Back to School: Classroom Routines and Brain Breaks for a Calm Term 1

By The EduSellers Team · 2026-01-20 · Teacher Resources

Experienced teachers know the secret of a smooth year: spend the first two weeks teaching routines as deliberately as you teach content. Predictability is what frees students to take risks with their learning.

Make expectations visible

Do not assume students remember last year's norms — re-teach them. A simple classroom routines checklist gives you and the class a shared reference for how the room runs.

Use one consistent attention signal

The quickest win in classroom management is a single, well-rehearsed signal for "eyes on me." A set of attention signals cards gives you options to practise until the response is automatic.

Plan for energy, not against it

Restlessness is information. Build in short resets with quick brain-break cards, and have early-finisher task cards ready so fast workers stay engaged. A few reward coupons make your positive expectations concrete.

Find more whole-class systems in the Teacher Resources collection.