“Students don’t care how much you know, until they know
how much you care!” John C. Maxwell.
Take time to get to
know your students. Give each
student the opportunity to talk, write, or draw about themselves each day for
the first two weeks of school. Do they participate in a sport? Do they have a pet or pets? What do they love to do when they have free
time? What do they like to do with
friends? Would they rather spend time
working alone or with a friend? Who are
the members of their families? Keep
these drawings, writings, and notes that you take when a child is sharing
orally in a file for each child. These
will be valuable when you need to give a student assignments that fit his or
her interests.
Grab the students’
attention before transitions. I
would often break into song. The songs
were usually made up on the spur of the moment, but some were favorites that I
used year after year. During the crazy
holiday season, I would sing, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly.” The children would sing, “Fa, la, la, la, la.” Then we would all but our fingers over our
lips and say “shhhh”, very quietly. This was very calming to the students and
to me. Clapping hands, turning off the lights,
playing a chime, are just a few of the strategies for getting the students’
attention.
Establish routines,
and model, model, model! Once in the
middle of the school year, a new student joined our class. He did not speak or understand English. This is when I learned the awesome power of
modeling behavior expectations. I would
pull out a card with a situation such as walk quietly to the carpet. I would demonstrate an incorrect way to
follow the direction, and then call on two or three students to act out the
correct way. The whole class loved
this. Anytime the class needed some
reminders of routines or expectations, we would act out the incorrect and correct
way to follow the directions on our behavior choice cards.
Correct students
privately. No one likes to be criticized
in front of his or her friends. If it is
a small correction, quietly whisper to the child. If a serious talk is needed ask the child to
meet you at the door, step out into the hall and talk quietly with the child. Remember to keep the door open, so you can
hear what is going on in the class, and stay very close to door. Don’t scold, use a quiet voice and discuss
the situation.
Keep your composure. School can be overwhelming for both students
and teachers. If you feel stress
building, take a deep breath and center yourself.
Let your students
know that you love them. Establish
routines and remind students of the routines whenever needed. Model the routines. Remind students of classroom expectations in
supportive ways. Be firm and kind. Sometimes your tone of voice can make all the
difference.
What are your favorite tips for classroom management? We would love to read your comments.
