ROUTINES & PROCEDURES

Daily Routines

"This Day in History": Every class will start with a brief (2-5 minute) presentation of historical events that occurred on a specific date to both provide a daily connection to history and extra time for students to become mentally prepared for class.

Class Agenda: After the "This Day in History" segment, I will go over the class agenda for the period, which would list the learning objectives for the day's lesson, the tasks that the students will be working on, and the homework that they will have on the day's lesson (see Absolute & Constitutional Monarchies PowerPoint; slides 1 & 12). I chose this strategy because it is easy to create, helps a teacher plan lessons, gives students a brief overview of what they are going to do in the class as well as what is expected of them (learning targets), and also provides consistency to how the teacher will introduce the day's lesson components.

Bell Ringers/Exit Tickets: Students will complete a review of class material either through a Bell Ringer at the beginning of the next class period or an Exit Ticket at the end of the current class period. I have seen Bell Ringers and Exit Tickets used in a variety of ways to review student learning as a student, as a teacher-observer, and in many practice opportunities in classes at Fisher. These would not only serve as a review tool, but also, if done every day, as a routine piece so students know what to expect at the beginning or end of class as well as another way to take attendance. An example of what my Bell Ringers and Exit Tickets would look like is provided. (Bell Ringers and Exit Tickets can address various portions of the Common Core Learning Standards, depending on the configuration and content.)

Weekly Routines

Current Events Discussion: Every Friday, students will come to class with a current event article (related to history or politics) and a 1-2 page reaction paper about the issue or topic. As a class, the students will briefly present the article and their views or reactions. This discussion and assignment will provide students with another avenue to connect the course and everyday life as well as help develop their critical thinking skills. This will also help prepare them for participation in a democratic society by exposing them to current political issues*.

*Participate in activities that focus on a classroom, school, community, state, or national issue or problem. (Common Core Vertical Articulation and Progression of Social Studies Practices, Grades 9-12: Civic Participation)

Monthly Routines

Monthly Classroom Meetings: Students will participate in monthly classroom meetings either at the beginning of class on the first Monday or last Friday of the month. The reason I would only do these once a month is because high school classes tend to be less than an hour long and teachers need the time to present the course material. (In place of a full classroom meeting every day, I would stand outside the door and, as students walk in, say "hi", address them by their names, and ask them how they are doing because the practice of greeting students at the door provide a sense of acknowledgement and belonging to the students (Kriete & Davis, 2016). When I do conduct classroom meetings, the topic will be related to students' lives (i.e. "Did you do anything exciting over the weekend/break?" or "Anyone doing anything exciting/going anywhere special for break?")

Absolute & Constitutional Monarchies.pptx

Bell Ringer & Exit Ticket.docx

Homework Procedures

Assigning Homework: I have seen various ways to assign homework in my years as a student and Education major including the traditional handing out assignments to the students, having the students pick up the homework on a table by the door when they come into the room, or posting the work online and telling the students to check the Google Classroom. I would do a combination of these by having my students pick up a hard copy of the homework from a table near the door on their way in the room while also providing them with the assignment on their Google Classroom in case of absences or misplaced homework sheets. This will allow the students to get their homework at the beginning of class when they come in and save the teacher time as they will not need to go around the room and hand out the work to everyone. I will also announce the homework at the beginning of class when we go through the class agenda and again at the end of class when students are finishing up their exit tickets or packing up.

Collecting Homework: I have also seen this done in various ways as teachers would go around and collect the homework from each student individually, having students put their homework on a table near the door when they pick up the new homework, or having students submit assignments online through their Google Classroom. I would have my students turn in their daily homework assignments on the table where they pick up the new homework, while they will turn in bigger assignments (projects and essays) online unless otherwise specified by me. Like picking up homework from a table near the door, this will give students a routine as they will know to both pick up and submit homework assignments from the table as they enter the room, giving the teacher more time to diver towards instruction.

Transitions

Beginning of Class: Students will walk into the classroom, pick up the needed course materials for the lesson (homework sheets, Bell Ringer or Exit Ticket sheet, and note or activity packets) and submit their homework from the previous class on a table near the door. I will have the "This Day in History" Segment up and will present it when all students are seated and the class period has officially started. Then, I will put the daily agenda up on the board and go over it so they can write down their assignments and give them a brief look at what is to come during the class period. (This should also give them time to shift their focus from their previous class to mine.) Then they will complete their Bell Ringer (if there is one) and the lesson will begin.

End of Class: At the end of class, students will complete their Exit Tickets (if there is one) and I will put the agenda back up on the board to remind the students of their assignments and any important dates coming up. I will also give my students a couple of minutes before the bell rings to pack up and mentally shift gears for their next class.