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Indicator 13 – Minutes of Nonacademic Time

Managing the Classroom

Managing Time and Routines

Indicator 13 - Minutes of Nonacademic Time UETS 3d.

Effective teachers maximize the time students are engaged in academic tasks related to educational goals of the class. Approximately 80% of class time should be spent pursuing academic activities related to measurable outcomes.

IDEAS/SUGGESTIONS:

  1. Keep transitions between classroom activities brief and fluid.
    • Countdowns
    • Songs
    • Timer set for one minute
    • Bell
    • Watch the time and give voice signals
  1. Avoid time when students are not engaged in academic activity. Non-engagement enhances the potential for misbehavior.
  2. Confront misbehavior promptly and consistently.
  3. Manage tardy students at an appropriate time, not during instruction. Wait until students are actively engaged in seatwork before conferring about tardiness.
  4. Establish specific routines for working and what to do when work is complete to avoid nonacademic situations similar to the following:
    • Excessive student socialization
    • Lengthy management routines
    • Disorderly or disruptive transitions
    • Extended disciplinary interruptions
  1. Attempt to spend 80% or more of class time in academic activities that relate to specifically established educational goals.
  2. Make "overlapping" - your ability to engage in more than one activity at a time - a management technique that becomes second nature to your preparation and routines. Overlapping helps you begin your class promptly.
    • Provide students with a regular activity to complete while you take roll; such as
      • A challenging math problem
      • Vocabulary words to define
      • A topic for journal writing
      • A geography question of the day
    • Provide an outline of the main points or activities of the day's lesson (Advance Organizer) on the white board or on an overhead/document camera for students to copy as you take care of the roll and other opening activities.
    • Put a brainteaser on the board for students to begin immediately upon entering the class.
    • Start with a daily quiz about the previous day's assignment when the late bell sounds. Take roll while the students work.
    • Ask open-ended questions (who, what, when, where, why and how) at the bell for students to make notes about.
  1. Use the time available at the end of class for productive activities:
    • Review important information presented in the lesson during the last 5 minutes of class.
    • Grab student attention about tomorrow's activities during the last five minutes of class.
    • Provide time for students to summarize the day's lesson as you work with individual students at the close of class.
    • Avoid telling students that they can chat with their friends until the bell rings.

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