Help! My students are out of control

Posted by gosst, 11-16-2009

Get the book "The Daily Five" by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. This is an invaluable resource for teaching rules and routines. This book gives step-by-step directions on how to teach the routines and practice them. Being told you need to teach these routines is sometime not enough. You need to have some specifics. It doesn't come natural to all of us. Don't worry, it is never too late to start with your class. Take it from a teacher who got her class as late as Novemeber.

Tammy

Posted by mmartin, 11-11-2009

All the comments above are great. Many of them are Martin tested. There is, however, a strategy I didn't see, which you can ask yor school or district to have brought to your area. It is called "Time To Teach" and I wish I had heard about it earlier in my career.

I notice this question and most of the posts are dated early in the year, so I trust that you've had some of the great teaching experiences by now.

Sincerely,
Margarett Martin

Posted by djlangley, 11-05-2009

The key to classroom management is organization, never let them see you sweat. You have to be one step ahead of the students. Pacing in your curriculum is a very important skill to build upon, my experience has been that most classroom problems happen within the transition times. Keep them on their toes and they don't have a chance to keep you on yours. Best of luck!!

Posted by jsmoritz, 09-30-2009

There is a behavior management program that allows you to report, track and manage behaviors. We use the positive bank to reward students for positive behavior. It has a 30 day free trial if you want to check it out. http://behaviorsystem.com

Posted by xtcguitarman, 07-15-2009

Harry Wong's "The First Days of School" and Fred Jones' "Tools for Teaching" are excellent resources for new teachers. I have also used the book by Spencer Kagan "Win-Win Discipline". This book focuses on classroom management and also presents it in a way which addresses all types of discipline problems (attention seekers, control seekers, bored students, etc...). I highly recommend this book to all teachers, rookies and veterans.

Posted by Jeff Horn, 07-05-2009

Good evening,

Being a novice teacher, you are in for the adventure of a lifetime. However, you will determing the directions that the adventure takes. I teach at a high school level. Here are a few suggestions that might make your life easier. The first thing I would do is make sure that you have a plan for the day. It is important that the students know that you know what you are doing. Second, insure that the environment is conducive to learning (clean, neat, colorful, etc). Third, make a seating chart for the first week of school.) Watch and reflect on who gets along, who distracts, who is hyper, etc. Once you begin to know your students, manage them. By this I mean you move students around until you find the best arrangement for the environment. Another important aspect is to have a clear idea of your discipline plan. You must train your student in how you expect them to behave. If you are going to use "non-verbal" cues, then make sure they know what the cues are and what they mean. If you have a high energy student, or one that will not engage, give them tasks to do such as passing out papers,books, or anything you need done.

The greatest key is to reflect on what did and did not work each day, and then experiment until you find your 'best practices'. If you are willing to relflect and take risks to keep learning active and exciting then neither you nor your studnets will ever be bored.

Good luck

Jeff

Posted by marthamath, 06-23-2009

I agree that Harry Wong’s book called The First Days of School is an excellent resource full of ideas. I first read it after eight years of teaching and made some changes to my own classroom management. As others have mentioned organization is key. It sends the message that you mean business, that you care enough not to waste their time, and that class is work time - not play time. I am careful to never allow “free time” as it becomes expected. I have a file of five, ten, fifteen, and twenty-minute activities that I can pull out at the drop of a hat. You will also find that soon enough your reputation will proceed you! Make it a good one! I teach high school algebra and English language development. I have hanging file folders, one for each period that reads, “Period 1 to grade,” etc. Right behind them I have hanging file folders that say, “Period 1 to return.” I keep paper clips in the drawer above these and have students pass class work “up and over” to an “in basket” so that they do not have to get up to turn something in. That is another thing, kids need to move, find ways to let them! You have to remember to clearly state what your expectations are if they are not always “exactly” the same.

I also never write a referral to the office. This sends the message that you cannot control your students. Many will probably disagree with me on this one, but at my site, where the Principal is no help at all anyway, it really works best if I find a way to deal with it myself. I am strict and my kids respect that because, as mentioned above, it is all about relationships and my kids know I care about them. I have them complete a worksheet about themselves on the first day. I also have them fill out a 3X5 card on the first day with ALL their contact information on it. I use the card all year long to call on students. They know that I make notes right on it if they are not participating. They are not allowed to not try. The first year I did this they tested me, and sure enough I had to add a column to the grade book called 3X5 Participation. Each negative note cost them five points. Positive comments earned them five points. After that first year, I never had to record a negative comment again. I am the most requested 9th grade math teacher, by the way.

Feel free to email or Skype if you would like to at marthamath10@gmail.com or rose.ann.morris on Skype.

Keep trying!

Rose Ann

Posted by cmb, 06-13-2009

Comments
I am a teacher with K-4 students who are going into Kindergarden. I know what it means to have a disruptive class and even 4 & 5 year olds need attention especially if they do not receive it at home. So this is what I have done. I take a special notebook for each child and I write their names in it and sit down one on one and ask them what they like. I do this to all 15 of my students. This shows them that I am interested in them. Then I let them know how special they are and that we will talk about each one of these special things and find that they are excited about what they have seen in their book. I do not yell I have found that if you have a child who is the leader, I gentle bring him to my desk and go over his little book and show him how he is acting in pictures and he seems to understand that this is not acceptable in my class. I have found that so many children have people, parents screaming at them and I don't like to be screamed at so I changed my tone and the way that I interact and the way that I want to be treated and it has worked miracles in my class along with the first thing at 8:05 is prayer. Especially for me. Hope this helps in some way.

Posted by erica.bennett, 06-09-2009

Relationship building with the students is the first step in creating a respectful student-teacher relationship with the students. I teach 9th and 10th grade, and when I entered the education system as a teacher 4 years ago, straigt out of college, I had students condition to wreak havoc. Now that I am goin on my 5th year as a teacher, I will give you four keys....(1) Relationship building - you must genuinely show that you love and care for your students, because they don't care about your credentials (2) Organization - classroom supplies, turning in and handing back papers, attendance - organize everything. It must be a process for them to do everything. (3) Forgiveness - we all make mistakes so forgive your students. (4) Professional Development - observe teacher's classes - the master teacher and the pushovers. You will learn management styles from every type of classroom.

Posted by dpippenger, 06-04-2009

Listen to what they have to say and generally what you have is a difference of conception. You have one idea of what they should do and they have another. I had a class that was my best behavior wise and they gave me a hard time during testing repeated talking, so for the next hour(my worst class behavior wise) I made only one change, I said if there was any talking I would move a student as a first warning and then refer them to the office for the next. My worst class and they said not one word for an hour. I gave a clear view of what I wanted in that class and the first really I expected rather than instructed and an enforceable consequence that they knew I would do did not hurt either.

Posted by rsherfield, 05-13-2009

I really like Dr. Becky Bailey's Loving Guidance methods.

http://www.consciousdiscipline.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j3gF1dh_t4

Posted by annekawiggins, 05-13-2009

There is a book called Positive Discipline and it has excellent suggestions for building positive classroom communities.

Posted by iShar, 05-10-2009

Classroom management can take on many different forms, from the guide by the side to the disciplinarian teacher. Go back to your textbooks and re-read the sections on classroom management or behavioral psychology thinking about your learners. The other resources mentioned in this thread are also good references if you cannot readily find your books.

As you look at the resources mentioned, keep in mind your grade level/student maturity level. If you are dealing with very young learners, then discipline and routine are key. If you are dealing with learners near the end of their required school time, then respect and accountability are going to be the keys to managing the classroom.

And probably one of the best things to do is to visit with the other teachers in your building. See how they manage the same student grade level or come up with lessons that involve merging the two groups of students.

Good Luck! and remember the school year is almost over.

Posted by soon2bdocta, 05-07-2009

If I may add my two cents to the already excellent suggestions: consider doing doing some project-based plans where the learners are grouped and working together. This teaches them responsibility to each other, promotes good social skills, and more importantly, you are able to interact with them as a group as opposed to individualizing discipline. Also demand your school building and/or district (and other teachers) design and implement professional development that deals with classroom discipline.

Project-based learning, collaboration with other teachers, and forming professional learning communities will help relieve some of the stress you may feel implementing discipline solutions.

Posted by annaschlaff, 05-07-2009

At the start of next year try C.H.A.M.P's and Capturing Kids Hearts. These are two excellent programs for classroom management and building teacher/student realationships.

Posted by xtcguitarman, 05-06-2009

I think the key to classroom management is to have procedures and routines in place. These need to be taught and practiced at the beginning of the year until the students can do them without thinking. They will also need periodic review and practice time throughout the year. Also, it is important to overplan rather than underplan. Students will take advantage of any "free" time they can. Posted rules and expectations should be in view at all times by the students.

Posted by Kteacher1, 05-06-2009

Always have your teaching/lesson supplies and propts close at hand. Being organized is key. Our students know when they can take advantage......usually leading to chaos. Good luck....Lee

Posted by lgatlin, 04-06-2009

Hello,

There are many resources for support in classroom management because this area is a key to student achievement. Higher time on task results in increased learning. The best resource I have used in the past is by Harry Wong. Google for his materials that basically share how to develop classroom routines that management student behavior.

Linda

Posted by ebrosch, 03-18-2009

What kind of resources is your school or disctrict offering you? Just curious.

The Newbies

Help! My students are out of control

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