YELLOW BRICK ROAD MUSIC

Procedural Checklist for the Beginning of the Year

The beginning of the school year has already begun for most teachers in the states. Now is a good time to go over all the procedures you’ve already taught your students, and other procedures that you’ll need to teach as the year goes on. My Procedures Checklist is different than my Beginning of the Year Checklist, which you can download for free HERE. Instead of detailing everything you need to have prepared for the beginning of the schoolyear, a procedural checklist is a detailed list of all the procedures your students will need to know to make your classroom run smoothly.

Veteran teachers know the importance of procedures, but even they can sometime forget just how foreign the classroom can be to kindergartners and other new students. Teaching procedures may feel a bit like overkill at first, but going without them means lots of misunderstandings, unexpected behaviors, and possible broken instruments. It’s always best to provide clear expectations so that students feel safe in knowing the routine of the classroom.

You can download my Procedures Checklist for free HERE or by clicking on the image below.

Here’s an additional list of questions you’ll want to consider in more detail as you get to know your students and their routines better:

  • What does “resting position” look like for each instrument? What does it sound like?
    • Having a “resting position” that can apply to all instruments is helpful. Example: Rhythm sticks, mallets, tambourines are in rest position when they are quietly touching shoulders.
  • What exactly is the procedure for a single student leaving the classroom? Will there be a method to sign out? What happens in the case of a fire drill when one student has left to use the restroom?
    • These are good questions to ask your mentor teacher or administrator.
  • What is the procedure for the time after students have lined up to leave, but before their classroom teacher has arrived? What short activities can you use to occupy a limited amount of time and space?
    • Need an idea? You can download my “sound game” for free HERE. It’s super simple and would be easy to modify to fit your curricular goals.