Are you looking for hacks to encourage students to follow a routine? If so, keep reading.
1. Get the student to anticipate future tasks and create plans for addressing them.
2. Display the classroom routine (schedule) throughout the classroom (e.g., on the student’s desk, smartboard, bulletin board, etc.).
3. Get the student to perform the same duties each day, week, etc.
4. Give the student a revised schedule of daily activities when there is a change in routine (schedule) that identifies the learning activities for the day and the times when they will happen (e.g., special school assembly schedule, a half-day schedule, etc.).
5. Talk about any appropriate changes in the student’s routine (schedule) well in advance of the occurrence of the changes.
6. Make sure the student can tell time to enable their capacity and ability to follow a routine (schedule).
7. Praise the student for demonstrating the capacity and ability to follow a routine (schedule): (a) give the student a concrete reward (e.g., classroom privileges, passing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the student an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).
8. Converse with the student to explain (a) what they are doing wrong (e.g., failing to come to class on time, failing to follow the schedule of learning activities, etc.) and (b) what they must be doing (e.g., coming to class on time, following the schedule of learning activities, etc.).
9. Create classroom rules: • Remain on-task. • Complete assignments quietly. • Remain in your seat. • Finish tasks. • Meet task expectations. Examine rules often. Praise students for following the rules.
10. Praise those students in the classroom who demonstrate the capacity and ability to follow a routine (schedule).
11. Praise the student for demonstrating the capacity and ability to follow a routine (schedule) based on the duration of time the student can be successful. As the student shows success, slowly increase the duration of time required for reinforcement.
12. Let the student contribute to the development of their routine (schedule) to enable their capacity and ability to follow the routine (schedule) (e.g., have the student determine the order of learning activities ).
13. Give the student an oral reminder of changes in their routine (schedule).
14. Get the student to use a timer to indicate when to change learning activities in their routine (schedule).
15. Ascertain an expected duration of time for each individual learning experience to help the student follow their routine (schedule) (i.e., make sure the student can finish a learning experience in an established duration of time to help them remain within the time restrictions of the routine).
16. Connect with the student’s parents to create a routine (schedule) for the student to follow for getting ready for school, doing chores, finishing homework, etc. This will help the student remember what is expected.
17. Draft an agreement with the student stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., following the schedule of learning activities ) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.
18. Make sure that the student’s daily routine (schedule) is consistent.
19. Teach the student to tell time to enable their capacity and ability to follow a routine (schedule).
20. Assess the appropriateness of the routine (schedule) to ascertain (a) if the routine (schedule) is too easy, (b) if the routine (schedule) is too complicated, and (c) if the duration of time scheduled to finish the routine (schedule) is sufficient.
21. Teach problem-solving skills: • Find the problem. • Find the goals and objectives. • Create a strategy/plan for action. • Carry out the plan. • Assess the results.
22. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
23. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
24. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.
25. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
