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One of the hardest things to master as a new teacher is a smooth and quiet transition from one task to another. The class can turn from calm to chaos in the blink of an eye, as soon as you make a change in what you are doing. While some children can move easily between activities, there is always a group who just struggle with transitions. When chaos breaks out, only your toughest do-gooders stay focused. Everyone else sinks to the lowest common denominator.

Here are ten tips on how to build smooth transitions into your classroom routine.

1. Give notice before it time to make a change. By announcing to the class before making a transition, you allow them time to get ready. Depending on what you are doing this could be five minutes in advance for a large activity or just 60 seconds for a math page. "You have five minute before clean up. Think about a good stopping place." This way they won't be in the middle of something when you ask them to transition. It saves a lot of mess and frustration.
2. Make personal contact with hard-to-transition kids. You know who doesn't understand or like transitions. Take a moment to stop by his desk to guide him to get ready to make the change. "I want you to stop after this math problem." Or "Don't start gluing today. You can put the things you cut out in this envelope." This helps the child cope and avoid panic. In fact, hard-to-transition kids frequently are the children who want or need extra attention anyway, so you are able to give them that attention in a positive way.

3. Teach them to freeze, or at least, stop talking. I used a variety of ways. Hand signals, call and response, spelling the word "quiet," or a sound such as clapping or ringing a chime. Call and response is when you announce a word in your teacher voice and the class responds. For example, you call "Macaroni and." The class will reply with "Cheese!" You can also use a fact you are studying. For example, if your class is learning about magnets: "Attract or" "Repel!"

The real secret to making freezing work is that when everyone stops talking, you wait. Wait! Wait for at least fifteen seconds before you begin to give instructions. This requires patience on your part, but I promise you, they will learn to listen better if you start when the class is completely quiet.

4. Give an honest amount of time to put things away. Be realistic about how much time it takes to put books away or clean up after a science experiment. It gives everyone the chance to do it right.

5. Avoid too much empty transition time. Let everyone know what to do or where to go next. If they are done quickly, consider letting them stay put and talk quietly until you are ready to give instructions. You can even give them a question or topic to discuss such as the weather or "Do you think whales can talk to each other?"

6. Crowd control. Letting a class of 27 kids move from one place to the other en masse is asking for trouble. Try moving them in smaller groups. Be sure to mix it up so they don't anticipate who they will be able to start something with. You can move them by table numbers, birth months, clothing attributes, or whatever. Wait until a group is nearly to their next location before moving another group.

7. Notice without naming. I love this trick because it works like a charm, every single time. Say in your teacher voice, "I notice six people have their notebooks and pencils out." Suddenly, ten more have their pencil and notebooks ready. "Okay, let's see. Seventeen people are ready." Lo and behold, the whole class is poised for the lesson. Everyone wants to be noticed. Be sure to make eye contact with the child who will blurt, "Notice me!"

There is one caveat to this. Don't notice bad behavior this way. Remember that everyone wants to be noticed works both ways. If you acknowledge negative behavior by saying "I see six people are still at their desks," your middle-of-the-road kids will join them in a flash. Keep it positive.

8. Make it fun. Have the class tiptoe or walk like a zombie to where they are going. Let them try to whistle as they wait. Have a quiet contest. Keep it light and they will look forward to the transitions rather than losing control.

9. No whining or complaining allowed. The classroom is not a minivan. It is not even a democracy. A simple, "I know no one wants to stop right now, but we have more things to accomplish today" goes a long way. When the whining begins just practice that freeze tactic of waiting. Use your most impassive teacher face. Don't respond to the whine. YOU are in charge.

10. Practice, Practice, Practice. Yes, this works great by the third week. And yes, they will forget it at the end of October, the week before Winter Break, in March, and certainly at the end of May. When it falls apart, make everyone go back to where they were and do it again. In May, it may take three tries but they will fall back into the habit. Don't let the class get by with a messy transition, unless the fire alarm is ringing.

A good transition is not just quiet and calm. It can be a mental break when needed. It can be refreshing. It can help us regroup. It can change the mood of the room. Best of all, the reward of smooth transitions is less chaos and more joy.

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One of the hardest things to master as a new teacher is a smooth and quiet transition from one task to another. The class can turn from calm to chaos in the blink of an eye, as soon as you make a change in what you are

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Really Good Teachers™ Blog and Forum | A Really Good Stuff® Community

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Moving children from one activity to the next can be one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. Both new and veteran teachers often struggle with finding new ways to manage transition time. "This is my toughest area in teaching!" admits Nikki C., and she is not alone. What works for some classes does not work others, which creates a dilemma for teachers who are trying to develop a good transition time routine.

Creating Smooth Transitions

We asked teachers what they do to facilitate smooth transitions in their classroom throughout the day. While there were many answers, there was a common theme throughout. That theme was expectations. Teachers who tend to have good transition time skills, also expect their students to switch activities in an appropriate way. "[It takes] well rehearsed routines and an expectation of no wasted time," explains Deborah A. When you expect children to behave in a certain way, and demonstrate and practice it, there is little room for misunderstandings about how they are expected to act. They know what to do and how to do it.

It sounds simple, but what are those well rehearsed routines? For some teachers it is a visual clue that alerts students to finish up what they are doing. "I give a 2 minute warning by flashing the lights," says Stacey T. Others use visual reminders of the day's events to help with transitions. "I write on the board what the planned agenda is for the class period. As part of my opening routine, I explain what we have planned for the reading/language arts block. We may accomplish all the tasks or some of the tasks. We may go in order or skip around. The students have a preview of what is planned," explains Dawn R.

Adding Music and Movement

Other teachers like to add music and movement into their transition time routines. "I use chants, poems, songs, and clear expectations," Teri says. Tricia N. likes to add patterns to her transition time. "My favorite activity is to say 'clap once if you can hear me', 'clap twice if you can hear me', etc. until everyone is listening," she explains. "I also have the kids do a simple physical activity like touching their toes five times. That helps get the energy out. I also do "sh sh shshsh" in a pattern. They then repeat it back to me."

While movement may include music, it does not always have to. "I let students get a drink between activities," says Buena K. "They need the hydration and it gives them a chance to move around and socialize a bit before moving on to the next activity." 7th Grade Teacher, Peggy H. agrees that movement is a good thing. "'Brain breaks' are important especially for middle school students who have parts of their anatomy that fall asleep easily. Getting students up and moving, even if it's only to take an assignment to a specific place to turn it in, allows them the opportunity to get up and move," she explains. "Giving specific instructions for behavior expectations during this movement is important so that students don't take advantage of it, but the movement really helps keep the momentum in a lesson."

Carefully Curated Cues

Auditory cues are a tried and true method, so it comes as no surprise that many teachers recommend them. "I use a bell or a slide whistle," says Kyla T. "I have them sit in a semi-circle for instruction time and then when I am finished we glide right into practicing what we learned. Once finished, we have a clean up time at the sound of the bell or whistle."

"I am fortunate to have separate areas of the room for math, science and literacy so in going from one activity to another I'll ask students to 'take care of their needs and meet me on the (color) carpet in 3 minutes,'" explains Julianne. "For some this means a drink of water or a bathroom break, for others it means quiet conversation with a friend. When I count down from 5 to 0, students know they are to be ready to begin."

Whichever method of transition is chosen, it is clear that the main factor for success is expecting the best from students. Expecting good behavior and giving them clear examples of what that means, is the quickest way to gain the upper hand on transition time management. With smooth transitions in place, the day will be less stressful for both teacher and students.

Questions to Consider:

What are my expectations for transition time?

How can I help my students gain a clear understanding of how to meet those expectations?

How do I, personally, handle transitions and how does that influence my students?

Additional Resources:

Transition Time: Let's Do Something Different by Jean Feldman

Wonderful Rooms Where Kids Can Bloom by Jean Feldman

Quick and Lively Classroom Activities by Linda Nason McElherne

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How to Create Smooth Transitions in the Classroom - Ideas from Teachers

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Moving children from one activity to the next can be one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. Both new and veteran teachers often struggle with finding new ways to manage transition time. "This is my toughest area in teaching!" admits Nikki C., and she is not alone.

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. What is the impact of having students' reflect on the time it takes them to complete tasks?

2. How do the 1, 2, and 3 finger signs help limit class interruptions?

3. Why does the use of a timer help both the teacher and students more so than just saying?

School Details

Springfield Twp Middle School
1901 Paper Mill Road
Oreland PA 19075

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Teachers

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Strategies to Improve Transitions and Time Management

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Instructional expert Jim Knight observes Wendy Hopf's Language Arts classroom to offer feedback on her management of transitions between tasks, as well as time management. Ms. Hopf involves students' in thinking about how long an activity or task should take and how long it actually takes.

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Some of the most challenging moments in a teacher's day are during transitions-those moments when we move between academic subject areas or activities. Students may see transitions as an opportunity to release tension built up after long periods of passive instruction. Teachers, on the other hand, generally want short and efficient transitions from one activity to another.

These differing needs can lead to conflict. Students may be frustrated that they have little opportunity for social conversation or individual self-care. Teachers may be frustrated that their transitions are taking too long precisely because kids are indulging in social conversation or individual self-care.

But we may be missing an opportunity here. After all, what students are craving is the opportunity to relate to one another positively and practice self-management by giving themselves a break between sessions. These are important social and emotional learning (SEL) skill areas, and transitions can easily be infused with SEL skills practice. Let's think together about how we can create transitions that fulfill both our needs and the needs of our students.

The Teacher's Need for Efficient Transitions

How many of us have stopped instruction to remind students to refrain from side conversations? It's a frustrating experience for any teacher. Because presentational instruction is often more effective and efficient when students are silent, some of us conclude that students should be silent during transitions as well. But what creates effective and efficient transitions is clarity, not silence. We need to consider the possibility that transitions could involve talking, laughing, moving joyfully, or listening to music and still be efficient, if we are clear about what should be happening in the transition.

Understanding Student Needs

Classroom climate is determined by the quality of the relationships in the room. Positive relationships make everyone feel safe and supported, which, as research tells us, increases academic performance. Our students' urge to have social conversations throughout the day speaks to this need. In addition, sitting still and absorbing information for long periods is truly challenging for many students, as it is for many adults. In addition to connecting positively with their peers, students may need a chance to cultivate their own self-management skills by engaging in some type of self-care between long periods of passive academic instruction.

Meeting Teacher and Student Needs

If we accept that our need for efficient transitions and our students' needs for social conversation and self-care are equally valid, we can look at transitions as an opportunity to provide everyone with more of what they need. We just need to provide some guidance about what kind of social conversation or self-care students can engage in during transitions.

Sometimes kids simply need a break between activities. These breaks can be as short as two or three minutes. The more autonomy that we provide during breaks, the more willing students will be to join us in the next planned activity. Consider providing a menu of break activities and let students choose. You could allow them to chat with friends quietly, draw, write in their journal, listen to music using headphones, daydream, or stretch or move around in some other way-especially helpful between sedentary tasks.

Sometimes, you may want to suggest transition activities that address the particular needs of the moment. For instance:

Calming techniques: Invite students to sit at their desks or on the rug and lead them through a series of five cycles of deep and slow inhaling and exhaling before shifting focus to the next academic activity. This practice can help students calm down, especially between recess or gym and a return to the classroom.

Put-ups: While moving from the table to the rug, invite kids to give "put-ups," or compliments, to one another on the work they just completed. When kids arrive at their seats or the rug, ask a few of them to share the put-up they delivered or received. This activity is especially helpful if students have been experiencing conflicts or negative feelings.

Self-talk: After a challenging academic lesson, ask kids to practice positive self-talk during their transition to the next activity. You might suggest they practice saying things in their mind such as, "That was hard, but I tried my best and I'm proud of myself." Or: "I understand more today than I did yesterday." Or: "I know what I still have questions about, and that means I can find the answers with some help."

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Making Transitions Work for Students and Teachers

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Some of the most challenging moments in a teacher's day are during transitions-those moments when we move between academic subject areas or activities. Students may see transitions as an opportunity to release tension built up after long periods of passive instruction. Teachers, on the other hand, generally want short and efficient transitions from one activity to another.

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Move students in and out of class and between activities smoothly to save valuable instruction time.

While facilitating a demo lesson in front of eight Georgia instructors, my credibility crumbled when 35 cranky middle graders gridlocked themselves in a failed attempt to move their desks into small groups. Charitably, the observing teachers pretended not to notice.

Botched transitions are not only embarrassing, they're lost time. If you save 15 minutes a day through more efficient transitions, that will result in 45 extra hours of instructional time per year. Therefore, shifting students from one task to the next is worth getting right.

There are essentially three types of transitions: entering class and taking a seat, switching from one academic activity to another, and exiting class. And just like any academic procedure, transitions are taught through explicit explanations, clear models, rehearsal, and review.

1. Secure students' attention: "Focus on me, please."

2. Explain the procedure: "In a moment, return to your desks and take out your history textbooks."

3. Prepare kids for the signal to start: "When I say 'smooth,' you'll quietly proceed."

4. Initiate the transition: "And... smooth." Don't say "go," warns Linsin, because that word cues students to race.

5. Observe: Watch to make sure all students are complying.

Whether students are transitioning from reading to math, or PE to the drinking fountain, author Mike Linsin recommends standardizing the process with five steps that I paraphrase this way:

Troubleshooting

Did I provide too many or too few directions?

Did the transition catch kids off guard when they were absorbed in an activity?

Did too many kids have nothing to do?

Are there specific students who created chaos?

When transitions take too long or learners misbehave, it's time to don your figurative Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat and reflect on these questions:

After answering those questions, try some of the techniques described below.

When transitions take too long: To counter students dragging their feet, announce how many seconds are left before the next event begins. Teachers like Tyler Hester take out a stopwatch and challenge kids to beat the transition times of other classes ( see a video example at the 35 minute mark). And here's a personal secret: Slowly counting down from five in a booming voice never fails to accelerate transitions.

When procedures aren't followed: Lining up her students at the end of the day was a problem for one fifth-grade teacher. Her challenging class often erupted into fights, and the assistant principal chewed her out for delaying the buses. As a solution, she affixed black dots to the floor three feet apart for students to stand on and provided more time for packing belongings. After a few practice sessions, her students' dismissal behavior improved.

Any transition benefits from showing young students how to ninja walk. Other routines are equally engaging; Watch Madeline Noonan's fifth graders ready themselves in "super scholar style" or with "word of the day" signals.

A number of studies show that reminders called precorrectives reduce misbehavior during transitions. Right before a transition, ask a child to describe the proper progression of steps for, say, entering the class after recess. Or play " correct the teacher " by performing examples and non-examples while learners indicate incorrect actions with a thumbs-down signal. Then call on someone to articulate or model the correct procedure.

In another precorrective, described by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a child walks through the procedure while the teacher narrates: "Let's watch Noel at the sink. First, she turns the handles a bit. What does she need next? That's right, soap! She pumps once because that is all she needs. Now she is rinsing off the bubbles and is ready for her paper towel. How many pulls does she need? Let's say it together-one, two, that will do!"

Finally, an effective strategy for reteaching transitions is simply to direct the entire class to start over. Budget extra time for do-overs during the first two weeks of class and be patient. As the Navy SEALs say, "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

When students don't want to quit what they're doing: Have you ever seen a boy wail when bedtime is announced? More than likely, he felt blindsided. In the classroom, many kids feel the same volcanic emotions when asked to stop doing an activity that absorbs them. However, displaying a countdown timer, like E.ggtimer.com, Online-Stopwatch.com, or Timer-Tab.com -when combined with verbal time signals-helps students anticipate and prepare for an approaching transition.

When younger children get distracted: In an article on transitions, Sarah E. Mathews cites a 2007 study that showed how "children appeared excited to engage in many routines that were part of music." Singing the following song, says Mathews, will help kindergartners straighten their work areas between activities: "A helper I will be. A helper I will be. / There's work to do. There's work to do. A helper I will be." Or play this clean up song.

Letting students take charge of transitions: Transitions don't have to involve an entire class. Watch how Wendy Hopf's sixth graders use hand signals: Raising one finger requests help, raising two fingers asks for a bathroom or water break, and raising three fingers indicates that a pencil needs sharpening. "I love it," says Hopf, "because I have the option of saying no."

Research suggests that successful transitions are quick and have clear beginnings and endings. Meeting those requirements will maximize learning time. However, don't be afraid to add in some whimsy, like the North Carolina teacher who greets each student with a charming individual handshake as they enter the classroom each morning, thus illustrating that transitions happen with kids, not to them.

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Move students in and out of class and between activities smoothly to save valuable instruction time.

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all levels

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Thought starters

1. How does the "raise your hand" signal contribute to positive class culture?

2. What are some of the benefits of this approach for students?

3. For teachers?

4. Why might it be important to let students finish their thought and focus before responding?

School Details

Amistad Dual Language School
4862 Broadway
New York NY 10034

Data Provided By:

Teachers

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Get Their Attention Without Saying A Word

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Amy Withers from The Amistad Dual Language School in New York City explains the power and purpose behind signaling the class for attention with silence by raising her hand. Any student who sees her hand up raises their hand as well.

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Middle School

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. How does having students select the secret words encourage positive class culture?

2. How can this simple, positive approach take the stress out of classroom management?

3. In what other ways can you easily involve students in establishing class routines and rules?

School Details

Amistad Dual Language School
4862 Broadway
New York NY 10034

Data Provided By:

Teachers

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NYC middle school teacher Olga Ramos decides to involve her students in establishing a simple class procedure. At the beginning of the school year, the students vote on their three favorite or "secret" words. One of these words is used by Ms. Ramos as an attention-getting signal when she needs the students to focus their attention on her during instruction.

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Elementary

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

1. How does Ms. Abdul-Wajid use attention getting signals as a way to practice content?

2. Why does Ms. Abdul-Wajid use different signals in different situations?

3. When introducing these signals to your class, what steps would you take to make them routine?

School Details

Aspire Berkley Maynard Academy
6200 San Pablo Avenue
Oakland CA 94608

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Teachers

English Language Arts Math / Kindergarten / Teacher

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Kindergarten teacher Mary Abdul-Wajid describes the different attention getting signals that she uses in her class. When students need to freeze and put materials away, Mary sings a jingle and the students put their hands on their heads. If students need to practice self control, the class will sign a song to remind students where their hands go.

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Thought starters

1. Why is important to have students' full attention before teaching or giving directions?

2. How does consistency improve student response?

3. What other cues or signals can you use to get students' attention?

Teachers

Math / 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 / Coach

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Thought starters Why is important to have students' full attention before teaching or giving directions? How does consistency improve student response? What other cues or signals can you use to get students' attention? Teachers Math / 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 / Coach

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Discussion Questions - Getting Students' Attention

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Discussion Questions - Getting Students' Attention

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Transitions: Getting Students' Attention 

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Transitions: Getting Students' Attention 

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Here's a fun way to get students attention. The drum is a great non verbal attention getting signal that students respond to in a positive way.

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Upper Elementary

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Thought starters

1. Why is it important to think about "choreographing your classroom" prior to teaching?

2. How does the effort put into teaching transitions pay off in the long term?

3. Why does Ms. Saul have students talk about what transitions look like, sound like, and feel like?

Teachers

English Language Arts Math Science Social Studies Arts / 3 / Teacher

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Third grade teacher Jen Saul choreographs her classroom to create smooth transitions. She talks about how she thinks about the flow of students throughout the day. Jen considers the pathways in her classroom and explicitly tells students which aisles to walk down when moving around the classroom.

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Upper Elementary

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By adding content into your transitions, you can improve classroom management. See how one elementary school teacher adds content to transitions to enhance learning in the classroom.