves?  (Those items can quickly go missing!)
• Do your students sign in?   How?
• How do students make their lunch choice?
• What do you do in the morning?  Morning work, morning tubs, play time, etc?  This may change over the course of the year and you will have to reteach expectations. 

Practicing expectations and providing visual reminders of the routine can help students fulfill the expectations and get their day started off right!  Below are some more Pinterest finds!  

Usually one visual routine posted where students can easily see and follow the pictures is adequate, however, you may have students who need a little more support.  By providing a movable list like the picture in the middle, students can 'check off' each task as they complete it!  You can also laminate a small copy of the tasks and provide students will a dry erase marker to mark off tasks when completed.

CARPET TIME

Another important part of the early childhood classroom is carpet time.  This can consist of any time students are on the carpet for learning and engaging - morning meeting, read aloud, mini writing lesson, etc.  Things to consider:

• Where do children sit?  Assigned seats or do students have a choice?  Flexible seating options?
• How do you expect children to sit on the carpet?
• How do you expect children to answer questions?
• How do you dismiss children from the carpet?
• Do you provide a variety of activities?
• How do children know when you are 'done' with group time?  Meaning, do students know how long they are expected to be on the carpet?

For many kids, carpet time is hard time.  They are expected to sit quietly, listen without interrupting, not play with their friends and, on top of all that, for who knows how long?!  Giving students visuals of expectations provides a model for students of what appropriate carpet behavior looks like.  A mini schedule of what to expect during carpet time (when applicable) can help students know how many 'jobs' are left for them to do.

TRANSITIONS

In transitions, we demand a lot from students—we ask them to halt their current routine, perform a long chain of tasks, and initiate a new activity, all without breaking classroom rules.  Transition times are often unstructured and can be the hardest, most challenging times in your classroom.  

There are four main things to consider when planning for effective transitions:

• Teach the Transition - explicit teaching of the expected behavior is required.  Students are not able complete a transition the correct way unless you specifically teach them what to do first.
• Model the skills (both correct and incorrect examples are most effective)
• Provide multiple opportunities for students to practice
• Monitor the behaviors and provide feedback
• Reteach as often as needed
• Pre-Corrections - a quick reminder of what is expected before the transition even begins. 
• Provides additional support to strengthen student skills
• Can be faded over time
• Songs, chants and rhymes can be effective but may need to be switched up from time to time to avoid monotony  
• Positive Reinforcement - an incentive for appropriate behavior
• Provide specific verbal praise (often more powerful than tangible rewards)
• Call attention to correct behavior
• Ignore or quickly redirect incorrect behavior
• Active Supervision - effectively monitoring students
• Scan, move, and interact with students
• Avoid being distracted or talking with other adults during transition times

Transitions happen probably more times than you can count in your classroom.  Think of all the times throughout the day you ask students to move from one activity to the next.  Below is a list of just some examples of transitions times in your classroom.

Following the tips above will help you and your students move effectively from one activity to the next and eliminate unnecessary interruptions in your day.  

ATTENTION GETTERS 

One of the biggest things you can do to make transitions smoother is to ensure you have students' attention.  Attention getters can look a variety of ways.  I have used callbacks and chants effectively in my classroom although it does take practice for your students to know what to say.  For callbacks to work, the teacher begins by saying a phrase or word for attention.  Students then respond with a matching phrase and then stop talking and pay attention to the next direction.  The examples below are from Leigh from The Applicious Teacher.  These are great examples of callbacks to use in the classroom and they are some of my favorites!

I also use non verbal signals in the classroom a lot.  I have a musical wand that signals transitions and clean up time during my center rotation.  I also have a bell with multiple sounds I use if voice levels get too high.  In addition, Classroom Screen is a FREE website that provides many features teachers can use throughout the day including a whiteboard, a clock, and a random name generator.  My favorite feature is a timer!  It displays a visual sand timer for students to see how long they have to complete a certain task - you can even attach a sound with the timer to alert students when time is up (my students like to use the Mario sound!)

By practicing routines and transitions and having a well thought out schedule, you can help eliminate unnecessary stress.  Even though it's the middle of the school year for me, what better time to re-evaluate what has and has not been working in my classroom so far this year!  As we go back this January, I will be spending the first week or two of our RTI time, reteaching and practicing routines and transitions.  I will also be using this fun behavior incentive to reward appropriate behavior!

Every time my class is caught following classroom expectations or displaying teamwork, they can earn a piece of our snowman!  Once we build the entire snowman we can earn a reward like hot cocoa during centers or extra recess!  If you would like to try this with your class simply click on the link below!  

As you head back this week or next, take a moment to evaluate what you've been doing in your classroom and whether or not it's working.  If so, GREAT!  If not, is there an area you can help by simply practicing expected behaviors and being explicit and consistent in your expectations?  Hopefully I've given you something to think about as you begin planning soon, but even more so, I hope you all have a great first week back!  Cheers!