Quick Classroom Management Tips Every Teacher Needs

 Students arriving late: 

• Have lesson objectives clearly displayed and easily accessible materials for collection by the student with minimum disruption. 
• Have seating available for latecomers. 
• Establish and teach a routine for late arrivals. 
• Focus on what is being done right by having a reward system which recognises and rewards punctuality. 
• Be sensitive to individual pupil needs, worries and concerns – offer time for student to explain situation after the lesson. 
• Put support strategies in place if necessary. 
• Always follow up lateness and ensure student makes up missed work. 
• Keep records – have latecomers fill in a form giving reason for late arrival and the time they arrived.  Send copies home with notification of consequences if it continues. 

Students not participating in lesson tasks: 

• Have a bank of topic-related work that can be completed independently, providing some challenge but requiring minimal support. 
• Offer support/set up support systems so that students get assistance appropriately when needed. 
• Be quick to acknowledge all efforts to participate and mark work promptly with positive feedback. 
• Set up 1:1 session to ask student how you can help them to participate more. 

Students not participating in group work: 

• Have an allocated area where a student who ‘can’t cope with’ or ‘chooses not join in’ the group work can be directed to sit and work in isolation. 
• Have spare materials to enable the student to continue the group work independently. 
• Organise the lesson into chunks to provide a way back into group work for the student who has opted out. 
• Clearly demonstrate and explain behaviour and social skills needed for group work. 
• Have visual reminders on display. 

Attention Seeking Behaviour: 

• Tactical ignoring (balanced out with lots of proximity praise). 
• Get up close – move into their space and run the lesson from this position for a while. 
• Remain very calm and avoid getting wound up, to avoid rewarding the behaviour with negative attention 
• Agree non-verbal cues in advance with known troublemakers. 

Swearing/Verbal Abuse: 

• Have rules and routines in place and remind them of the consequences for unacceptable language. 
• Consistent approach – ALL incidents of bad language need to be followed up so as not to allow excuses for ‘accidental’ swearing. 
• Tape record outbursts of foul language and explain that it can be played back to parents. 
• Take out a note pad and say, “I’m now recording what you’re saying.” 
• Have a meeting with the pupil/s involved and ask them to suggest alternative ways of expressing/dealing with anger or alternative words to use when they are angry. 

Not settling at the start of lessons: 

• Allow some cooling off time of a few minutes after transitions and breaks to allow them to settle. 
• Use the countdown technique with lots of proximity praise: “5; It’s time to stop and look this way. Excellent, very quick on that table. 4; pens should be down, books and mouths should be closed, very good you two, you’re listening to me. 3; still too much noise over here, that side of the room are perfect. 2; Just waiting for the last few people now, all conversations should be stopped, hands on the desk in front of you. Well done, you’ve got it. 1; Thank you.” 
• Have a visual reminder of noise levels such as coloured cards/traffic lights.  When green is up the noise level in the room is fine.  Orange – warning, level is too high and needs to drop immediately.  If it doesn’t drop after an agreed time, red card goes up.  Red – stop the activity, take a minute off break and insist on silent working for 5 minutes. 
• Take control at the door – don’t let them in the room until they’re quiet. 

Confrontation: 

• Adopt non-threatening body language (body to side, open arms). 
• Avoid threatening hand gestures (pointing), facial expressions and verbal language (shouting, accusing). 
• Defuse and de-escalate – use humour, change subject. 
• Calmly offer support: 

“How can I help?” “I’m here to help. You tell me what’s wrong, I’ll just listen.” 

Disruption: 

• Remove the audience factor, try and talk to them quietly on a 1:1 basis where possible and remind them of past successes and capabilities – try to find something positive to say first. 
• Give them a responsibility. 
• Use the ‘language of choice’: 

“Do you want to move closer to the board or remain where you are?”  

“Do you need me to help you or can you get on with things on your own?” 

“What are you supposed to be doing? What happens if you don’t do it? 

Is that what you want? What are you going to choose?” 

• Calmly warn them of consequences and follow up… 

“Jordan, sit back down on your chair and finish the work please” 

“Jordan, I’m asking you for the second and final time to sit down and get on with your work.” 

“Jordan you’ve chosen to ignore me.  I’m plugging in the chair.” 

Ignoring You: 

• Give very clear instructions so there is no room for confusion or argument. 
• Try using humour to change their state from being angry or sullen. 
• On a 1:1 basis with a pupil you normally get on well with try to find what is bothering them by calmly repeating statements such as: 

“Tell me what’s wrong so I can help you.” 

“You talk, I’ll listen.  Tell me what’s bothering you, I’ll just listen.” 

• Refuse to get drawn into confrontation: 

“I’ve told you what you need to do and you know what happens if you don’t.  It’s your choice, I’ll be available after school if you want to discuss it then.” 

Lack of Equipment: 

• Offer to loan them some of your equipment in return for ‘collateral’ such as a shoe or a couple of their cigarettes. 
• Give a brief period of time at the start of the lesson for pupils to beg, steal or borrow items from other members of the class. 
• Reward those who bring the required equipment. 
• Focus on teaching right action and correcting behaviour of persistent offenders. Offer them support in the way of special reminders and inform parents that this key issue is causing concern; get them to follow up at home and issue reminders at home. 

Lack of Motivation: 

• Set short term mini-targets: 

“By the end of the lesson you need to get down to here in your textbook.” 

“In the next ten minutes you need to complete numbers 1-4.  I’ll be back to check after that time.” 

• Make lesson activities more active. 
• Include fun starters, video clips, educational games, energizers,  magic tricks and brain teasers in your lessons from time to time to break up monotony. 
• Use loads and loads of effective praise and encouragement. 

Off-Task (low level disruption): 

• Use pre-agreed non-verbal signals. 
• Get close up – sit or stand close to them and say nothing, carry on with the lesson. 
• Use proximity and personal praise – look for opportunities to catch them being good 
• Look for opportunities to offer help – offer choices, adjust the work, adjust seating. 

Defiance: 

• Offer support.  Often pupils are defiant because they are afraid of failure – adjust the work, offer help, ask them what’s bothering them. 
• Remind them of past successes and capabilities. 
• Remind them that you are there to help them and ask them for help in how to bring that about. 

“I need your advice. I want to help you – what is going to make this easier for you?” 

• Go through stepped sanctions as per school behaviour policy: 

➡Give them a warning (verbal/name on board etc.) and remind them of consequences. 

➡Move them to an isolated seat. 

➡Take time off them at break/after school. 

➡Notify them of a letter/phone call home. 

➡Park them in another class.  Or call in the Avengers. 

Shouting Out: 

• Ignore those who shout out and reward/praise those that ask questions appropriately. 
• Play class team games/quizzes where answers will only be accepted by those who put their hands up.  Penalize team-members who shout out by taking a point off the team.  (Teaching class rules in this way is far more effective than nagging). 
• Have a clear policy on how questions are to be answered in class. 

Keep those who shout in at break and explain that shouting won’t be tolerated. 

Flatulence: 

• Ignore it.  By reacting you give them exactly what they were trying to elicit. 
• Explain that if they do it again they will have to stay in at break for a lesson on healthy diet and the effect certain foods have on digestion. 
• Show great concern for their health and tell them it might be a good idea if you were to talk to their parents about it immediately by telephone if they are having trouble controlling it. 
• Follow normal procedure for disruptive behaviour but be careful not to appear confrontational or you will get the classic response, “That’s not fair, I can’t help it.” 

Failing to follow instructions: 

• Explain very clearly the consequence for not following instructions. Tell them you expect immediate compliance and then walk away to give them a few moments to save face. 
• Record the details of the incident and follow up with senior staff. 
• Warn them that you will be contacting parents and make sure you do so if the defiance continues. 
• Have the student removed from the classroom. 
• Start afresh next lesson – don’t hold grudges. 

See our post:  6 Ways to Get Students to Follow Instructions 

https://www.needsfocusedteaching.com/blog/six-ways-to-get-students-to-follow-instructions%2F  

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