Reviewing Classroom Procedures after Winter Break

Are you planning to spend time reviewing classroom procedures during your first week back after break?

In a perfect world, we can jump right back into routines in January and pick up right where we left off before winter break. Right?! If your mentality is to jump right back in, you may find yourself pulling out your hair because no one seems to remember your classroom procedures.

Some of your students can jump right back in and remember your expectations. However, don’t assume that all of your students can. I encourage you to take some time to review your routines in a fun way so that you have a smoother transition into next quarter.

Board Games for Reviewing Procedures

Students love playing games! Using board games makes reviewing classroom procedures so much more fun.

All you need is a board game and some cards with classroom procedure questions. Many games will work for this. Some suggestions include Candyland, Connect Four, Chutes and Ladders, or even Checkers. Pick games that students are likely to have played already, or that you have played in your classroom. This will save you time going over the rules of the game.

To play, students take turns answering a procedure card. If they answer correctly, they get to move on the board. If they are incorrect, their turn is skipped.

Head over to THIS blog post to read more details and tips, and grab your free game cards to use for review.

Student Presentations of Procedures

It is important for students to collaborate and present to their classmates. This is a great time for students to practice speaking and listening skills.

Divide your class into groups of 2-4 students. Give each group some butcher paper, markers, and a specific procedure. These procedures might include:

• restroom procedures
• centers procedures
• unpacking and pack up procedures
• classroom library procedures
• recess rules and procedures
• lunch rules and procedures
• pencil and classroom supplies procedures
• fast finisher procedures

You get the idea!

Students can then work together to create a poster about that procedure. Do you have access to technology in your classroom? Instead of posters, consider having students create Power Points of their assigned procedure.

After the students have created their poster or presentation, have the groups take turns presenting the information to their classmates.

Find Someone Who Review Activity

This activity is one of my favorite activities because it gets students moving and talking with each other.

Hand out a Find Someone Who game board to each student. Students will then walk around the room looking for someone who can explain a procedure on the board. If they found someone that can correctly explain the procedure, they will write that student’s name in that box.

Be sure to tell students that they must find a different person for each box!

You can grab the Find Someone Who game board and procedure game cards for FREE by heading over to THIS post.

Be sure to take some time to welcome your students back and review your expectations and classroom procedures. You will be glad that you took the extra time to do this!

Have a Not So Wimpy day,