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Table 1. Routine Brainstorming Example

For the Students For Me For Our Objectives/Goals

Assign “home base” spots to all stu- Create daily clean-up routines. It is Provide instructional support every
dents. This helps with attendance, but a group environment with a group- day. Giving out IPA charts, posting an-
it also allows students to visualize their made mess. What fun! It is okay to set chor charts, or providing other supports
learning space ahead of time and enter the the expectation that everyone cleans can help students answer their own
room with a destination in mind. up after themselves and helps you questions in the same predictable spots
ready the room for the next class. and address challenges independently.

Set entrance/exit expectations for Minimize your roles. Give the class Have some extra supplies on hand
students. This could be exit ticket tasks, the tools to address their own needs daily. Think about what extra supplies
collecting folders and chairs, signing in on and try tasks as an ensemble utilizing are needed on hand to avoid days when
the class log, or anything else important to their past knowledge/skills to address students forget materials. This also al-
ensure students are accounted for and the new musical challenges. This can in- lows the student to address their needs
room is ready for learning/the next class. It clude having rotating student leaders without your help.
also signals to the students it’s time to get take the student through warm-ups
started and helps everyone anticipate what daily, having students listen to record-
the start and end of class should look like ings of themselves and give them-
every day. selves feedback for improvement, hav-
ing bathroom breaks self-managed
through a sign-out sheet, or reference
materials (like IPA charts and extra
scores) freely available for students to
reference when they have questions
3
about their parts.

Project the daily class plan on the board. Find a building mentor. Who can Consult IEP and 504s when planning.
This allows students to come into their watch you teach and give you feedback All lessons should be created with
assigned sport, review the plan for the day, in a low-stakes manner? Plan a regular accessibility in mind. Don’t try to fix
and prepare themselves independently. interval of time to meet and jot ques- troubles after the fact, but design lesson
tions down as you think of them. structuring early to allow for a universal
learning design. See Universal Design
for Learning (UDL) guidelines. 4

Set behavior expectations/consequences Learn the daily routine of your Document everything! This will allow
early. This depersonalizes consequences by students. Are you immediately before you to spot patterns in your behavior or
sharing them before misbehaviors hap- lunch? After PE? Across campus from in student behavior based on activity,
pen. Then when consequences are given, their previous class? Don’t try to assessment style, or other factors. Jour-
students know ahead of time what to expect struggle against students’ daily lives nal 1-2 sentences or a short bullet-point
and you can avoid unnecessary power without understanding them. If you list about each class daily in a Word
struggles. spot a challenge, brainstorm solutions document.
with fellow teachers and students. This
builds rapport and saves your energy.

CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2025 Volume 65 Number 9 51