Everything you need to thrive in grade five!
11 Practical Classroom Management Ideas 2 comments Back to School, Classroom Ideas, Classroom Management, Popular Posts, Tips and Tricks One of my favorite things to do is peek inside other teacher's classrooms. I love seeing what kinds of things they are up to, checking out their favorite tricks of the trade, and to sniff out new tips that I can bring back to my own classroom. If you're like me, then keep reading. This post is full of all my favorite classroom management ideas and tips. Warning: This post is long, so grab a cup of coffee and cozy up while you enjoy peeking inside my classroom. :) This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link. MOVEMENT CODE WORD I started using a movement code word just this year. My class just couldn't seem to wait for me to finish giving directions before they started to "follow" them. To save my sanity, I started using a code word system which turned our transitions into a game of sorts. The students had to wait for me to give directions and could not move until I said the code word. I will say, I wasn't sure if this would work, but it did! So, I stuck with it all year. And, I'm going to continue to use it in the future. As you can see, I don't do anything special as far as displaying the code word. I just write it on the board. Pretty printouts aren't necessary for everything. ;) I change my code word at the beginning of each week, and I like to use fun/funny words. Some people like to use vocabulary words, but I prefer keeping it light and fun where I can. :) Some code words I used this year include: -Cactus Pants -Llama llama -Rainbow Dash -Sugar Cube -And too many others I can't remember WIRELESS DOORBELL If you ever feel like your go to "attention getter" isn't getting the attention it needs, then I highly suggest you invest in a wireless doorbell. For $13, it's a fun and effective way to mix up your attention getters. Click here to see this item on Amazon. I don't use the doorbell exclusively, I use it when the kids are working in pairs or groups and the voice levels in the room are above a whisper level. It's easily heard and immediately gets their attention. When I ring the doorbell, I tell the class to fold their arms and face me. Then, I say what needs to be said, and everyone returns to what they were doing. It's great! CHANTS Sometimes transitioning from desks to the carpet area can be slow. One way to help pick up the pace, and eliminate talking along the way is to lead students in a chant. We used a few chants this year, and once the kids learned them, I would let them be the chant leaders. I would signal for table groups to head to the carpet one at a time as the chant was going on. I'd like to say that I'm so incredibly talented that I can write my own chants, but that would be a HUGE lie. I'm the least musically/rhythmically inclined person I know. Buuuut, click here for a (free) fun transition chant I found at Classroom Freebies. Pinterest is also a great source of chant ideas for those of us who need it. ;) GUIDED READING GLASSES Guided reading is that sacred time of day where we all tell our students not to bother us unless something extreme is happening. It is also the time of day where our students seem to forget that we are not to be interrupted for minor things. Or, was that just my class this year? Seriously, my class this year was just.not.getting.it. Every time guided reading rolled around they seemed to forget that we had a hand signal system in place. To them, I abandoned the role of teacher and swapped it for role of IT professional. I've never had problems with students solving their own problems or using hand signals during groups before, but this year was different. So, I invested in a pair of special glasses. These glasses became my "Don't talk to me during reading groups" glasses. I hoped that something visual like the glasses, that I only wore during group time, might remind them to follow procedures. Guess what? It did (of course there were a few hiccups here and there, these are kids we're working with, after all)! Click here to see these glasses on Amazon. If glasses aren't your thing (or you already wear them), then a headband or hat would work too. HAND SIGNALS The last thing I want to hear is "Can I get a new pencil/tissue/drink of water/go to the bathroom?" 95 times a day. Thank goodness for hand signals. I introduce these on day one and they are a sanity saver. My only rule is, don't use a hand signal during teaching time unless it is a dire emergency. These hand signal posters are from Rachel Lamb- The Tattooed Teacher. You can edit them to meet your needs! YOU TUBE FOR RELAXATION I used to play relaxing music via my CD player, but this past year I've relied on You Tube for all our relaxing sound needs. I could use Spotify, or other music apps, but I like to project the image from the You Tube video for extra ambiance. "Meditation Relax Music" is one of my favorite channels. Toward the end of the year, the "A Day of a Unicorn" song/video quickly became a class favorite. TABLE POINTS/STICKER BOOKS I have an entire post about this. Check it out HERE! All I will say here is that my students loooooooove their sticker books. And thank goodness, because I loooooooove to buy new stickers. POINT OF ORDER Whenever we enter the classroom (from our morning patriotic ceremony, from Specials, after lunch, etc.) I use point of order. The students enter at a zero voice level, and stand behind their desk with their arms folded. This just helps them remember that it's time to focus on learning. They sit down when I give the code word (see above). MYSTERY WALKER Anytime my class walks together from point A to point B, I choose two mystery walkers. I do this by pulling two name sticks from the container on my desk (sorry, no pic). I keep a careful eye on these two students as we walk to wherever we are going. If they follow hallway expectations, they earn the status of Mystery Walker and earn a ticket (in my classroom, tickets are used to earn special privileges). If a student earns the status of Mystery Walker twice in once day, he/she earns a special reward tag! I made these using my Editable Reward Tags. Read all about reward tags HERE. If you have a classroom economy, you could pay your walkers a small amount of classroom money. Or, give them a sticker. Or, they just get bragging rights to being named Mystery Walker. Basically, you can reward your walkers however you'd like. :) JOB CHART FOR TWO My friend Deirdre (A Burst of First) shared this genius classroom job idea a few years ago. I took her idea and made it work for me. Because, isn't that what teaching is all about? Hehe. Seriously though, this system is a life saver (for me)! Every week, I assign two students the role of classroom helpers. These students basically do anything from running errands to collecting papers to passing out papers to carrying the lunch bin outside. This system works for me because I cannot keep up with assigning 23+ jobs a week. It's just too much. If you prefer assigning specific jobs to all your students, that's awesome, but this is a great alternative for those of us who can't keep up with that. After school on Friday, I take down the two names from that week and replace them with two new names for the following week. I keep the name cards in a small basket and just rotate through the pile of names two at a time. I keep it as simple as possible. You can download the chart here for FREE! What you'll need to do: Print out the chart. Use an exacto knife to cut small slits toward the top and lower middle portions of the white section of the chart. Place paperclips through the slits. Slide your name strips under the paperclips. (You'll need to make your own slips of paper with student names printed on them....or, just cut up index cards and write the names on that). STUDENT NUMBERS For some reason, the idea of using student numbers seems to really irritate some people. If that's you, please don't read the rest of this section. Student numbers, however, can make things easier when it comes to labeling. My students are not called by number, nor are they just a number to me. It's simply a way to streamline classroom organization for the students, and me. I use student numbers because I don't have to spend time relabeling everything in my classroom at the beginning of the year. This is especially helpful as class sizes continue to increase. I label our mailboxes with numbers. These numbers have been in place for a few years now. Such a time saver when I'm trying to unpack and set up my classroom at the end of summer. Students write their name on their paper, followed by their number. This way, papers can be quickly and easily placed in the correct mailbox. Our brag tag display is also labeled with numbers. These numbers have been up for about 3 years because I haven't had to customize the labels with names. That's all, folks! I hope you found an idea or two that you can use in your own classroom. Do you have another tip or idea to share? If so, comment below! DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:
Real talk: classroom management has always been my biggest struggle as a teacher. I think that this is true for a lot of teachers. It’s one thing to read about classroom management strategies in a college classroom, but it’s a whole other ballgame when you’re standing in front of a roomful of middle schoolers and you are somehow expected to keep them all in line! I’ve had a few tough groups over my first few years, and I needed something to up my classroom management game. The classroom management strategy I’m going to share with you today has been a total game-changer for me, and I hope it can help you, too! This strategy is called Behavior Bingo. To implement it, you will need a 10×10 chart numbered from 1-100. I used to draw mine out on big chart paper, but I’ve since created this handy printable board so that I don’t have to draw it out each time! You will also need 100 popsicle sticks each labeled with a number from 1-100. I keep these in one of those metal pails from Target, and you will also need another pail for the sticks to go in once you have pulled them. You will need a board and set of numbers for each class you are using this with – I have used it with up to 4 classes at once! I marked each class’s set of sticks with a different color and then discarded them all into the same tub. If you don’t want to buy or have to label all the popsicle sticks, I have also seen teachers use small slips of paper numbered 1-100, or even just a random number generator online! Here are the rules that I use: The object of the game is to get 10 numbers in a row (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) and get a bingo. At the start of each class, I write the numbers 1 2 3 on the front whiteboard. During class, I erase a number any time the students are not meeting my expectations, starting with 3, then 2, then 1. At the end of class, however many numbers are left on the board is how many popsicle sticks they get to pull that day. For example, if only the 3 was erased, then they get to pull 2 popsicle sticks. They can earn up to 3 numbers each day. The students pull out the correct number of sticks for that day. I let them take turns. I hold the jar up above their heads so they can’t peek inside. Then I color in the numbers that were pulled on the bingo board. You can certainly adjust these rules to meet your needs. For instance, you could use a smaller or bigger bingo board, depending on how quickly you want them to earn their reward. With the 10×10 board, it usually takes 1-2 months to earn the reward. You could also adjust how many numbers they can earn each day. Another thing you could do is tie the numbers to specific goals. For instance, my students know that at the beginning of class they need to be in their seats with homework out and working on their warmup. If this doesn’t happen, they know I will erase a number. As for the reward, we choose this as a class before beginning the game. I have the students brainstorm ideas (I tell them that they need to be something either relatively inexpensive or free and can only take up about 20-30 minutes of class time) and list them all on the board. Then I have the students vote for their top two choices. Some ideas we have come up with in the past include an ice cream party (I bring the ice cream, they bring the toppings), root beer float party, time outside, free time, board games, donut party, dodgeball, or popcorn and a short movie. I write their choice at the bottom of the bingo board as a reminder of what we are working toward. And that’s it! It’s very easy to keep it running, and it has been very motivating to my students, especially when they are down to only one number left for the day. You can find the printable board that I use in my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you’re interested! Do you have any awesome classroom management strategies? I would love to hear about them in the comments!
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Happy November, teacher friends! I love this season so much in the classroom! You can really feel that the breaks are so close and Christmas is in the air! Sometimes, along with that comes the need for more redirection because students can sense it, too. That's when I pull out a classroom behavior management game to get us back on track. The goal of these games is to take students from being extrinsically motivated to intrinsically motivated. I want them to make the right choice because it's the right thing to do and not just for a prize. How you, as the teacher, approach that makes all the difference and sets the tone. They need a good amount of positive feedback when playing these games for them to be successful, such as, "I noticed how quickly and quietly you transitioned from the carpet to your seat." You can then ask a student to add a game piece to the board. If you have strong routines and a classroom management system in place, I promise that you will see a noticeable difference in the way your classroom runs with my Classroom Management Games. I wanted to make the prizes simple and free, so I always post this list as a reminder for me. I will pick maybe three and have students vote on what they want to work towards. This gives them a goal to strive for. We also go over expectations for the game and the specific ways they can earn a game piece. Each game will focus on a specific behavior. Once we get that behavior or routine down, we move onto a different game. Transitions are something I am always working on, so I made this one, Transitions are as Easy as Pie. When students exhibit a quick, quiet, and smooth transition, they get to add a piece of pie to the game board. Once the pie is built, they earn the reward. Some groups tattle more than others, so it's up to you on whether or not you use this game. The group from this year tattled fairly frequently, so I would have definitely used this game! Students can earn a piece by effectively solving problems amongst themselves. I earn a piece for tic tac toe if someone tattles. Be sure to go over what is a tattle and what needs to be brought to the teacher. Good manners is so important to me. I want my students to display good manners throughout the building and to be models for others. When they get a compliment for having good manners, such as in the cafeteria, they earn a dish for the Thanksgiving table. This game really gets them thinking about how they act inside and outside of the classroom. Your definition of goodness might be different than mine, but for me, I am looking for students showing acts of kindness to other students and to adults at school. When they are caught showing goodness or kindness, they get to add a piece to the BUMP board. If they are exhibiting a less desirable behavior, I get to add a piece. You can bump each other's piece off the board; I don't bump them but they do bump me quite frequently. The goal is to get four in a row. I also let students tell me if someone is kind to them for a piece for the class. The turkey challenge is just a classic game of students vs. teacher. Choose the focus you need for your class, such as raising their hand or being engaged. Students are the turkeys and are trying to earn pieces for their side. If they are not exhibiting the desired behavior, the teacher earns a piece. Whoever has the most at the end of the lesson or day wins. I print each of these games on cardstock and laminate them. I use round Velcro dots from Amazon to attach the pieces to the game board. I display the game at the front of the room, so that students can have that visual of what they are working on and for. You can even ask your students what they think the class needs to work on to give them more ownership over the game. You can find the link to the games HERE or by clicking on any of the photos. An update to the December games is on the way, so be on the lookout for that! Thanks for stopping by!
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