I've realized how important it is to establish routines in the classroom. Then students know what to expect, and you as the teacher don't have to waste time explaining what you want done. For example, my students know that when I hold two fingers the air, they are supposed to get into "Position Two," or sit up straight to be ready to sing. I don't even need to hold up fingers sometimes because they tell each other how to sit! I've found that the best thing I did was to hang dance formation diagrams in my classrooms. After spending one day placing students in Longways Formation, it was wonderful to see them do it themselves in the next class. Yes, it took some time during the first lesson, but it saved several minutes in the following weeks. Especially when I had my first cold of the year and was working to save my voice for singing. All I had to do was point to the diagram and the students knew what to do. So the moral of the story is this: Take time in the beginning to tell your students what to expect, and you'll save oodles of time in the future.
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