When you were studying to become an elementary school teacher, you probably imagined a classroom of rapt children hanging onto your every word. Instead, you have a chaotic and noisy classroom where no one seems able to stay focused on the task at hand. It's time to take control of your classroom through more effective classroom management techniques. Here are a few tips to implement in your classroom this school year:
Avoid Yelling or Panicking
When you're visibly frustrated and upset with your students, the situation tends to only get worse. Kids are sensitive and pick up on their teacher's energy. If you can get yourself to remain calm, to speak in a normal voice instead of yelling, and to feel centered, chances are that your students will soon match your tone.
Engaging in mindfulness activities outside of the classroom, such as deep breathing or meditating, can help you stay calm at work as well. Another trick is to stay quiet when your students are yelling or talking over each other, and only resume speaking when the class is quiet again. Soon, your students will realize they aren't rewarded for bad behavior, and that you don't yell over them or lose your cool.
Reward Positive Classroom Behavior
Most children respond well to positive reinforcement. If you reward the behavior you want to see more of, soon the students will be clamoring to be model student citizens. When someone consistently listens quietly, cooperates with their classmates, and is otherwise well-behaved, send their parents a glowing note home or email. Create a "Student of the Week" club complete with a fun prize for polite students. Make behaving well look so fun and rewarding that everyone wants to do it.
Set Clear Expectations
One mistake many novice teachers make it not communicating clear and consistent rules and expectations. Have your students participate in deciding on the most important classroom rules, such as cleaning up their own messes and not interrupting each other. Thank them for being part of a team with you, and emphasize that the rules make things more pleasant for everyone. Keep your written classroom expectations in places where your students can see them every day, such as on a large poster board at the front of the classroom.
Dealing with a chaotic and unruly classroom is never fun, but implementing these tips and investing in classroom management materials will soon have you feeling much more in control.
Share4 July 2018
My son was having a very hard time learning from the books and lesson plan that the teachers in his school were using. After seeing him struggle and noticing the grades falling, I decided to take action. There are some new techniques that made things easier for him to learn. I found several of these techniques in some wonderful educational books that I found online. If your child is struggling with the lesson plan in his or her school, go to my site. There, you will learn about the things that I have learned to help my child and the resources that have made such a substantial difference in their education.
