Establishing Opening and Closing Routines

Opening classroom routines set a welcoming and inclusive tone. They are short and can be done in small groups or as a full class before moving on to the main learning activities for the day. You might begin every class with the same opening routine, assign specific routines to each day of the week, or open with something different each day. The important thing is to establish the first few minutes as a time to engage the group in reflection, re-establish community, build relationships, and mindfully transition into the day’s academic activities.

Closing activities provide an opportunity to re-establish connection, summarize key concepts, reflect on emotions, and set academic and personal goals. Closing routines can take place in whole-class discussions, small groups, and individual reflections. As with opening routines, repeating closing activities will help your students internalize the steps and modeled behavior. Eventually, students will be able to facilitate these classroom routines on their own.