7 Smart Classroom Management Ideas

Need ideas on how to implement creative classroom management techniques in the new school year?  Try this list of 7 ideas for inspiration:

• Sparklers, from Beg.Borrow.Steal, which are cute, little balls awarded to teams of students when they transition back to their desks quickly and quietly after an activity.  She keeps the little balls (found in a craft store) on their desks and the team gets a reward after obtaining 6 of them.  This is similar to table points but a) come with tangible objects, which may be better for younger children and b) specifically target transition periods, so consider this if you want to start the year training the kids how to move from one area to another without a lot of lost time.  Bonus:  the blog also posts about a game which helps cut down on students talking without raising their hands. 

• Blurts, from KinderTastic, may be able to help with students blurting out and talking without permission.  A poster is displayed and students have to place a dot by their name if they blurt out, which helps them see exactly how much they disrupt the flow of activities.  Students are awarded a prize for going a day or a week without any "blurts" added next to their name.

• Make a microphone, like the one used in MsKaren'sClass.  She made it from a paper towel roll and other materials, and students can only speak with they are holding it.  This would be great for classroom discussions.  Bonus:  she also shows us a bottle of her "quiet spray," which she douses on students before going on in hallways.  Cute!

• Assign table managers amongst the students, as suggested in the ReallyGoodStuff blog.  She points out that a lot of teaching time is lost when teachers are passing out papers.  She likes to have  handouts already organized at students' desks, and lets table managers handle passing them out and collecting them.  They are kept in folders which the teacher can then grade.  I've personally seen several techniques with table managers and paper managers, and I think they're all great ideas.  They work efficiently and give students responsibility, while also saving the teacher lots of time.

• Create an incident report, or use the one made by Mrs. Bunyi.  She cuts down on tattletales and wasting time on frivolous matters by having students fill out a form she created.  I love that it requires students to put some thought into their issues with others.  Is it really worth taking the time to fill out the form?  If not, just let it go.

• Use credit cards, like the ones found on TeacherTreasures.  I really enjoy classroom economies.  This site has a printable version of credit cards, where you can give students stamps for good behavior on the back.  They can trade them in for prizes later.

• Use nonverbal cues, like those taught in Teach Like a Champion.  The best way to intervene when students are off-task is to draw their attention back to the lesson, while keeping yourself on pace and not distracting everyone else.  These cues are very cool!  It takes a bit of training to help kids learn to recognize them and follow directions, but staying consistent from the beginning of the year can do wonders.

Classroom Management: Make Your Own Scratch-Off Tickets

Look at this awesome tool for classroom rewards I found on ArtMind.  The blogger shows you how to create handmade scratch off lottery tickets and I think it would be a great way to implement the use of the mystery motivators discussed earlier.  Little more is needed for these than soap, paint and contact paper.


You can print words or a symbol to represent the classroom reward (for instance, a sun to represent recess, or popcorn to represent a movie, etc).  You can fill an entire card with a symbol in each box and, on good days, have a representative scratch off a random box to see what that day's reward will be.


Or you can use the technique from The Tough Kid Toolbox:  Make a lottery ticket with spaces for each day of the week.  Hide a reward on one or two of the boxes.  On great behavior days, decide that students can receive the reward in that day's box.  A representative can scratch it off the day's space and see if the reward is won that day.  If not, keep encouraging them to continue their good behavior because a reward is imminent.  


On poor behavior days, you can scratch it off to reveal if students missed an opportunity for a reward.  This can help if you're trying to help reinforce particular behaviors with the entire class.  The book suggests adding two "reward days" in a row occasionally because students can begin to anticipate that, if there was already a reward scratched off that week, they're in the clear and no other rewards are available for good behavior.  Surprise them!  Perhaps if the lotto ticket reveals a reward they missed, that will help keep them accountable for their behavior.


Here are a few other ideas related to scratch off tickets in the classroom:

• use them for behavior intervention called "Response-Cost" Lottery
• use them for review activities, to hide and reveal answers and predictions
• use them as a homework incentive

Have fun with these!  How else could you use scratch-offs in the classroom?

Fostering Independent Learners:

One of the biggest issues I have subbing is keeping kids on task while they work.  Students aren't necessarily playing, but they sometimes have a hard time FOCUSING just after they get an assignment.  One of my pet peeves is when students wait to ask a question before they even try to tackle an assignment. Several times, I see a swarm of hands and bodies asking me questions about 5 seconds after the papers are handed out.  I can stand helping one student and look up to see several others at their seat, staring off into space with their hand raised limply over their heads.  They won't even try unless I'm next to them "helping" (or coaxing).  I can't stand it because it wastes so much time and reinforces their laziness.


That's why I was intrigued by a classroom management technique I found in Every Teacher's Guide To Class Management .  It refers to a "sweeping" process we all know as circulating around the room while students work.  But the book's idea of "sweeping" helps students know exactly what you want to see them doing, and it helps train them to persevere while they wait for you to help them.


As the book describes, "sweeping" should go like this:  when you assign seatwork, let them know exactly what you want to see as soon as they get started.  For instance,  "I am passing out your worksheet now.  I need to see three things as I come around:  a sharpened pencil, your history book opened to page 74, and you silently reading."  For some classrooms, it may be a good idea to write the "initial sweep tasks" on the board so they can see it, or have them repeat them.


Let them know that's all you want to see.  There shouldn't be movement or noise beyond accomplishing those three things, and that including hand-raising or getting up to ask you a question.  Your initial "sweep" or rotation around the room should praise students who followed directions.  Anyone who is up asking questions or has their hand up should be ignored.


Your next sweep should check for them to have accomplished small, manageable tasks.  They've gotten started, but now you want to see them in a productive, thinking mode.  For instance,  "I now want to come around and see your worksheet with your name and the date on it, and to see that you've attempted to answer the first question."  This sweep is designed to get them on task, focused on working and not relying on you or others for help or answers.  The first few questions are usually easiest, so they can at least attempt to answer them.  You're not looking for accuracy, so just make a mental note to come back to students who appear to be having trouble.  But even a kid who has no idea what they're doing should be able to get their name on their paper.  If anyone has a question with the first problem, or any subsequent problems, your explicit instruction should be to tell them to keep going.  Skip it and come back.  Move on.  Don't stop.  (You may also want to tell them you want to see evidence that they've made an attempt themselves, depending on the assignment.  Have they written out a problem and parts of a solution for a math question?  Have they highlighted important information in a text?  Have they at least located key words or made a guess?  You may have to tell them, "I'll only help once I see ____ for this problem."  It's helpful to have prompt questions posted around the room to help students work autonomously when they run into a question, so they can learn to think through their difficulties themselves.)  Students who are sitting with their hands raised waiting for you to approach their desk are not following directions and should, again, be ignored.


After this second sweep, you can then make it known that you are coming to now respond to questions.  Make it a point to first follow-up with students you noted following directions during your initial sweeps.  The book recommends prompting the students who have questions, helping them by pointing them in the right direction, and then moving on to the next person.  No lingering with one student.  Again, the goal is to get them focused and autonomous, not dependent upon the teacher's help.


I really like this method and I will try to implement it myself.  This will keep students seated and focused on working, which will do wonders for classroom management.  More importantly, I think it will help make students true problem solvers.

image:  microsoft

Mystery Motivators for Classroom Management

Ever heard of "mystery motivators"?  They are advocated in The Tough Kid Toolbox as a way to assist in classroom management.  Basically, a mystery motivator requires a list of things your class would enjoy as a reward (simple, inexpensive things will do:  10 minutes extra recess, drawing time, computer time, listening to music while working, etc).  As they perform the tasks and behaviors you'd like to reinforce, a random reward is chosen from the list (making them a "mystery" for which one will be picked).  


The book gives several ideas for the "random-picking" aspect of the technique, and one is a "yes/no" box.  I think this would be particularly effective for younger students (PreK-2nd).  You can use a shoebox, bowl or anything else.  When the class (not just individual students) performs a behavior you want, write "yes" on a slip or paper or notecard.  When they do something you don't want, write "no".  Put the slips in the box and keep them there until it's time for the drawing.  I would also consider using smiley faces and sad faces in lieu of "yes/no" for the very young ones, since they will probably find them familiar.


At intervals, pick a a slip from the box without looking.  If you pick "yes," they get a mystery reward.  If "no" then they don't.  They should come to realize that the more they are given "yes" slips, the more chances they have for a reward.  Conversely, each "no" slip helps ruin their chances.


I like classroom/team motivators because they help students work together towards a goal.  What I like about the book is that it recommends being SPECIFIC with students about what types of behaviors we want to see.  A "good job" is ambiguous.  We want students to know exactly what they're doing right so they can connect that behavior to the reward; likewise, they need to know exactly what they're doing wrong.  The book suggests using the rules and expectations you actually have posted in your classroom as a guide.  That way, there won't be any confusion about what they're supposed to be doing.  For instance, if the class gets a "no" slip for talking while you are, make sure that rule is specifically posted somewhere for students to see, and that you've gone over it with them.  Pinpointing a few, specific behaviors for the "yes/no" box will help fine-tune the classroom's focus.  If getting out of their seats is your class' biggest issue, make that the one thing that earns "yes/no" slips.  If they have a real problem turning in homework, focus on that.


I would suggest being liberal with the "yes" slips when first implementing the technique, and doing drawings on a daily basis.  That way, kids will have a chance to see how it works and experience the reward once or twice.  Then, I'd adjust the amount of slips and decrease the drawings to once a week.

image: microsoft

The Pencil Problem

Inevitably, teachers encounter a pencil problem during the school year.  Usually at the end of semesters, there is a pencil shortage in the classroom supply.  Students have gone through all the pencils and suddenly have an excuse as to why they're not working.  This has happened without fail each year I've been subbing.  The classroom supply, once abundantly stocked with hundreds of pencils at the beginning the year, is depleted by spring.  I ask students why they are sitting in their desk not working and they'll respond, "I don't have a pencil."  I'll ask if anyone else has a pencil, and no one does.  I'll look on the teacher's desk, in cabinets, on the floor, anywhere to find any extra pencils.  At times, I've resorted to having kids do their assignments in color pencil.  I'd rather have them do that than nothing at all.  I've also bought packs of pencils to take to work with me for cases like these, but I never remember to get them back for my next class (and, is it me, or are pencils cheaper in quality and harder to sharpen?).

So what to do?  Fortunately, I found a discussion of this pencil problem on A to Z forums.  Several teachers there recommended purchasing golf pencils.  When students run out of pencils and parents refuse to replenish the classroom supply, teachers tend to spend more money on buying new pencils that disappear within weeks.  Golf pencils, however, are cheaper than regular pencils.  For about $10 or less, you can get nearly 150 golf pencils.  

Sure, they're short.  But they can write and that's all students need, right?  They don't have erasers and they're not fancy, but they are practical in today's classrooms, especially with budget cuts and teachers (and subs) having to come out of pocket for supplies.  And because they're so cheap, it won't make us so sad when kids walk off with them.

55 Essentials to Teach Students Manners and Character

Love this book!  The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator's Rules For Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child is an amazing book I first saw in one of my favorite places to substitute.  In speaking with a teacher who had the book and used it daily, she talked about its effectiveness in teaching students manners and good character.  

Ron Clark is a teacher who breaks down some of life's basics for students.  Some of the Essential 55 include what to do in classroom situations (like when a teacher reprimands you or another student), how to behave in public, and even things like how to answer a phone and remembering to cover your mouth when you cough.

The teacher I spoke to uses it daily by taking a few minutes to explain each chapter, talk to students about it, and ask them to demonstrate an impromptu skit based on what they learned.  The frequent instruction from the book has really paid off since she began using it, she says.  I noticed myself that her class was very polite, doing things like saying "yes, ma'am" and opening doors for one another.  The teacher attributes her class' good manners to The Essential 55.

This is not a book I think you you need only when you have a really frustrating, rude class.  Practicing good manners and character is an important component of any classroom, and teaching the basics to even well-behaved students will help them understand how they are supposed to interact with others.

You may think, "How can a book like this be of any value to my class or school?"  You'd be surprised!  What I've found in subbing is that students very rarely know some of the "basics" about good manners, being polite, or fostering good character.  I'm sure all of us know some adults who are like that, too!  Some kids just don't learn the basics (at home, or in earlier years at school) like opening doors for other people, or not bragging when you win a game, so a lot of the misbehavior we see is done out of total ignorance.  Once you teach the kids the basics, and they actually see it and start to respond, they begin to practice the good behaviors a lot of us take for granted.  With this type of book, I agree with this teacher that frequent instruction and readings are necessary for students to really learn and practice using good manners.  I also liked that she made them perform short skits that reflect each essential rule because it gave the kids an opportunity to put things in context.

I was sold on the book then because those kids were some of the most well-behaved and polite kids I've had the pleasure of subbing.  There's even a chapter in the book about how a class should behave with subs, so I'm not surprised!

-Veronica

Substitute Advice on Consequences

This is a post I found helpful on the A to Z Teacher Stuff forum in a discussion about giving out consequences.  The context was about substitute teaching, but I do think this post applies to any teacher giving out consequences for misbehavior.  


Thanks again for allowing me to post this, EdEd!

One of the biggest secrets I've found is not what the specific consequence is, but how it is structured. For example, all of the consequences you've listed above are "one and done." The behavior happens, you give the consequence, and you are out of ammo - nothing left to do. If the behavior continues, you have to move on to something else because they already have a note going home.

Often, you can get away with much smaller consequences than you'd ever imagine, if structured right. For example, you can take 10 seconds off of a 2nd grader's recess, and they might be devastated! Naturally, that leaves you with a lot of ammo - you can take off a lot of "10 seconds of recess" and still have a lot left over. Likewise, because of the nature of the consequence, you can also add it back on - for example, kids can earn back a portion of their recess if lost.

Also, think more immediately. A lot of the things you've mentioned above are consequences that occur well into the future - note written to the teacher won't be felt until 24 hours, referral won't be read by a parent for a few hours. Think about things in the child's immediate environment that they care about. Here's a little trick - the closer in time the consequence or reward, the smaller it can be. Believe it or not, kids may act up even when they know they will get a playstation for Christmas in 3 weeks. But, if they know they could be moved to the front of the lunch line if they walk quietly in the hall way, they may just shape up. Why? Because they don't have to wait 3 weeks. Extend that out into "adult time." What if I said to you as a sub, "I will pay you $140 tomorrow morning, or $300 in 10 years." Which one would you chose? 

The mental trick to creating these momentary reinforcement/punishment opportunities is to put yourself in the minds of the kids standing in front of you - what would make the next 10 seconds of their lives that much more awesome? For example, an extra 30 seconds of centers might do it, or offering to the class that you will pick one person who is particularly well-lined up to move to the front of the line. Or, 10 minutes before recess, you might say that you'll pick one student who is particularly well-behaved (define what this is to them) carry out the basketball to recess. 

Many of us make our ways through less exciting parts of our own lives like this - we let ourselves eat extra ice cream after we clean up the living room; we let ourselves go to happy hour Friday after working hard to do lesson plans Thursday night; we let ourselves watch 10 minutes of Tivo after grading 10 papers. We give ourselves little treats to keep us alive, interested, and motivated to get through the less interesting parts of day.

Of course, there is something to be said for not encouraging our culture of momentary and immediate reinforcement, but as a sub you probably won't find yourself with opportunities to utterly influence kids' worldviews on reinforcement through your one-day classroom management plans. In addition, even asadults, we need reinforcement. Some things we love to do - for everything else, there's ice cream .

--EdEd, A to Z forum

This gave me something to think about after a bad day a couple of weeks ago, in which I spent most of my time repeating the same reprimands to the same students.  It was particularly aggravating because there was nothing I could really use as "punishment."  There was no recess for that day, and there seemed to be no real classroom discipline policy for me to enforce.  The warnings that I would be reporting their behavior in a note to their teacher fell on deaf ears.  I was, as EdEd described, "out of ammo."

What did that class want "immediately" that I could have used as an incentive?  After reading this post, I was reminded that several of the offending boys tried unsuccessfully to fold paper and draw instead of doing their work.  If I had been proactive, I could have compromised and required 15 minutes of real work to earn 5 minutes of free drawing time, or something to that effect.  Some would disagree with this method, but 15 minutes of productivity is 15 more minutes than they were willing to give me that day.  Anything would have been better than what I was doing!  

Sometimes, it's good to have a reminder.

-Veronica

Student Participation: the Cold Call (video)

Another interesting video from the Uncommon Schools youtube page.  In it, a practice called "the cold call" is described.  Basically, the teacher asks a question at a rapid-fire pace and calls on a random student.  The point is to keep the entire class on its toes by having everyone be mentally prepared to answer the question, and to keep students engaged and listening carefully.  The video notes that it's supposed to be positive and you want students to get the question right (as opposed to a "I caught you not listening" practice).  The second video shows the same cold call technique used in an upper-grade math class, which would help develop mental math skills.  These videos will lead me to a discussion later about challenging your students.

Substitutes Without a Seating Chart

A quick tip I learned about how to handle not having a seating chart left by the teacher:

I know it's one of substitutes' top annoyances.  I also understand many teachers move students around a lot, rearrange desks, and sometimes have trouble remembering to add or change seating charts.  So what do you do?

I got a tip (I can't remember where) that seemed to solve the problem:

• Get to class early enough to grab a blank sheet of paper and sketch a makeshift seating chart based on the desk arrangement.  Doesn't have to be fancy, just some little boxes on notebook paper.  It should go without saying to get to work early.  You don't want to have to bother with this as students are walking in the door.
• As you take attendance, quickly jot down the position of the students who are present.  This helps you to covertly make a seating chart and learn students' real names.  Sometimes, you have crafty kids who don't want to reveal their real names but,  9 times out of 10, they want to be counted present and so they'll tell the truth while calling roll.  Make the seating chart as you're taking attendance without calling too much attention to what you're doing, if you think the class is being sneaky.
• Once attendance is done, your seating chart should be ready!  Walk around with it, look at the names written in your little boxes, and surprise students that you know their names already!  It's delightful to see how much this throws them off.  If you want them to get in their real seats, just let them know you've already made a seating chart that you'll leave for their teacher at the end of the day, which means the teacher will know who lied to the sub and sat where they wanted.  I'd give them a chance to go to their actual seats without penalty.

Honestly, I'm no longer a big stickler about seating charts.  I used to feel like it was very important to have students exactly where the teacher has placed them, but I feel like if the teacher thought it was really important, I'd have a seating chart!  So, maybe it's really not a big deal.  Another factor is I often feel like the teacher has students sitting in the WRONG seats, with the most talkative kids sitting in within too close a proximity for me to be comfortable.  I move talkative/troublesome kids around all the time, whether it's their assigned seat or not, so I long ago stopped caring so much about seating charts.

But I do understand many subs like seating charts.  I still have a hard time with student names (I find myself saying, "You... in the red shirt!" far too often), and charts are good for that very reason.  Maybe I shouldn't discount them completely!

-Veronica

image credit: microsoft

Teaching Tips of the Week (November 1-7)

source: edheads.org          

1. Many students own and an have an interest in cell phones.  This interactive science activity from Edheads.org applies engineering principles by challenging them to design their own cell phone.  The site presents a problem for students:  senior citizens are dissatisfied by many popular cell phone designs, and your student must come up with a design that addresses the particular needs of that demographic.  The site allows students to research, design, and test their model before it is put on the market for consumers.   The teacher's page for this activity also has tips and extensions, such as designing a cell phone for business people and middle school students.
2. Owl, a great kid's magazine, is having a Story Writing Contest for Canadian students between the ages of 8-14.  Owl supplied the first and last lines of the story, and your students may write any type of story they would like to fill in the substance.  This is a great creative writing project.  Here is the entry form.  The deadline is November 30, 2010.
3. A Maths Dictionary for Kids has definitions for math terms, visual examples, AND plenty of practice problems for students to get a full understanding of concepts.  Students can practice everything here from equivalent fractions to complex geometric skills.  Highly recommended.
4. The Library of Congress' America's Story website provides a ton of information about American history and historical figures.  It's a great resource for students to use for research projects.
5. Here is an interesting video I recently found.  This is from Mrs. Jessica White's classroom blog, where she uses a camera to film a math lesson.  The class is engaged in a cooperative learning activity in which they take "boring school supplies" and make multiplication problems out of them, creating a small book in the process.  It's a good lesson, especially when students need practice with their multiplication, and you have tons of unopened school supplies stored in the room.  What I also noticed was that, while the class did a lot of talking, they were focused on their work and talked in a productive way.  They also switched groups with relative ease and got right to work.  Kudos to Mrs. White's lesson and her classroom management!

Restroom Breaks: How Do You Deal?

One of my least favorite things about subbing, especially since I mostly work in elementary schools, is dealing with a few basic, biological needs:  restroom and water breaks.  In fact, I prefer older middle grades (4th and 5th) partly because you don't have to escort the entire class on a restroom break all the time.  It seems like with Pre K-1st, their tiny little bladders require hourly restroom visits.  Then, you have to trek down the hall, maintain silence and order, wait for everyone to go, keep kids from playing in the restroom, get them out quickly, go all the way back to the room, and then resume instruction.

On some days subbing with older students, there appears to be an endless stream of students asking me, "Can I go to the bathroom?  Can I go get a drink of water?"  The first couple of requests, I usually comply. But then I may notice the same kid will get up maybe an hour or two later.  Or a girl will get permission to go, and suddenly everyone has to go.  It gets annoying.  It also doesn't help that many teachers and schools find a million different ways to handle restroom breaks, so there's no real standard to follow.

I've been visiting some teacher boards lately and, just since the beginning of the school year, several topics have arisen about whether restroom breaks are required (atozforums) and how many restroom breaks are normal (proteacher) and so on.  This sparked some lively discussion as teachers shared different philosophies that ranged from absolutely no restroom breaks during instructional time EVER (particularly due to vandalism) to letting students get up and go, without asking, whenever they want.

Generally, I have no set way that I handle restrooms.  I usually let a few kids go, and I deny several requests if I think it's getting excessive.  If enough students ask, I'll take the entire class to the restroom.

Occasionally, with older grades, I'll let one table or group go at a time.  I like doing that because students can keep working and quit asking me to go, since they realize their groups' turn for a break is imminent.  The only problem is that this only works in trustworthy classes.  Some groups will go and linger too long, and I've also had a teacher escort a group of boys back to report that they were all playing in the restroom.

I've seen somewhere that subs can make their own restroom log for their classes.  Just have students sign in and out with the times that they left and leave it for the teacher, who will then see how long students were in the restroom and how frequently they went.  I haven't tried it yet, but I'm seriously considering it.  It would also be helpful to me to see exactly who has already gone and how long ago they did.  I sometimes find myself asking students with uncertainty, "Didn't you just go?"

I mentioned on AtoZ that one classroom method I liked was one I saw in, I believe, sixth-grade at one school.  Because of restroom abuses, teachers in the entire grade printed out small restroom passes marked with 8 or 10 boxes.  Students had to write their names on it and keep up with it each week.  Whenever they needed to go to the restroom or get water during class, all they had to do was give the teacher this pass.  No questions asked.  The teacher hole-punched a box on the pass and let them go.  The catch was, once those boxes have all been punched, there were no more restroom breaks for the student until the following week, when they all get new passes.  So if a kid wanted to get up and go three times in one day, fine, but they've already used nearly half of their breaks for the whole week.  If I recall correctly, students who had unpunched boxes at the end of the week got some small reward.  I think I like that method because it was simple, pretty fair, forced kids to use discretion about their restroom visits and, because the whole grade did it, made it easy to follow for subs to know what to do.

What do you think?

How do you deal with restroom breaks?

-Veronica

Ain't Misbehavin': Colored Cups for Classroom Management

I cited The Mailbox in this week's Top Teaching Tips of the Week, and here's a classroom management idea from their site:

Place three cups on the tables or desks of groups of students working together.  Mimicking traffic signals, green cups are on top, followed by yellow, and red at the bottom.  Whenever groups or tables are talking quietly, they may have the green cup displayed.  If they begin to get too loud, walk over and place the green cup at the bottom and the yellow cup will signal that they have a warning for their noise level.  If they correct their behavior, they get their green cup back on top.  If, however, they do not correct their noise level, the red cup moves to the top.  Red signals that they go to silence.

What I like about this is that it's pretty cheap to construct and it's simple for students to understand.  Best of all, the teacher can simply walk by a group, silently move cups, and communicate exactly what students should be doing.  If groups are in centers or playing a game, this would be a useful management idea.


-Veronica

imagecredit:  The Mailbox