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Maximizing Learning Time: How These 4 Classroom Management Ideas Can Help

Classroom Management June 19, 2023

Blog header for Maximizing Learning Time: How These 4 Classroom Management Ideas Can Help - photo of students in line

Every teacher’s goal is to maximize learning time as much as possible! Classroom management plays a huge role in being able to do that. Today I’m going to share with you 4 easy ideas to make classroom management a breeze!

Quiet Game

This first management tool is a game-changer for hallway behavior and waiting for a special’s class! To play the quiet game, the students need to be quiet, facing forward, and have their hands to themselves. I then walk up and down the line and find the student who is being the best example of a student standing in line. I tap them on the shoulder and then they get to pick the next student who is standing perfectly in line. This continues on and on until the special’s teacher is ready for them.

Wireless Doorbell

This may contain affiliate links for your convenience.

I know I’m not the only person to discuss and recommend the wireless doorbell, but this thing is amazing!

In the past I’ve always used the clapping patterns or 1-2-3 eyes on me as a way to get student’s attention. And, while yes that will work it sometimes has to be repeated many times. The wireless doorbell has changed all of that! My doorbell has multiple songs and chimes and I chose a simple chime that sounded like the end of intermission at a play. This thing works like a charm! My students hadn’t seen it before so it was a novelty item at first, but it gets their attention! The nice thing is that I can change the sound or song so that it’s always fresh and always a bit of a novelty.

I use the doorbell as a way to get them to freeze and give me their attention. I sound the doorbell when they need to rotate during math rotations. I use the doorbell as a sign to clean up. This thing works and it’s saved my voice and frustration level. Now there are times when they are a little crazy and I have to ring it a second time, but I do not have to raise my voice! The doorbell does it for me! Click HERE to grab your own doorbell from Amazon.

Reward System

I love using brag tags as an individual reward system, but also like to implement a whole class system too. One of my favorites and easiest to implements is the Tally Chart.

Tally charts or place value (with tens and ones) is a great way to manage whole class behavior. For the tally chart, I pick a number and students have to work to earn that many tallies. I typically start with 25 and then once they earn that we go for 50, 75, 100, etc.

I also have a few other behavior option that you can find in my blog post >>> HERE.

Class Contract

Instead of the teacher created rules, in my class we create a class contract. I saw this idea at a training a few years ago and loved it!

Our class contract is an agreement of how we want to treat each other and how we want to act in our classroom. It is completely student driven and helps with buy in! After creating it together, everyone in the class signs it agreeing to follow the expectations. I then hang it on the wall and refer back to it often throughout the year.

For more classroom management tips, click HERE.

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3 Quick and Easy Whole Class Behavior Management Ideas

Behavior System, Classroom Management January 9, 2023

Whole Class Behavior management Ideas- photo of tally chart

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Today I’m going to share with you 3 quick and easy whole class behavior management ideas! Behavior management is a topic that is at the forefront of every teacher’s mind. Behavior systems can make or break your classroom and it’s important to change things up and keep things fresh.

Ways the Class Can Earn the Rewards

For all the systems listed below, students can earn rewards as a class for a variety of reasons. The biggest thing I stress is that we are working together as a class to earn the rewards together. It needs to be ALL of us – not just some of us. (Depending on your class and behavior situations, you might need to adjust expectations).

Here are a few ways they earn a point, letter, or sticky note removed…

Class compliment
Walking quietly in the hall
Working quietly
Working well together during a math game or group activity
Participation in class discussions
Lining up quickly
Classroom picked up
Desks organized and neat

Behavior Management Idea #1 – Tally Chart

Photo of tally chart used for whole class behavior management

Behavior Management Idea #2 – Earning Letters

Photo of Earning Letters Behavior Management Strategy

I tend to use the “Earning Letters” classroom management strategy mid-year during the 2nd and 3rd quarter. I put up blank lines on the white board for how many letters are in the word. For this whole class behavior management strategy, I will use the word of the prize they are trying to earn. So if they are trying to earn a READING PARTY – I will put up 12 blank lines. Students can earn a letter for any of the ideas listed above.

Behavior Management Idea #3 – Sticky Note Chart

I got this idea a few years ago on Instagram from Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching. Each time the whole class accomplishes one of the positive behaviors, a sticky note comes off. At the end, they get to figure out what their mystery reward is and earn it.

Reward Ideas

I like to keep rewards simple and easy to do. Rewards will change depending on what they had to do to earn them. For example, earning 25 tallies is different from working towards 100 tallies. Here are a few rewards I have used in the past with these systems…

Food items (cookies, popsicles, ice cream sandwich, etc.)
Reading party – students can bring in a blanket, stuffed animal, and/or pillow for the reading party
Game time – students can bring in board or card games from home to play with their friends in class
Lunch in the classroom
Extra recess time

Final thought…

Keep in mind it is good to change up your incentives and management systems throughout the year. Students need novelty and things need to be kept fresh to keep their interest. I tend to cycle through these 3 behavior management systems above each school year.

For more info…

Click HERE to read my blog post with more Classroom Management Tips.

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Computer Log-In Tip

Classroom Management, Technology June 24, 2022

Blog Header Image for Computer Log-In Tip

Does it drive you crazy when you get asked, “Teacher – what’s my computer log-in for….?” If you answered yes, you are not alone! Computer log-ins are even frustrating for adults. Every log-in requires different things and it can be hard to keep them straight. So I have two computer log-in card ideas to share with you today to help save your sanity in the classroom!

Computer Log-In Card #1

I used this version a few years ago. I started out by printing out labels for each program we have. That year we had AR, MobyMax, Pearson Realize, and Spelling City. I have one page of address labels per app. I label it with the title of the app and leave a blank spot by username and password.

Then, I fill in the eight million different user names and passwords on the labels and stick them to the cards with the student’s name label on it. Voila- easy access.

I hang it by the front white board and students can refer to it as needed, take it to their seats, etc. It has saved me a lot of time and makes it easier for kids to be more independent with logging in to the computer program.

Photo of computer log-in cards hanging on classroom wall.

Photo of computer log-in cards with labels for each program.

Computer Log-In Card #2

This card version my teammate created and we both used it this year. We created a template in PowerPoint with each program and then a spot for username and password. We then duplicated the page so we could type in the information for each student. We fit 4 cards to a page so we had multiple copies. One copy was taped inside their supply box for school, one copy was sent home for homework, one was kept in their take-home folder, and I kept the final one.

Hope this tip helps make your log-in life at school a little easier!

Building Student Independence Tip

Classroom Management February 2, 2021

Blog header for Building Student Independence. Picture of To Do list with 3 items.

Real-Life….

One thing that drives me crazy is when a student comes up to me after they turn an assignment in and they say “I’m done – what do I do now?” We want kids to know what do and be independent enough to do it without needing to check in with the teacher.

Teacher Goal – Building Students Independence

One of our goals no matter which grade you teach is to help students become more independent throughout the school year. Obviously this will look differently in each grade level, but our goal is for students to be more independent leaving the grade than they were when they started.

One tip I have for this is To Do Lists. Part of students being more independent is being able to complete multiple tasks/multi-step directions. The way I do this is through checklists/to do lists. On the board or using the projector, I will put a to do list up of what the kids are supposed to do. Here are a few examples:

Example #1

Turn in telling time page.
Reflex math on Chrome Books.

Example #2

Turn in cause and effect page.
Read at your seat

Example #3

Finish your small moments story.
Re-read it to check for capitals and end marks.
Sketch your pictures for your story.
Get a new booklet to start a new story.

These lists help keep kids on track and gain independence. I go over this to do list prior to sending kids to their seats so they know what the tasks are. By having it up and visible students can refer back to it as needed. For younger students who are learning to read you could still put the words, but also add picture clues to help them with the tasks.

Have you used to do lists with your class before? Let me know below…

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Ways to Promote Social Emotional Learning

Classroom Management, Back to School July 13, 2020

Blog Header for Blog Post Ways to Promote Social Emotional Learning. Photo of 2 boys and 2 girls at school.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an important part of every school day. Now more than ever with distance learning and COVID, SEL will need to be a big focus when we go back into school in person and/or digitally. SEL is important for every day classroom interactions and beyond. These life skills that students can learn will help set them up to be successful in future life situations.

Importance of SEL

SEL is important for so many reasons, but below I’ve picked some of the top ones I see in the classroom.

Teaches life skills
Promotes positive self-esteem
Teaches teamwork
Helps kids express feelings and needs
Helps students understand others
Gives students the opportunity to learn about self-control

As teachers it’s important that SEL is not just a passing thought, but something that we integrate into our classroom everyday. I’ve come up with 6 easy ways to incorporate SEL into your classroom.

Social Emotional Books

Picture of the book - What Should Danny Do? School Days

Books are always a great way to teach life skills. Students can identify with characters and things they are going through. Reading SEL stories can also open up an opportunity for great classroom discussions about friendship, self-control, emotions, etc. If you are looking for some SEL books, check out my list of 10 Must-Have SEL Books for the Classroom>>> HERE.

Building Classroom Community

Classroom community is another way to promote social emotional learning in your classroom. The first few weeks of school teachers work tirelessly to help the students get to know one another and to build up that classroom community. Your class is like a family and it takes time and effort to make that happen.

Getting to know you activities at the beginning of the year is one way to build community. One activity I love doing is having the kids interview each other. This is a great way for them to get to know a classmate they didn’t know before. If you are interested in an interview page already created and more get to know you activities, check out my Getting to Know You Back to School Writing Activities.

Team building activities are another great way to build classroom community. I know this year things will look different with COVID, but I love doing table team competitions. In the past, we’ve done who can build the tallest tower, who can make the largest paper chain, and who can balance the most dice on a popsicle stick. These competitions are silly and meant to be fun. They are also a great way for the kids to feel more comfortable.

Morning Meeting

I could talk about Morning Meeting all day long! If you know me, you know Morning Meeting is one of my favorite parts of the school day. While it incorporates academics, Morning Meeting is also a great chance to promote Social Emotional Learning skills. This is a great time to read SEL books, have discussions during share, and work on activities where students can get to know each other better. If you are interested in learning more about Morning Meeting, click HERE.

Scenarios/Discussions

Picture of scenario card with a clipart of a boy

Kids do not come out of the womb knowing how to deal with social and emotional situations. They often learn through experiences. Through these experiences, they sometimes make a great choice when handling a situation, but they also sometimes don’t know what to do and might not make the best choice.

While reading SEL stories, we tend to discuss the scenarios of what has happened. This gives us a chance to talk about the situation and how the character handled it. Questions I often ask include: Did they make a good choice?, Could they have handled it differently?, What could they do next time? These questions and discussions expose kids to every day situations that they might face some day. They also provide them with background knowledge, which might help them know how to handle these situations.

I just created a brand new resource to help with these discussions. In this resource, you will find 24 different every day child scenarios that you can project on the board. As you read through the scenarios and questions, you and your class can discuss the situation and how to handle it. You can find this SEL Discussion Cards >>> HERE.

Helping Kids Process Situations

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, kids often do not know how to handle social and emotional sitituations when they happen. Part of our jobs as teachers is to help them. As situations arise in the classroom, I always try to take time to talk with the individuals involved and help them work through the situation. Now I know it’s not always possible to do it right there in the moment, but try to find some time that day to help the kid/s with how to handle what happened.

Calm Down Area

Picture of Safe Place Cards for ideas to help when students are angry.

So a Calm Down Area is a safe space in your classroom for students to go and take a minute for themselves. It’s almost like the child is putting themselves in time out. However, it is not meant to be a punishment. It’s meant to be a space for the child to take a break, calm down, and reflect. Your calm down area can be called many things- safe space, Zen Zone, Reflection Pod, etc.

At the beginning of the year, make sure you introduce it to your class and explain what it is for. You can also model how to use it. I’ve seen calm down areas really help students who are working on self-control. It can honestly be helpful for anyone – we all need a break sometimes!

Helpful Links

I hope you found these SEL ideas helpful! Please click on the links below for more information on what I posted above.

Long Pin for Blog Post Ways to Promote Social Emotional Learning. Photo of 2 boys and 2 girls at school.

Teacher Tip – Wireless Doorbell

Classroom Management February 20, 2018

The Best Teacher Invention…

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.

I know I’m not the only person to discuss and recommend the wireless doorbell, but this thing is amazing!

In the past I’ve always used the clapping patterns or 1-2-3 eyes on me as a way to get student’s attention. And, while yes that will work it sometimes has to be repeated many times. This past summer I purchased a wireless doorbell to use in my classroom after seeing some teachers on Instagram recommending it. My doorbell has multiple songs and chimes and I chose a simple chime that sounded like the end of intermission at a play. This thing works like a charm! My students hadn’t seen it before so it was a novelty item at first, but it gets their attention! The nice thing is that I can change the sound or song so that it’s always fresh and always a bit of a novelty. (Our classroom Elf even changed the tune to Jingle Bells during the holiday season.)

Anyways – random little post today, but I’ve been meaning to share my love for this doorbell with you. If you are interested in the one I purchased it was around $15 and I’ll post the link below.

SadoTech Doorbell on Amazon