Session 3 - Addressing low-level behaviour

Session overview:

Establishing and reinforcing routines can help to create an effective learning environment.

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To support you to do this, in this session you will explore:

• What routines are and why they are important
• Common classroom routines:

- Greeting pupils at the door and settling task

- Transitioning to and from the carpet

- Getting pupils’ attention

- Exit routines

• How to plan and teach a routine

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Approximate session length: 40 minutes

What are routines and why are they important?�

Classroom routines are procedures that are well established to ensure pupils complete tasks or transitions in an appropriate and time-efficient way.

Reflection�

Think about your current classroom practice and consider the following questions.

• What routines do you currently have in place?
• How effective are these routines?
• Do all your pupils understand and follow these routines?
• Are there any tasks or transitions your pupils often make during lessons that would benefit from a more effective routine?

You now have 15 minutes to explore one of the routines below that you think would benefit your teaching practice the most:

• ‘Greeting Pupils at the Door’ and ‘Settling Task’
• ‘Transitioning to and from the Carpet’
• ‘Getting Pupils’ Attention’
• ‘Exit Routine’

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1. Greeting pupils at the door��

• From the moment pupils arrive at your classroom door to the time you begin teaching, there is an opportunity to clearly set expectations and build relationships with pupils in your classroom.
• One way to do this is to greet pupils at the door as they arrive. By meeting your pupils at the door as they enter your classroom, you can build relationships with your pupils, positively reinforce behavioural expectations and create a warm environment before the lesson even begins. By being welcoming, friendly, and setting up a predictable start to the lesson, you will begin to develop a trusting relationship with your pupils.

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1. Greeting pupils at the door

What makes it successful?

Exactly how you set up this routine may vary depending on the age of your pupils or your school’s policies, but here are some good steps you can take to make it successful:

Step 1: Stand at or around the door or entrance to the classroom. 

This will enable you to:

• Monitor pupils’ moods and behaviours as they enter the classroom
• See both inside the classroom and out onto the corridor or playground

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1.Greeting pupils at the door

Step 2: Positively interact with pupils as they come into the class to help build trust and respect.

This could be:

• Greeting pupils by saying, “Good Morning”, to make your pupils feel welcome
• Asking a relationship-building question like, “How did the football match go?”
• Simply giving a non-verbal positive interaction like a warm smile
• Providing positive reinforcement to pupils who are meeting your expectations, for example, “Thank you Mohammed for remembering to put your homework in the box”

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1. Greeting pupils at the door

Step 3: If necessary, provide corrective statements to individual pupils or the entire class to reinforce your expectations.

For example, you might:

• Remind children of the behaviour you want to see in a respectful way, for example, “Remember, we should have our shirts tucked so we’re looking smart”
• Use a positive frame such as, “I’m looking forward to seeing you concentrate really hard today”
• Avoid negative comments like, “I don’t want you getting distracted again like you did last lesson”. This is a new lesson for you and your pupils, so start with a clean slate

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1. Greeting pupils at the door

If you also greet parents at the door, for example in Early Years or KS1, this is a great opportunity to build relationships with them too. Sharing a quick comment about how well their child did yesterday at a task or activity, or the progress they are making in a subject, will support you to build positive relationships with the families of your pupils. This in turn can improve pupils’ motivation, behaviour and academic success.

�1a. Settling task�

Another routine you may wish to think about adopting at the start of the school year is introducing a settling task.

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A settling task is a short task that pupils can complete the beginning of each lesson without any direct instruction from you. This type of task ensures pupils are focused on learning from the moment they enter your classroom, helping to create an effective learning environment.

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By providing a settling task, you reduce the opportunities for low-level disruption such as talking or loitering. It also has the added bonus of affording you time to greet the pupils at the door, knowing everyone has a task to be getting on with while you do this.

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�1a. Settling task�

What makes this successful?

Here are some ways you can make a settling task successful:

• No direct instruction required – pupils should be able to see the activity and complete it immediately without asking for help from you or their peers. For younger pupils who can’t read directions or instructions, it might be helpful to model the task the day before or use a task they are already familiar with so when they enter, they can start the task without requiring too much instruction.
• Observable – if you are in KS2 or above, the settling task works best if it involves some writing to make it more rigorous and engaging – and so you can see they’re completing it.

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�1a.Settling task�

• 5 minutes or less – this is a short task to begin the lesson or the day so it shouldn’t take any longer than 5 minutes to complete.
• Review or preview – the task should be based on a review of learning from a previous lesson or a preview of the lesson that is about to begin.
• Feedback – briefly review and feedback on the answers – ideally taking no more than 5 minutes. This may mean prioritising which parts of the activity to review with the whole class that will be highest leverage for your pupils.

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�1.Greeting pupils at the door and settling task in action��

Choose the video that’s most suitable for you. While watching, think about the following questions:

• What is the impact of these routines on pupils’ behaviour and learning at the start of the lesson?
• Do these routines meet the success criteria?
• Is there anything that would make the routine even better?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC_fE27byqc&feature=emb_title

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-7dYeoA90Q&feature=emb_title

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�1.Greeting pupils at the door and settling task in action�Here’s a reminder of the success criteria:�

Greeting pupils at the door

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Settling task

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• Step 1: Stand at or around the door or entrance to the classroom
• Step 2: Positively interact with pupils as they come into the class
• Step 3: If necessary, provide pre-corrective statements to individual pupils or the entire class

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• No direct instruction required
• Observable
• 5 minutes or less
• Review or preview
• Feedback

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�1. Reflection�

Think about your teaching practice and consider the following questions.

• How do you greet and settle pupils at the beginning of a lesson?
• Is this successful? If so, why? If not, how could you make this routine better?

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2. Transitioning to and from the carpet��

Transitioning from the carpet to tables or independent tasks is an activity that happens frequently in a Primary classroom – especially those in Early Years and Key Stage 1. Therefore, it is one routine that you could prioritise at the beginning of the school year to ensure it is well established and efficient.

2. Transitioning to and from the carpet��

What makes this routine successful?

When creating a routine for this, as with any other routine, it is helpful to ensure instructions are clear and concise, so pupils know what is expected of them. It is therefore useful if instructions are:

• Specific and observable – they make the behaviours pupils are expected to exhibit explicit. This also makes it easy to observe whether pupils are doing them or not. For example, “Stand behind your chairs”, rather than, “Be ready”.
• Sequential – they are given in the order that you want pupils to follow them.
• Manageable – use fewer words to make the instruction easier for pupils to process and remember. You can replace words with numbers or gestures to make them even quicker to deliver.

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�2. Transitioning to and from the carpet in action��

Choose one of the videos below to watch how a teacher manages the transition to and from the carpet.

As you watch, consider the following:

• What impact does this routine have on the classroom environment and pupils’ learning?
• Are the success criteria being met?
• Is there anything that would make this routine better?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWjYkB6KMf4&feature=emb_title

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDp24PVq_D4&feature=emb_title

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�2. Reflection�

Think about your teaching practice and consider the following questions.

• How do you manage the transition between carpet, tables, and other activities?
• Is this successful? If so, why? If not, how could you make this routine better?

3. Getting pupils’ attention��

• Getting pupils’ attention is a key skill for any teacher to master but can be very tricky to do effectively every time. Creating and explicitly teaching routines that reinforce your expectations about pupils’ attention can really support this.
• There are numerous strategies you can use to get pupils’ attention – clapping a pattern, counting down, using an instrument, putting your hand in the air, and so on. Whichever strategy you use, it’s important that you use consistent language or non-verbal signals to support pupils’ understanding of what you are expecting them to do.

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3. Getting pupils’ attention��

What makes this routine successful?

When creating a routine for this, as with any other routine, it is important that you are clear on what you want pupils to do. It is therefore useful if instructions are:

• Specific and observable – they make the behaviours that pupils are expected to exhibit explicit. This also makes it easy to observe whether pupils are doing them or not. For example, saying, “Pencils down and eyes to me”, is observable. Conversely, saying, “Pay attention”, is vague and abstract.
• Sequential – they are given in the order that you want pupils to follow them. For example, “Put your pens down, close your books, and eyes on me”.
• Manageable – use fewer words to make the instruction easier for pupils to process and remember. You can replace words with numbers or gestures to make them even quicker to deliver.

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�3. Getting pupils’ attention in action��

Watch one of the videos below to see how a teacher gets pupils’ attention by being clear on what they want pupils to do. As you watch, consider the following questions:

• What makes their instructions effective?
• How do they maintain expectations and ensure all pupils follow their instructions?
• What impact does this routine have on the classroom environment and pupils’ learning?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6ndWDh01BI&feature=emb_title

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8F58ysBdrg&feature=emb_title

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�3. Reflection�

Think about your teaching practice and consider the following questions.

• How do you currently gain pupils’ attention?
• Is this successful? If so, why? If not, how could you make this routine better?

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4. Exit routine�

• You should hold and maintain high expectations of your pupils from the moment they enter your classroom to the moment they leave, which includes how they exit your classroom.
• Once a lesson has ended, it can be tempting to encourage pupils to leave as quickly as possible to give you time to prepare for your next lesson. But this can cause a rowdy exit and may also leave you with a messy classroom that you have to tidy up – something you probably don’t have time for. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to leave time at the end of each lesson for an efficient exit routine.

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4. Exit routine�

This might depend on your school’s expectations and ethos, but it is helpful if:

• Tables and learning spaces are tidy
• Chairs are pushed under
• Pupils leave the classroom in an orderly fashion

When creating a routine for this, as with any other routine, it is important that you are clear on what you want pupils to do. It is therefore useful if instructions are:

• Specific and observable – they make the behaviours that pupils are expected to exhibit explicit. This also makes it easy to observe whether pupils are doing them or not. For example, saying, “Stand quietly behind your chair”, is observable. Conversely, saying, “Get ready to leave”, is vague and abstract.
• Sequential – they are given in the order that you want pupils to follow them. For example, “Pass your books to the end of your row and pack your belongings away in your bag”.
• Manageable – use fewer words to make the instruction easier for pupils to process and remember. You can replace words with numbers or gestures to make them even quicker to deliver.

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�4. Exit routine in action��

Watch the video of pupils exiting the classroom in the phase of your choice and consider the following questions.

• What makes this exit routine effective?
• How do the pupils respond to it?
• How does the routine demonstrate the teacher’s high expectations?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIR17nlB7HE&feature=emb_title

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFqmgbEFMd0&feature=emb_title

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�4. Reflection�

Think about your teaching practice and consider the following questions.

• How do pupils currently exit your classroom?
• Is this successful? If so, why? If not, how could you make this routine better?

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�The importance of teaching and practising��

Here Tom Bennett explains why explicitly teaching and practicing routines is so important. Whilst watching, consider the following questions.

• Why is it important to explicitly teach routines?
• What are the five tips that Tom outlines for when teaching behavioural expectations and routines?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dycXVmXPIM&feature=emb_title

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�How to teach effective routines�

1. Be clear on what you want pupils to do�When creating any routine, it is important that you are clear on what you want pupils to do. It is therefore useful if you plan your instructions in advance and ensure that they are:

• Specific and observable – they make the behaviours pupils are expected to exhibit explicit. This also makes it easy to observe whether pupils are doing them or not. For example, saying, “Pencils down and eyes to me” is specific and observable whereas saying, “Pay attention” is vague and abstract.
• Sequential – they are given in the order that you want pupils to follow them. For example, “Put your pens down, close your books, and eyes on me”.
• Manageable – use fewer words to make the instruction easier for pupils to process and remember. You can replace words with numbers or gestures to make them even quicker to deliver.

2. Teach and model your routine in small steps

• Teaching a routine in small steps helps to make it manageable and memorable for pupils. When teaching each step, make your behavioural expectations explicit by modelling the step as you describe it. This helps to build pupils’ mental model of the routine and makes it more likely they will achieve success.

3. Practise your routine at the beginning of the school year until pupils meet your expectations

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