Redding School District

Do Not Allow Students to Rush to the Front of the Line

If any students rush to the line or push to be in the front, have them go back to their seats and wait for your signal again.  Many students have a strong need to be first.  Talk with these students individually and try to find what their need is and fill it another way and use the relationship to ask for their help with lining up.  Might Assign some students as equipment managers or timers for lining or some other job that gives them the importance they desire.

Moving Toward Self-Management

The ultimate goal of this lesson is not to teach students how to stand in a straight line-the goal is to help children learn to move quickly, quietly, and safely with their peers. Once your students have learned the basic structure to linking up you can help them move toward a higher degree of self-management.

Teach This Lesson With the Walking in Line Lesson

Teach both lessons so students can apply what they have learned right away.

Allocate Enough Time

If you DO NOT plan an appropriate amount of time for the students to line up in an orderly fashion, it adds to the potential descriptiveness of the process.  Allocate adequate time before lining up for finding and putting on weather-appropriate gear. Younger students will need extra time to button or zip jackets and find mittens, boots, and umbrellas.

Stand by the Door

Give the directions for lining up while standing by the door. By doing this, you will place yourself where you can use your physical proximity to ensure student success.

Stay Withit

Lining students up is potentially one of the most disruptive activities you will ask students to do. Under NO circumstances should you allow yourself to be distracted for any reason. Monitor the entire transition and do not forget to narrate students as they follow the steps of lining up.

Do Not Have All Students Line Up at Once

Initially, do not have all of the students line up at once-this can be very hard to manage. Pick one table or row to line up at a time. After students demonstrate they know how to line up, increase the number of students who line up by calling two tables, then four tables, or even all the students at once.  Some teachers pick students to line up by determining those who demonstrate they are ready, such as those who are sitting quietly with clean work spaces.  Be careful with this as some students will quickly recognize that they will never go first as they are always last to clean up or if others cheat to be ready and get rewarded with going first you may get undesirable results in the organizational cleaning up process.