Classroom Routines
All students need this every day, but some students need more. Equity means matching your use with students’ needs.
Definition: A set of predictable daily procedures that promote student autonomy and engagement in learning.
Purpose: To give students guidance about what to do when (e.g., procedures for arrivals and departures; what to do if a pencil breaks; what to do if they need help; what to do when finished with work; what to do if upset, etc.) and to create predictability, safety, and an effective learning environment.
Apply classroom routines with predictability while accounting for individual student needs.
Resources for K-2 Educators
Handouts
Intervention Guide: Classroom Routines (pdf)
Example Routines and Procedures (pdf)
Websites
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Videos
This 5-minute video, above, discusses the steps of creating classroom routines and procedures.
This 8-minute video on RTI is a great resource for guiding students on how to work independently and focus on skills-based learning. This involves inviting students to construct their own learning during center/pod learning with a teacher, and the “May Do’s and Must Do’s”. It is also a great way to help teachers not feel overwhelmed in the classroom.
Resources for 3-5 Educators
Handouts
Intervention Guide: Classroom Routines(pdf)
Example Routines and Procedures(pdf)
Videos
This 5-minute video, above, discusses the steps of creating classroom routines and procedures.
This 9-minute video demonstrates a teacher establishing routines during the first week of school.
Provide visual depictions of routines with images representing the range of identities and cultures in the broader community.
Resources for K-2 Educators
Videos
This 7-minute video, above, demonstrates a daily morning routine to prepare for the day’s learning.
This 2-min video, above, describes ways to help establish classroom routines.
Resources for 3-5 Educators
Handouts
Turn Your SMART Goal into a Plan (pdf)
Videos
This 2-min video, above, describes ways to help establish classroom routines.
Tips:
- Explicitly teach routines by explaining classroom procedures and the rationale behind them.
- Practice the routine – use positive reinforcement for students who follow routines and corrective feedback for those that do not.
- Keep in mind that students, especially those with a traumatic history, benefit from predictability and sameness every day. Routines should be predictable but not rigid.
- Engage students in developmentally appropriate discussions about the need for routines and seek their input on creating routines that facilitate a safe, collaborative, and productive classroom environment.
- Monitor consistent use of the routine over time and review, as necessary.
- Periodically reteach the routines and further reinforce the value of established rules and routines, especially following natural breaks in the school schedule or when a new student joins the class.
- Place visuals about routines at student eye-level and in optimal locations for students to easily see and access them. Ensure the visual images represent diverse cultural backgrounds.
- Once routines have been established, encourage students to develop autonomy and responsibility for following the routines and positively reinforce their use of the routines.
- Communicate with caregivers about their at-home routines and ask for input to enhance comfort and engagement for all students.
- Engage in actions that communicate that all students have the potential to meet expectations given well-matched supports.