The Ideal Daily Routine

[educ8or]

Hello, I am a first year high school chemistry teacher in search of an ideal daily routine. I realize that routines vary between teachers, and that every once in a while a break from routine is refreshing. That being said, I'm wondering what other teachers have found success with, especially in regards to managing student behavior with an efficient class flow. :punch:

Normally, I begin the class with a bell-ringer and play a song that is loosely related to the material. While some students do the bell-ringer, others write their answers to the previous night's homework on the board. (Students writing on the board are exempt from the bell-ringer, and I'm debating whether to collect bell-ringers or simply deduct points from disengaged students :confused:). After the song is over, I review the bell-ringer and then the homework. Then I usually review a lab, introduce or develop upon a topic, demonstrate how to do some problems, and guide them through a few more. :cool:

What do you do in your class? What do you think about my routine? How do you keep students engaged during the first few minutes of class and lectures? :wowee:

[SS Rocks!]

I have a similar routine.

I also have a warm up question which students copy in their interactive student notebook. I play songs that are related to my curriculum, too! I give the kids points for copying and responding to the question.

If students enter quietly, I "open" my "store" where students can use money from our classroom economy to make purchases.

I can also use this time to speak with students that are missing work or if I assigned homework the previous night, I will walk around and check for completion.

My biggest issue is keeping students in their routine. Because our school doesn't really have walls (we have partitions that do little to block sound) the kids tend to enter loudly if it is particularly loud in the hallway.