Classroom routines

                                                

During this week I observed three lessons. Each of them was connected with Christmas or winter.

In this entry I want to focus on my reflections about classroom routines which I have noticed while attending these classes. 

Phonics is the first lesson I have seen. It was conducted in the first grade. What was surprising, was the fact that this time teacher did not pay any attention to pronunciation - instead of this he gave students Christmas task. They were supposed to draw the Santa Claus. They had 45 minutes for that and could do it individually according to their own ideas. Unfortunately, I did not see any certain procedure for entering the classroom - students and teacher jus greeted each other by saying "Good morning". In the beginning of the lesson teacher did not check the attendance or homework - he just said to pupils that today they are going to do something different than usual, gave them instructions and they started working. When teacher wants to gain students' attention, he uses verbal signals or snaps his fingers. Moreover if children had question during the work, they mostly  walked to the teacher's desk - only some of them raised hands and waited for the teacher's reaction. I also want to mention that if someone finished the work earlier, was supposed to hang the drawing on the cork board and wait for the break - in my opinion this solution caused some disruptive behaviour. Regarding the way of finishing the lesson it was not anything special - just saying something like "Ok, that is all for today, thank you and see you soon".

Next, I have seen English lesson in which teacher put the accent on practising listening skills.There was "Frosty the Snowman" cartoon and after that teacher asked pupils questions about it. Difference in the classroom routines between this class and previous one is that teacher did not just say "Hello" to students in the beginning of the lesson but he also asked them how they are feeling. Moreover, he used only verbal ways to gain children's attention. I also want to mention that after this lesson was time for a lunch break. For this reason students were obliged to follow certain procedure at the end of the lesson - they had to wash their hands, take their lunchbox, stay in a row and wait for the signal from the teacher that they can go to the canteen.

Last lesson I have attended was a substitute in the second grade. The mentor teacher made with students exercises which enable them practising Christmas vocabulary. While entering the classroom she gave each student a high five but on the other hand she ended the lesson in the ordinary way. I have noticed that this time children were only raising their hands and waiting for the reply when they needed help. 

During each class pupils could leave the classroom (for example when they had to go to the toilet) without any problems. What is interesting, there was no homework set in the first grade as well as in the second grade. I can suppose that there is no homework at all because I haven't noticed any from the beginning of practise.

To sum up, I think that classroom routines are important due to the fact that they let students feel comfortable, safe as they know what is going to happen for instance in the beginning of the lesson or when they finish the task earlier than others. Moreover, I will implement some routines because they can prevent the disruptive behaviour.