Establishing Routines Effectively

Year Level

Prep (Foundation Year)

Duration

45 minutes

Class Size

6 students

Unit

Starting School Stories
Lesson 3 of 4

Lesson Title

Social Stories: Establishing Routines

Lesson Description

In this lesson, students will engage with a teacher-created social story entitled "My School" to explore daily and weekly routines in a school environment. Through guided discussion, students will understand the importance of routines in helping them feel safe and comfortable in their new context. Each student will then create a simple visual schedule reflecting their own daily school routine to reinforce the concept of structure and predictability.

Australian Curriculum Links (English - Foundation Year)

Learning Area: English
Strand: Literacy
Sub-strand: Language variation and change and Language for interaction

Relevant Content Descriptions:

ACELA1429: Understand that the way people interact with each other can be influenced by their familiar routine or context (Foundation)【11:AC9L2AU4C04.md†Australian Curriculum】
ACELY1646: Use interaction skills, including listening and responding, to share ideas and information and collaborate with others (Foundation)
ACELA1456: Understand that texts vary in purpose, structure and topic as well as the degree of formality

WALT (We Are Learning To)

Understand school routines and why they are important.
Discuss how routines help us feel comfortable and safe.
Create a personal visual schedule to represent our daily school activities.

Success Criteria

I can listen and understand the social story about school routines.
I can share ideas about routines and why they are important.
I can create a simple visual schedule showing my daily routine at school.
I can recognise that routines help me know what to expect and feel safe at school.

Resources Needed

Teacher-created social story "My School" (written text with pictures or a simple slideshow).
Paper, coloured pencils/crayons/markers.
Pre-made visual icons representing key school activities (e.g., arrival, snack time, playtime, learning time, home time).
Velcro or sticky tape for icons (optional for movable schedules).
Visual schedule templates suited to prep learners.
Name tags or simple labels.

Lesson Activities

1. Introduction to the Lesson (5 minutes)

Engage Attention: Greet students warmly and briefly explain what they will learn today.
Activate Prior Knowledge: Briefly discuss with students what they remember about school from previous lessons or their own experiences.
Explain WALT and Success Criteria using child-friendly language and visuals.

2. Reading and Discussing the Social Story: "My School" (10 minutes)

Teacher reads the social story “My School” aloud with expressive tone and visuals.
Use clear, simple language; pause frequently to check student understanding.
Use visual cues, gestures, and signposting for neurodivergent learners.
Discussion Prompts:
- What are some things that happen every day at school?
- How do these routines help us feel?
- What makes a routine helpful?
Use simple yes/no or choice questions and allow extra processing time.
Support students to share their own experiences relating to the routines.

3. Creating Personal Visual Schedules (20 minutes)

Explain the activity: Students will make their own simple visual schedule showing their daily routine at school.
Provide each student with a template and pre-made icons.
For neurodivergent or diverse learners:
- Offer individual support or paired work.
- Provide pre-cut icons or additional visual prompts as needed.
- Allow students to sequence the icons based on their own experiences with help if needed.
Support them to label/tell their schedule orally or through drawing.
Encourage students to share their schedule with the group or teacher when ready.
Reinforce positive feedback and peer support.

4. Wrap-Up and Reflection (5 minutes)

Bring the group back together.
Recap the importance of routines using a simple visual reminder.
Ask each student to say one thing they learnt about routines today.
Share how the visual schedules can help at school.
Explain what will happen in the next lesson (Lesson 4).

Differentiation Strategies for Diverse and Neurodivergent Learners

Use clear, predictable language and visual supports throughout.
Provide social stories and visual schedules in advance if possible.
Allow extra time for processing and responses.
Use multi-sensory supports: visual, verbal, and tactile.
Adjust session pacing according to student engagement and needs.
Use positive reinforcement and encourage peer modelling.
Provide individual or small group support to create visual schedules.
Use assistive technology or adapted materials where relevant.

Assessment for Learning

Observation of student participation in discussion (using checklist or anecdotal notes).
Review of each student’s visual schedule illustrating understanding of routine.
Informal questioning to confirm comprehension of the importance of routines.
Feedback during creation of schedules to scaffold learning.

Links to General Capabilities (Australian Curriculum)

Personal and Social Capability: Understanding and managing relationships and social interactions through shared routines.
Communication: Listening, understanding, and speaking in social contexts.
Creative Thinking: Designing individual visual schedules to represent daily routines.

This lesson plan provides a structured yet flexible approach to support young learners, particularly neurodivergent children, to feel secure and engaged by establishing predictable school routines through a highly visual and interactive approach aligning with the Australian Curriculum (Foundation Year) requirements【11:AC9L2AU4C04.md†Australian Curriculum】.