How To Start Your Year Strong

I am not an expert on beginning-of-year procedures.

This is only my second year teaching, and it seems like regardless of how experienced you are, BOY stuff is tricky.  You only do it once a year, it's vitally important, and by the time it rolls around again, you've forgotten what worked before.

But never fear.

Today we're going to talk about BOY procedures, why they're important, and what you can do to make your year as smooth as possible.  If you have ideas, suggestions, anything else, write them in the comments (or shoot an email to theeverydaylibrary@gmail.com), and I'll do a compilation post!

Why is teaching rules and procedures so important?

Every teacher has heard that it's important to be proactive, especially when it comes to classroom management.  Maybe you're thinking to yourself, "But I don't want to spend the entire start of the year teaching kids how to line up.  That's SO BORING."  Maybe, but do you want to spend the entire year teaching your class to line up?  The more you do now, the less you'll have to do later, when you don't have time built in for just this. 

Teaching these skills should be built in to the rest of your day (getting-to-know you activities, team building, review work, etc.); of course they'll need more time dedicated to them right now, but start off with the concept that following procedures is just part of a typical day. 

Okay, that's fair.  But how do I actually teach these things?
I'm going to refer here to one of my favorite books, Tools for Teaching.  If you haven't read this book--read it.  It's accessible, it's realistic, and it provides lots of examples and practical ways to implement Fred Jones' ideas.  It saved my life last year and I've been re-reading it to get ready for this year.

One of Jones' key messages is that too often, we don't actually teach rules and procedures.  We just announce them and expect children to pick up on them.  You wouldn't just give a verbal explanation of long division and expect someone to be able to do it perfectly, would you?  Of course not.  You would model each step and gives your class ample time to practice.  Regardless of how old your students are, teach them your procedures and practice, practice, practice.  Instead of telling students that you want them to line up in a straight line, show them what that looks like.  Have them line up in groups and, if needed, arrange students and point out who is doing well.  If a group can't line up correctly, make them sit back down and try again--the whole group or class, not just the few students who aren't getting it. 

Something else I learned last year that really works is to point out what students are doing right instead of what students are doing wrong.  Instead of saying, "Anna, stop jumping around and stand still!", try "I love how Kimayah and Hector are standing quietly, with their arms at their sides."  Students love being recognized for doing something well, and it keeps you from giving attention to students who are misbehaving.

I have a teacher friend who teaches first grade, and she said she teaches everything to her kids, from the obvious (bathroom behavior, being quiet in the halls), to the "common sense" (e.g. scissors are for cutting paper, not clothes).  She explained that if you don't teach these things, you can't blame the children for not knowing.

What about library procedures?
It can be tougher to teach library rules and procedures since you don't see the same classes every day.  Some teachers will bring their class in and explain what's expected from them in the library--I've even had teachers take the time to arrange their class in line or on the rug, and this is incredibly helpful--but you can't rely on it.  Make sure you have your own established procedures from the very first day of school.  This will help you, the students, and the teachers.  That's not to say you can't change and adapt as the year goes on, but it's vital to start strong.

Something I started doing to have every single class, no matter what grade, line up when they came into the library.  I put red tape on the ground so they would know where to line up, and after a few weeks of practicing this, they knew exactly what was expected of them: put your books in the book drop, and then line up quietly.  I would wait until all of the students were ready (facing me, voices off, bodies still) and give them a quick overview of what we'd be doing that day and what I expected.  If we were going to the story rug, students knew what path to take to walk there (because I modeled it for them early on and we practiced walking around the tables, not through them), and if we were going to the tables, students knew where their seats were.

Have library rules posted that are easy for students to see and follow.  Make sure you go over these, and bring students' attention back to them as needed.  One piece of advice I've gotten is don't make too many rules: 3-5 basic ones should be enough.  Too many rules=you going crazy trying to enforce them.  All of your rules should come back to creating a positive, respectful learning environment.

I also had a procedure for book checkout.  When students had their books picked out, they would line up behind the red tape by the circ desk (duck tape: teachers' secret weapon) and wait their turn to come up to the desk.  Having them stay behind the tape kept an aisle open and prevented everyone from crowding the desk.  Getting kids to stay behind the tape took a lot of practice (and I mean a lot), but it was worth it.  (Another tip: encourage students to keep each other accountable.  If someone crosses the line (literally, ha), another student can politely remind them to step back.  This is a good way to delegate without encouraging tattling or creating more work for you.)

These are just a few things that have worked for me and that I plan on incorporating this year.  Please share your own tips and tricks for a smooth start--and good luck; you can do it!