Routines

Getting routines right: SLANT and SHAPE

What are routines?

SLANT

Speak in full sentences
Hands away from mouth
Articulate, don’t mumble
Project your voice
Eye contact

SHAPE

Speak in full sentences
Hands away from mouth
Articulate, don’t mumble
Project your voice
Eye contact

Why are routines so important?

With these two routines, we are creating habits for life.

SLANT and SHAPE will ensure precious seconds of learning are not wasted and we are encouraging habits of attention and pro social behaviours that will serve our students well far beyond their school years.

SHAPE

It’s a really easy way to remember to speak well whenever our students speak in classes or with their teachers around the school.

Imagine for a second the opposite of SHAPE. When we don’t expect the minimum of good talk in our classrooms, we begin to accept the opposite of SHAPE: single word responses, hands over the mouth, mumbling speech, muted voices and no eye contact. At best it is awkward and worst it is rude! And the scary part of this is, that is what becomes a habit for many young people who leave school, enter the world of work and struggle to secure good jobs, because they are judged – rightly or wrongly – on superficial first impressions.

SLANT: pro-social behaviours

Doug Lemov argues that while teacher relationships are important, they are not as important as the social climate we create in our classrooms. Our students feel so much more validated, motivated and successful when they receive the social cues that suggest their words are important, from their peers. And SLANT helps us instil these pro social behaviours in our students:

We teach them to sit up straight – it indicates we are paying attention – not slouched and uninterested
We teach them to ask/answer questions and not interrupt – it says ‘we acknowledge, honour and respect our peer’s contributions’.
We teach them to track the speaker – it says, ‘I am interested in what you are saying; I care’.

Consistent expectations are what our students deserve. It is not fair on them when they are left to guess different expectations in different lessons

Pupils have clarity from lesson to lesson (less sanctions)
Reinforces teacher’s authority
Pupils develop crucial habits for life (social, emotional, academic).

Have high expectations

Students WILL make mistakes with SLANT and SHAPE. This we can expect. What we can’t accept is us not doing anything about it.

What we do not accept at CST

We do not accept unSLANTing after calling for SLANT
We do not accept muted voices
We do not accept mumbled, half sentences
We do not accept defiance after we have communicated the expectation

Teacher high frequency errors

Forgets to front load the highest expectation BEFORE the activity/phase that will require SHAPE and SLANT
SLANT: Doesn’t ‘see’ or worse, ignores sloppy SLANT / unSLANTing
SHAPE: Doesn’t hear or worse, ignores the un SHAPEd response / missing FG full stop
Allows sloppy SLANT/SHAPE from certain students to maintain ‘relationship’ with student
Doesn’t embed expectations because ‘they behave for me’
Allows defiance. Doesn’t issue R-W-BIR when student falls short of expectations
Believes ‘SHAPE doesn’t apply in my subject’

Student high frequency errors

UnSLANTs soon after SLANTing
Leans on back of chair when in SLANT
Is deliberately slow to SLANT
Forgets FG full stop
Doesn’t project even after being reminded to
Believes there is no consequence for doing the above

What A Good One Looks Like: SLANT

We love how Ollie...

...uses the swivel position to ensure his class can see him and he can see his class
...projects his voice when counting down
...narrates the positive with reminders as he is 'being seen looking' backs nice and straight for me please...beautiful!

What A Good One Looks Like: SHAPE

We love how Saniya...

...front loads her instruction with the expectation to track the speaker
...positively frames her reminder to Uzma to speak 10% louder
...has built a habit in her students of ending their sentences with the Forest Gate Full Stop Miss

Want to see more WAGOLLs? Click here!

Front load your instructions with your expectations

BEFORE the activity / phase

SLANT

When I ask for SLANT, I expect you to be sat up straight, arms folded, elbows off the table and tracking the speaker.

SHAPE

We speak like Geographers and we are articulate. I expect to hear all responses fully SHAPEd. And we are polite. Always remember the FG full stop.

Follow through with your expectations

If you have communicated your expectation clearly, sanction non compliance.

Daniel, you are not SLANTing like the rest of the class, that is a reminder to you that you must follow my instructions. Next time, I know you are going to be the best

Let them know the spinach you would like to remove:

I have noticed when we SLANT, we are not quick enough. In today’s lesson, I want to see this change. We want no wasted seconds. Let’s do a quick practise now….That’s how we must do it all the time Year 8.

Clean slate

If you recognise that your classes are not doing the above properly and habits have formed that mean a mediocre SHAPE and SLANT, start again. There is nothing wrong with this. You control whether we are mediocre or CST!

Restate your expectations.
Spend a portion of the start of your lessons reiterating what you expect to see all the time.
Take the time to get this right.