Six Common Procedures

Here are some simple ways to turn six of the most common classroom procedures into entertaining, highly efficient routines.

1. Lining Up:  When you want your students to line up, say, “lines!”  They say, “lines, lines, lines,” and clapping and cheering, they line up.  You “time” them by counting out a rhythmic cadence, (1, 2, 3, 4, ...)   When your class is in line, they put their hands up (or, if you wish, behind their back).  If they have lined up quickly, and/or broken a class time record for lining up, the class earns a positive mark on the Scoreboard.
2. Sitting Down:  Follow a similar procedure for sitting down.  You say “seats!”  Your students say “seats, seats, seats” and clapping and cheering, they sit down.  You “time” them with a rhythmic count.  When your class is seated, it’s hands up, or folded, as you wish.  Sitting down quickly, or breaking their class record for sitting down, earns them a positive mark on the Scoreboard.
3. Opening Books:   If you want your class to open to page 34 of their science book, you say, “34, science book.”  Your class says “34, science book” three times.  Follow the same timing and reward procedure as above.
4. Handing in Papers:  You say, “papers in!”  Your class says “Papers in!” three times.  Everyone cheers and claps.  The papers are handed in to one person who stacks them neatly on your table.  Follow the same timing and reward procedure as above.
5. Handing Out Papers:  You say, “papers out!” and your students say “papers out!” three times.  You give a student a stack of papers.  That student splits the stack to two other students, who split the stack to other students and so forth.  No one leaves their seat (yet).  If a student has extra papers, she slowly waggles the papers over her head.  If a student doesn’t have a paper, he goes quickly to get one from the paper waggler.  All extra papers are handed back in to one student who puts them in a neat stack on your desk.  Students cheer and clap, encouraging each other.  Follow the same timing and reward procedure as above.
   If the cheering and clapping is too much for you, or neighboring teachers, have students do a “quiet riot” by whisper cheering and patting one finger against another.
   Great Hint:  Practice these procedures several times a day, when you aren’t actually involved in lining up, sitting down, opening books, or distributing papers.
6. Sharpening pencils:  Pencil sharpeners are wonderful machines for creating chaos in the classroom.  Students distract each other on the way to the pencil sharpener, at the pencil sharpener and on the way back.  Here is a simple solution
   1. Buy an electric pencil sharpener; put 100 sharpened pencils in a coffee can.
   2. Put a red sheet of paper on one side of the can, a green sheet of paper on the other side.
   3. When the green side faces the class, any student can get up, trade their pencil with a sharpened pencil and sit down.  When the red side faces the class, no one can leave their seat to trade a pencil.  If students don’t have a pencil to trade, they can get a sharpened pencil anyway.