Important Back to School Classroom Procedures

Each new school year brings its own adventures! One of the most important tasks for teachers is setting up some awesome classroom procedures. Nail these in the first week, and you’ll create a thriving environment for your students. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a newbie, those initial days can feel a bit like navigating a maze. But fear not! In this blog post, we’ll dive into fun and practical tips to help you teach classroom procedures with ease, ensuring a smooth and exciting start to the academic year. Let’s make this year the best one yet!

How to Start Teaching Classroom Procedures!

The first day of school is about getting them there and getting them home! Seriously. They are going to be so happy (and nervous) to meet their new teacher, so don’t overwhelm them! My biggest tip for tackling the daunting task of teaching back to school classroom procedures is sitting down and making a list!

First, make a list of all the things they need to know how to do and how you want them to do it. WHAT, BUT THAT S HUGE LIST YOU SAY!  Start by looking at your daily schedule. Then download my free list of questions, so you can get back to pinning, drinking coffee and looking at cute puppy videos online!

Next, prioritize the most important procedures and break them down into smaller steps. This will make it easier for your students to understand and remember. Also, be sure to model each procedure multiple times and provide ample opportunities for practice before expecting them to do it on their own.

Classroom Procedures: Key things to think about!

In the Morning:

• What should they do when they come in?
• What do they do with their bag and supplies?
• How should they begin working in the morning?
• What should they do to get your attention?
• How do you get their attention?
• What do they do for announcements?
• What do they need to have done before the bell rings?
• Where do they turn homework in?

During class-time:

• How and when should they use the bathroom?
• What do they do with their trash?
• Should they sharpen their pencil throughout the day?
• What do they do with the work they haven’t finished?
• How do you want to pass out papers?
• What are your turn in papers procedures?
• How do they transition to different areas of the room?

Classroom Rules:

• Do you want them to come up with the rules?
• What is your positive behavior plan?
• What are the consequences for not following the rules?

Outside of the Class:

• How do they line up?
• What are the school’s policies for recess, lunch, specials?
• Bathroom?
• Library?
• Recess?
• Lunch?

End of the Day:

• Do they have homework?
• How do they remember they have homework?
• What are your afternoon clean up expectations?
• How do you want them to pack up?
• What do they need to bring home?
• How do they collect their papers?
• How do you know how they are getting home?
• What are the school’s rules on going home?

Plan, Plan, Plan!

First, planning and writing the answers down helps! This will be my 8th year teaching, and I have learned back to school can still be overwhelming. If you have a game plan and think through these answers, it will help you cultivate a strong classroom management style that students will follow and understand.

Also, give yourself some wiggle room! When you start to plan back to school, it’s always nice to add extra stuff to your lessons in case you run out of things to do. (THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME)! If you need some fun back to school low-prep worksheets check out my Back to School and School Rules Activities and Worksheets Unit. 

BONUS!

Since planning can be tedious, here are my FREE back to school procedure workbook and questions I use to help me plan. Inside the file, you will find 12 of the most common procedures with questions to help you work through your classroom procedures. 

I have also included my classroom procedures and what I am doing in my class to help give you some ideas for your own! Grab my FREE back to school, Classroom Procedure Guide in my store.

Happy teaching,

Sarah!