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Welcome to Day 2 of the 5 Days to a Better School Year Challenge!
Every day this week I’m asking you to reflect on something specific from last school year that annoyed/bothered you and help you take action to change it for this upcoming school year.
Classroom behaviors and routines don’t change without being intentional about it – being intentional now can make next year so much better!
If you missed the Day 1 challenge, you can find it here! Or, the Day 3 Challenge is here!
Today's Challenge
Today, we are going to reflect on the time of the school day that was often stressful and chaotic for you, and then come up with a plan to make this part of your daily schedule better.
Use this Day 2 Challenge Printable Worksheet to help you come up with a plan for today's challenge. Or, follow the steps below.
1. Think of a time of day that regularly stressed you out.
When were you often frustrated, stressed out, or upset with students?
For example: as students entered the classroom, going on bathroom breaks, after recess, during literacy centers, during dismissal, etc.
2. Next, spend some time reflecting on why this time of day was so frustrating.
Was student behavior usually worse during this time? Did your students argue or fight more often during this time? Did you feel unorganized?
What would have made that time of day less frustrating? Do you need to make an adjustment to your procedures/routines? Do you need to establish a procedure or routine? Do you need to move something around in your classroom so that it’s not constantly in the way?
Whenever you come up with a plan for this behavior, make sure it addresses the root of the annoyance.
3. Now, spend a little time researching how other teachers have set up routines and procedures for this particular time of day.
I’ve listed some links to articles that could help you address common annoying behaviors. This first section only includes articles from Teaching Made Practical
Articles from other teachers:
You can also do a quick Google Search or a search on Pinterest to see how other teachers have addressed this time of day. Chances are, you aren’t the only one frustrated with it!
4. Finally, come up with a plan.
Simple and sustainable is usually best. Ideally, you will write down what steps you need to take to in order to try this out. (You can use this Day 2 Challenge Printable Worksheet to help.) Write out new procedures/routines that will help minimize the frustrations you felt. Think about how you will teach your students the new routines. What can you do now to prepare for this change?
Making simple changes now can drastically change next school year for the better!
Comments 8
Coming in after lunch was always a struggle for me because the kiddos would bring their recess troubles back with them. To help this we would come in and do a concerns and celebration of the lunch period with the whole group. It took about a maximum of 15 minutes and helped settle them down.
I experienced stress during morning centers. I taught kindergarten last year. Students would approach me during small group instruction. They wanted to let me know they were finished. It drove me crazy because the interruptions were non-stop…or it felt that way to me. I’m moving to 3rd grade next year. I need to do a better job of reviewing routines and expectations, including when I am working with small groups. I’ve seen suggestions about using a battery powered pop up light (to use a visual to let students know not to interrupt me). Other teachers wear a hat or put a small cone or stuffed animal on the desk to remind students they need to remain at their desks. I think I need to invest in a little something to use in the classroom during small group instruction to help students identify when they can come up to me for assistance.
Dismissal is difficult and frustrating. One plan I worked on was creating a game of Teacher says talk. It was a game I created and used it at dismissal. I also let them have extra time to talk in class before we went for dismissal. I tried to explain the importance of listening at dismissal time of being able to hear all the bus calls and making sure not to miss their parents for pick up.
I had problems last year with kids coming in loud from recess. We had to pass through the hallway to get to our rooms. Fourth grade had their kids in the classroom so then they would get distracted with our noisy class.
The plan this year is to move recess to a later time. I think it will work since 4th grade will have recess and we won’t distract anyone coming in.
I would get the most frustrated when the students came in from recess. They would come in loud and usually fighting about something that happened on the playground. I decided that this year as soon as they walk in they will get started on a daily math exercise. This will hopefully help because they will know what to do without waiting on me to give them instructions.
Dismissal is an issue for sure. I like the suggestion in teaching made practical article for taking the chaos out of dismissal. The suggestion is absolutely no talking during dismissal! I have to listen for the busses and parent pick up calls on both the intercom and a walk-ie talkie so not permitting students to talk at all will be a wonderful way to take the stress away from a chaotic dismissal. I will give them a 5-10 minute “talking” time just prior to dismissal.
What is the password to print?
Author
!!! Thanks for pointing that out! Try downloading it again – you should be able to print without a password now. And check your email – I’m going to send you a free resource as a thank you for pointing that out! If you are still having problems, please let me know!