Comments on: Making It Work: Positive Procedures

By: Amber

Amber — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 23:41:33 +0000

In reply to andy mcbreen. Can you tell me more about how that works?

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 01:44:27 +0000

In reply to Diane J..

Here is a suggestion. Keep the door locked. Yes! But put a flat magnet over the hole (the ones you can get from the pharmacy or real estate agents, etc) The kids can come in and out without interruption. If there is a lock down, just pull the magnet off the hole. Is it possible for you to go to the classroom to help get the kids out the door and on time for your class? If not, the minute you see your students turn on your music and have them enter walking the perimeter of a rug. I used a very long rope and made a rectangular shape. The students had to follow along everything I did…ways of walking, marching, hands in different places…anything which gets them focused on YOU and what THEY NEED TO DO, which usually is MOVE. I then had my students go to the carpet spots and continued on with class. It works like a charm. Just think it through.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 19:44:05 +0000

It is also important to remember to review the expectations mid year. We may be thinking “we have been doing this all year, folks! or “really, you are fifth graders, you have been doing it since kindergarten,” but to the kids they follow the rules of the music class a couple of times a week, with a lot of other stuff in between. Posting expectations for lining up, how the books should look when put away, where completed work should be turned in is helpful both for the students and the teacher, because then you can just point to the sign.

By: Diane J.

Diane J. — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 15:28:15 +0000

I struggle with Kindergarten music being within 10 minutes of the beginning of school. The K classroom teachers struggle to get to specials on time. The children have real difficulty getting settled in and needing to go to the bathroom, etc. I do not have a bathroom in my classroom, so the children would need to go down the hallway. We need to lock our doors all day long, so it is VERY difficult to get the students back on track when the student knocks on the door to get back in. Does anyone have Kindergarten music first and if so, how do you get them into your activities?

By: andy mcbreen

andy mcbreen — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 18:38:40 +0000

Each of My students grade Themselves at the end of every class. I agree or disagree with this and enter the grade in our electronic grade book. This holds Them accountable for Their behavior and participation.

By: Karen Sweet

Karen Sweet — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 18:36:04 +0000

I also like to practice with all classes at the beginning of the year, my expectations about entering and exiting the music classroom. We practice walking out in order and how to walk down the ramp outside my classroom – emphasizing walking! Then we practice where to stand and how to stand quietly before entering the classroom. It has made a big difference in beginning and ending the music time with my students!

By: Jenn Fougere

Jenn Fougere — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 13:45:14 +0000

As a music specialist, we know how challenging it can be to get quick marks for each class within a day…I find it helpful to have each class sit in circle formation in Alphabetical order so that when doing dictation or some type of hands on activity, I can quickly gather 25 marks within a couple minutes by going down my class list checking Yes or No or some other marking system i.e.: E, VG, S, RS.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 12:13:15 +0000

This article is spot on! I stress this very point to new colleagues in my interns all the time. If your students don’t know what is expected, how can they meet the expectations of your classroo?. Too many teachers under-value that in the first weeks of school and then pay for it later. Teaching routines and procedures is job number one in my classroom at the beginning of every school year. One of the ways that I sell it to students is I tell them that they first need to be trained just like teachers before we can have a successful school year. After the training is complete, each student gets a sticker that says “Certified music class trained”. Because I use this tactic, I can later refer back to it in class when ever a procedure is key to what we are about to do. I will say to the class, “Let’s see if we remember our training”. I also focus on expectations rather than rules. Once a student came to school wearing a shirt that said, “I know what the rules are. Let me show you how to break them”. Rules typically are not specific to the teacher, but expectations are. I find that students are more uncomfortable with not meeting expectations then they are with breaking rules. Just an observation and a strategy that works for me.

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 21:16:07 +0000

“Sticks at Rest.” If students hold the two rhythm sticks together in their laps, no time is wasted telling them to stop playing. Holly – teaching procedures at the beginning of the school year is a wise use of precious teaching time! Thanks for sharing!