The PBIS World Book

Structured Routines

Why should I do it:

  • Provides students with predictability decreasing anxiety, frustration, and worry
  • Provides a regular schedule and point by point map to follow
  • Helps with oppositional and defiant students
  • Increases work production, compliance, and engagement
  • Improves academic performance
  • Improves focus and attention
  • Teacher students how to manage time and resources
  • Improves organization

When should I do it:

  • When a student gets off task easily, is easily frustrated, or is anxious about the school day
  • When a student is oppositional and defiant
  • When a student is disorganized, scattered, etc
  • With struggling students
  • With students that never know what is next, what time and subject it is, etc
  • When a student has poor attention and focus
  • When students have low motivation, poor effort, and low participation
  • When students present with behavioral challenges

How do I do it:

  • You can write your schedule on the board daily, crossing off events as they occur
  • You can provide the student with an individual schedule on their desk daily, having them cross off events as they occur
  • The schedule can include pictures as well as words
  • You can also add a timer for each topic, providing student with a time frame for each subject
  • A class schedule can be posted with words and pictures
  • A routine wheel can be utilized whereby the days routine is represented on pie sections of the wheel, and a spinning arm in the center is turned to point to the current event or task in the routine
  • Engage students in keeping track of where they and the class are in the daily routine
  • Ask students what is next in the routine and remind them when a period is ending soon
  • Colors, shapes, and other similar things can be used to symbolize the various parts of the routine, for example, yellow card is reading period, red card is history period, etc

Resources & Support for technique: