Routines and Procedures
This daily activity sets the tone for the day and often involves the teacher greeting students at the door.
What is the morning routine / arrival procedure?
A simple statement acknowledging a student's exact good behavior (e.g., "Thank you for raising your hand"), rather than a generic "Good job."
What is Behavior-Specific praise?
Keeping your voice at this level and tone is crucial when a student is visibly upset and raising theirs.
What is a calm / neutral tone?
Arranging desks in this specific formation is considered best for encouraging class-wide, equitable discussions.
What is a circle / U-shape / horseshoe?
This strategy gives students 3 to 5 seconds of silence to process a question before you require an answer.
What is wait time / think time?
Teaching this explicit process prevents chaos when students need to use the restroom during instruction.
What is a bathroom procedure / hall pass system?
Research suggests this is the ideal ratio of positive interactions to negative corrections in the classroom.
What is a 4:1 or 5:1 ratio?
A physical strategy that involves stepping back and giving an agitated student room rather than towering over them.
What is respecting personal space?
Creating these clear, physical pathways between desks helps the teacher circulate easily during independent work.
What are traffic patterns / aisles?
Calling on students randomly using popsicle sticks or a random name generator to ensure all students are accountable.
What is cold-calling / equity sticks?
"1, 2, 3, eyes on me" and ringing a chime are examples of this strategy used to quickly quiet a room.
What is an attention-getter / call-and-response?
This tangible system allows students to earn "bucks" or points for meeting expectations, which they can later trade for rewards.
What is a token economy?
A designated, quiet space in the room where a student can voluntarily go to self-regulate before a situation worsens.
What is a calm-down corner / peace or reset area?
Minimizing this on the walls can help students—especially those with ADHD or sensory processing needs—focus better on instruction.
What is visual clutter?
A collaborative strategy where students ponder a prompt, discuss it with a neighbor, and then report out to the class
What is think-pair-share?
This specific routine involves an academic task students should begin immediately upon entering the classroom before the bell rings.
What is bell-work / a Do-Now?
This proactive communication strategy involves reaching out to families to share a success before behavioral issues arise.
What is a positive phone call / positive note home?
Offering a defiant student "Option A or Option B" to give them a sense of autonomy within your boundaries.
What is providing controlled choices?
Co-creating this document with students on the first day and displaying it prominently builds buy-in for classroom rules.
What is a social contract / classroom agreement?
Breaking a long, 45-minute lecture into 10-minute segments separated by brief, varied activities.
What is chunking the lesson?
The most effective time to practice, model, and reinforce classroom procedures to save hours of instructional time later in the year.
What is the first two weeks of school?
The concept where a teacher praises a student who is on-task in order to indirectly correct an off-task student sitting nearby.
What is proximity praise / positive peer pressure?
In crisis management, this term describes the private conversation held with a student after they have calmed down, to process what happened and make a plan.
What is a restorative chat / debrief?
Moving yourself physically closer to an off-task student without stopping your lesson to redirect their behavior.
What is proximity control?
Displaying this tool on the smartboard during group work keeps transitions tight and creates a sense of instructional urgency.
What is a visual timer?