The Top Five Classroom Management Tips that Actually Work!

I have always said that teaching was like herding cats. Just when you think you have them all under control, something pops up on the other side of the room!

Teaching is the most rewarding profession, and it can also be very challenging. Learning good classroom management is essential to saving your sanity each year! I have been fortunate to have received great feedback from my colleagues and principals on my classroom management. Several fellow teachers have come to me for advice on how I manage my students and I am honored to share my suggestions with them.

I came into teaching when the youngest of my four children was in first grade, so I think I was already used to “classroom management” except it was in my kitchen 😊!

Here are my best tips for helping you manage your classroom.

1.    From the first day begin to establish clear rules and classroom procedures. 

I have the daily agenda, daily question and “Today’s Goal” written on my board each day. Here is a sample.

Today’s Goal: To identify the difference between a physical and a chemical change

 Question of the Day: (this can be a definition or an open-ended question on a  topic we are currently studying)

                         Today: 1. Copy Homework       

                                       2. Complete the Question of the Day

                                      3. Notes on Physical and Chemical Changes (sample idea)

                                      4. Puzzle on Physical and Chemical Changes (sample idea)

                                      5. White board review activity

When students walk in, they pick up the papers for the day, go to their seat and begin the Question of the Day. This is one of my favorite ways to manage behavior. Students like routines and it gets them working on science right away.

2.  Build a rapport with your students.

One of the key indicators of student success in the classroom is the relationship between    the teacher and the student. Whether you are teaching elementary, middle school or high school students, it is important that you get to know your students.

Greet them every day at the door. Ask them how their weekend was. Talk with them about their interests, hobbies, sports, pets, anything that they want to share with you. I tell them stories about my children, my pets, things I did over the weekend, etc. The more they get to know you as a person beyond the classroom teacher, the more likely they will be comfortable seeing you if they have questions about the content you are learning. Don’t be that teacher who sits behind the desk all day. Be circulating around the room and engaging your students in conversation about a variety of topics.

3. Be consistent and fair with enforcing your classroom rules.

Situations arise where students misbehave. I always tell my students that I will respond to them as if their parents were sitting right there in the classroom watching our interaction. If you keep that in mind you will always stay in control of the situation.

A wise principal once told me “If you are yelling, you have lost control.” I fully agree and I never yell at my students. The only time I tell them I will ever yell at them is if something unsafe is going to happen in a lab etc. and I need to stop it immediately. 

I have a poster in our room with our Classroom Rules:

       1. Be Respectful to Everyone

       2. Behave Properly

       3. Be Prepared

       4. Be on Time for Class

If a student is acting out, I will calmly ask them to “please raise their hand, please stop talking while I am talking etc.”  Does this work perfectly every time? Heck no, but it works A LOT of the time.  The goal of student misbehavior is often attention or power. If you shut both of those down, then the student is not receiving what they are looking for.

Many times, I don’t need to even speak to the student. Non-verbal communication is huge!  I can just stop talking, look at the student(s) and the behavior stops. Proximity, walking towards undesirable behavior, can also stop it without speaking as well.

If the situation continues, then I may need to ask a student to stay after class or to step into the hallway so we can privately discuss how they can improve their behavior.

Obviously if things continue to escalate, then more strict consequences such as a lunch detention, demerits or seeing the principal would be warranted.  If you have a clear system and clear consequences for student behavior your classroom management will be much easier.

4.  Use positive reinforcement and praise to encourage good behavior.

Praise the students who are working on getting their homework copied down or getting out their binder for class. The adage you “catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” still holds true! I have smelly stickers that I will spontaneously give out to middle school students who are on task. I ordered them from Amazon and there is no set routine for this, so they never know when it will happen, but they get SO excited when they get one!

I used to give my high school students Jolly Ranchers and they would go crazy for them! You can also give out free things such as homework passes, passes to eat lunch in your room, 5 extra minutes of computer time at the end of class etc.

5. Connect with the families of your students.

 Making the connection to the families of your students is important to building success in your classroom for so many reasons. I recommend sending home a weekly email that lets the parents know what is going on in the classroom. My parents have always emailed me back saying how much they enjoyed this information.

Most 8th graders are not willing to share what is happening in the school day. If the families know we are doing a lab or there is a test coming up they are more invested in their child’s learning. They can talk to their child about what they did that week. The students come into school feeling like what you are doing in class is validated since their families were talking to them about the activities.

Especially for those students who are challenging to manage, I have found it to be extremely beneficial to call home with a positive message. These students are often caught in the cycle of the bad call from school or the negative email. Hearing what they did right today can go a LONG way!

Classroom management is certainly a challenging task. Being flexible and modifying as you go each day is essential to have a successful year with your students. With proper strategies in place, you CAN manage your class and have a good year!