Procedure — Jill's Word of the Month
posted by: Jill | September 03, 2010, 02:23 PM   

Classroom procedures are basically sacrosanct in my classroom; I cannot run it without them. In fact, one of my favorite aspects of the new school year is sitting down to assess my classroom procedures.

I question, “What worked last year?” “What didn’t work out?” “What did other teachers do well?’ “What should I avoid?” And the overarching question is always “How do I want my classroom to run?” Like clockwork.

To me, the ideal classroom has a productive hum to it, like a beloved luxury sedan. From that vision, I base my classroom procedures. Realistically it’s not perfect, but it works well for me, and more importantly for the students.

My favorite procedure in the classroom I stole from Mrs. L— the hand-raising procedure. It was genius to me. It’s a straight arm in the air with one, two, three, four or five fingers extended. Each one represented something that a student needed:

  • 1 finger — I have a question
  • 2 fingers — I’d like to use the restroom
  • 3 fingers — I’d like to sharpen my pencil
  • 4 fingers — I’d like a drink of water
  • 5 fingers — I have a comment
Some teachers have said to me “it’s too much to remember” or “the kids will never follow through.” All I can say that it works for me. We practice at the beginning of the year (a lot). The students learn it and they use it. I even quiz them throughout the year about what each finger represents. Is it perfect? No. But it certainly saves a conversation from ensuing while I’m instructing.

If you like this idea, use it. If you like it but want to tweak it, be my guest. (Let us know about how you changed it by posting a comment here on the blog).

If you want to come up with your own classroom procedures, ask yourself: “How do I want my classroom to run?”

From there create your procedures from what you envision. And remember, it won’t run perfectly (we’re dealing with imperfect humans), but with a few tweaks you’ll soon have your procedures running your students instead of the students running you.

Comment below.

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