Classroom Procedures Maintain Organization

Passing back or collecting papers: Do you hand out papers so that the students in the front of the class pass the papers backwards? The problem with this technique is that students cannot see to whom they are passing the papers. They might throw the papers onto the person's desk, or even worse, throw them at the person. How about passing in papers? Do students hit the person in front of them with their papers? This leaves plenty of chances for students to disrupt your class. Passing papers sideways is usually the best routine. This way a student can easily see if the student next to them is ready for the papers.

Do you pass back papers randomly based on whose name is on top of the stack? Passing back or collecting papers can waste a lot of time in class. High school and middle school students are more likely to develop discipline problems when their task is to sit and wait quietly for several minutes. This does not challenging the students academically. Instead, have students put a row number on every piece of paper. That way you just hand the paper to the first person in the row. Your TA can also sort student papers by rows ahead of time to speed up the delivery process.

Classroom Procedures for Starting Class

Warm-up: Do you start the period by telling students to be quiet? Students need to be ready to work when the bell rings. Having a warm-up on the board motivates students to start the class without your intervention. This also gives you plenty of time to take role using your seating chart. You accomplish two tasks right at the beginning of the period, getting students on task and taking role.

Classroom Procedures for Passes

Going to the bathroom: Do students take advantage of bathroom breaks during class in order to wander around campus? You can help prevent students from using the bathroom during your class by counting the number of times each student uses a bathroom pass. Tell students at the beginning of the year that they are allowed four bathroom passes per semester and each bathroom pass is worth 10 extra credit points. Since students do much of their learning in class, offering extra credit to students who stay in class rewards learning. If a student really needs to go to the bathroom, you MUST let them, regardless of how many passes they have used.

Classroom Procedures for Tardies

Tardies: What do you do when a student comes in tardy? Write their name on the board, and have them stay after class to talk with you. Most will complain and argue that they will be late to their next class. However, you need to stop this behavior by demonstrating that it is not acceptable in your class. Remember that the rest of the class is watching how you reinforce your classroom procedures. Give them a reason to show respect to you.

* Disclaimer: Before implementing any ideas from this website, please first consult your principal to make sure they are in compliance with state laws, district and school procedures.