Classroom Rhythm Series: Introduction

In recent years, I've listened to several teacher podcasts or joined Twitter chats that discuss classroom procedures, rules, expectations, and atmosphere, but a classroom environment is more than that. As teachers, we orchestrate the rhythm, tempo, and tune of our class. I first heard rhythm discussed in terms of family dynamics at a conference years ago. The speaker (I can't even remember who!) was mentioning her need for new rhythms in her family. She wanted the pace of their lives, the rhythm in which they lived, to slow a bit, just long enough that she wouldn't miss her kids' childhoods.

This made me start thinking about the RHYTHM of my classroom. I tend to run a fairly fast-paced, high movement class. Many students have commented about how quickly the time flies in my English class, and I've done that by design, not by accident. Come to think of it, there isn't much I do in my classroom by accident. A class rhythm, however, can happen without the teacher's input. Everyone has had that one sluggish class, that seemed to drag on, or the class that had so much energy it was nearly impossible to contain and it felt like herding cats into activities just to keep them occupied and out of trouble. A class can very easily set their own rhythm. So how does a teacher take the lead to set her own class rhythm? My hope in this series is to help you uncover the secret to a rhythm that works for you.

How would you describe your class rhythm? Fast-paced, slow and steady, choppy, or consistent?