CLASSROOM

MANAGEMENT
 ESTABLISHING RULES AND ROUTINES

▪ Classroom Rules

▪ Developing Classroom Rules

▪ Classroom Routines

▪ In the Students’ Voices

ESTABLISHING RULES AND ROUTINES
ESTABLISHING RULES AND ROUTINES
 Establishing Rules and Routines
▪ The next key component of classroom management is the
establishment of rules and routines.
▪ Research clearly indicates that these elements are vital aspects of a
teacher’s classroom management plan (Emmer, Evertson, & Anderson,
1980).
▪ The teachers classified as effective classroom managers had clear
rules for general conduct and procedures or routines for carrying
out specific tasks.
▪ Effective managers also spent time the first few days of school
teaching these rules and routines.
▪ Most frequently, teachers struggle with classroom management for
one of two primary reasons:
▪ (1) They do not establish rules and routines in their classroom or
▪ (2) they do not understand the difference between the two.
▪ Classroom rules are generally about overall conduct, whereas
routines are much more specific to certain tasks.
▪ They are both essential components of an effective classroom
management plan and go a long way with respect to developing an
environment conducive to learning.
ESTABLISHING RULES AND ROUTINES
 CLASSROOM RULES
▪ You have the freedom and flexibility to develop a wide variety of rules
for your classrooms as well as the process used to develop them.
▪ Develop a Reasonable number of Rules
▪ It is best to develop approximately four to six rules.
▪ If you have too many rules, your classroom will seem overly rigid,
and students may have a hard time remembering them all.
▪ If there are too few rules, critical aspects of behavior that should
be covered by class rules will probably be neglected.
▪ Rules should cover several dimensions of behavior, including
classroom safety (not fighting, being careful with equipment),
respect (listening to others, treating others respectfully), and
making appropriate effort (doing one’s best, coming to class
prepared every day).
▪ When developing the final set of rules, be sure that your classroom
rules are congruent with schoolwide rules.
▪ For example, if the school emphasizes respecting others throughout
the school, you will want to include respect for others as one of the
class rules.
 CLASSROOM RULES
▪ Decide How to Word the Rules
▪ Remember to write rules using positive language, which means
avoiding negative words such as no or not.
▪ Instead of using a classroom rule that says, “No running,” you can
write this rule as “We walk at all times.”
▪ Writing the rules using positive language results in a more positive
classroom environment overall because it emphasizes good
behavior.
▪ Negative rules, in contrast, emphasize what students cannot do
and behavior for which they will be punished.
▪ Rules with general wording refer generally to many different
situations. Examples include “Be a good friend,” “Do your best,”
and “Respect others.”
▪ Rules with specific wording focus on particular situations, such as
“We walk at all times,” “Follow directions the first time they are
given,” and “One person speaks at a time.”
 CLASSROOM RULES
▪ Consider Students’ Cultural Backgrounds
▪ It is important to remember to take students’ cultural backgrounds
into account when developing rules.
▪ Some rules that might make sense within one cultural group will
not make sense within another group.
▪ It is normal in family conversations that adults and children
interrupt one another as they collaborate in building up ideas.
▪ For instance, people may jump in to help tell a story started by one
person.
▪ With these students, “respecting others,” means caring about their
ideas enough to join in on what they are saying.
▪ If you interpret the rule “Respect others” to mean that everyone
should listen quietly while one person is speaking.
 CLASSROOM RULES
▪ Teach and Demonstrate Each Rule
▪ As a teacher, you will also need to explicitly teach the students
what the rules are and how to interpret them.
▪ Many teachers announce their rules, post them on the wall, and
then assume that students will understand and follow them.
▪ However, students may not understand the rules in the same way
that you intend.
▪ When explaining the rules, you can model appropriate behaviors
and discuss with students what will count as violations of the rules.
▪ In this way, you leave no room for misunderstanding.
▪ In addition, it is important to make sure that students understand
why the rules are important.
ESTABLISHING RULES AND ROUTINES
 CLASSROOM RULES
▪ Post the Rules in a Prominent Spot
▪ Effective classroom managers make sure that students understand and
remember the rules.
▪ One way to help students remember the rules is to post the rules in a
conspicuous place where everyone in the classroom can see them
easily.
▪ If the rules are displayed saliently, students will see them frequently
and be reminded of them when they see them.
▪ When you need to remind students of one or more rules, they can point
to the posted rules.
▪ Decide Whether to Give Students a Voice
▪ An important decision that you need to make is whether to involve the
students in developing the rules.
▪ On the one hand, you may determine what the rules are.
▪ On the other, you may have the students help generate them.
▪ There are pros and cons to each approach.
▪ Although involving the students in the development of the rules can be
time-consuming, this process may allow students to feel more
ownership over the rules and, as a result, they may be more likely to
follow them.
▪ You might hold a class meeting to discuss the importance of rules and
to generate ideas for them.
 DEVELOPING CLASSROOM RULES
▪ Amy: 1st Grade
▪ Amy believes that it is important for students to help develop the
classroom rules because they will feel a responsibility to follow them.
▪ She reads the book called Never Spit on Your Shoes to the class.
▪ It is about a little dog who goes to school and, when he arrives home,
he explains that they made the classroom rules.
▪ After listening to the story, Amy has the class brainstorm a long list of
classroom rule and generated about 20 rules.
▪ Next day, she turns their attention to the list of rules and explains that
her idea is to group the rules into bigger categories.
▪ She introduces three bigger categories: (1) “Do your best,” (2) “Be
kind,” and (3) “Be safe,” and she asks students if they can group each
of the rules on their original list into one of these categories.
▪ Working with the students, she cuts up the list of 20 rules and asks
them to group those rules under one of the three bigger categories.
▪ After they finished the task, Amy asks the class if they could be used
as their actual classroom rules.
▪ After the class agrees, she makes a new chart of the three classroom
rules and the students sign it.
▪ Then the rules are prominently displayed in the classroom.
 DEVELOPING CLASSROOM RULES
▪ Anne: 5th Grade
▪ Anne has the students help generate the classroom rules to encourage
them to be accountable for their actions.
▪ During the 1st day of school, she holds a class-meeting and the
students decide on appropriate ways to behave.
▪ She begins the discussion by asking students to generate some
possible classroom rules.
▪ Most frequently, the students suggest rules, such as “No running,” “No
hitting,” and “No name-calling,” that are stated in a negative fashion.
▪ The students stated that they got tired of being told what not to do by
saying “Yes!”
▪ Next, Anne suggests that they try to get the same idea across by
stating what to do rather than what not to do.
▪ The students excitedly rise to this challenge and provide more ideas.
▪ Next, Anne uses the students’ ideas to develop a code of discipline.
▪ It is “We have the responsibility to be safe, to keep others safe, to do
our schoolwork, to show respect for ourselves and others, to take care
of the things around us, and make our school a peaceful place.”
▪ The code of discipline is posted on the wall and the students recite it
once a week.
 DEVELOPING CLASSROOM RULES
▪ Tim: 9th Grade
▪ Tim believes that rules are very important, and he likes to use simple,
standard, clear rules that provide little opportunity for
misinterpretation.
▪ He also wants certain rules to be enacted in his classroom.
▪ Therefore, he prepares a list of rules ahead of time and posts them in a
prominent spot, so they are visible when students arrive on the 1st
day.
▪ The rules are
1. Follow directions the first time they are given,
2. Come to class prepared,
3. Respect others and their property,
4. Use appropriate language, and
5. Do not leave the room without permission.
▪ He introduces, demonstrates, and discusses the importance of each
rule during the 1st day of school.
 CLASSROOM ROUTINES
▪ Routines are essential for the overall fluidity of the classroom as they
show students how to carry out common tasks in an efficient, orderly
manner.
▪ Most routines fall into three broad categories: movement routines,
lesson-running routines, and general procedures.
▪ Movement Routines
▪ These routines provide students with explicit steps for entering, exiting,
and moving about the classroom.
▪ Common movement routines include the following:
▪ Arriving in the morning (elementary school)
▪ Arriving at class (secondary school)
▪ Using the restroom
▪ Exiting and entering the class during a fire or evacuation drill
▪ Exiting the classroom as a whole class
▪ Sharpening pencils
▪ Getting and disposing of tissues
▪ Disposing of garbage
▪ Getting and returning supplies
▪ Using the sink
▪ Moving to computer stations
▪ Storing classroom materials
 CLASSROOM ROUTINES
▪ Lesson-running routines
▪ These are routines designed to facilitate tasks that occur regularly
during instructional lessons, such as passing back homework and
taking tests.
▪ Some common lesson routines involve factors such as the following:
▪ How to ask for the teacher’s assistance
▪ What students should bring to class
▪ How materials will be distributed
▪ How papers will be collected
▪ How to collect and correct homework
▪ What to do if someone is absent
▪ What to do when individual work is completed early
▪ How to assign and record homework
▪ How to work on the Internet
▪ How to save work on the computers
▪ When students may and may not talk
 CLASSROOM ROUTINES
▪ General Procedures
▪ These routines include all other routines that teachers and students
must complete to keep the class running smoothly.
▪ For example, taking attendance.
▪ Other examples include the following:
▪ Recording lunch orders
▪ Updating the calendar
▪ Watering the plants
▪ Cleaning chalkboards and whiteboards
▪ Feeding and cleaning class pets
▪ Cleaning students’ desks
▪ Routines should be as efficient as possible
 DEVELOPING CLASSROOM ROUTINES
▪ A few examples of key classroom routines are as follows.
▪ Amy: 1st Grade
1. Initial arrival—Students in Amy’s class arrive in the morning, unpack,
and find a seat in the group meeting area. They may talk quietly with
their classmates as they await the start of the morning meeting. During
the morning meeting, attendance and lunch count are recorded and
important announcements are made.
2. Restroom and drinks—Amy’s students can use the lavatory or get a
drink whenever they need to go as long as they place a designated
pass on their desk. This is a quick, unobtrusive way for Amy to quickly
scan the room and know who is out of the room.
3. Assigning and copying homework—At the end of every day, Amy leaves
7 or 8 minutes for students to copy or organize all of the day’s
homework into their homework notebooks/folders. During this time,
she also helps the students figure out what books or papers they need
to take home.
 DEVELOPING CLASSROOM ROUTINES
▪ Anne: 5th Grade
1. Initial arrival—When students in Anne’s class arrive at the classroom
they follow these steps:
a. Unpack your bag.
b. Turn in any important notes to the teacher.
c. Put your homework in the homework bin.
d. Sharpen pencils, if needed.
e. Begin the Do Now listed on the board.
2. Restroom and drinks—Students in the class must ask to use the
bathroom at the beginning or end of a lesson. After receiving
permission, they sign out on the clipboard by the door and sign back in
when they return.
3. Assigning and copying homework—Anne designates a specific area of
the chalkboard for posting the homework and any important reminders.
At the end of the day, students copy the day’s homework assignment
into their homework notebooks.
 DEVELOPING CLASSROOM ROUTINES
▪ Tim: 9th-Grade history
1. Initial arrival—Students in Tim’s class arrive, get settled at their desks,
and begin the Do Now on the board. Once the bell rings, Tim reviews
the Do Now, shows the connection to yesterday’s and today’s lessons,
and begins today’s lesson.
2. Restroom and drinks—If Tim’s students have kept their promise not to
abuse the privilege, he allows them to use the restroom whenever they
need to, one at a time. When leaving, students flip a sign hanging next
to the door from “Vacant” to “Occupied,” and flip it back when they
return. Tim gives the students who are leaving a hall pass.
3. Assigning and copying homework—Tim has a class website where he
posts a week’s worth of assignments at one time. This way, he only
needs the last minute of class to remind the students of the homework
and what materials they will need in order to complete the assignment.
However, he also prints a hard copy of the week’s assignments and
places it in a bin by the computer for those students who either prefer
a hard copy or don’t have access to a computer in their homes.
 IN THE STUDENTS’ VOICES
▪ Some of the comments included the following:
▪ “Rules are important to keep us safe in the classroom.” ( Jack, 3rd grade)
▪ “Rules are important because they help the teacher set boundaries for those students
who like to misbehave. They also help the teacher maintain control, which helps the
students focus and stay on task.” (Chelsea, 8th grade)
▪ “Yes, I definitely think that classroom rules are important to help establish structure,
but it is important that a teacher doesn’t have too many. That is not okay!” (Chris,
10th grade)
▪ “Yes, rules are important because they provide the foundation, so students know what
to do and what not to do.” ( Jessica, 12th grade)
▪ Student comments on involvement in the creation of the rules.
Specifically, they replied:
▪ “I do think it is a good idea for teachers to involve students in creating the classroom
rules because they will be more likely to follow them if they had a say, and they will
spend less time criticizing and complaining about the teacher’s rules because they
helped make them.” (Chelsea, 8th grade)
▪ “I do not remember ever being involved in creating the rules for a classroom.
However, I do think there is value in creating the rules together. I think students have
good ideas and more teachers should value those ideas.” (Chris, 10th grade)
▪ “I do think it is a good idea for the teacher to ask for the students’ help with the
classroom rules because then it is as if the students are giving you their word that they
will do their best to follow them. For some people, giving you their word is a
commitment to do their best.” ( Jessica, 12th grade)
 FOCUSING ON KEY POINTS
▪ Classroom rules and routines both communicate an expectation about
behavior.
▪ Classroom rules are aimed at preventing some type of misbehavior.
▪ Classroom routines provide direction about how to accomplish a certain
task.
▪ When developing classroom rules ensure the following:
▪ Develop between four and six rules.
▪ Make classroom rules consistent with schoolwide rules.
▪ Write the rules using positive language.
▪ Consider students’ cultural backgrounds.
▪ Teach and demonstrate each rule.
▪ Post the rules in a prominent spot.
▪ Decide whether to include students in the development of rules.
▪ There are three categories of routines: classroom, movement, and
lesson-running routines.
▪ Teach, demonstrate, and practice each routine with your students.
 REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Envision your ideal teaching position. Will you include students in

the rule development process in this particular context? Why or
why not?
2. Given that students sometimes like to question authority and act a
bit rebellious, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Tim’s
decision to use teacher-generated rules?
3. What particular rules and routines do you think are the most
important in your particular teaching context?
4. In what ways can you relate to the students’ beliefs or experiences
about classroom rules and routines?