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Into the Great Unknown:

Strategies for Early-Career Teachers

Part 2: Planning Routines and Teaching Procedures

by Kendra Taylor and Olivia Salzman-Coon

The early years of teaching music can feel exhausting. years of teaching seems daunting; and because rehears-
In our professional experience, student teachers often re- als are subject to so many variables, no one can give you
mark about the amount of energy needed to teach for a a foolproof routine without knowing you, your students,
full day. While teaching music is a job that requires a lot and your instructional goals. However, the tools offered
of energy and focus, some techniques and strategies can in this article should help you develop a system for re-
maximize your rehearsal engagement and protect your flection on what you would like to do to strengthen your
energy. This series of columns is inspired by our presen- lesson structuring and how to design a routine around
tation to early-career teachers at the 2024 Northwest- those goals.
ern ACDA Regional Conference. Part one focused on Routines allow you to create a predictable environ-
planning and organizing your program and strategies for ment for both you and your students. Trauma-informed
classroom management (Choral Journal, August 2024). In pedagogy suggests that routines and predictability can
part two, we will outline methods for designing routines, help students feel more at ease and empowered in a
1
delivering instruction, and crafting long-term structures classroom. The three steps we rely on to design a rou-
so you are less worn out at the end of the day and can tine are: (1) designing daily and event-based routines
sustain a healthy career as a choral educator. We will with consideration to context, (2) reflecting on what our
also include a practical instruction checklist so you can routines may (or may not) be achieving after trying them
self-reflect on your teaching. out, and (3) applying effective aspects of routines to mul-
tiple situations with our students.
Challenge: Help! My rehearsals are wearing me
out! I need to find a way to plan my rehearsals 1. Designing Routines
that feels sustainable. Routines should support one of three priorities in
your classroom: 1) the needs of your students, 2) the les-
Solution One: Identify aspects of teaching and son objectives and goals you’re addressing in your lesson,
rehearsing that are tiring and design routines to and 3) your needs. When designing routines, anything
support those areas. to which you plan to dedicate time should contribute to
one of these goals. At the start of a new year, term, or
Establishing a routine for your classes in the early concert cycle, sit down with a sheet of paper divided into

CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2025 Volume 65 Number 9 49