Transitions
- mariabecht
- Oct 3, 2016
- 2 min read
Smooth transitions in the classroom are pivotal to success and more time for instruction in the classroom. They are a key component of class management. This week I paid close attention to how my CT transitions her kindergarten class. Getting 5 and 6 year old to switch from tasks to tasks can be quite the challenge; nevertheless my CT puts transition procedures in place the first weeks of school to make these switches graceful.
I have been able to observe the morning routines in my classroom, and have gotten well acquainted with the transitions my CT uses. In the morning my CT calls the students to the carpet after the students finish their morning work by tables. This dismissal to the carpet is like a well oiled machine as she tells students to push in their chairs, put away their bellwork, and to sit on their flat bottoms on the carpet. The next transition she does when all the tables have moved to the carpet is to go over the class rules. The teachers uses “1 2 3 all eyes on me” to get the students ready to learn. This transition makes the students to shift their focus on the CT and then they go over the class rules together in unison. Another transition my CT uses to move the class back to independent work is to go over their daily MAC chart. This transition lets students know what they should be doing and it is a visual aid with pictures that explain what to do
M stands for movement, A is for activity and C is for conversation. The teacher points to the MAC chart and goes overs of it with the children. This lets the children know what is expected of them and what is to come.
This week I took over the morning routines and was able to practice numerous transitions in the classroom. This experience aided me in my classroom management skills and helped me see how I want to run my classroom one day. I did the same transitions as mentioned above. I called each individual table to the carpet and then used “1 2 3 all eyes on me” to start the class rules and move into the lesson. When it was time for the students to move from whole group to individual work, I used the MAC chart as a tool to guide the students in this transition.
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