I'm linkin' up with some of my FAVORITE bloggers over at:
...for their Management Monday series...
I talk quite a bit about classroom management in my blog. I might be a little "management obsessed" if you will. Why not though? I want to have fun and not (as my students would say) turn into the incredible hulk. Can you imagine?! The whole turning green and ripping through my clothing isn't a cute look.
I have to be honest here. I have tried SO many different things. I have tried the clip chart, I have tried check marks, I have tried the "flip the card". NONE of them work for me.
I wrote HERE about how the Dream Class really changed my thoughts on behavior management, and I have to keep writing about it until my little bloggy fingers fall off. It's that amazing.
For this linky party, I'm here to talk to you about my favorite section of that book: HOW TO IMPROVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT BY DOING LESS. Doing less? You mean I don't have to go home every day EXHAUSTED like I have just been beat up by 30 ten year olds? SIGN ME UP!
You may all think I am crazy, but I do less and it has improved my classroom management like crazy.
Here are my tips (adapted from Dream Class) on how to do less:
1.) Slow Down. The same way children emulate their parents' behaviors and mannerisms, if you haven't noticed yet, your students emulate you. You are their mother (or father) for 7 hours everyday. When I started to slow down and speak with a purpose, I noticed my kids slowing down and speaking with a purpose. When I stopped to say "bless you" if someone sneezed, my kids did too. It may seem silly and you may say "DUH!" but when you notice yourself slowing down and not rushing through everything, or trying to GO, GO, GO like we always are, you will not only cover more material and get more done, but you will also have calmer students. Your classroom will shift and when you notice it, it's the coolest thing ever. :)
2.) Talk Less. Let's face it, the more we talk, the more likely our kids are to tune us out. When they tune us out and enter (as I like to call it...) LA LA LAND, they are more likely to misbehave. This is the reason I LOVE Whole Brain Teaching. Say what you want QUICKLY. Be brief, get to the point, say it matter of fact and move on. Save your voice for when you really need to give a good life lesson. ;)
3.) Do NOTHING. My favorite. OH YES, YES, YES!!! Your kids will stare at you, they may wait for you to flip your lid, even lose your marbles, but you won't! (Side note: I used to be that teacher that screamed her head off or lectured and scolded when students were too chatty or not listening. Yes I am ashamed to admit it, and YES I am ashamed to admit that even now on a RARE occasion I STILL lose my marbles). But, when I remember to have my coffee that morning, I do nothing instead of losing my marbles. If I don't get the desired behaviors I am looking for I just stand there and wait. My students know that our classroom is fun and we do fun things. When they notice me standing there, I hear them reminding each other to be quiet. I hear things like like, "SHH, I want to hear this" or "Guys, be quiet or we won't be able to earn our fun project". They listen to each other and it's pretty cool to hear.
4.) Lower your voice. Last year, one of my students, who REALLY tried to rock the calm, cool, and collected 5th grade boat, said to another student, "Miss Nannini doesn't really yell. She really let's us know what we did and talks to us about it, but she does it like quietly." I laughed secretly in my head when I heard this. I was glad my students noticed this. If you want your students to really listen to you, speak quietly. They will have to use every muscle in their body (including their brain!!), to lean forward a bit to hear you better.
5.) Teach your classroom management plan. I say this a lot, but it's true. If students don't know what you want, they aren't going to give it to you. If you want them to come in quietly and open their books, then model how to walk in quietly and how to open a book. Figure out what you want your students to be doing at all times and teach/model/show them EVERY SINGLE routine and procedure. When your students forget (and they will) stop in your tracks and practice it all again. No joke, I am that teacher mid math lesson stopping dead in my tracks, grabbing our winter coats and practicing a routine from the beginning all because I noticed NONE of my kids paying attention. So why not start over? They get your message and you don't have to bribe them, yell at them or coerce them to listen.
 |
| If it is a straight line you want, then PRACTICE a straight line!! |
6.) LOGICAL CONSEQUENCES!! Another one of my favs (I seem to have 'lots!). While your classroom management plan needs to be simple and effective, most importantly it needs to work for you. You need to believe in it and follow through with it. Make your rules and stick to them. When a rule is broken, there is a consequence. It can't be some random hum-drum consequence for the sake of just giving a consequence. You need consequences that will FIX the behaviors. Logical consequences are where it's at, and they are like saying to a student, you break it, you fix it. They can be tough to think of, but I do my best to come up with them. Take a look at this document below for my "cheat sheet" of logical consequence ideas. (P.S.- I need to apologize for the plain-ness of this!! I figured it's a straight up check list which is why it is lacking my usual color and clipart!!)
Click HERE or the picture below to grab this freebie!
I'd love to hear what you're all using!!
But when all else fails, remember they are kids. Sometimes getting together and talking about "stuff" helps them. Sometimes they need to be taught right from wrong or how to ask for that pencil nicely instead of ripping it out of someone's hand during writing. One of my favorite lessons I do with my kids is when we read, "The Junkyard Wonders" by Patricia Polocco and talk about our differences and coming together as a family.
We talk about being there for each other and stepping in to help one another out when the time arises. My favorite part of that lesson is when the students brainstorm ways to pay it forward. Then, without a doubt, someone starts the year off by paying it forward and it has a domino effect in our classroom. :)
*A student wanted to "thank" his classmates for electing him as student council representative, so he went home and printed all of these labels that say, "Thanks a Million" and personally thanked every student when he gave them their candy. Like, REALLY? REALLY!??! Is that not the SWEETEST most CUTEST (hilarious!!) thing you've ever seen?!!
*Side note: