Behavior Expectations

Classroom rules and procedures are very important in every classroom. Procedures and rules allow the students to understand what is expected of them, and promotes a positive atmosphere within the classroom. Not only will they promote the environment needed for the students to learn but also the needed tools to function within society and through out life.

We are going to look at two in-classroom activities along with the behavioral expectations for each of the activities. The two activities we will look at are the usage of learning centers/computer stations, and turning in assignments. Next, we will look at two out-of-classroom activities and the behavioral expectations for them. The first out-of-classroom activity is recess and lastly, assemblies. Lastly, we will describe two different evaluation methods to determine the students understanding of in and out of classroom behaviors expectations and the consequences of not following the rules.

The first in-class activity we will look at is learning centers/computer stations. For this activity, the students are divided into small groups, the number of groups needs to equal the number of centers or stations. For this example, we will say there are a total of six stations and/or centers, so we divide the class into six groups with three to four students per group. In each of the centers, the student will have a task to complete, let us use the writing center for an example. In the writing center, students are given a topic that they will write about, and will have to complete in that center. The topic may be focused on a story they are currently reading as a class, or a current unit they are working on in Social Studies. The center is setup so all the materials the student will need is in that area, with the writing center, there is paper, pencils, and a dictionary so the student does not need to move from the area to obtain materials.

When the students are engaged in learning centers, there are behavioral expectations for the learning centers to be successful. The first expectation would be for the students to complete the work for the assigned center. Another expectation would be for the students to remain in their assigned center during the activity and not meander around the room or talk with peers in other centers. The last expectation is that the students in the centers will ask each other for assistance before raising their hand for the teacher's assistance.

The second in-class activity is turning in assignments. After the teacher has given direction for the assignment the students are to complete, the students will need to turn in the assignment once completed. The teacher could have the student hold on to the assignment until everyone is finished. However, the teacher could have a location in the room for students to turn-in their work. A stackable tray with each tray labeled for each subject, then once the student is finished with the assignment the student can place the assignment in the correct tray. The teacher could also have at the trays an extra worksheet for the students who finish early to complete or allow them to read freely so they do not disturb the other student still working. In addition, the teacher may allow the students who finish early to assist other students who may be stuck or do not understand a section of the assignment.

When the students are finished with an assignment, they would need to turn it into the trays and there would be behavior expectations when doing so. First, the students would be expected to leave their desk without drawing attention to them, and make the move to the trays. Second, the students would not be permitted to talk with other students when they are in the process of turning in the assignment. Lastly, once they have completed the assignment and returned to their desk, they would need to work on the worksheet the teacher has left for them at the trays or read a book of their choice while waiting for the remainder of the class to finish.

The first out-of-class activity we will look at is recess. Recess is a time for the students to let off some steam of class. Recess can happen two different ways, the first way is for recess to be teacher led, which is when the teacher picks the activity the students will do and the whole class will participate, such as kickball. The second way is to allow the students to pick the activity they wish to do and to use the equipment available outside. Recess needs to be fun for the students to allow them to unwind for a period before returning to the classroom.

Many students view recess as free time, but there is also behavior expectations during this time. First and most important is that student will be expected to take turns when engaging in-group play such as kick ball. In addition, the students will not engage in aggressive behavior, or rough play. Second, the students are expected to remain in the designated area, so the teacher can monitor all the students. Lastly, the students need to be respectful of others limitations, some students in the class may not be as good as other students in some activities, or have a physical handicap that does not allow them to perform as well.

The next out-of-class activity is assemblies. Assemblies are a time for coming together of students for some purpose that requires many classes to attend. This could be for students to listen to an author or storyteller, or even an awards ceremony at the end of a nine-week term or some other special program. For an assembly students enter and exit the room as a class and sit together as a class in their designated area.

There are also certain behavioral expectations during an assembly. First would be that students need to be attentive to the speaker. Students will not be allowed to talk with others around them during the program. Second, students will participate when asked to do so, and raise their hand to ask a question when the speaker asks for questions. In addition, student will not engage in the OH PICK ME, ME behavior. Students will also remain on their bottoms so others behind them can see.

Now that we have looked at in and out of classroom activities and some of the behavior expectations, we need a way to evaluate the level of student understanding. Our first method would be practice or even role-playing. Practice would happen in the classroom, for example, the teacher could be teaching a lesson in science and monitor the student's attentiveness to the speaker. If the teacher finds a student not being attentive, then the teacher could just call that students name in a sentence, such as "James, there are several different ways to classify rocks and minerals". This would let the student know that it is important to watch and listen to the speaker. Many time students do not want to be called out in a classroom and will try to prevent it from happening again.

Role-playing could also be used to evaluate the level of students understanding. The teacher could assign students roles to play and action that they should take. The remaining students should take note of behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable within the role-play activity. Once each role-play activity is complete, the teacher can call on different student who will need to point out a behavior and tell why that behavior is acceptable or unacceptable. The teacher can also interject the consequences that would follow if that behavior happens.

Another method that could be used to evaluate students understanding is a worksheet. The worksheet would have different in and out of class scenarios that the students will read, and then the students will pick out the behaviors that are unacceptable and acceptable for that activity. For the older grade levels, the students could be given a worksheet with different in and out of class activities and the student will make a list of behaviors that would be acceptable during that activity. For example, one activity listed is assemblies, and the students would list behaviors that should and should not be displayed.

As we can see, it is important for classroom rules and procedures to be in place. It is also just as important for the students to know what is expected of them in the different activities that they will partake in during the school day and throughout the school year. Therefore, the teacher needs to make the expectation known to the students and be able to evaluate the students to make sure that they do understand the rules and procedures that need to be followed.