Classroom Expectations and Procedures:
English Language Arts Grades 9-12
Expectations:
Be respectful.
Demonstrate active listening skills.
Remember that everyone’s opinion has value.
Use kind words.
Be responsible.
Come to class prepared each day.
Complete the projects/assignments you are given.
Engage in classroom learning.
Be inclusive.
Be willing to work with anyone and everyone in the class.
Be mindful of all of your peers’ thoughts and ideas.
Be inviting of your peers into conversation, especially when they are by themselves.
In-Class Procedures:
Threshold procedure:
I will greet you at the door inside the classroom and remind you what is expected of you as you enter.
I will make comments or ask questions that lead to short, intentional relationship-building conversations. (Examples: “Great job at the volleyball game last night.” “How was the weekend at your grandma’s?” “How is your sister feeling?” “Tell me about your choir/band trip.”)
Beginning of class procedure:
As you enter the classroom, stop at the entrance table and initial by your name for roll call. Then collect the jump start assignment, and put your phones in the designated phone bins.
As soon as you have done all of these things, find your seat and start working. You should be in your seats and working by the time the bell rings.
Behavior of learning:
In order to deepen our learning capacity, we must remember to be:
Determined - Ask questions when they arise, and come to class with an “I can do it” attitude.
Encouraging - Be inclusive during discussions, and allow others to express their opinions without fear of judgment.
Efficient - Keep your assignments organized, and practice effective note-taking skills in class using one of the methods you have learned.
Prepared - Come to class each day with the necessary materials for learning, and always be ready to listen to instructions.
Students getting the teacher’s attention:
During individual work time, simply raise your hand if you need something specific.
If you need to leave class for any reason, try to wait until individual work time to do so, but if you must leave during instructional time, hold up a fist. I will point at you and nod indicating you may go.
During instructional time, if you have a question about what is being taught, hold up 1 finger. If you have a comment or something to add, hold up 2 fingers. If time allows for your comment, I will call on you. If not, I will tell you to wait until the end. Then if there is time at the end of class and you still want to make your comment, I will open it up for you to do so.
Seamless transitions:
Before the timer goes off after individual/group work time, wrap up what you are doing and put away what you have been working on. Be ready to listen to the next set of instructions by the time the timer goes off. (I will give a 3 minute warning beforehand.)
Getting students’ attention:
When the visual timer goes off after work time, be ready to listen. (This is inspired by my 11th grade ELA teacher. There are these fun timers online such as snail racing timers. My class loved to watch the last few seconds of the race and root for one of the snails. The teacher would have the timer going off screen and make it visible on the screen as a warning to start wrapping things up. Then students could watch the little snail race as they are waiting for their next instruction.)
If you are having discussions with a table partner based on a prompt I’ve given and I need to get your attention, I will clap a specific rhythm for you to repeat.
Instructional time:
We will discuss the jump start activity as a class before moving on to the PowerPoint lecture.
During the lecture, please have out your notebooks and take written notes using one of the methods you have learned about. (This references our behavior of learning - DEEP.)
Work time:
During group work time, please remain in the area I have assigned to your group. Stay with your group until it is time to transition to individual work time.
Please remain in your seats during silent work time, unless you have been selected to sit in the reading corner for the day.
When you need supplies:
During individual work time, you may use the everyday cupboard at any time. For the project supply cupboard, ask for my permission before you take any of the supplies in it.
If you need to sharpen your pencil, go to the everyday-use cupboard and use a hand-held pencil sharpener quietly. If your pencil breaks during instruction time, please go to the cupboard quietly and take a pencil that has already been sharpened.
Assessments:
I will be walking around, monitoring during assessment time.
Please stay in your seat during assessment times, and wait until after you are finished before you ask to leave class for any reason, including using the restroom.
If your pencil breaks during an assessment, raise your hand, and I will bring you a sharpened pencil.
If we are taking an online assessment and you are having technological difficulties, raise your hand, and I will assist you.
When you are finished, work on silent reading or begin your assignment for the night.
Passing in papers:
Pass your papers in rows first (left to right), and then the person on the end will pass their papers up in columns. The corner person will take all of the papers and put them in the turn in bin for their class period.
In the case of tests/quizzes, each student will individually take their test/quiz and turn it in to the turn-in bin when they are finished.
Alternative activities:
If you complete a task early, work on silent reading.
Reading corner:
Each day I will draw no more than three names. This will determine who is allowed to use the reading corner during individual work time that day. You are not required to use it if your name is drawn.
If you do choose to use the reading corner, be mindful of those around you. This means focusing on your own work, keeping your hands to yourself, and treating your neighbor with respect.
Books from the reading corner:
Many of these books are from my own personal library, so I ask that you treat them with respect. You are allowed to read any book from the shelf during silent reading time.
If you would like to take a book home, talk to me individually before/after class or during silent reading time. I will record your name, the book you chose, as well as the date you checked it out.
If you check out a book from the reading corner, please return it within 2 months. If you need to ask for an extension, you may do so.
Leaving class:
If you need to use the restroom, take one of the two restroom passes. Please only leave only during work time so that you don’t miss any important information during instructional time.
If both passes are out, wait until they return before you leave. When you leave, sign your name and time you left. When you return, write the time you returned. You may only leave class once per day, twice if for an emergency.
If you need to go to the office or see the nurse due to sickness or a medical emergency, you may do so at any time. Write your name on the sign-out sheet as well as the time you left and returned.
If you need to check out a book from the library, you may do so during silent reading time. See me before you do so, as only two students may go to the library at one time. When I give you the okay, write your name on the sign-out sheet as well as the time you left and returned.
Blowing your nose:
If you need to blow your nose, there is no need to ask for permission. You can do so at any point as long as you use hand sanitizer after.
Throwing things away:
You may get up at any point during individual work time to throw something away.
Signaling when a student is off task:
Before the class begins individual work time, I will remind them what the expectation is and redirect students if they are off task.
If a particular student is causing a disruption in the class, I may ask the entire class a question that relates to the lesson and have them talk with their table partner while I address the issue with the disruptive student individually.
If two students are having a private conversation while I am teaching, simple eye contact goes a long way.
End of class:
Stay in your seats until you hear me say, “Have a great day.” or “See you next class.”
As soon as I dismiss you, you may leave.
Accountability Procedures:
Make-up work:
There will be a filing cabinet accessible to students containing dated folders with every jump start activity and assignment from the day.
In the (Canvas, Google Classroom, Blackboard, Moodle, whatever the school uses), there will be a recap of the daily lesson as well as what is expected of you.
Late for class:
If you know you are going to be late, you must bring a pass. If you come late without one, I will ask you to go back to where you came from and bring me a pass. If you are with another teacher or staff member, you can also have them send me an email.
Heading of paper:
At the top left hand corner of your paper, write your name, teacher’s name, class, date, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, double space, 1 in. margins. Center the title or name of the assignment below.
Example:
Critical Reflection
I was excited about this project for a number of reasons. First of all, being able to connect this project with my classroom arrangement made things easier to truly visualize. I could imagine my students walking into my classroom and completing all of the initial procedures. Also, this project is something that I can take and adapt over the next few years so that I may actually use it for my class. Of course, when I present my expectations to the class, I will probably change the format to a PowerPoint so that it is more visually appealing for students.
I think the biggest problem I faced was organizing my procedures in a linear fashion. So many of my procedures were interconnected, which made it difficult at times to determine which should be first. I found myself describing certain expectations in one procedure that I had previously listed in another. When that happened, I figured it only made sense that the procedure I was referencing be above the one I was writing. Sometimes what happened was that I was writing a procedure whereby I referenced another, but then that procedure that I referenced also referenced another that wouldn’t make sense to go before the one I was currently writing. Confused by that sentence? That’s how I felt while trying to organize some of the procedures.
Overall, though, besides forming a coherent, linear organizational pattern, this project opened my eyes to see just how many procedures are necessary in the classroom. Some of those things I don’t think about because they are so ingrained in me that it comes by second nature. For example, in my college classes, when I walk into the classroom, I take my seat. That’s been the expectation of me throughout my entire school career, so I just know it. In writing my procedures, I realized that my high school students might not know the expectation. I have to directly explain things that I never thought I would have to.
The classroom expectations and procedures can connect to all of the concepts of classroom management and effective teaching, but the most relevant I think are the learning environment, managing the learning environment, and effective instruction. With the learning environment, having procedures relating to my classroom arrangement contributes to student learning. For example, it is important that I have procedures in place for my reading corner so that students are 1) not fighting over it and 2) not distracting other students who are trying to work. Also being able to visualize where my materials are, my bathroom passes, my signout sheets, etc. contributes to the procedures that follow and help with the flow of the class.
With managing the learning environment, my classroom expectations are necessary to ensure a smooth flow of activities and instruction in the class. Students need to know how to behave in the classroom so that I am not taking time out of class to correct behavior. If students already know what the expectation is, they are more likely to follow it than they would if they had no prior knowledge of it. As it relates to procedures, students who know how to carry out daily tasks will make it so that I don’t have to give instructions every day. This will allow us to use our class time in a way that contributes more to learning.
Finally, with effective instruction, the definition is to design instructional practices and assessment planning that positively impacts the learner, student achievement, and professional practice. Having procedures does just that. Procedures can be, at times, just as much instruction as instruction based on content area. This is especially true if some of those procedures allow students to practice certain behaviors that they will then have to apply in the real world. One practice that I think is especially important in the classroom is being disconnected from technology, specifically social media. My hope is that I can teach my students the importance of being present so that they will put that into practice wherever they go. So many young people today are so caught up on their phones that they fail to communicate even when they are right next to their friends. Similarly, in job interviews, meetings, workshops, events, competitions, etc., it is important that students are not caught up on their phones so that they will be more impacted by whatever it is that they are doing.
There are so many more ways that I can connect these procedures to real-life practices. This assignment has helped me to realize the importance of having specific procedures for everything students do in the classroom. Not only so, but procedures are beneficial to students in their lives outside of the classroom. If my students can apply all of my expectations as well as some concepts from my procedures to their lives, then I will feel very accomplished indeed.