If you’ve struggles with getting your students to listen, you might just need to put them in a better seating chart. This short video shows you how I can make an effective seating chart in less than 3 minutes!
This has nothing to do with classroom management. At least I think it doesn’t. You decide.
We’ve been testing all week. You know, those practice standardized tests our county uses to gauge how much the students have learned and how well the teachers have taught. It’s a long week, to say the least. Typically, we test from 8:30 in the morning and don’t get a break until around noon. Ugh! What a long time to spend cooped up quietly in the classroom.
On the first day of testing, when we finally got to go to the cafeteria and pick up our bag lunches (double Ugh!), I decided to take my students outside to get some air and enjoy our food. It was a tad chilly, being the first day of spring in the mountains of western North Carolina. Most of the outside tables were tucked neatly into the shade, making for a very chilly lunch.
I found a spot a bit away from most of my students but still close enough that I could see everyone. This sunny spot felt just about perfect as I settled into my lunch (which I’d brought from home- never eat in the cafeteria…). A couple of peaceful minutes passed and I heard a student yell, “Hey, Mr. B! Are you lonely?”
I replied jokingly, “Extremely lonely.” At which point that student and his group of about five other guys sprang up, came over to where I was sitting, and grabbed a seat around me.
Now, truth be told, these guys were probably just hoping to warm up a bit in my sunny spot, but even still. That group of guys coming over to eat their lunch with me… Let’s just say that even if it’d been a lot colder, I’m sure I wouldn’t have noticed it.
Here’s to warmer weather and appreciative students!
Darren
“Do you need me to fuss at you to get you to behave?”
“Do you know what is expected of you when you come in my room?”
“This is a great opportunity to practice your listening skills.”
I think every teacher develops a short list of key phrases they turn to time and time again. I know I do. In different situations for different reasons, these key phrases can help a class regain its composure without you losing yours. I guess that’s why they call them “key phrases.”
“Do you need help controlling yourself?” … with the follow-up, “…because I can help you if you need it.”
“Focus please.”
“Having trouble focusing?” …again, with the follow-up, “…because I can help you if you need it.”
I think why these powerful classroom management phrases help my students is because they are aware of my clear expectations and my clear consequences when they don’t meet those expectations.
What are some of your key class management phrases? I’d love to hear them!
Darren Barkett
This one’s fresh, my friends! I was inspired and tried this little trick today, and it really worked! If you’ve ever struggled to get your students to really, actively listen to each other, then try this little trick.
In class, we’re reading the novel, Ender’s Game. Great book. My 7th graders love it. During one of our written reflections, I had my students share their responses with everyone at their table. Typical stuff, I know. But this time, when it came time to share with the class, I had the students share something they’d heard from another student rather than sharing what he or she had written.
This proved to be quite challenging! More often than not, the students couldn’t remember anything that their other table mates had shared with them. I told them to share again, only this time, each student needed to be an active listener since each of them would be responsible for sharing what someone else had written.
The conversations and sharing proceeded again, only with more energy, more interest, and greater levels of participation. Afterwards, I asked the students if they could tell the difference between their earlier passive listening and their newer more active listening. Sure enough, they could!
I often try to get the students to break out of their “private movie where each of them is the superstar and everyone else is an extra in their move” but it can be difficult. This little listening exercise really seemed to help- both them and me!
Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.
Darren
This has nothing to do with classroom management. I’ll just get that out in the open. But it made me smile, so I thought I’d pass it along. We all need to smile more, right?
I drink a lot of water during the course of my day (I hope you do too!). I found that it helps me be more patient and effective with my students (and my family when I get home). Recently I found some canned bubbly water that has no calories but is really refreshing- no this isn’t an ad for them. I started drinking them and found them wonderful, except when they got warm.
So I made a little can cooler out of an old styrofoam cup I’d had lying around. I cut that cup up and put it back together with duct tape to fashion an ugly little can cooler/coozie/hugger/whatever your region calls those things. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.
Just this Monday, one of my quiet but smiley students came up to me at the beginning of class and whispered, “I’ve got something for you in my locker. Can I go get it?” She disappeared and reappeared moments later with the cutest little can cooler I’ve ever seen! It was in the shape of one of those aloha floral print button up shirts, complete with short sleeves, bright green with white flowers all over itl, and it fit my cans perfectly. I was so excited, as excited as only a teacher gets at these little moments of extreme thoughtfullness from his students.
I couldn’t help but show it off to all my students that day, who were appropriately unimpressed but smiled at how impressed I was. And I took it with me to lunch to show off at the teacher table. I couldn’t help myself from taking some slow, ostentatious drinks with my new can cooler. I don’t really think the others were envious, but I sure acted as if they should be!
Teaching can be tough, and sometimes, it’s the littlest things that can make your day. Now, every time I take a sip from my canned water, I can’t help but smile.
Darren B.