The Ultimate Guide for Teachers

As a teacher your classroom will need routines and procedures in order to have success. Each teacher is responsible for establishing routines and procedures that work best for both themselves and the students they are teaching. I have put together an example of what your routines and procedures might look like. This is something you will need to type up and give to your the parents. It will ensure that everyone is on the same page. As I said, the routines and procedures I have put together are an example only and it will need to be formated to fit your needs.

Absent Students

When a student is absent from the class they will return to find a "We Missed You" folder on their desk. This folder will have a list of assignments they need to complete, worksheets they missed, and a card from the teacher.

Students will be given a set amount of time to complete the work, depending on the amount of work and the number of days that were missed.

Activity Calendars

Each month I will be sending home a special calendar filled with activities that you can do with your child. These activities are not requirements...only suggestions. I know that we live busy lives and I have tried to include activities that require little time, money, and energy. They are just little ways to bond with your child. I hope you enjoy them.

AR

AR is the reading program used by the school. During our AR time several things take place. Students pick out a book and read silently in a comfortable place. They may choose this place in the room but if they talk to a neighbor I will move them back to their desks.

Students who are ready to test will come to me and I will sign the log in their AR folder. Students will then go to the computer table and get an AR pass. These passes are numbered. When student number 1 finishes their test they will place their number card at the bottom of the stack and call on student #2 to take their place at the computer.

Students who are waiting to take a test may work on unfinished work, get another book from the classroom library, or go to the reading center. Only two students are allowed in the reading center and the library at the same time. Any student who is talking will go back to their seats.

Attention

When I want the class to pay attention I will say "If you can hear me, clap once." Students who hear me will clap once, stop what they are doing, look at me, and listen. I will say the statement again until I have the entire class' attention.

Birthday Parties

Parents are encouraged to bring a treat for their child's birthday if they wish to do so. These treats must be wrapped in store-bought packaging. These celebrations will take place during our normal snack time at the end of the day. Please let me know if you chose to do this.

Calling on Students

To ensure that all students are called on to answer questions and be involved in the class I have a deck of cards with the children's name written on them. After I ask a question I will pick a card from the deck. The child whose name is picked from the deck will answer the question.

Celebrations

We will have celebrations for Valentines Day, Halloween, Christmas, and an End of School Year Party. I will be sending parent volunteer forms for these occasions closer to the date of the party.

Centers

We will have several centers that will change through out the year. Center groups may change each day. To find out which center they are in students will refer to a chart. The chart will have their name their starting center on it. I will set a timer for 10 minutes and they will have that time at their center. When the timer goes off they will begin to clean up and they will have one minute until the timer goes off again. At this time they will move to the center to their left.

Charlie the Bunny

Charlie the Bunny is our special classroom stuffed animal. He gets lonely on weekends when the students are not at school. Each Friday the person who is going to be Student of the Week can take Charlie home for the weekend. He comes with a special journal for the children to write about what Charlie did on the weekend. Parents are encouraged to take pictures of their child and Charlie. These can be sent once they get developed. Charlie, his journal, and special bag will need to be returned on Monday morning.

Classroom Jobs

I expect students in my classroom to share in responsibility. Each week students will be assigned a classroom job. These are assigned by the teacher so everyone has a chance to do something different. Students cannot request certain jobs. The jobs are:

Board Manager: In charge of erasing the board and making sure it is clean at the end of the day.

Homework Manager: 2 students who copy daily assignments from board. This will be used if students are absent. They are responsible for putting absent students work in their "We Missed You" folder, along with the assignment sheets.

Line Leader: Leads the class down the hall from one activity to another.

Computer Captains: 1-2 students who are responsible for turning off computers at the end of the day and cleaning the area around the computers.

Zoo Keeper: Feeds the class pet each day.

Lunch Manager: The lunch manager counts the number of students who brought or are buying lunch. Takes lunch box crate to lunchroom.

Recreational Manager: Two students who carry balls to the playground and back to the classroom after recess.

Bathroom Monitors: A boy and girl who take names of students who do not use bathroom time responsibly.

Pencil Sharpener Manager: Empties the pencil sharpener, in charge of hanging "closed" sign on sharpener during tests, sharpens broken pencils on teachers desk.

Librarian: This person straightens book shelf at the end of the day.

Allergy Management: This student dusts the room at the end of the day.

Historian: This person is in charge of the classroom book. During the week this student will observe the class and write one good thing about each student.

Sanitation Monitor: In charge of squirting hand sanitizer on each child's hands before snack.

Head chef: In charge of passing out the snack.

Botanist: Waters classroom plants.

Major: Leads class pledge and fills in when students are absent and cannot do their job. This child is also the "Star of the Week" and has their own bulletin board.

Meteorologist: reports the weather each day.

Milk Manager: Gets milk from cafeteria and places milk on student's desk.

On Friday each student will train a new student to do their job. That way I only have to teach it once!

Behavior Pad Manager: These students will be responsible for putting together new behavior pads and replacing colored cards for children who lost a card that day.

Classroom Pledge Our classroom has a special pledge that we say at the beginning of each day: Today I will do my best to be the best.
I will listen.
I will follow directions.
I will be honest.
I will respect the rights of others.
I can learn.
I will learn.
You see, I know it's all up to me.

Computers:

Our classroom only has one computer. This will be used during AR time and during center time. Our computer rules are posted above the computer. They are:

1. No food or drinks around computer

2. No horse play around computer

3. If you do not know how to do something, ask for help.

Students who wish to use the computer will go to the computer table and take a numbered card. When a student is finished at the computer during AR time they will put their card at the bottom of the stack and call the number after theirs. For instance, the student with card number 3 would call student number for to the computer.

During center time two students will be allowed to use the computer. This means that 14 students will use the computer each week. Once each student has had a chance we will start the rotation over with a new activity.

Current Events

Each night students will need to look in a newspaper or watch the news for current events. We will share these during our snack time together and discuss as a class. This can also include events that are happening in the community. Students who share current events with the class will have their name placed in our fish bowl. At the end of the week I will draw two names out of the bowl and those students will receive a prize from the Treasure Tree.

DEAR Time

D.E.A.R. stands for "Drop Everything And Read". During this time of the day students may read anything that they like. If they have comic books or magazines from home they may bring these or they may choose from our Classroom library selection. I will also be participating in DEAR time to set a model for the students.

Discipline

Entire Class:

Each day I will write the word RECESS on the chalk board. Each letter of the word represents 1 minute of recess time. If at any time during the day I must get on to the entire class for not paying attention while I am speaking then I will erase one letter from the word recess. For each letter I erase the students will lose one minute of their recess as a class. If all the letters are lost and the class gets in trouble they will lose their entire recess. At this time they will decide as a class how they are going to improve their behavior and we will write a Correction Plan together.

Individual:

Behavior Pads: Each day the students will receive 5 4x6 slips of paper in different colors(green, yellow, orange, red).

Directions:

1. Write your initials on each card

2. Write the date on each card

3. They will staple these together and keep your "behavior pad" at your desk. Each student is responsible for keeping up with their cards.

If a student gets in trouble I will tell them "I need a card". They will pull that card apart from the rest and write what rule they broke on the card. They will then sign the card and put it in my mailbox.

The first card they write on will be their green card, then yellow, orange, and red will be last.

Green Card: If students lose their green card this is only a warning. The only consequence is that they lose the chance to get a prize from the Treasure Tree at the end of the day.

Yellow Card: If a student loses their yellow card they will also lose 10 minutes of recess.

Orange Card: If a student loses their orange card they will write a letter to their parents on the card. The teacher will sign the card and it will go home in their folder. Parents must sign the card and the child must return it the next day.

Red Card: If a student loses their red card they will write a Correction Plan on their card. This is a plan of how they are going to correct their behavior. I will write a letter to their parents and both will go home in their folder. Parents must sign the card and return it the next day.

Severe Misbehavior: At the teacher's discretion a child may lose all cards and a child may be sent to the principal's office. Fighting, threatening behavior, verbal abuse, or fowl language will not be tolerated in the classroom.

These cards help me remember what rule was broke by the student. They will be filed in your child's classroom file.

DOL

D.O.L. stands for "Daily Oral Language". Each morning when students arrive there will be two sentences on the board with several grammar errors. Students must find and correct these errors.

End of the Day Procedures

At the end of each day students will be responsible for packing their backpacks, take home folders, and lunch boxes. When they have finished packing they will begin working on their daily jobs and putting their chairs on their desks. Students will not line up until told to do so. While waiting in line to be dismissed we will go over fun facts, test review, jokes, or brain teasers.

Entering and Leaving the classroom

Each week we will have a line leader who leads us from one place to the next. This person lines up first. I will call the rows of students who are being the quietest to line up next. We will not leave our room until our line is short, straight, and silent. The person behind the line leader will always hold doors open for the entire class then take a place at the end of the line once everyone has gone through the door.

Friday Letters

Each Friday students will write a letter to their parents. We will do this during our Morning work. These letters can be about anything that the child chooses to write. Students will place the letters in their take home folders along with an envelope (handed out by the Paper Pusher). The envelope is for the parents to write a letter back. Letters from the parents should be returned on Monday morning in a sealed envelope. These are not for the teacher to read but students will place the letters in the teacher's mailbox. This is so the teacher can inventory who has a letter so that no one is left out. I will write letters to students who do not have one. During DEAR time the teacher will pass out letters to the students.

Foggiest and Brightest Moments

During our snack and story time the students will write their name on and index card and think about everything we learned during the day. At this time they will write down their foggiest moment (something they did not understand) and their brightest moment(something they learned well). This will help me see what students need more instruction on.

Homework

Homework will only be given Monday-Thursday nights. This should only take students 15-20 minutes to complete. All homework will be practice to reinforce what we have learned in the classroom. Homework is due upon students arrival at school the following morning. Students will place it in the "Turn in" tray.

Homework Trays

We have two trays in our room for homework. The "Turn In" tray is for work that students completed. The "Graded" tray is for work that I have graded. The person assigned the job "Paper Pusher" will pass all of these papers out at the end of the day.

Short, Straight, and silent.

Lunch

Each morning when students arrive they will place their lunch card in the "Hot Lunch" bucket which is red, or the "Cold Lunch" bucket which is blue. Cold lunches are brought from home and must be placed in the lunch box crate in the morning. This keeps students from forgetting their lunch in the classroom because they are all kept together. The lunch box crate is stored under the hot and cold lunch buckets.

Mailbox

I have a special mailbox in my classroom where students can drop off letters. This is where they will put all notes from home, money from home, or papers that required signatures for me to look over. This will also be a communication tool for the children and me. If they just want to write a letter or if they have something they want to tell me they can write it down and drop it in the mailbox. If a child feels the need to tattle they must write the tattle on paper and put it in the box so I can read it. I will check this once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Memory Book

I have a special three ring binder that has one page for each child in the classroom. Their name is written at the top and the rest of the page is blank. Each week the "Historian" is in charge of that book. I will take their page out so they don't see it. During the week they must observe the class and write a compliment on each child's page. At the end of the year I will give these to the children so they can see all of the nice things their classmates said about them.

Milk Card

Each morning students who need milk at snack time will place pull their milk card out of the stack and place it in the milk card tray located at the front of the room.

Morning Routine

Each morning when students arrive in the classroom they will follow the same routine. This may vary depending on the day of the week but will still follow the same structure.

1. Enter the room quietly

2. Unpack backpack

3. Place homework in the "Turn In" tray

4. Place lunch card in "Hot" or "Cold" lunch bucket

5. Place your milk card in the milk card tray

6. Sharpen 2-3 pencils

7. Begin the morning D.O.L.

8. Do the rest of the assignment on the board

9. When finished you may go get your journal and do your daily journal entry

Parent Child Activity Bags

I will have several activity bags in the classroom that your child can check out and bring home. These will include one or two books, an activity, and all the supplies to do that activity. These are meant for the parent and child to do together. The child will check these bags out and may keep them for two days. When they are returned I will check the contents to make sure that supplies (glue, scissors) have been returned. If they are not returned the child cannot check out another bag until the items are returned. I will only have 10 of these bags so we will have to take turns. Students who do not return the bags in the two days time will lose privileges for two weeks. They are responsible for these items.

Passing Papers

Papers will be passed across rows to the left. The last student will stack those papers neatly. Our Paper Pusher will collect them and place them in the "Turn In" tray. If a student is still working or writing their name on a paper other students should wait patiently. They may pass their papers when the next student is ready.

Restroom

We will take 4 restroom breaks as a class. Four boys and four girls may go in at the same time. When they are finished in the bathroom they get a drink of water. The teacher will monitor the line and noise level inside the bathroom. The line leader will take names of students who are not behaving correctly in the bathroom.

Sharpening Pencils

Each morning students should sharpen 2-3 pencils when they arrive at class. Our pencil sharpener will be closed for the rest of the day. If a child breaks all of their pencils they may come to the desk, place their broken pencil in the cup labeled "Broken" and get a new pencil out of the cup labeled "New".

Show and Tell

Each week one student will be "Student of the Week". They may bring show and tell any or all of those days. They will have the opportunity to share their item during our snack time. On Friday they will tell the class about themselves.

Snack

I have asked parents to donate snacks at the beginning of each month. I will send a reminder letter home so that parents know it is time. Snacks must be store bought and unopened.

Treat Tree

This is a bulletin board in my classroom with a picture of a tree trunk. I have attached leaves to the tree. A different times during the school year students will be allowed to pick a leaf off the tree. The leaf acts as a coupon for a special privilege. These are given out for good behavior.

Short, Straight, and Silent

This is our procedure for walking down the hall. We want to make sure that our line stays together, we are in a straight line so others can use the hall, and we do not talk. It is our responsibility to move from one activity to another without disturbing other classrooms.

Sitting in your seat

We have two rules for sitting in our chairs:

1. 4 on the floor: We are not allowed to tip back in our chairs. All 4 legs must be on the floor.

2. Sit on your pockets: Children must sit with their pockets on the seat. No squatting or standing on chairs.

The students should only have their pencils and morning work on their desk until the teacher tells them otherwise.

Student of the Week

At the beginning of the school year I will have the students fill out an information sheet about themselves. This child will be featured on a bulletin board. I will send home a "Student of the Week Bag" for you to help your child find pictures to display on the board. They can also bring items that are important to them. These can be used during show and tell as well.

Substitutes

When I cannot be in class a substitute teacher will be in my place. I will do everything I can to prepare this person for their day with the class. I expect students to be on their best behavior. Any bad notes from the substitute will result in punishment when the teacher returns. Good behavior will be rewarded with the Treat Tree.