By Laura Mooiman, LCSW
Recently, I was visiting an elementary school just as recess was ending. The bell rang, but the transition back to class was anything but smooth. Some kids wandered slowly toward their line-up area, others dashed straight into classrooms, and a few just kept playing, ignoring the bell altogether.
The kids in line waited and waited for their teachers to show up, but soon grew restless and began pushing and shoving each other. Several students simply gave up and sat down, while others drifted back toward the playground. The supervision staff made repeated attempts to restore order, but their efforts were in vain until the teachers finally arrived.
Later that day I watched the same students head to the cafeteria for lunch. Half of one fourth-grade class was milling around outside the room while the other half was still inside. Other groups walked past in loud, unsupervised clumps. Then, one teacher opened her door and, without warning, her entire class bolted through the shrubbery toward the cafeteria, mowing down little kids along the way.
It might sound like a small thing, but these chaotic moments point to something much bigger: the need for clear, shared routines that help kids feel safe, seen, and ready to learn. With over 25 years in education—as a school social worker, district-level director, and now international consultant—I’ve seen how something as simple as lining up can bring clarity, consistency, and connection, benefiting not just students, but staff as well.
Lines Still Matter—More Than We Think
Lining up has stood the test of time in schools for good reason. It’s a simple, effective routine that supports smooth transitions, shared expectations, and a sense of calm. In today’s busy, often unpredictable school environments, lines offer something timeless: predictability, safety, and a shared sense of direction. Ultimately, this class management technique isn’t just about order; it’s about creating a place where kids can settle, feel secure, and get back to the business of learning.
Lines are sometimes dismissed as old-fashioned or unnecessary, but in fact they still have many benefits.
1. Calming the chaos and keeping transitions smooth
One thing I often say to teachers I work with is: “Transitions are not your friend.” Transitions are where chaos and disorder live and thrive. Any time kids move from Point A to Point B there are opportunities for problems, particularly in younger grades where it can be difficult to adequately keep track of students unless they are in an orderly line.
The lack of direct oversight can cause inappropriate behaviors to rear their ugly heads. Think about it—whenever you hear of bullying at school, it’s almost always during these unstructured times when adults are not closely supervising. Lining up helps students shift from one activity or space to another with clarity and purpose, reducing confusion and off-task behavior.
2. Promoting safety and school security
When students are passing through hallways in orderly lines, it’s immediately clear that these children out of class belong to a group and are not simply roaming the halls unsupervised. The chances of a child wandering off diminishes. A clear, organized line also makes it easier for staff to account for students during transitions, emergencies, or drills.
Similarly, if classes are moving around the school in lines, it is easier to distinguish who belongs from who does not. A stranger on campus becomes much more noticeable, as someone wandering around on their own immediately looks out of place.
3. Fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose
One often overlooked benefit of lining up is how it helps individual students feel safe and connected at school. Recently, my younger sister—now an adult—shared that she had been incredibly anxious as a child, especially in her elementary years. One thing she said really stuck with me: “At least when there was a line, I knew where to go. I understood we were going to the library or to recess. It made me feel more secure, knowing I was in the right place.”
For students like her, something as simple as lining up offers reassurance and direction. Moving together as a group—whether to lunch, recess, or class—creates a shared rhythm and reinforces the feeling of being part of a community.
4. Creating predictable structures
Students thrive on clear expectations and routines. Predictable transitions like lining up reduce the mental load of constantly figuring out “what’s next,” especially in a school day filled with different environments, rules, and demands. When students know what to expect, they feel more at ease.
Lining up also offers a chance for students to practice respectful movement: waiting their turn, being aware of others, and using a calm voice. These small moments of structure reduce chaos and help students feel safe and grounded—which ultimately allows them to connect, bond, and learn.
Do’s and Don’ts
As you prepare your school for clear routines and procedures around lining up, here are some things to consider:
- DO lead lines with an adult: When transitioning students to a new location, such as outside for recess, the teacher should walk their students all the way there, until they are sure another adult is present to supervise. Later in the year, older classes may earn the privilege of walking independently, while the teacher watches them from the doorway. If they are quiet and respectful, they can keep this privilege. If not, it can be revoked.
- DON’T let students walk without a teacher: By simply excusing kids directly from your classroom to recess, this sends a message that the playground starts right outside the classroom door. Instead, walking students all the way to the play area makes it clear that behavior expectations in the hall are different than expectations on the playground.
- DO consider creating a central location to line up: Having one main gathering place on your school campus is useful for everything from before school, to after recess, to school assemblies—as well as for emergencies. The location could be a section of the blacktop, a grass area, or even the auditorium. This gathering place creates a sense of school community and allows everyone to see each other, making it easy to tell who is there and who is not.
- DON’T try to teach a new routine for every event: Utilizing one central location for most events keeps you from having to teach too many routines, and is better for kids who already find school overwhelming. Just keep it simple. It organizes the chaos.
- DO arrive on time to pick up students in line: Yes, this means rinsing out your coffee cup before the bell rings and making your way to the playground on time.
- DON’T make kids wait more than one to two minutes in line: It may sound extreme but hear me out. Realistically, students have trouble standing still for even short periods of time. It only takes a minute or two of waiting in line for kids to start joking around, bumping and jostling each other, and so on, even if the yard supervisors are present. By the time the teacher arrives, the class is a mess. “He touched me!” “She cut in line!” While lines do create order, making kids wait too long leads to the opposite. Make a schoolwide agreement that all teachers will arrive to pick up their students within the first two minutes of the bell ringing.
- DO conduct a quick check-in with the class: Once you’ve arrived to pick up your class, walk along the line and greet the students. Ask how recess went. This is a quick and easy way to hear about any issues that came up during the break and, hopefully, resolve them immediately. The underlying goal here is to orient students from playtime back to learning time.
- DON’T line up by gender: When I was a kid, boys were told to stand in one line and girls in the other. In order to make all students feel comfortable, regardless of their gender, this is a non-starter. If you must have two lines (due to space or another reason), either let kids choose, or assign lines alphabetically, by table group, or some other more objective way.
- DO consider all your transitions: Kids should transition around the school in a single line, with their teacher, every time they move from Point A to Point B; from class to lunch, lunch back to class, to the playground, to the bus, etc. Be aware of any time students are leaving the classroom as a whole group, and make sure they are walking in a line.
Lines may seem like an obvious class management technique to some, whereas others may view them as a more antiquated practice, but the truth is that having students line up helps to establish a sense of safety, structure, and belonging at school. When we build predictable routines, we make space for students and teachers to focus on what matters most: learning and connection.
If you’d like to dig deeper, check out my short video “Why Walking in Line is Good for Students and for Schools,” and feel free to share it with your colleagues. Even better, bring it to your next staff meeting and start a conversation about how to improve transitions schoolwide. The more we align around simple, supportive practices like this, the more we create schools that are calm, connected, and truly restorative for kids and adults alike.
Laura Mooiman, LCSW, is an international education consultant, speaker, and creator of Restorative PBIS™, a trademarked framework that integrates Restorative Practices, PBIS, and MTSS to improve school culture and student behavior. With over 25 years of experience as a school social worker and district administrator, she has supported more than 600 schools across 22 countries and has been honored with two U.S. Congressional Recognitions for Outstanding Service to the Community.
