When I taught fifth grade, I was very intentional about teaching our morning routine. I made a poster. I carefully modeled each step. We practiced what it should look and sound like. And it worked. Within a few days, my students could enter the classroom, unpack, get settled, and begin the day with a calm, predictable flow.
Our end-of-day routine was another story.
Every afternoon, it felt like a tornado blew through our classroom. Papers were everywhere. Shoes and jackets were left behind. Students who had seemed perfectly capable all day suddenly sprinted down the hallway, trying to catch their buses.
I could not understand it.
We had created a list of everything students needed to do. The steps were posted. And really, the afternoon routine was almost the exact opposite of the morning routine they had already mastered. They knew how to do all of these things.
Or so I thought.
Finally, the morning after another chaotic dismissal, I called a class meeting. I pointed to the list and explained my frustration. Our morning routine worked beautifully. Why did everything fall apart at the end of the day? One student raised her hand, “Maybe it’s because you showed us how to do the morning routine,” she said, “but you didn’t show us how to do the afternoon routine.”
And that was the moment I wanted to crawl out the classroom window.
She was absolutely right. I had listed the steps. I had reminded students what to do. I assumed that because they could complete similar tasks in the morning, they could reverse the process at the end of the day, but I had never actually taught them how I wanted the end of our day to work.
Knowing the Steps Isn’t the Same as Knowing the Routine
Over the next three days, we slowed down and modeled each part of our dismissal routine. We talked about what was similar to our morning routine—and what was different. Students practiced gathering their belongings, cleaning their spaces, and preparing to leave without creating complete chaos.
It took time, and once we invested that time, the end of our day changed. Dismissal became calmer, more efficient, and much more pleasant for everyone.
Months later, my students were walking leisurely down the hallway to their buses while students from another class rushed past us. One of my students looked at me and said, “It looks like we need to go model for them, too.”
The lesson had definitely stuck.
Start With What Students Need to Do
At the beginning of the school year, it is tempting to make a list of every routine students will need to know—and then try to teach all of them immediately. The tough part is that students cannot spend six hours a day learning procedures. And they certainly won’t remember 37 routines taught during one very long first-day presentation.
Instead of asking: What routines should I teach?
Try asking: What will my students need to do successfully today?
Think through the day in manageable chunks.
What will students need to do when they enter the room?
How will they know where to put their belongings?
What will they do when they finish an activity?
How will they get the materials they need?
What will help them transition into the next part of the day?
The goal is not to teach every routine you might use all year. It is to identify the routines students need to experience success right now.
Identify Your Non-Negotiables
Your first week non-negotiables will depend on your students, your grade level, your classroom, and what you’re asking students to do.
A kindergarten teacher may need to teach students exactly where to put their backpacks and how to move to the gathering area.
A fifth-grade teacher may prioritize entering the room, organizing materials, responding to an attention signal, and transitioning between learning spaces.
A middle school teacher may need students to know how to enter, find the posted task, begin working, participate in a lab group, or reset materials before leaving class.
Older students still need routines taught. They simply need different routines taught in an age-respectful way.
Here are four questions that can help you decide what comes first:
What will students actually be asked to do today?
Which parts of the day could become confusing, inefficient, or frustrating without a shared routine?
Which routines must be taught before students encounter those moments?
Which routines can wait until students actually need them?
You may discover that responding to your attention signal is a day-one non-negotiable, while putting math workbooks in a specific bin can wait until you fully launch into math curriculum in two weeks.
That isn’t putting off something important. It is teaching it when students have a reason to understand and use it.
Teach Routines Before You Need Them
Once you identify your non-negotiables, consider when students will first encounter each one. If students will transition into partner work at 10:00, teach and practice that transition before 10:00.
If they will use classroom materials after lunch, teach the routine before you hand out the materials.
If dismissal has the potential to become a small natural disaster, do not wait until backpacks are packed, buses are arriving, and everyone’s attention has already left the building. Teach the routine earlier in the day, when students have the time and attention to think about it.
This also gives students an opportunity to practice without the pressure of needing to get it right immediately.
A Reminder Is Not Always Enough
Here is the other important piece: Teaching a routine once does not mean you are finished teaching it. Even a well-established routine will occasionally need attention. Long breaks happen. Class dynamics change. New students arrive. A routine that worked beautifully in September may start feeling a little wobbly by November.
When that happens, we often respond by giving more reminders:
“Remember what you’re supposed to do.”
“We’ve talked about this.”
“You know the routine.”
However, sometimes students don’t need another reminder. They need an opportunity to revisit and practice the routine.
That does not mean your original teaching failed. It means routines require maintenance.
Notice what is working. Reinforce the specific behaviors helping the class succeed. If part of the routine has slipped, return to it. If the routine no longer works for your students, adjust it and teach the new version clearly.
Teach What Students Need. Revisit What They Need to Remember.
You do not need to teach every classroom routine during the first few days of school.
You do need to identify the routines that will help your students feel capable, participate successfully, and move through the day with confidence.
Teach what they need now.
Revisit what they need to remember.
Reteach what is no longer working.
And please learn from my fifth graders: A poster—even a really good poster—is not the same thing as teaching the routine.
If you want a clear process for introducing routines, giving students meaningful practice, and launching expectations that last beyond the first week, our MODELing for Success course walks you through the complete approach.
Because the time you invest in routines now is not time taken away from learning.
It is what makes more learning possible all year long.
Written by Sarah Fillion 2026
