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Part 1
Create a Positive, Productive, and Cooperative Classroom Culture
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SECTION 1
Classroom Management Ideas
1) Lead by example
During my graduate training at UCLA, an instructor once remarked to our class that no matter what subject any of us went on to teach, we would all impact our students most powerfully with the examples that we set. He cautioned us not to lose sight of the fact that though we may teach science or English, more than anything else, we are teaching ourselves; we are teaching who and what we are. Years later, when students look back on the time spent in our rooms, they might not remember all the content. They will remember us.
As classroom teachers, we need to pay careful attention to the example we set for our students. This doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect or that we should hold ourselves to some unrealistic standard. It does, however, mean that we make every effort to model for our students the qualities and behaviors that we promote. When leaders walk their walk, they accomplish a great deal more than they do with words alone.
Leading by example is by far the most powerful way to help children develop important academic and behavioral dispositions that I refer to as Habits of Mind and Habits of Character. Encouraging reflective thinking and incorporating self-evaluation and goal setting into our practice play an important role in our effort to help children internalize these ways of thinking and acting, but nothing matches the power of modeling.
Consider the habit of honesty for a moment. In the beginning of every school year, one of my main objectives is to create an environment of trust in my classroom, and that can only happen when everyone acts in an honest manner. What is the most effective way for me to promote honesty? Is it to establish a rule that everybody must be honest? No. It is to be honest. I must make and keep promises to my students so their trust in me grows. I show them how to be honest by modeling honesty every chance I get. Talking at my students will not achieve the same results. Leaders understand the power of a strong example.
Constantly look for ways to model Habits of Mind and Habits of Character for your students. Let your actions do the talking. For instance, to show how much you value thoughtfulness, provide students with “wait time” before having them answer a question. Pause for a few seconds before you answer their questions. Use a positive tone of voice, say please and thank you every chance you get, and look out for the well-being of others to encourage kindness. Demonstrate the high priority you place on respect by making eye contact with your students and listening closely when they speak to you. Share stories from your life about helping others to highlight the importance of service. Kids remember examples.
2) Appointment Clocks
An Appointment Clock is a classroom management tool that teachers can use in situations where students will be working in pairs. Appointment Clocks save valuable class time, empower kids to make meaningful choices, ensure that students have the opportunity to work with a variety of classmates, and facilitate smooth transitions.
Here’s how Appointment Clocks work. Imagine that you are planning a classroom activity in which you would like your students to work in pairs. When you have finished explaining the directions and are ready for the kids to begin the activity, you ask everyone to find one partner and get started. Though this request may seem simple enough to follow, many students will struggle. Some may not feel comfortable approaching a classmate, others may not be able to decide how to choose one friend over another, and still others may choose the same friend every time you attempt cooperative learning. The potential exists for wasted time, hurt feelings, and a loss of focus from the activity itself.
All these potential problems can be avoided through the use of Appointment Clocks. This tool is simply a sheet of paper with a traditional clock printed on it. Though there are twelve hours on a clock, I have my students use only six of the hours at the beginning of the year (from 1:00 to 6:00).
Before asking my kids to fill the clocks out, I explain that everyone should use these sheets to record the names of six different people they would like to have as partners. I emphasize the importance of choosing people with whom they will get along and be able to focus. I have found that having six different partners on the clock works well for middle grade students because it ensures variety while still providing the opportunity to work with close friends frequently.
It usually takes about 15–20 minutes for the students to walk around and find their six partners. When almost all students have completed this task, I call them back together to check for accuracy. When I say “1:00”, all the kids stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their 1:00 partners. If some students accidentally wrote a name in the wrong space or if some students do not yet have a 1:00 partner, we can make any corrections at this time. I proceed through all six hours of the clock until everything is correctly recorded. If necessary, some students may work with the same classmate for more than one hour on the clock, and if your class has an odd number of students (which is very different, by the way, than a number of odd students), each hour of the clock will contain a trio.
With our clocks complete, organizing cooperative learning is much easier. I attach a 1–6 spinner to the top of the white board. For our first pair activity I point the spinner to the “1” and have the kids work with their 1:00 partners. Next time around, I move the spinner to the “2” and ask everyone to work with their 2:00 partners. The spinner enables me to keep track of where we are in the sequence so that students work with all their partners the same number of times. It also keeps me from having to remember where we are in the sequence. Students will quickly memorize their six partners. Until they do, I have them tape a small list of their “Clock Partners” to the top corner of their desks for easy reference.
Now, for example, whenever I need students to work in pairs, I simply say, “You will work on this activity with your 4:00 partner.” Our transition into the activity is a smooth one, and students are happy because they have the chance to work with someone that they, themselves, have chosen. I have found that there’s a certain psychological comfort in this fact. Students are more invested in the activity because they were the ones who chose their six partners. Later in the year, I often have my students complete the rest of their Appointment Clocks so they have the opportunity to work with a wider variety of classmates. With these six new spaces on the clock, I’ll allow them to repeat one or two of their original six partners.
3) 3-clap signal
One classroom management tool that all teachers need is a clear, simple, and reliable silent signal that we can use whenever we need our students’ attention. Over the years I have found that the most effective option is what I call the “3-clap” signal. When I need everyone’s attention, I clap three times. They respond by clapping three times at the same pace I used. After the kids clap, I say, “Empty hands on forehead, eyes on me, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.”
I speak calmly and slowly because many children feel stress when they hear a teacher’s silent signal, and I want them to be relaxed. Some kids have trouble following silent signals because they want to keep working, and that’s admirable. By counting down slowly, my goal is to provide everyone sufficient time to find a stopping point in whatever activity they’re doing and give me their full attention. The “empty hands” part of the signal is important because it guarantees that they are no longer writing anything when they look at me.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind for any signal you decide to use. First, wait until you have everyone’s full attention before beginning your instructions. Practice and emphasize this during the first few weeks of every school year so the kids know you are serious. After the first month of the year, if the kids continue working when you give the signal or talk when you’re talking, hold them accountable by practicing this routine at the beginning of recess or lunch for a couple of minutes.
Next, try not to use your signal too frequently. Once children are in a groove and focusing well on an activity, we want to honor that. If we call for their attention every couple of minutes, we run the risk of interrupting their flow.
Finally, once you have given the signal and are about to provide directions, begin by saying, “When I say go.” That way, the kids know to hear you out. Without these initial words, students will likely start carrying out your directions without hearing them in their entirety. As a result, the kids are unlikely to complete the directions successfully. Once you’re done with the directions, then say “go.” This is another skill that requires frequent practice at the beginning of each year. The hands stay on the forehead and the eyes stay on us until we say “go.”
4) Table Cards
On the days my students use their Writing Workshop notebooks, they begin by following our class routine of putting that day’s topic at the top of the page in a box next to the date. Before I learned about Table Cards from a colleague a few years ago, I would give the kids a couple of minutes to carry out this task and then circulate throughout the room to ensure that everyone had headed their paper correctly. Using Table Cards saves me from this time-consuming endeavor while allowing the kids to take greater responsibility for their learning and build teamwork.
Here’s how it works. You will need one index card per student, with every table receiving a different color. Imagine your class contains seven tables of four. You would need four red cards for Table 1, four blue cards for Table 2, four yellow cards for Table 3, etc. Each set of cards would be numbered 1–4, and the kids would always get the same color and same number. At the beginning of the period, I would ask all the 1s, for example, to serve as card monitors that day. (I keep a spinner on the board and rotate through the numbers so that the children each receive the same number of turns.)
The 1s would then take their set of cards and distribute them to their tablemates. Once every person at their table has finished heading their paper, the monitor checks for accuracy, collects the cards, and returns them to me. After I have received all seven sets, I know that the whole class has completed the routine. Of course, I need to teach this process at the start of the year and have everyone practice it for a few weeks before it becomes second nature. The use of Table Cards is not limited to Writing Workshop; we can employ this strategy any time we need to hold children accountable for completing written protocols.
5) Silly Reminders for Things That Need to Go Home
In my classroom we use the popular Words Their Way approach to improve our spelling skills. One night a week the kids take home their word strips in a Ziploc sandwich bag for a homework activity. Everyone is in the habit of taking home their independent reading book...
