QUESTION:

This is my first year of teaching first grade.  I’ve brainstormed a list of classroom activities and now I want to make procedures for each one.  I’m not sure how to go about it though.  Can you give me an example?

RESPONSE:

Sure!  Let’s take the example of planning procedures for Show and Tell.

Since no two teachers will want exactly the same procedures for a particular activity, a list of questions will help you define procedures that will suit you best.

Here are the type of questions you might ask yourself in order to plan your teaching procedures for Show and Tell:

  • When can students bring things?  (Every day?  Once a week?  Once a month?  On a particular day of the week or month?)
  • Do the kids have free choice in what to bring?  (Sometimes? All the time? Once a month?)
  • How will I communicate to parents about this?  (Weekly newsletter?  Monthly note?  Sign in the window?  One initial note to cover the entire year?)
  • What happens if a child forgets to bring Show and Tell?  (Do students get a second chance on another day––or not?)
  • What happens if I’ve set a theme for Show and Tell and a child brings something unrelated?  (Send it home explaining they can bring it back on a Free Choice week?  Let them show it anyway?)
  • How will a substitute teacher know how it all runs? (List of names for Show and Tell Days on wall?  Create a binder for sub to read about routines?)
  • When students bring Show and Tell items, where should they put them until it’s Show and Tell time?  (Keep them in backpacks?  At the carpet in a special place?  In their mailboxes?  On the back shelf?)
  • When a child shows something, do other children get to respond––or not?  (With a question? With a story of their own? By raising a hand?  Only 3 responses and then we move on? )
  • How do I expect them to sit at the carpet during Show and Tell time?  (In other words, proactively teach good manners––sitting, listening, looking interested etc.)
  • After an item has been shown, where should it go?  (Stays with the child? Returned to the backpack?  In the student’s mailbox?)

Once you can answer questions like these (by making decisions about how you want Show and Tell to proceed in your classroom,) you will have a list of procedures you want to teach your students!  It seems like a lot of procedures for just one activity, doesn’t it?   Just keep in mind that the more procedures you take the time to organize, the more relaxed you will feel when teaching.

Some related postings:

Important information to consider when planning/teaching procedures.

I need help to establish procedures in the computer lab.

 


Print This Post Print This Post
For More Information on Disciplineand Learning Click Here
Posted In: Procedures in the Classroom
posted On: August 5, 2010: 1:58 pm: By Kerry Weisner
Comments: 1 Comment