Transcript

This is the washroom chart. This has all my students' names and it's a way to get them used to the idea that they cannot be outside alone. They always have to go with a partner. If I come here and I see that these two student's names are here, I know they are together, they're safe and they're in the washroom. As soon as they come back, they're expected to take this and put it back where it goes. If somebody else needs to go, they have to wait for those to come back. It's a way for me to know who is outside and who is not. If there is a situation in the school like a lockdown situation, I know exactly who is in the washroom and who is here and I can account for them. 

A very important thing with this is when I'm doing guided reading, I don't want my students to be interrupting me at all. They know that they cannot talk to me because I'm working with this group of students. If they really need to use the washroom, then they come, put their names here, and go. 

It has to do with being independent and not telling the teacher every single time "can I go to the washroom? Can I go to the washroom?" At other times, I ask them to tell me before they go, but they still have to put their names here and it's a way to tell them that they have to wait if you need to go. 

I also talk about going to the washroom when it's an emergency because they should be using the washroom during recess time. That's something that first graders have to learn. At this point, they are pretty good at respecting that. That they only use the washroom in emergency because they use their recess time to do that.