Bridgeport, CT • Brooklyn, NY • Hartford, CT • New Haven, CT

Achievement First – New Staff Training

Classroom Routines & Expectations

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(Stomp-Stomp-Clap) … 4XYou’ve got to Read, Baby, Read (Say

What?)You’ve got to Read, Baby, Read

The more I read, the more I knowThe more I know, the smarter I growThe smarter I grow, the stronger my

voiceWhile speaking my mind or making

my choiceYou’ve got to Read, Baby, Read (Say

What?)You’ve got to Read, Baby, Read

You’ve got to Read!And Graduate COLLEGE!

- Harriet J. Ball

Read, Baby, Read!

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Aims

MINDSET:GTWBAT believe deep in their bones that they

need to create a detailed, written, comprehensive PLAN for their classroom culture.

ACTIONS:GTWBAT articulate WHY routines must be

planned – and to what level of detail they need to be planned.

GTWBAT plan in detail the WHAT and WHY for an expectation/routine.

GTWBAT create an effective lesson plan that teaches students – in great detail – exactly how to do a routine/expectations.

From the Essentials• Both teacher and scholars demonstrate a palpable

sense of urgency and purpose in the classroom. For scholars, this means that they eagerly “jump” to it, readily volunteer with little to no prompting, and execute the routines efficiently.

• Scholars experience no down time waiting for the teacher as every minute of instructional time is maximized.

• Scholars and teachers share in the responsibility for the routines in the classroom that drive the pace of the lesson.

• The teachers are able to “sweat the small stuff” without having an impact on lesson pacing, through the use of efficient verbal and non-verbal cues.

• Expectations have been taught so clearly and consistently that the teacher gives very few reminders.

• Teacher always provides rationale for scholar behavior.

• Rationale is appropriate for the situation (can be teacher authority, extrinsic, or intrinsic).

• There is no need to ask scholars to “Do it Again.”• There are few to no instances of off-task behavior.• It doesn’t feel like a lot of work to get the class to

100%.

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Agenda

Getting pumped upThe Teacher In ActionVegas, Baby!Spring TrainingSuper Clear PictureWhat & Why – A PlanSome Resources A few thoughts (if time)Get to Work!Back TogetherThis is the ROOM

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A Frightening Conclusion

I have come to a frightening conclusion.I am the decisive element in the classroom.It is my personal approach that creates the climate.It is my daily mood that makes the weather.As a teacher I possess tremendous power to makea child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument ofinspiration.I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.In all situations, it is my response that decideswhether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated,and a child humanized or de-humanized.                 

-- Haim Ginott, Between Teacher and Child

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The Teacher …

The Teacher is the Key Variable

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PLAN on having a Great Class Culture

Do you want to be the right kind of variable? Do you want to be the teacher with the great classroom

culture?

PLAN

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Vegas, Baby!

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A useful way of thinking about school culture is a Las Vegas Casino.

Why? From the moment you step through the front door, everything (and thereare a whole lot of things in this everything) is designed for one simple reason –to have people spend their hard -earned money. And the casino operators havebecome incredibly effective at creating a ‘culture’ that achieves their goals. How do they do this?

Successful restaurants do the same. How will you?

At Achievement First, we are constantly striving to create systems, structures,routines, rituals, etc… that simultaneously maximize school-wide consistencyfrom class to class AND maximize the individual creativity and achievement ofteachers and students. For us, it is critical that everything about the schoolalways remains focused on achieving the highest possible quality ofmanagement, instruction, and discipline so that students can develop theacademic and character skills they need to succeed.

What are the ULTRA-SPECIFIC elements that we will need to create the kind ofschool culture we want?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Viva, Las Vegas! (Thanks to Dave Levin. )

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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Viva, Las Vegas!

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Management – Get Ready for Spring Training

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Effective Management

Management is a working

proactive plan designedto minimize the number

ofclassroom / schoolwideinterruptions andproblemsDiscipline is what you do when theseinterruptions and problems occur anyway. Your schools will have clear discipline

systems,and they will go over those with you in the

nexttwo weeks.

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95%

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Clear Picture – High Resolution!

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SUPER Clear Picture

I have a VERY CLEARpicture in my head of

what I want myclassroom to sound,look, and feel like.

And I mean VERYclear. And, verycomprehensive (allclassroom elements).

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SUPER Clear Picture

Create a written detail forevery element:

WHAT it looks, sounds,and feels like (and whatexactly the teacher andstudents will be doing)

WHY we are doing it thisway

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Let’s Look at the School &

Classroom Culture Planning

Tool

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Routine / ExpectationHands down while others arespeaking

WhatWhen another student is speakingor answering a question, handsshould go down, and studentsshould track the speaker. Once the speaker is done, hands can go back up.

WhyWhen students have their hands up whileothers are speaking, it signals thatstudents are more interested in "makingtheir point" than listening to others. Sincegood listeners track speakers and try toreally understand what is said, one wayto show this is to keep your hand downuntil the speaker is done.

Example Super-Clear Picture

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Example Super-Clear Picture

Routine / ExpectationHolding open doors for the line

WhatThe first student opens doors, standing infront of the door (holding the door openwith his/her back) to hold it open for others. Thestudent holding the door stands as close to thedoor as possible in order to give the other studentsample space to pass (no "accidents" of trippingover feet, etc.). Students say "thank you" and"you're welcome" in a normal, non-silly, regularvolume voice. The door holder becomes the endperson in line.

WHY1) It is a polite thing to do to hold doors open, 2) Itis more efficient if one student holds the door, andit's faster if this student simply joins the end of theline, 3) By holding the door in front of the door, theteacher can still see the door holder, 4) It's polite tosay please and thank you.

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Not clear enough …

In your long history as a teacher (read: in somecases not that much ), where has a lack of

havinga clear vision, teaching & reinforcing this vision

withyour students, and being clearly in charge hurt

yourclassroom culture?

What did you do differently to make it better? … or

What do you plan to do to make it better?

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Super-Clear Routines

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Teach routines explicitly

I will teach andreinforce expectationsand routines to my class

sothat they know how to

reachthis clear picture.

I will start the year strong.

My first few weeks of school will be super-heavyon teaching these

routines.

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Let’s Look at the AF

Routine Planning Tool

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Teaching a Routine (see: TEMPLATE)Aims

Student Investment / Hook

Step-by-Step

Modeling by Teacher

Guided Practice

Independent Practice

Written / Oral Assessment (1-Steps, 2Why)

Performance Assessment (Do itCorrectly One Last Time)

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Teaching a RoutineAims• SWBAT list the steps of entering the classroom.• SWBAT explain why it’s important to enter the

classroom this way.• SWBAT enter the classroom successfully following all

the steps.

Student Investment / Hook• 1) We have a TON to learn, and time is better spent

reading and learning math than transitioning into the class.

• 2) The door to the class is the threshold to the kingdom of learning; we need to make sure that we have a way to enter that focuses all of us on learning.

• 3) We are often coming from lunch or PE or something else where we are fired up, and we need a clear, calm routine to get us back to Earth.

• 4) We want to be respectful and not disturb other classes.

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Teaching a RoutineStep-by-Step

1) Line Expectations: Walk from the previous class in line order (following all line expectations).

2) Mr. Jenkins at door: Mr. Jenkins will stand with his back to the doorway so that he can see the hall and the room … Mr. Jenkins will have your Do Now/Quick Questions on the board.

3) The line leader will stop at the doorway.

4) Silence in halls: For the entire transition, all students in the hall are silent (not quiet, silent), facing forward with hands to the side, off the walls, and moving up as the line moves up.

5) Shake hand / Hungry: Mr. Jenkins will shake each students hand (following handshake expectations, including eye contact); Mr. Jenkins will say, “Ready?” and the student will respond, “Hungry for Knowledge” … Mr. Jenkins may say something else to the student … all other students in line remain silent. If your handshake/greeting isn’t up to Mr. Jenkins’ standards, he will either ask you to do it again or go to the back of the line. Both should be done immediately and without any drama.

6) Enter, sit, QQ: After shaking Mr. Jenkins’ hand, the student will go directly to his/her seat, set up his/her desk (according to desk set-up expectations) and start the Do Now/Quick Questions. There are NO questions to Mr. Jenkins at this time, no special requests … just work; if you are truly stumped, assign yourself independent reading.

7) All work silently / no questions: All students at their desks are silently working. There is no reason to interact with a neighbor (no “I need a pen, what does that say,” etc.); again, assign yourself IR if you have an issue.

8) Mr. Jenkins enters: After all students have entered, Mr. Jenkins will enter. Then, all Do Now/Quick Question expectations apply and the other parts of class will start soon.

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Modeling by TeacherStart in the classroom with students sittingat desks. Go over all the steps (on theoverhead), standing at the “doorway”(imagined) and using one student as amodel of what to do.

Guided Practice1) Ask for a volunteer group of 3-5 students try it. Iam still the teacher in the skit. Ask students toexplain step-by-step what to do. Ask the rest of theclass to pay attention to see if they missedanything. Ask for critiques.

2) Do the same for another couple of groups of 3-5students.

3) Ask for additional WHY reasons since they nowknow the routine.

Teaching a Routine

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Independent Practice• Entire class practices the actual routine

by going out of the class (emphasize the leaving class routine). The students should do the entire thing 2-3 times. Critique along the way, and ask for student critiques. Don’t make them explain the step-by-step while they are doing it – more “dress rehearsal”

Written / Oral Assessment (Why, How)• Two question exit ticket: 1) List the

steps of entering the classroom, 2) Explain three reasons WHY it’s important to enter the classroom this way.

Teaching a Routine

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A few more thoughts

(I can’t help myself)

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Be in charge

I will be in charge of myclassroom.

- First Day / First Instruction

- Mr. / Mrs. - Visibility (see all

students) - Control the Door /

Greetings - Rituals designed by ME - Confidence - Insist not Ask

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Make the INVESTMENT

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Make the INVESTMENT!• Classroom management is a high-yield

investment. The extra time and effort it requires, especially at the beginning of the year, is repaid many times over in the long run.

• You cannot expect students to behave in a certain way unless you have taught them how.

• We must teach behaviors (shaking hands, passing in papers, taking notes, lining up, raising hands, entering rooms, sitting with focus) as explicitly as we teach academic skills.

• We cannot ASSUME that students have the behavioral skills to handle tasks. We must teach these skills explicitly.

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Never Lose!

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Putting it all together

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Cue the Video. All of this in action Let’s look at a semi-good teacher trying to set

expectations with his class. 0:18 to 15:41

Expectations and routinesGreetings Shaking HandsChairs in/out Passing out papers

Questions to considerWhat are the expectations for students? How were those

taught?What possible student errors were anticipated? How

were those taught?How were student mistakes corrected / high expectations

maintained?How clear were the motivation / rationale for different

expectations?What could have been better?

What is your style? How are you going to make thishappen in your classroom?

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Cue the Video, Part 2

• 4:20: Door Entry Routine Middle• Where are the teachers standing?• What are the keys for teacher actions,

student actions?• What could go wrong? How did the teacher

anticipate?• What could be better?

• 5:15: Door Entry Routine Elementary• What does the teacher do to help students

follow the routine?• How can it be better?• What is the tone / feel?

Cue the Video, Part 27:16: Transition to Small Group Reading

• What are the SPECIFIC student expectations – mouth, body, hands?

• What are the Steps of this routine?• How long does it take? How does the teacher keep it

fast – what is she doing?• How can it be better?

• 9:28: Elementary Start-of-Day – Hype then Focus

• What are the SPECIFIC expectations for students – body, mouth, hands?

• Where is the teacher? What is he doing to enforce the expectations?

• Where is the co-teacher?• How can it be better?

• 10:48: Middle Start-of-Day – Hype then Focus

• What are the SPECIFIC expectations for students – body, mouth, hands?

• Where is the teacher? What is she doing to enforce the expectations?

• How can it be better?

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Cue the Video, Part 2

• 12:04: Class Exit Elementary• What are the SPECIFIC student expectations – mouth,

body, hands?• What are the Steps of this routine?• Where is the teacher? What is she doing?• Where is the co-teacher? What is she doing?• How can it be better?

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Reflection

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Now, You Work

Start Forming Your Picture

1) Create two rows of the ClassroomProcedures plan, including the WHAT, WHY, andHOW for each row. __ Is the WHAT described in clear, easy-to-follow detail

that includes what it looks and sounds like? __ Is the WHY described in a clear, compelling

way? 2) Share / critique with another teacher or awonderful AFer

3) Create ONE detailed plan using the AFTeaching Expectations and Routines template(Word Document)

4) Share / critique with another teacher or awonderful AFer. __ Was the aim clear, bite-sized, measurable? __ Is it clear WHY this routine is important? Do I have a clear, compelling way to share that with students?

__ Have I mapped out Step-by-Step in clear detail what this looks, sounds, and feels like?__ Am I modeling this in a clear way?__ Is there time for Guided Practice?__ Is there enough Independent Practice?__ Do I have a written and/or oral assessment ? __ Does it include the steps? The Why?__ Do I have a final Performance Assessment? Do I insist on them doing it right a final time?

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Some Ideas• Throwing away trash• Moving from the rug back to

desks• Going to the bathroom• Lunch line• SLANTing• Student Organization / Desk Set-

up• Raising Hands / Getting the

teacher’s attention• Setting up header on student

work• What good independent reading

looks like

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Deep in your bones?

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Aims Check

MINDSET:GTWBAT believe deep in their bones that they

need to create a detailed, written, comprehensive PLAN for their classroom culture.

ACTIONS:GTWBAT articulate WHY routines must be

planned – and to what level of detail they need to be planned.

GTWBAT plan in detail the WHAT and WHY for an expectation/routine.

GTWBAT create an effective lesson plan that teaches students – in great detail – exactly how to do a routine/expectations.

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Required Reading

The First Days of School, Harry Wong

With All Due Respect, Ronald Morrish

“Realizing the Vision” from One Day, WendyKopp

No Excuses, Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom(chapters 2 and 3)

“The Power of Context” from The Tipping Point,

Malcolm Gladwell