Tips For Establishing Your Classroom Culture

It doesn’t matter if you’re fresh out of college, back from a career hiatus, or a teaching veteran: teaching new students is always nerve-wracking. I’m about to enter my 17^th year of teaching and I still get nervous on the first day of school. I don’t get nervous with my upperclassmen, however, but with my sophomores. Why? Because they don’t know me yet.

Getting through the first month is the hardest for teachers and students alike. During that time, we’re learning how to get back into “work mode,” balancing all the things we have to do in addition to school and trying to take care of our bodies and spirits in addition to our minds. This is why establishing a classroom culture is so important for both students and teachers.

To make things simple, I’ve broken the classroom culture process into the 4 Rs:

Routines

Students will feel comfortable in my classroom.

Imagine how you felt on the first day at your first part time job. (My first jobs were in the restaurant industry and then in retail, so try to imagine that with me if you can.) You walked in, met your manager, and began learning the job. When your manager told you what to do, you had guidance. But think about how you felt when the manager had to step away, take a phone call, or went on break. Then imagine a customer approached you with a question and you have no idea what to do.

I think that deer in the headlights feeling is what a student feels every time they meet a new teacher. Even if the classroom is familiar or the teacher has been in the school for years, if they haven’t been in your class yet, they haven’t “figured you out” yet. That is why establishing routines can be so valuable for establishing your classroom culture.

Routines can answer the following questions:

This first day scavenger hunt lesson for 9-10 grade students helps them learn about each other and your classroom.

How and where do I submit work?
Is there a seating chart?
Does class start with the bell?
Do I need a hall/bathroom pass?
Where are classroom supplies (stapler, 3 hole punch, pencil sharpener, etc.)

There’s been a movement away from going over the syllabus on the first day of school, one I’m in favor of. I try to find a lesson that engages students and exposes them to some of the critical activities we’ll do in that particular class. However, I still have to go over routines and give out a syllabus on the second or third day.

Routines differ from rules in that they are not disciplinary but informative; they tell kids how your classroom is run. Aside from classroom routines, sometimes teachers implement their own unique routines that pertain to lessons. You’ll notice that a lot of mine pertain to how we use our modified block lessons.

My Honors students know that each lesson begins with a quick bellringer thanks to this routine. You can get this no-prep year-long bundle here!

Every block day in AP Literature (once per week) is spent focusing on voice lessons, multiple choice prep, literary term analysis, and poem bellringers. These are brief 5-10 minute drills and once we finish, we get independent reading.
My Honors students have independent reading the second half of every block day.
My Journalism students have an article review due on the first Monday of every week.

It’s important to lay down routines clearly and gradually. For example, in the days leading up to our first independent reading day I remind students to select a book. I help them by giving them book suggestions and explain how the seating arrangements change for independent reading. I make sure that first few days of independent reading are spent quietly reading to establish it as a routine. After about three weeks of uninterrupted routine, they know what to expect.

First Year Teacher Tip: If you’re a first-year teacher, it can be hard to know which routines you want to establish. Don’t be afraid to try some ideas out and NOT label them as routines. If they crash and burn you don’t have to keep doing them, but if they work you can tell students it’s going to be a daily or weekly routine.

Rules

Students will feel responsible for the classroom space.

Aside from routines, students need to know what rules dictate your classroom. There will obviously be rules that pertain to your school (late policy, grade scales, tardies, etc.) which you may be expected to tell your students. (You can ask your principal or department head about this.) But there are also rules that are particular to each classroom that students should know as well.

If you’re looking for more first day ideas, check out my free first day lesson for AP Lit, which exposes students to a variety of literature styles.

Some of the unique rules for my classroom include:

Never put any piece of homework on my desk. Always use the clearly labeled homework bin for physical homework…or risk it getting lost.
Don’t use the hall pass (they’re gross). Just ask to use the restroom and you’re free to go.
You’re free to check out any book from the classroom library but must sign it out on the clipboard before you go!

While rules can seem scary or mean, they don’t have to be. They are just another measure that helps students understand your classroom culture.

First Year Teacher Tip: It can be tempting to avoid laying down rules as a first-year teacher to avoid being seen as “mean.” In my experience, students tend to push new teachers (even veteran teachers who are new to the school) to see how far they can go. Establishing clear rules and expectations can help maintain a respectful classroom culture and keep students from pushing too hard.

Rewards

Students will feel respected in my classroom.

One way to balance the whole “rules are mean” vibe (even though it’s incorrect) is to remember that students are just kids. If they step out of line, it’s rarely personal. And sometimes having rewards to remind them that they’re normal is a great way to contribute to a strong classroom culture.

One new reward I’ve implemented into my classroom is a homework pass. I created mine on Canva (with the help of Bitmoji) and call them Formative Freebies. Here’s what mine looks like:

Basically, they can use it on any formative assignment for the semester. My formative assignments never exceed 20 points and I give quite a few of them, so it doesn’t skew grades much. Some use it as a safety net in the event they forget to do an assignment or study for a quiz. Others save theirs for when tech week rolls around or they have 3 basketball games in 4 days. I give out one per semester to my on-level and elective classes. I just print them in different colors each semester so they can’t use one more than once.

Some other ways I look to reward my students:

If we have a really strong showing on a quiz I might eliminate one section of a test.
Working hard and submitting homework through a novel unit means we get to watch the movie as well.
I eliminate our final in AP Lit since they have to take the AP Exam and I figured they work hard enough.

I like to present students with rules and rewards at the same time. This means on the same day I go through late policies and grading scales, I also hand out my Formative Freebie. My hope is this presents a balanced approach, one truly set on establishing a sense of classroom culture.

First Year Teacher Tip: Don’t feel like you need to set out with a thousand rewards in mind. Pick one or two that you like (a homework pass, 10 minutes of game time on Fridays, etc.) and see how your students do. Some thrive with rewards, but an abundance of rewards can also compete with the necessary rules and rapport. I like to implement some later in the year once finals approach or the February freeze begins to wear us down.

Rapport

Students will feel like they belong in my classroom.

The last category for building a classroom culture is probably the most important. Rapport relates to the relationships your students have with each other and their relationship with you. Here are some ways I build rapport in my classes:

We make use of lots of writing workshops where students have to edit and critique each other’s work. Writing workshops help build an atmosphere of trust and mentorship.
My journalism class takes writing workshops to extremes. We form news teams where the editor is given permission to edit each of their peer’s writing, while I edit the editor’s work. This may sound uneven, but it actually worked really well and kept my workload from spiraling out of control.
Socratic Seminars depend on other students for insightful questions and answers. A good discussion depends on varying answers and interpretations but also needs a sense of mutual respect for all involved.

My Journalism class relied on student rapport and routines to get each issue of our newsletter ready in time for printing.

Rapport can overlap with rules when it comes to issues of respect. I closely monitor the way my students speak to and treat each other, stepping in when comments get out of line or technology gets out of hand. These situations are usually between friends rather than enemies, but I make it clear that I won’t stand for unkindness in my classroom, even if they “don’t really mean it.”

Rapport also relates to how you interact with your students. Try these tips to build rapport:

Have a conversation with each student throughout the week, even if it’s brief.
Go out of your way to praise a student for performing better on an assignment (not the best, just better!).
Stand at the door and greet your students as they walk in the door.
Work to memorize student names within the first two weeks of school starting.
Get to know your students’ hobbies outside of class and ask them how they are going.

These little steps seem simple, but they can fall by the wayside when all the other minutia starts to build up. Don’t be afraid to step back and focus on the relationships in your classroom. Ultimately, the goal should be to create a classroom where students feel known and valued, even if they forget the content eventually.

First year teacher tip: It’s overwhelming to be so “there” for students when you’re the one who is new, especially upperclassmen. Don’t be afraid to let them tell you what you need to know about your new school and its culture. You’ll be letting them know that you want to learn more about them and you’re also willing to learn from them.