Students will function best when they are able to anticipate what lies ahead. A visual representation of the day's schedule will help alleviate anxiety, make expectations clear and provide the class with an opportunity to internalize the rhythm of the week.

If you have a magnetic whiteboard you can create schedule cards. This will allow you to easily manipulate them and provide you with space to write down any specifics. Simply print out the subject areas, laminate and attach a magnet. By using the white board you can write specifics using dry erase markers.

A schedule is also a great way to incorporate math skills. Try to combine both analog and digital times.

Make your expectations clear. Create a procedure manual and write out the steps for each activity and routine. Provide each student with a copy to take home to share with their parent. Make additional copies available to substitutes, teacher assistants, student teachers, etc.

Keep a copy of your classroom procedures in a binder in the classroom. Refer to it as needed. Direct the students to it as needed.

Display rubrics of what you expect quality work to look like. Create diagrams or display photos of what a neat desk, locker or cubby includes.

List a menu of choice activities for indoor recess. Start with just one or two choices (for example books or drawing). Review the expectations and procedures for getting supplies, using them and cleaning up. Introduce a new choice activity only after the first has been mastered.

Create cards that outline your expectations throughout the day. Start by listing the specific tasks that you want each child to complete. You can then make an overhead transparency, poster of individual laminated cards for the student to reference. If you have younger learner you may wish to include photos.

Be sure to have a dedicated spot where students are expected to turn in their work. This will eliminate wanderers who are not sure what to do and most importantly will keep your desktop clear.

Consider using an office literature sorter for managing student work. Assign a section to each student. Instruct them to store any "work in progress" in that section. This will provide you with a visual check of the amount of outstanding work a child has. Use the top few sections to collect completed assignments and place some baskets on top for collecting larger assignments or workbooks.

It is inevitable that you will have children absent from time to time. Create a few "While You Were Out" Folders. Simply place the folder at the missing child's seat (or in his mailbox) and add the assignments to it as they are passed out to the other students.

Create a must do / may do board. Divide a section of white board in half and label one side, "Must Do" and the other side "May Do." List assignments that must be completed under must do and choice activities under may do. This will eliminate the infamous, "I'm done. What should I do now?" questions.

Create a homework schedule. This will make your planning easier and allow the children and their families know what is expected.

If possible, create homework packets. Include a cover sheet that lists assignments and deadlines. Send it home weekly instead of nightly. This will allow the children to work on their time management skills, provide working parents with some flexibility and not consume quality classroom time on a daily basis.

Create a system for grading homework that does not require you to correct every individual assignment. Since you are not witnessing the completion of the work and are not able to determine how much assistance one child had vs. another, it may not be fair to grade an assignment. Your time may be much better spent in other areas of assessing student work. A simple check system works well.

Create a communication folder or notebook for each child. If you do an online search for: "MOOSE BOOKS" you will find more information on this subject than you could ever need. There are many elements you might include or eliminate. It is important to find the system that best meets your needs. This is what I have found works best for me.

I purchase a plastic pocket folder with prongs for each student. I label the front with the student's name and number. Inside I include communication pages, plastic sheet protectors to hold the annual school district calendar and the monthly lunch menu and a plastic zipper pencil pouch to transport money (lunch, book orders, field trips). The front pocket is used for the weekly newsletter/homework packet and nightly reading log. The back pocket is used to transport papers home from school. The children are responsible for turning in an empty folder each morning. I check it daily for notes. All parent notes must be written on the pages of the communication folder to ensure that I do not miss a dismissal change or important message.

In addition to having a mailbox for each child, dedicate the extra boxes to "outgoing mail." As you receive flyers from the office or finish correcting work, place it into the appropriate box. Have a student, parent volunteer or teacher's aide mail all items in the box on the appropriate day.

Establish an organized method for children to get their mail and pack up each afternoon.

Set up a consistent morning routine to get your day off to a smooth start. After the children unpack have them spend the first few minutes of the day working on a quiet activity that they can do independently. Journal, handwriting practice, math facts and silent reading are all great choices. This will allow you to get settled, take attendance and address any parent notes.

Establish a signal to notify the students of a transition. It will take some initial time at the start of the year to create the routine, but the benefit of doing so is immense. The goal is for transitions to become something that the children do automatically.

There are several ways that you can signal a transition. No way is right or wrong as long as you are consistent and make the expectations clear. I have witnessed teachers using:

1 a bell
2 windchimes
3 clapping
4 a chant

Be sure to include some downtime in your schedule as part of a transition. The moments immediately after lunch or recess can be hectic. Children often need to use the bathroom at that time as well. Rather than jumping into your next lesson and not having all of the children tending to the task, transition into the next subject with a read aloud, journal entry or number of the day activity.

Prior to leaving for lunch, recess or specials, have the students prepare the classroom for the next activity. They should gather any books and materials and leave them neatly in their work area.

Use your computer to burn a classroom soundtrack to create a rhythm to your day. I start each morning with 10-15 minutes of classical music. During this time the children become settled and write in their journals. This gives me time to take attendance, check homework and read the communication folders. The CD then plays an upbeat song (I use, "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical). This signals that it is time to clean up and join me in the group area for our morning meeting.

The song serves as a timer for when they need to be ready for a specific activity. After completing a mini-lesson for Writer's Workshop I play, "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. While the song is playing the students need to gather their supplies for Writer's Workshop. By the time that song ends and the relaxing music is playing, each student is expected to have all of his supplies and be working on the assignment.

Experiment with creative options for getting their attention. Ask the class, "All set?" and clap your hands twice. Those who are ready respond,. "You bet!" Ask again and snap your fingers twice. Those who are not ready then respond, "Not Yet!" Give them a few minutes to finish up and then ask again.

Distinguish between tattling and double D behavior (dangerous or destructive) and encourage children not to tell you things that would be considered tattling. Help children develop methods for resolving conflicts themselves.

Program a class set of craft sticks with the numbers for the students in your class. Place them in a can and draw a stick as a job arises. Place the stick in another can. When everyone's stick has been drawn reverse the cans.

Assign a different student to be the "teacher's helper" for the day. Allow that child to do all jobs as needed.