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Check out these great tried and true tips on how to organize a classroom

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Learners thrive in environments where there's structure and familiarity, and implementing classroom routines provides students with a sense of predictability, where they feel safe and secure in the classroom. Studies have routinely shown that students learn better when they feel safe. However, this type of classroom climate doesn't magically happen, it has to be cultivated through expectations, rules, and routines.

Routines provide a framework for structure and consistency and offer students a classroom environment where they can learn and thrive. Here we'll take a closer look at why classroom routines are so vital, what types of routines are common in classrooms, as well as give you ideas on how you can establish a routine in your classroom.

Why Routines are Essential

Classroom routines are rituals or actions that are repeated time and time again. These routines that are repeated regularly provide students with a sense of security because they know what is expected of them. This predictable schedule makes it easy for students to navigate their learning environment. Additionally, it helps with time management by establishing a seamless flow and reducing disruptions during transitions when students are aware of the typical duration of an activity or task. The consistency of a routine can also reduce disruptive behavior because students know what is expected of them at all times of the day.

Routines teach important life skills such as responsibility and independence. Once students become familiar with the expectations of the procedure, they will take ownership of their responsibilities. Ultimately, students will spend more time learning instead of asking what they need to do next, all because a routine was set in place.

Types of Routines

Classroom routines don't have to be limited to the beginning or end of the school day. They can be used for transitions, to get students' attention, or in many other ways. Here are a few common ways classroom routines can be used throughout the day.

Entry and Exit Routine

Younger students can learn a procedure on how to enter and exit the classroom, while older students can learn what materials to grab to get started or how to put materials away before exiting the classroom.

Transition Routine

Students will move through transitions many times throughout the day. Learning a routine while moving from one activity or subject to another will make the transition smoother. Many teachers like to use signals or cues like a bell or timer to help the transition move along.

Student/Teacher Attention Routine

Establishing a routine to gain student's attention or using a signal so students know how to get the teachers attention can prevent classroom disruptions or distractions.

Establishing expectations and teaching students how to form groups will help to prevent classroom chaos. It also established clear expectations on communication, collaboration, and students overall learning experience while in the group.

Homework Routine

Providing a consistent method for submitting homework assignments and or reviewing homework assignments provides structure and contributes to improved academic performance. Not to mention that it will make everyone's life much easier.

In addition to these routines, you can also have a routine for when students finish work early, how to collect and distribute materials, classroom jobs and responsibilities, using the bathroom, how to work independently, how to use classroom technology, or just about anything you can think of that you do daily and want it to go smoothly.

How to Establish a Routine

If you're looking to establish and maintain a successful classroom routine, then consider following these steps.

Identify Your Goals

The first thing you want to do is think about how you want your classroom to function. Ask yourself what skills and habits you want your students to develop as well as what tasks and transitions you want to run smoothly. Once you decide upon your goals, this will help guide your choices for a predictable routine that you can set up and teach your students.

Choose Your Routines

You don't have to choose a routine for every single goal you have in mind, but it also doesn't hurt. The more routines you have implemented, the easier it will be for students to move about the classroom independently as well as limit the number of disruptions and distractions that are occurring.

Teach Your Routines

Next, it's time to teach your routines. It's wise to start with one or two each day because you don't want to overwhelm your students. First, explain the reason for the routine, then go through each step of the procedure giving examples and non-examples of what it should look like.

Practice Your Routines

Give students plenty of opportunities to practice their routines. Consider hanging visual aids like posters, charts, or checklists in the classroom for students to reference.

Monitor the Routines

Once students have learned the routines, keep an eye on how they are working. If you notice they are not meeting your expectations, then revise or reteach them. You can also ask for assistance or suggestions from your colleagues or ask students how they think the routines are working or if there is anything they would change about the routine.

As you progress through the school year consider revisiting your classroom routines. Some routines may no longer be needed or just aren't working like they used to. Or you may want to change some of the routines to give students more responsibilities. Remember, consistency is key when it comes to routines. Try and stick to each routine as closely as possible because predictability fosters a sense of security in students, and when they know what to expect each day it will make for a more productive and successful learning environment.

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Establishing a Smooth Flow: The Power of Classroom Routines - TeachHUB

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Learners thrive in environments where there's structure and familiarity, and implementing classroom routines provides students with a sense of predictability.

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Empowering Students with Voice and Choice

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We often talk about what it means to move from compliance to engagement. It's the idea of creating an environment where students want to learn rather than have to learn. This is that top level of engagement, where students are highly committed and highly focused.

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Most agree: Strong, trusting relationships between students and teachers are the key to high-functioning, academically challenging classrooms. But according to high school Spanish teacher Natalie Lalagos, that's only a fraction of the story.

To lay the groundwork for productive classroom discussions and truly fruitful group work, for example, teachers should think about relationships along four dimensions: teacher to individual student, teacher to whole class, student to student, and student to whole class.

It might start with simple adjustments that improve classroom cohesion more generally. A teacher's identity, Lalagos suggests, should be known to the class, just as a student should feel "seen and known" by their teacher. Students, meanwhile, should develop bonds with each other, as well as a "sense of belonging" in the classroom community as a whole.

We've scoured our archives to highlight fun, quick, and easy-to-implement strategies that can (and should) be deployed daily, weekly, and even year-round to build and sustain strong classroom communities.

1. Morning meetings: The ubiquitous morning meeting, suitable for all ages, is simple to conduct and gives students and teachers a chance to reflect on the day ahead and recalibrate as they prepare to learn. The meetings can take many forms but tend to focus on prosocial greetings, reflection, and sharing: Tools like mood meters and strategies like roses and thorns allow students to convey how they're feeling that day without oversharing. Integrating group activities into the first minutes of your lessons- relationship-building games, mindfulness activities like deep breathing, or even movement-can loosen kids up for learning while having fun in the process.

By establishing strong social connections, morning meetings can reduce classroom disruptions by up to 75 percent, according to a 2017 study.

2. Name tents/name toss: An easy and interesting way to tackle name pronunciation at the start of the year is to ask students to fold paper in half and create name tents, complete with the phonetic spelling of their name. Students can decorate the other side of these tents-with drawings or images that represent them, for example-so that teachers can glean valuable insights about their passions or identities, writes high school teacher Kati Begen.

To socialize pronunciations more broadly, Kristy Zamagni-Twomey recommends fun games. Arrange students in a circle, introduce a ball, and have each student pronounce their name before tossing the ball to another child (alternatively, you can have all students say "Hi, ____" before the ball is tossed). Or, you can give students blindfolds, have one student speak a simple greeting, and ask the blindfolded student to guess the name of the speaker. During the games, be sure to gently correct mispronunciations.

3. Get-to-know-you surveys: Use free tools like SurveyMonkey or Poll Everywhere to ask students questions that range from icebreakers like "What is the best gift you've ever received and why?" or "Who are you closest to in your family and why?" to more academically oriented questions, such as "What scares you most about this class?"

Because you can make responses anonymous to peers, "students will often reveal things that they wouldn't otherwise," says high school administrator Sean Cassel. The activity really bears fruit when you follow up with students, writes middle school teacher Lindsay Kervan: Pull a student aside and ask about the sibling they mentioned on the survey, for example, or integrate student interests in curricular materials.

4. All about me: Askstudents to create a fun presentation including 10 facts about themselves: Encourage them to use media like video, photos, and music, Cassel writes. To model the activity, ease the pressure, and help students connect with you, make a presentation for yourself and go first.

Another spin on the activity? High school English teacher Larry Ferlazzo recommends "I Am" lists, which provide students with sentence starters they can complete, like "I am happy when ____," "I hope to ____," or "I am most scared when ____."

7. Identity portraits: This activity is really beginning to take off in the Edutopia community. To get to know her students better, and make their whole selves feel included and visible in her classroom, middle school teacher Shana V. White gives students crayons and colored pencils and asks them to draw an outline of their head and shoulders.

After drawing a line down the middle of their hand-drawn outline, they add skin tone, clothing, and other visible features on one side, and on the other side of the portrait they list words that describe their identity-their ethnic background, hobbies, or religion, for example. White says she hangs up the final portraits in her classroom so that students see them every day and "know that all those identities are accepted in this place."

8. 5x5 assessment: Choose five students to think about for five minutes each day, suggests Todd Finley, a professor of English education at East Carolina University, in North Carolina. Dwell on questions like these: What have I noticed about them recently? What behavior patterns? What outside affinities, struggles, values, and goals have been revealed? After you've done this, interact with the students that same day and ask them a question that came up during your thinking-for instance, "Mike, a couple of days ago you were talking about your dad's new job. How will that change things for you and your family?"

For two minutes each day, 10 days in a row, have a personal conversation with a student about anything they're interested in (as long as it's G-rated). The strategy sounds simple, but its inventor, psychologist Raymond Wlodkowski, found that it can lead to an 85 percent improvement in one student's behavior and improve the behavior of other students in your classroom too.

10. Greeting at the door: To get a quick pulse on how students are feeling and provide them with a jolt of encouragement before they take their seats, greet them individually at the door.

Kindergarten teacher Falon Turner starts her mornings by saying a student's name, making eye contact, and using a friendly greeting-like a high-five-to motivate students and gather important information about them. "Do they look escalated, do they look triggered, do they look upset?" High school teacher David Tow asks older students, "How are you doing?" when he greets them at the door. If he senses reluctance or evasion in the response, he makes a note and follows up with "Are you sure?"

12. Attendance check-in: Transform the drudgery ofattendance into an easy, daily way to get students to open up, writes high school English teacher Jori Krulder.Instead of having students say "Here" when their name is called, Krulder suggests giving them prompts that invite them to "have a voice, share a piece of themselves with peers, and build a culture of connectedness." This can include using a mood meter to identify the color they're feeling, sharing a word they've been dwelling on, or mentioning the last thing they read (a book or text message) that moved them in some way.

13. Assign seats (but change them often): Cicely Woodard recommends switching up seating assignments periodically-once a month or so. This gives students more opportunities to work together and "learn about each other," Woodard writes. Apps like Random Name Picker and Smart Seat can make this simple to do. After each change, Woodard recommends making time for short icebreakers so that students can get to know each other a bit.

14. Show and tell: It's old school, but it still works like a charm, according to Woodard.Starting at the beginning of the year, ask students to bring in something that represents them, their culture, or their passions. Plan to set aside five or 10 minutes each day for a few students to share what they brought until everyone in the class has participated.

To mix things up, ask students to stand and find a random partner to discuss the questions with, using prompts like "Find someone wearing the same color shoes as you."

16. Dialogue journals: Liz Galarza, a middle school writing teacher in New York, tells Cult of Pedagogy that exchanging short letters (three to five sentences) with individual students during the year can help you connect with them individually and improve their writing. She suggests using a simple notebook that teachers and students can pass back and forth. Initial entries can build off of surveys or other get-to-know-you activities. For example, "You wrote that you play basketball. Me too! Who is your favorite player?"

Galarza asks her students to write one letter a week and said she spends an hour writing back responses for one classroom-however, the timeline and frequency can be adjusted to fit your own needs.
We'd love this article to be an evolving document of best practices, so please use the comments to add any of your own favorite strategies to build relationships in the classroom. If we see something we love, we may well add it to the list!

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23 Ways to Build and Sustain Classroom Relationships

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These teacher-approved activities will help create the sort of classroom bonds that pave the way to academic success.

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Effective classroom management in elementary music is crucial for positive student experiences. See these tips for a calm structured classroom. Some of the links on our site are affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
You are the teacher and you are in charge. This mindset is non-negotiable. It's essential to create a positive learning environment in the music classroom and to foster constructive student engagement and collaboration. Students want and need a structured setting with a calm, positive, safe atmosphere and a strong, supportive teacher.

These 11 tips can help you manage your classroom in an effective and enjoyable manner.

What's in this post? Click to open the Table of Contents

1. Establish Positive Relationships

Smile, greet, and nod to each student as they enter your classroom. Students who feel valued, recognized, and respected do not cause discipline problems. Greet students at the door and begin class immediately with transition activities that lead them straight to their seats.

Your transition activity should capture students' attention and set a positive tone for each class. For more on how to use FUN and FOCUSED transition activities and social stories to ease transitions, take a peek at this post - 10 Tips to Integrate Music Reading into Every Elementary Music Class.

2. Teach, Post, and Practice Music Classroom Rules and Procedures

I know you have heard this before, but teaching and posting your music class rules is the foundation of classroom management. Students cannot follow the rules if they don't know the rules. Keep your rules simple, broad, and direct with no more than 5 rules.

My rules have changed and evolved over time, but I have used the following rules successfully for several years.

Follow the directions the first time.

KAFOOTY. (Keep all hands, feet, and other objects to yourself.)

Be nice. Respect others.

Do your best.

Practicing Rules Can Be Fun

Consider setting your classroom rules to rhythm patterns. You will be teaching and reviewing your rules throughout the year so incorporating music skills is a natural fit.

Create body percussion and practice patterns until students have the rules and movements memorized. Then, when necessary use your body percussion movements to silently prompt positive behaviors. This can serve as an effective simple reminder while continuing with class activities.

Consider adding rhythm instruments as yet another way to practice music rules. And, review your classroom rules whenever necessary. After winter break or other school breaks, it's especially important to review classroom rules

See 4 Fun Ways to Teach Elementary Music Classroom Rules for more information and videos of our rhythm rules in action.

Model and Practice Classroom Procedures

Create and teach procedures for EVERYTHING you do in class. This includes the way students enter your classroom. How to line up at the end of class. How to walk to an instrument. How to get pencils and paper, and anything else students will do in your classroom.

Demonstrate those procedures by modeling. Show students what to do. Then ask students to describe what and how you did the task. Ask one student to model the correct way to do the task providing positive corrections if necessary. Finally, ask the entire class to practice the procedure.

You'll find a more detailed description of interactive modeling and how to reinforce classroom routines in the book Responsive Classroom for Music, Art, PE, and other Special Areas by Responsive Classroom. I highly recommend this book.

3. Assigned Spots are a MUST

Whether you have students sit on the floor or in chairs, having their own assigned spot keeps students from pushing and showing and jocking for positions. Seat students for success. Put wiggly kids, students who often cause distractions, or students who simply need more space on the edges and/or the back row.

Separate students who typically misbehave when they're together.

4. Assign Student Partners

Pair students as much as possible with higher and lower academic levels. This helps both partners. The higher achieving student benefits from "teaching" and helping their partner and the lower achieving student benefits from the extra help and leadership of their partner.

As much as possible pair students as boy and girl partners. Boys and girls often have different learning styles and everyone benefits by approaching tasks from different viewpoints.

5. Using Classroom Instruments

Demonstrate the proper way to play an instrument. When a student intentionally misuses an instrument or plays out of turn take away the instrument the FIRST time they act out. In my classroom, rule 1 is "Follow directions the first time." When you give students more and more chances it encourages misbehaviors.

Create ways students can participate without an instrument. Consider the following ideas.

Body Percussion. Students create body percussion similar to the way the instrument would be played.

Paper Xylophones. Print a xylophone template on heavy card stock and then laminate it. Students "play" the paper xylophone template using their fingers as mallets. Store templates so they're immediately available.

Finger Mallets. Or, simply take the student's mallets and they can "play" their barred instruments with their fingers.

Always give students a way to "earn" their instrument back or earn their way back into a class activity. Make sure they know that when they participate appropriately on their "alternate instrument" for a certain amount of time, they may once again play their instrument.

If a student loses their instrument twice in one class period, that's it. They can earn it back for the next music day. Don't allow students to turn misbehavior into a game.

6. Enforce Rules Consistently

Following the rules is NOT optional. And NO means NO, not sometimes, not it's okay today because you're exhausted, not it's okay for one student and not another. It means misbehavior is NEVER okay for anyone. Be consistent in the way you reinforce your classroom rules.

Use a matter-of-fact voice and simple direct vocabulary. NEVER raise your voice or show frustration. Maintaining a positive classroom environment is part of your job. Use natural consequences that are appropriate for the misbehavior.

Document behaviors if they are persistent or if you're looking for patterns. Consider creating a Google Form for easy entry and retrieval of information. (Use only secure school-owned platforms. Never use your personal Google account for school documentation.) Talk to your administrator before beginning such documentation.

7. Do NOT argue with students.

Don't get sucked in. You don't have to respond to everything a student says. Address behaviors in a positive manner with the least possible words. Whenever possible, try to tell students the right thing to do instead of what not to do.

Positive Catchphrases

Teach your students some simple sign language or use signals so you don't have to use any words at all. The following simple signs are easy to understand.

Simple Signs or Signals

When you must address the behavior directly consider the following responses,

Redirection Catchphrases

Broken Record Technique

If the student persists in trying to draw you into an argument use these phrases as redirects.

I do not argue with students.

Teachers are in charge.

Follow up immediately with what they should be doing. Keep your voice calm and quiet, but firm. Use the broken record technique as you repeat the simple directions and give the student time to de-escalate and comply.

You're in charge. Do NOT let a student wear you down.

8. Do NOT Allow Students to Derail Class

Keep class going if at all possible. Reward ALL students who are doing the right thing and focus on positive behaviors, not on the misbehaviors.

The next thing I'm going to say may not be popular but I recommend you take rewards away (proportionally) if students do not continue to behave appropriately. Hear me out on this.

It's our job to prepare students for life in the real world so let's use a real-world example. You work VERY hard all week at your teaching job. On Friday, you can't wait to get home and get ready for a long-awaited get-together with friends. You don't even notice you're speeding through the neighboring school zone until the lights of a police car come on behind you and you know. You're going to get a fine. A BIG fine. This does not negate all of the good work you did this week but you were speeding and you are going to be penalized. You are going to lose a BIG chunk of your hard-earned dollars.

Many of the bulldog bucks, eagle dollars, and the other artificial rewards we shower on children are meaningless if they do not lose them occasionally. When I have taken back a reward I have given a student, I place it on the corner of the piano and say, "When you ______ (fill in the appropriate behavior) you may earn this back."

Students value the reward much more if they know they must maintain appropriate behavior to keep it. You do need to follow your school's behavior policies. But, if those policies are not working, it may be time to talk about some changes.

Follow your school's behavior plan and when necessary, call for assistance.

9. Start EVERY class fresh. NEVER hold a grudge toward a student.

Don't take misbehaviors personally. It's not about you. But you can't ALLOW misbehaviors to stifle learning and intimidate and disturb other students.

Have a sense of humor. Some things just don't have to become a big deal if we don't let them. Redirect silly behavior with a smile on your face and immediately go on. But don't use sarcasm. Sarcasm has no place in a positive classroom management system. Elementary-age students don't understand sarcasm and it's often at the expense of another.

10. Keep Class Moving with Short, Succinct Directions

There is no reason to give long detailed instructions. Your students will forget most of what you said before you start the activity anyway. If your students are not actively engaged you will lose their attention.

Demonstrate, use short direct commands, and begin activities as soon as possible.

Use these short catchphrases.

See this post for more - Talk Less, Teach More Music.

11. If You're Struggling, Ask for Help

Take time to observe other teachers who are successfully teaching some of your difficult students. What are they doing that you could implement in your classroom? Find a mentor and practice working through specific behaviors and situations you're encountering.

Talk to your administrator and ask for help.

Many Factors Affect Music Classroom Management

The way you design and deliver your lessons has a profound effect on behaviors and classroom management. See this post for tips on How to Create Lessons for Positive Elementary Music Classroom Management.

The physical setup of your classroom also affects student behaviors. Ensure you have established traffic patterns for coming in and out of the classroom. Develop procedures for getting supplies, choosing instruments, moving to the story corner, etc. Teach and enforce those procedures.

Conclusion

No one is happy and no one is learning in a chaotic classroom. Use these tips and techniques to create an effective system of elementary music classroom management and a positive learning environment that is calm, positive, and safe.

You are the teacher and you are in charge.

Join Our Supportive Email Group

Pick up these Free Elementary Music Rules Posters set to simple rhythm patterns when you subscribe to our email list. Then watch your inbox for more free resources and helpful info heading your way.

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11 Tips for Positive Elementary Music Classroom Management

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Effective classroom management in elementary music is crucial for positive student experiences. See these tips for a calm structured classroom.

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Encouraging positive behavior in the classroom is a high priority for every teacher. Check out these 10 great quotes and tips from our authors-trusted experts on reducing challenging behavior and giving kids the tools they need to act with empathy and stay engaged in class.

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First: Preventing behavior problems up front is much more effective than waiting for challenging behaviors to crop up and then applying consequences. Be sure to establish clear behavior expectations early with your learners. This blog post offers some practical pointers on establishing expectations and more. (Quote from Supporting Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems by Lee Kern, Michael P. George, & Mark D. Weist.)

Always keep a student's experiences and perspectives in mind when they engage in challenging behavior. Remember that they aren't giving you a hard time, they're having a hard time. (Quote from Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools by Jen Alexander.)

Empathy can help students become more aware of how their words and actions affect others, and inspire them to shift their behaviors accordingly. Model empathy in the classroom and use activities and strategies to foster this essential skill in your students. This blog post on empathy has some great ideas to get you started. (Quote from The Social‑Emotional Learning Toolbox by Kathy Perez.)

Most learners benefit greatly from structure and the comfort of knowing what's coming next. Ensuring structure and consistency in your classroom routines can help students develop self-management skills and reduce challenging behaviors. (Quote from Understanding and Supporting Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, by Vern Jones, Ph.D., & Al (Skip) Greenwood.)

The foundation of positive behavior is the supportive, caring relationship you form with the students in your classroom. This is especially true for children who have experienced trauma. See The Re-Set Process (by Dyane Lewis Carrere with Wynne Kinder) for a clear and consistent trauma-informed process you can use to support students and help them re-regulate and return to learning.

Offer your students specific and frequent praise for positive behaviors they display in the classroom, and you'll probably see them engage in those behaviors more often. See this blog post for helpful tips on providing students with trauma-informed behavioral feedback. (Quote from Supporting Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems by Lee Kern, Michael P. George, & Mark D. Weist.)

When it comes to praise, follow the simple if-then rule: "If a student is engaged in a behavior that a teacher wants to increase, then it should be praised." (Quote from Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors by Nancy Mather, Sam Goldstein, & Katie Eklund.)

Working with students to give them the skills they need to ask questions and solve problems can help them feel empowered, reducing instances of challenging behavior. (Quote from Addressing Challenging Behaviors in Early Childhood Settings by Dawn M. Denno, Victoria Carr, & Susan Hart Bell.)

Student behaviors don't happen in a vacuum. To make productive change happen, the adults in a learning community should examine their own behaviors and environments to see how they might be unwittingly contributing to challenging behavior in students. (Quote from The IEP Checklist, Second Edition, by Clarissa E. Rosas & Kathleen G. Winterman, with invited contributors.)

And finally, here are some helpful hints on refreshing your mindset around challenging behaviors, so you can approach students with an open mind and respond with curiosity and care. (From The Paraprofessional's Handbook for Effective Support in Inclusive Classrooms, Second Edition, by Julie Causton, & Kate MacLeod.)

What are your favorite strategies for encouraging positive behavior in your students? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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10 Great Quotes on Promoting Positive Behavior - Brookes Blog

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Encouraging positive behavior in the classroom is a high priority for every teacher. Check out these 10 great quotes and tips from our authors-trusted experts on reducing challenging behavior and giving kids the tools they need to act with empathy and stay engaged in class.

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Welcome back from your Christmas holidays! In this article I will be talking about classroom environment. In my previous articles, I have always stressed the importance of the environment for learning.

I always think as a teacher that the classroom should be based on the needs of the students. I always set-up my classroom after meeting my students and knowing what they actually need help with most.

Classroom environment is the first teacher, it encompasses a broad range of educational concepts, including the physical setting, the psychological environment created through social contexts, numerous instructional components related to teacher characteristics and behaviors.

Then it's a whole sketch in my mind grouping students with learning areas. My learning areas also include the activities that provide more differentiation within the whole group of students.

Classroom environment is based on quality and not quantity, as teachers we have this mindset about having loads of resources in the classroom, because it looks very presentable. But do we know the purpose of each item we have in our classroom? The answer is mostly "NO"

Your classroom is " HOME AWAY FROM HOME" for you and your students. Make it attractive and functional. Consider grade/age level appropriateness, the type of classroom activities you will be implementing, and your particular style. For example, consider the various areas of the classroom and design those areas for use with a variety of activities.

The physical aspects of your room include room arrangement, seating, bulletin boards and black/white board displays and physical climate. Each of these should be carefully considered with both individual student's needs and instructional goal in mind.

While you consider how to arrange your classroom, several things are important to remember. Make sure the room has only the amount of furniture that is functional and does not contain useless or non-essential furnishings.

My next article will focus more on classroom design strategies that motivate students. See you until next time.

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A place for Learning: The physical environment for the students - Beneylu Pssst

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Welcome back from your Christmas holidays! In this article I will be talking about classroom environment. In my previous articles, I have always stressed the importance of the environment for learning. I always think as a teacher that the classroom should be based on the needs of the students.

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10 Easy Steps to an Organized Classroom - Around the Kampfire

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Learn 10 easy classroom organization ideas that will help you create a well-managed classroom and keep it that way all year!

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Effective Classroom Organization Strategies for a Successful Academic Year

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Discover classroom organization ideas to transform your space and enhance the teaching and learning experience.

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5 Tips to Consider in Designing Your Classroom

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5 Tips to Consider in Designing Your Classroom

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In many classrooms, after the children and teacher create classroom rules during the first weeks of school, they revisit the rules at various points during the year. When do you do this with your students, and what's your purpose and process?

A: In addition to calling attention to our rules every day, there are three times during the year when I revisit the rules with the students formally. The first time is after the first six weeks of school, to see whether the rules need fine-tuning. The second and third times are right before winter break and right before spring break. I find that children have a harder time maintaining self-control when they're anticipating the breaks, so the purpose of these check-ins is to re-emphasize the importance of the rules.

At all three times, I relate our task to how adults take their cars to a mechanic for routine care. I explain that just as a mechanic checks over a car to keep it running smoothly, we need to check over our rules to keep our classroom running smoothly. In our first check-up of the year, the children write their opinions about how the rules are working, then we have a discussion without attaching names to the opinions. By the second and third check-ups, the children are usually more assertive and there is a stronger sense of community, so we hold class meetings in which the children spontaneously share their thoughts and concerns about the rules.

Ramona McCullough teaches fourth grade at Poplar Tree Elementary School in Chantilly, Virginia. She is a Responsive Classroom certified consulting teacher.

A: In our music classes, the children created rules just as they created rules for their regular classroom. Then, at various times of year, we would revisit the rules as needed. For example, around midyear, many of the classes would be involved in six weeks of performance rehearsals. This was sometimes a disorienting time for students because they were often in unfamiliar rooms with students and teachers from other classes. So when the rehearsal weeks ended and we returned to our regular music class routines, we'd always review our rules. This seemed to re-center the students on the expectations for our music class.

Revisiting the rules usually took only ten minutes. We would re-read the rules, then I'd ask whether the rules were still working for us, and whether anyone thought we needed to add or delete anything. Usually the children were happy with the rules as is. Still, this review and reflection reminded the children that our rules are a working document, that we bring them to life every day through our actions, and that we can go back and change them if they aren't working.

Jen Hansford was a preK-8 music teacher at Yavneh Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio, for five years. She is a Responsive Classroom certified consulting teacher.

A: The student learners and I talk about our rules in different situations all year long. But in January, we revisit the rules in a formalized way because that's when we stop to think about our hopes and dreams-whether we've achieved the ones we named for ourselves at the start of the school year and whether we should set new ones for the rest of the year. Since we're revisiting hopes and dreams, it makes sense to revisit classroom rules. So we go through a rule-creation process similar to the one we used in the fall, considering everyone's hopes and dreams and answering as a class the question, "What rules will we need to allow all of us to meet our hopes and dreams?" We usually find that the old rules will still work and so we keep them.

Even if the rules don't change, there's great value in this experience because it allows the learners to reconnect as a community after the winter break. It reminds them of the expectations for learning behaviors at school and the purpose behind those expectations.

Betsy Godin Conz teaches first grade at Four Corners Elementary School
in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Tags: Classroom Rules, Middle of the Year, Revisiting Rules

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Classroom Rules Q&A | Responsive Classroom

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In many classrooms, after the children and teacher create classroom rules during the first weeks of school, they revisit the rules at various points during the year. When do you do this with your students, and what's your purpose and process?

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In many classrooms, after the children and teacher create classroom rules during the first weeks of school, they revisit the rules at various points during the year. When do you do this with your students, and what's your purpose and process?

A: In addition to calling attention to our rules every day, there are three times during the year when I revisit the rules with the students formally. The first time is after the first six weeks of school, to see whether the rules need fine-tuning. The second and third times are right before winter break and right before spring break. I find that children have a harder time maintaining self-control when they're anticipating the breaks, so the purpose of these check-ins is to re-emphasize the importance of the rules.

At all three times, I relate our task to how adults take their cars to a mechanic for routine care. I explain that just as a mechanic checks over a car to keep it running smoothly, we need to check over our rules to keep our classroom running smoothly. In our first check-up of the year, the children write their opinions about how the rules are working, then we have a discussion without attaching names to the opinions. By the second and third check-ups, the children are usually more assertive and there is a stronger sense of community, so we hold class meetings in which the children spontaneously share their thoughts and concerns about the rules.

Ramona McCullough teaches fourth grade at Poplar Tree Elementary School in Chantilly, Virginia. She is a Responsive Classroom certified consulting teacher.

A: In our music classes, the children created rules just as they created rules for their regular classroom. Then, at various times of year, we would revisit the rules as needed. For example, around midyear, many of the classes would be involved in six weeks of performance rehearsals. This was sometimes a disorienting time for students because they were often in unfamiliar rooms with students and teachers from other classes. So when the rehearsal weeks ended and we returned to our regular music class routines, we'd always review our rules. This seemed to re-center the students on the expectations for our music class.

Revisiting the rules usually took only ten minutes. We would re-read the rules, then I'd ask whether the rules were still working for us, and whether anyone thought we needed to add or delete anything. Usually the children were happy with the rules as is. Still, this review and reflection reminded the children that our rules are a working document, that we bring them to life every day through our actions, and that we can go back and change them if they aren't working.

Jen Hansford was a preK-8 music teacher at Yavneh Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio, for five years. She is a Responsive Classroom certified consulting teacher.

A: The student learners and I talk about our rules in different situations all year long. But in January, we revisit the rules in a formalized way because that's when we stop to think about our hopes and dreams-whether we've achieved the ones we named for ourselves at the start of the school year and whether we should set new ones for the rest of the year. Since we're revisiting hopes and dreams, it makes sense to revisit classroom rules. So we go through a rule-creation process similar to the one we used in the fall, considering everyone's hopes and dreams and answering as a class the question, "What rules will we need to allow all of us to meet our hopes and dreams?" We usually find that the old rules will still work and so we keep them.

Even if the rules don't change, there's great value in this experience because it allows the learners to reconnect as a community after the winter break. It reminds them of the expectations for learning behaviors at school and the purpose behind those expectations.

Betsy Godin Conz teaches first grade at Four Corners Elementary School
in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Tags: Classroom Rules, Middle of the Year, Revisiting Rules

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Classroom Rules Q&A | Responsive Classroom

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In many classrooms, after the children and teacher create classroom rules during the first weeks of school, they revisit the rules at various points during the year. When do you do this with your students, and what's your purpose and process?

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On the first day of school one of the very first things I plan to do is create a classroom contract with the students. The teacher will need: a giant piece of paper and markers. The students along…

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One of THE most important parts of back to school time is teaching rules and expectations in your room. If you think about it, Kindergarten teachers have it the hardest in this area. You have a whole host of students who have never experienced 'school' before. Now, you may have a subset of students who attended full-time Pre-K. Those students will have an easier time with stamina and attention span. But, many of your students likely attended school part-time, or not at all, before joining your class.

My favorite way to solidify teaching rules and expectations to kindergarten students is to create the rules *with* them. How do you do that? I'm sharing the steps with you below!

Start by Discussing Why Rules Matter

One of the best ways to create student buy-in with rules is to discuss why different rules are so important. Brainstorm a list of potential classroom rules together, and have a discussion about why we need them. Why is it important to walk to line up? Because someone could trip and fall if we run and push! Why does it matter that we make sure supplies are put in the right place? Because it's not fair to misplace things that everyone in our room is using. Having this discussion helps solidify the importance of classroom rules.

Create an Anchor Chart with Rules

Select a handful of important classroom rules, and write them on chart paper. With each one you choose to write, read it aloud, and ask students to repeat it. I like to pair students up and have them discuss why each rule is important. This gives them the chance to work with students around the room, while further cementing the importance of each expectation!

Sign the Anchor Chart

After creating your rules and expectations poster, ask each student to sign it! Now, this is the beginning of kindergarten, and the level of name-writing ability in your room will vary. To create an even-playing field, I suggest having students stamp their handprint instead! As you have students 'sign' the chart, point out that by signing this, they are pledging to keep these rules all year long. Explain that a classroom is a happy place to be, when everyone works as a team to take care of the people and things in it! Your class is working as a team to make this year great, and keeping these rules is a great place to start.

Keep the Chart Visible, and Refer Back to It

Hang this chart in a spot that is easy for all students to see. Refer back to it anytime your students need a reminder of the pledge they took. Making a poster like this does not mean that your students will never make mistakes. They will forget to push in chairs, or get into arguments. They're kids! But having this visual hung in your room will be an easy way for you to point and reinforce your expectations without having to do extra work on the fly.

Are you looking for more classroom management ideas for back to school? Check out my FREE 3-Day email series, all about classroom management in kindergarten! If you want to read more articles like this one, check THESE OUT.

Happy teaching, everyone!

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Classroom Rules and Expectations - My Day in K

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Use this easy and engaging lesson plan idea to teach your kindergarten students rules at the beginning of the school year!

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Are you a brand new teacher nervous about classroom management and discipline or a veteran teacher looking to improve the way you are managing student behavior? You may not realize it, but creating a climate of positive classroom discipline begins with setting up a classroom for success!

August is really underway, no matter how much we wish July could linger. Back to school season is upon us, and it's time to switch gears and get ready. Some of you may be about to embark on your first teaching experience, and many of you, like me, have goals for improving upon yourself as a teacher for the upcoming school year. This is one of the things I like most about my job. There is a clear beginning and end to each year, with time in between for me to reflect and plan how to make things better for my next group of kids.

Over the last twenty-six summers, I have spent time thinking about how to modify and improve every aspect of my craft. What's a better use of my classroom space? What bulletin boards will be most useful for my students? (And stay up the longest!) How could I teach this subject in a way that would be more interesting to my students? How could I involve parents more? How could I manage discipline more effectively? This last question is so important. Classroom management is key to a quality learning environment. Students are going to have a difficult time learning if the classroom is out of control, and you are going to be stressed out every morning when you walk through your classroom door to face the day.

Whether you are about to begin your first year of teaching and are unsure about how to set up a classroom when it comes to discipline or if you are a returning teacher who feels that this might be an area in which you could improve, I hope to give you some strategies that will strengthen your classroom management in this blog series about classroom management and discipline.

If you are like me, the first thing you have to do when you return to school is prepare the physical space of your classroom. You may not realize it, but the layout of your classroom and arrangement of furniture should be done in a manner to promote positive behavior.

The first thing you should decide is which wall will be considered the front of the classroom. You may not have a choice, if you just have one marker board or chalkboard. This is a picture of my classroom, and the pink arrow is pointing to the marker board which is the front of my room.

Once you have identified the front of the classroom, you should have your desk or table situated so that your back is to the front of the classroom. In other words, you are facing the back of the classroom. The picture above is taken from my chair, showing the "Mrs. Rye's eye view". Below you can see my work space from the students' point of view...

I have a horseshoe table with five stools tucked behind the curtain for when I want to work with students. All of my teaching materials are on shelves behind my desk. You want your desk or work station placed at the front of the classroom so that your facing your class when you are sitting at your desk. In the past I have had a table in the back of my classroom where I worked with students. But the old saying is so true...out of sight, out of mind! It makes a huge difference if your students see your face, especially if you have perfected your teacher look! Your students will be more likely to be off task and not working if they can't see you.

Also, if I am working with only one student, then I have them sit next to me on my side of the table. That way they are not blocking my view of the class or any student's view of me. While I'm working with that student, my eyes periodically sweep the room. If I see someone off task, I keep coming back to them with my eyes until they look up and see me. I give them my raised eyebrow "get back to work" look and that's usually all it takes. You may be wondering, what if they never look at me? Well, often times when students are doing something they know they aren't supposed to be, they do look at you to see if you are looking at them. They will become accustomed to the fact that you are always aware of the whole classroom, not just the student(s) working with you.

Once I have identified where my work area will be, then I can arrange my student desks. The most important factor when placing student desks is to minimize the number of students who would have their back to the front of the room where the marker board or chalkboard is. This could be accomplished easily by putting the entire class in front facing rows, and though I sometimes end up there by necessity, I don't typically start my year with that arrangement. Besides the fact that it takes up more room and the rows inch forward all day, my goal is to have the students working with partners and in small groups.

I arrange my desks in groups of six. I do this for a couple of reasons. I want everyone to have a partner, and my file box shelves each have six spots. (Click here for information about the file box shelves.) When putting the group together, I move the back two desks (where the arrows are pointing) so that they are facing the front of the class. The other two pairs, who are facing each other, only have to turn to the side to look at the board. I think groups of four are great as well. Each student has a partner, and the whole group can also work together. With a group of four, I place them facing each other, so they only have to turn to the side to look at the board. If I turned the group with a pair facing the board straight on, then I would have two students with their backs to the board.

Often times, we do not have as much space in our classrooms as we would like. One way to conserve space is to push desks right up against a wall.

One problem with doing this is that two of the rows (see arrows) now have their backs completely to the board. Worse yet, I can't see their faces, and they can't see mine if I'm sitting at my desk. I still put a couple groups against a wall, but then I have to be very careful about who I seat in those two rows. I will discuss seating charts in another post in this series.

Once my groups are all arranged, I can design my favorite part of the room, the library! When configuring your library, it's not just about where to house your books. Our classroom library is the much coveted comfy reading area! So, I have to do what I can to ensure that students will actually read in the reading area instead of talk. How do you do that? It comes down once again to being seen. If your reading area has places where a student can hide and not be seen, then sometimes kids will try to take advantage of that to do things other than read. So, when designing your library, put all tall shelves on the outside perimeter (in the back or on the right or left side).

I also place chairs on one of these three sides.

I put nothing or only very low items on the front perimeter, the side that is closest to the front of the room and my desk. The reason is that you want to be able to see everyone who is reading on the carpet. If they know you can see them, they are more likely to do what they are supposed to do. Sometimes a student will be laying on the floor, and I can't see their face. In that case, I make sure to check on them as I'm walking around the room to confer with students, and I also take note when other individuals in the reading area keep looking in their direction. That is a sign that they are not reading.

Taking the extra time to arrange your room with discipline in mind will pay off dividends when those students arrive!

Check out another of the posts in my Classroom Management and Discipline Series for tips about creating your classroom seating plan and how to set the tone from the first moment students walk through your door on the first day of school.

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Classroom Management and Discipline - Setting Up a Classroom for Success

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Are you a brand new teacher nervous about classroom management and discipline or a veteran teacher looking to improve the way you are managi...

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19 Ways to Help Elementary Students Self-Regulate

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These strategies can help young learners practice an essential life skill—and foster classroom harmony in the process.

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Discover kernels-simple, quick, and reliable ways to deal with behavior challenges.

©Shutterstock.com/Monkey Business Images

Do unresolved behavior issues keep you awake at night thinking about what strategies might enhance responsible decision making and increase academic learning time? It's natural to feel personally and professionally challenged-as I have, too many times to count.

The good news is that there are some research-based strategies called kernels that you can add to your classroom management toolkit.

What Are Kernels?

In a 2008 paper published in Clinical Child and Family Psychology, Dennis Embry and Anthony Biglan describe kernels as "fundamental units of behavioral influence"-bite-size strategies that are validated by mountains of empirical evidence and teacher experience. (Barry Parsonson's " Evidence-Based Classroom Behavior Management Strategies " offers another deep dive into the research.)

Embry and Biglan describe how a kernel might help the parent whose child is struggling to get out the door on time for school: "Alone, such a complaint does not merit implementing parenting skills training. However, a simple behavior change strategy, such as the 'Beat the Timer' game ( Adams and Drabman 1995), in which the child receives a reward for completing a behavior before the timer goes off, could solve the problem, and prevent parent-child conflict."

Particularly at the beginning of the year, before you've had a chance to develop deeper relationships with your students, kernels can offer useful approaches to classroom management. Administrators and coaches recommend kernels because implementing them with fidelity is intuitive and observable. They require neither special training nor expensive consultants.

11 Classroom Management Kernels

While veteran teachers may read the annotated list of kernels as common knowledge, their ubiquity is an advantage. You'll often find them embedded in more complex constellations of evidence-based behavioral programs because of their effectiveness in cuing self-awareness, self-regulation, and pro-academic dispositions.

3. Timeouts: Hundreds of studies support the timeout strategy, which is now considered an indispensable component of many evidence-based behavior management systems. Unlike the dunce cap punishment, which intentionally shames and stigmatizes students, a timeout is now used in progressive classrooms to provide an emotional breather in a less socially charged area of the room. It's also a way for students to decompress, reflect on and enhance their self-awareness, and then return to their seats with improved self-regulation.

6. Private Reminders: When partnered with discreet praise, private reminders to students about how to act responsibly increase on-task behaviors. Researchers recommend using short and unemotional reminders.

7. Greetings: It might seem like an insignificant gesture, but greeting students by name and making a positive statement enhances their self-regulation and increases class participation. Example: "Hey, Marcus. How is my brilliant student today?"

An overwhelming number of studies recommend that classroom instructors systematically teach self-regulation, relationship management, and responsible decision making at the beginning of the school year, so implement these kernels soon.

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Discover kernels-simple, quick, and reliable ways to deal with behavior challenges. ©Shutterstock.com/Monkey Business Images Do unresolved behavior issues keep you awake at night thinking about what strategies might enhance responsible decision making and increase academic learning time? It's natural to feel personally and professionally challenged-as I have, too many times to count.

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Building Relationships with Students: 8 Ways to Connect

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Building relationships with students can reap a host of benefits, including better classroom routines and more time to teach.

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How to Build Relationships With Students in 2023 | Calm Classroom

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Students who have positive relationships with their teachers tend to do better in school. Learn how to build better relationships with your students.

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Tips for How to Build Relationships with Students

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Small changes in classroom interactions can make a big difference for traumatized students.

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Getting Started With Trauma-Informed Practices

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Teaching Strategies: How To Motivate Your Students

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Teachers can motivate middle and high school students by providing structure while also allowing them some control over their learning.

A 2018 Gallup study found that as students get older, they become less engaged, or " involved, enthusiastic, and committed." The study contained some alarming findings: In fifth grade, most students (74 percent) report high levels of engagement with school. However, by middle school, only half of students are engaged, and by high school the number of engaged students shrinks to about one-third.

Student engagement continued to be a pressing concern for parents and educators during and after the pandemic. Approximately half of parents (45 percent), 77 percent of administrators, and 81 percent of teachers said that keeping students engaged was difficult during remote learning. In addition, 94 percent of educators considered student engagement to be the most important metric to look at when determining student success. Gallup found that students who are engaged with school not only report achieving higher grades but also feel more hopeful about their future.

Student motivation

Engagement and motivation are separate, related, but often confused. Motivation is the driving force that causes a student to take action. Engagement is the observable behavior or evidence of that motivation. Motivation is necessary for engagement, but successful engagement could also help students to feel motivated in the future.

In my book The Independent Learner, I discuss how self-regulated learning strategies help students to increase their motivation and willingness to engage in learning because they create feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. According to research by Ryan and Deci, these are the three components that facilitate motivation:

Autonomy is a "sense of initiative and ownership in one's actions."

Competence is a "feeling of mastery" and a sense that with effort a student can "succeed and grow."

Relatedness is when the school setting "conveys respect and caring" that results in the student feeling "a sense of belonging and connection."

Motivating students in the classroom

It is important not to confuse engagement with entertainment. In an EdWeek survey, researchers found that the entertaining activities that teachers expect to engage students are not necessarily working. While the majority of teachers who had increased their use of digital games assumed that games would engage students, only 27 percent of students reported feeling more engaged when digital games were involved. In addition, 30 percent of students said learning was actually less engaging.

So what creates engagement? Gallup found that students who strongly agreed with the following two statements were 30 times more likely to report high levels of engagement with school:

My school is "committed to building the strengths of each student."

I have "at least one teacher who makes me excited about the future."

In other words, engaged students recognize that they have the support of caring adults who are willing to partner with them in their learning.

Not all classrooms create these conditions. Controlling classrooms lower autonomy and motivation and increase student frustration. In controlling classrooms, students avoid challenges because they are afraid of failure. They work toward external rewards or to avoid possible anxiety or shame caused by mistakes. The teacher controls the answers and learning materials and uses language like "should" or "have to," and students feel pressured to behave and achieve.

In contrast, creating classroom environments where students feel autonomy, competence, and relatedness helps students to maintain motivation and increase their engagement in school activities. Classrooms that foster motivation and increase engagement are high in structure but low in top-down control. These classrooms have the following qualities.

Supportive: Teachers support autonomy by listening and attempting to understand and respond to students' perspectives. They look at what a student can currently do and where they need to go to reach the standard or objective, and they help the student by building scaffolds or supports to bridge the gap. This makes achievement toward grade-level content possible, even for learners who are not quite there yet.

Personal and individualized: Students feel like they are able to customize their assignments in order to explore their own interests. Students can also be taught to make their own connections to what they are learning through creating their own hooks for a lesson.

Recognizing students' unique qualities and special talents, getting to know what interests students and incorporating these interests into lessons or assignments, and reaching out to parents with a note or email when a student does something well are all strategies that I use to make learning personal and increase relatedness in the classroom.

Structured and goal-oriented: When teachers give students strategies, provide frequent feedback, and show them how to use those strategies effectively, students are motivated by observing their own progress. Teachers can provide a rationale or standard and guide students in setting short-term mastery goals for each required task. They can also help students to align their daily actions and effort with the results they are hoping to achieve by making a process plan.

I have found that when students graph their own progress or use their process plan as a checklist, this makes growth visual and allows students to see the steps they are accomplishing each day toward their goal. In addition, clear expectations, consistency in classroom structure, clear rules, and set routines are all important.

Collaborative: Teachers provide students with choices and opportunities to partner with the teacher in their learning experiences and show ownership in the tasks that are assigned to them. When teachers encourage students to begin to make choices and take responsibility for their own learning, students see a purpose in school activities.

One way to do this is through using self-assessment to prompt reflection on strategy use. I have students analyze their graded assignments to decide what strategies to keep and what to do differently next time. When students see errors as a signal that they need to reflect on the process and learning strategies they used, they realize there are no real mistakes, just opportunities for learning.

Although the pandemic has been difficult, the majority of students (69 percent) report feeling hopeful about the future. Students who are hopeful and engaged are less likely to get suspended or expelled, have chronic absenteeism, skip school, or drop out of school. When educators put effort into the goal of creating a school environment guided by student engagement, motivation, and autonomy, students can see their own growth. This creates an excitement for learning that helps students to maintain hope for the future even through difficult circumstances.

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To Increase Student Engagement, Focus on Motivation

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Teachers can motivate middle and high school students by providing structure while also allowing them some control over their learning.

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Survey results and anecdotes suggest that students have been less engaged in school since the start of the pandemic. That's a big problem.

After all, research shows that students learn best when they're motivated and engaged in their work. Educators across the country have made boosting student engagement a priority this school year.

Two teachers-Alejandro Diasgranados, an elementary teacher in the District of Columbia, and Ann Stiltner, a high school special education teacher in Hamden, Conn.-shared some practical strategies for how to motivate students and get them engaged in their learning during an EdWeek online forum earlier this month.

Here are three takeaways from the discussion. You can go deeper in the full video embedded above.

1. Give students voice and choice

Students are more engaged in their work when they feel a sense of ownership and agency in class, Stiltner said. At the beginning of the school year, she has students draft a class contract. They start by discussing the best classroom they've ever been in: What did that classroom look like? How was the teacher treated? How did the teacher treat the kids?

Then, students use those values to come up with how they want this classroom to look like, and what should happen if someone breaks the rules.

In English class, Stiltner gives students a vote on what book they'll read as a class. And she gives students smaller choices throughout the day: If a student needs a writing utensil, for example, she'll offer them a choice of a pen or pencil.

"Where I can, I work in choice-for me, the only thing that's not a choice is safety, respect, and learning," she said, adding that she still structures the choice so it's not entirely open-ended.

Diasgranados said that involving students in making decisions whenever possible-whether it's what time they do daily tasks, where they sit, or what they're going to write about-can be a mindset shift for teachers, but it's worthwhile.

"I have to reflect on, what are the things that I'm willing to allow them to have choice on, where are the parts of my lesson or the parts of my day where I can be more flexible, and what are the things that I know I need to do," he said.

But giving students the opportunity to have a voice in their learning makes them feel valued and respected, he said.

2. Incorporate students' interests into your class

Diasgranados pushed back against the idea that a student is "unmotivatable," saying that it's up to teachers to learn what does motivate students and then incorporate that into the curriculum.

For example, his 3rd grade students are "obsessed" with Sonic the Hedgehog, the video game and movie series. Diasgranados has been teaching a unit on fables and folk tales and has peppered references to Sonic throughout.

When teaching a lesson on character traits, he named the characters Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. A few of his students who typically aren't engaged in class were "shocked and surprised," and then raised their hands throughout the lesson to describe each character.

"I think it takes some background practice and background research [for] teachers, with a lot of pre-work, to [try] and figure out, how can we make those connections between the things that the student is interested in, and where we're trying to go" in the curriculum, Diasgranados said. "Some days, you might flop and give a lesson, and they still aren't interested. But you just try again. It's an experiment."

And it matters to try.

"Once they see that there's an adult who's really reached out, and cared, and has watched the movie that they've been talking about or raving about, or listened to the artists that they've been talking about, ... they now have someone to talk to about it," he said. "They now see you as someone that respects them, and they respect you, and they're willing to do a little bit more."

Added Stiltner: "I think children of all ages don't feel like adults are really listening, so if you have really listened, that gets their attention."

3. Get parents on your team

Students' guardians can be a powerful ally for teachers, Stiltner and Diasgranados said.

Diasgranados said he starts each school year by asking parents what kind of motivational strategies have worked with previous teachers and what works at home.

"If there aren't many or they haven't really found any, then I use that as an opportunity to work with them to build things-just noticing things that I've noticed at school and see if that aligns with things they've noticed at home, and trying to align those strategies together," he said.

When parents and teachers are on the same page, they can use the same verbiage with the children. Parents can remind their child of the things they're practicing at school, and teachers can remind students of the things they're practicing at home, Diasgranados said.

To foster that collaborative relationship, Stiltner said she makes an effort to call each parent at the start of the school year with something positive about their child, so their first interaction isn't about anything negative.

"It's really important to ... set that positive relationship with the parents so the parent knows you are there as an ally for their kid, you are there to believe in their kid, and you look to the parent as their first teacher," she said.

Stiltner involves parents in numerous ways. For example, her freshmen do a persuasive research project, and at the end, she hosts an "author celebration" where the parents are invited to listen to their child's presentation.

She hangs students' work on the classroom walls for parents to see, and during conferences, she shares with parents folders of their children's work-"so they get a real clear vision of what their kids' day is like at school, and what they're working on, and how you as the teacher are respectful of their child," Stiltner said.

Building a relationship with parents also puts the students more at ease, Diasgranados said.

"If I'm talking to their parents, [students are] not super frightened thinking that I'm saying something negative," he said. "They know that we are all on a team together, trying to figure out what's best for the student."

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How to Boost Student Engagement: 3 Tips From Teachers

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Engagement is a big post-pandemic problem. Two top teachers shared their short- and long-term tips for re-engaging students.

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Task management includes how students use their study or homework time and organise a timetable. ©Kanurism/Shutterstock

To say that teachers have a significant impact on students' motivation and engagement is not controversial, nor particularly enlightening. Trucks can be filled with the research papers that show this.

A more informative exercise is to dig into how teachers impact students' motivation and engagement. This provides practical direction for educators seeking to sustain the students who are motivated and engaged and to better support the students who are not.

There are four ways that teachers shape students' motivation and engagement:

Knowing and targeting the key parts of motivation and engagement;

Applying instructional strategies that boost motivation and engagement;

Building good teacher-student relationships; and,

Participating in high quality professional learning purposefully focused on motivation and engagement

Knowing and targeting the key parts of motivation and engagement

Motivation and engagement are multidimensional. Knowing their major components is vital for sustaining students' motivation and engagement strengths and addressing any motivation and engagement difficulties students might have.

Over 20 years ago, I developed the Motivation and Engagement Wheel as a way for educators to understand the positive and negative parts of students' motivation and engagement.

[Motivation and Engagement Wheel (reproduced with permission and downloadable from www.lifelongachievement.com)]
As can be seen, the Wheel has four overarching themes, each comprising specific motivation and engagement facets.
Positive Motivation

Self-belief: students' belief and confidence in their ability to understand or to do well in schoolwork.

Valuing: how much students believe what they learn at school is useful, relevant, meaningful, and important.

Learning focus: being interested in learning, developing new skills, improving, understanding new things, and doing a good job for its own sake and not just for rewards or marks.
Positive Engagement

Planning and monitoring: how much students plan assignments, homework and study, and how much they keep track of their progress.

Task management: how students use their study or homework time, organise a study or homework timetable, and choose and arrange where they study or do homework.

Persistence: how much students keep trying to work out an answer or to understand a problem, even if that problem is difficult or challenging.
Negative Motivation

Anxiety: the extent to which students feel nervous and/or worry when they think about or do their schoolwork, assignments, or exams.

Failure avoidance: when the main reason students do their schoolwork is to avoid doing poorly or disappointing others.

Uncertain control: when students are unsure how to do well or how to avoid doing poorly.
Negative Engagement

Self-sabotage: when students do things that reduce their success at school, such as procrastinating or investing little or no effort when an assessment or performance approaches.

Disengagement: students' thoughts and feelings of giving up, detaching from school and schoolwork, and helplessness.

The task for teachers is to know where their students sit on each part of the Wheel and then increase the positive motivation and engagement factors and reduce the negative ones. I have developed resources for assessing students on the Wheel (the Motivation and Engagement Scale) and for helping students improve on each part of the Wheel (the Student Motivation and Engagement Booster Program).

Applying instructional strategies

How teachers teach also impacts students' motivation and engagement. For decades there has been something of a tussle between explicit instruction and constructivist teaching (e.g., discovery learning). I have proposed Load Reduction Instruction (LRI) to get the optimal balance between these two approaches. LRI has five principles to guide teaching:

Reduce difficulty during the initial stages of learning, as appropriate to the student's level of existing knowledge;

Provide instructional support and scaffolding during learning;

Give ample time to structured practice, rehearsal, and revision;

Provide feedback-feedforward that shows students how to improve; and,

Encourage independent practice and guided autonomy when students have acquired the necessary skill and knowledge.

When teachers apply these five principles, students are more likely to keep up with the lesson, more likely to understand what they are taught, and less likely to get lost or confused. This fuels their motivation and engagement. Research using the Motivation and Engagement Scale has shown that LRI enhances the key dimensions of students' motivation and engagement (Martin & Evans, 2018).

Building good teacher-student relationships

Teachers also impact motivation and engagement through the relationships they build with their students. Again, using the Motivation and Engagement Scale, research has shown that teachers' positive connections with students yield higher scores on the positive motivation and engagement factors and lower scores on the negative ones (Martin et al., 2009). I have developed Connective Instruction as a practical means for teachers to embed quality relationships into the everyday course of pedagogy. There are three key relationships to cultivate in Connective Instruction:

Interpersonal relationship - developed through warmth and emotional support;

Substantive relationship - developed through content and tasks that engage and connect with students; and,

Pedagogical relationship - developed through the teacher's communication and explanation of subject matter.

Participating in high quality professional learning

Professional learning (such as in-servicing) is important for enhancing students' educational outcomes, including their motivation and engagement. Unfortunately, the quality of professional learning can be variable. There are numerous reasons for this, but three are worth noting: There is often a poor evidence-base underpinning the professional learning; it is too general, lacking in concreteness and specificity; and it is typically one-off and short-lived.

This is where professional learning focused on the Wheel can be helpful. First, it has a strong theoretical and evidence base. Second, it specifically identifies the key parts of motivation and engagement that teachers need to attend to. Third, being a multidimensional framework, sustained professional learning can be conducted so that teachers can systematically work through each part of the Wheel.

A final thought

Motivation and engagement are learnable and changeable. Through the above four practical approaches, teachers can feel more confident in sustaining those students who are motivated, engaged, and travelling well - and better supporting those who are struggling.
References
Martin, A. J., Marsh, H. W., McInerney, D. M., & Green, J. (2009). Young people's interpersonal relationships and academic and nonacademic outcomes: Scoping the relative salience of teachers, parents, same-sex peers, and opposite-sex peers. Teachers College Record, 111, 13. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281156323_Young_people's_interpersonal_relationships_and_academic_and_nonacademic_outcomes_Scoping_the_relative_salience_of_teachers_parents_same-sex_peers_and_opposite-sex_peers

Martin, A.J., & Evans, P. (2018). Load Reduction Instruction: Exploring a framework that assesses explicit instruction through to independent learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 203-214. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324684073_Load_Reduction_Instruction_Exploring_a_Framework_that_Assesses_Explicit_Instruction_through_to_Independent_Learning
Further resources
Motivation and Engagement: Martin, A.J. (1999-22). Motivation and Engagement Scale; Motivation and Engagement Student Booster; Motivation and Engagement Staff Trainer. www.lifelongachievement.com

Load Reduction Instruction in Practice: Martin, A. (2018). Integrating explicit instruction with independent learning: Load Reduction Instruction (LRI). Australian Educational Leader, 40(2), 36-39. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327337595_Integrating_explicit_instruction_with_independent_learning_Load_Reduction_Instruction_LRI_In_%27Australian_Educational_Leader%27

Teacher-Student Relationships in Practice: Martin, A.J. (2013). Connective Instruction Worksheets. https://lifelongachievement.com/pages/download-corner.
More research and practice publications on topics discussed in this article can be accessed via Andrew Martin's ResearchGate account: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew-Martin-22

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Four ways teachers make a difference to students' motivation and...

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'To say that teachers have a significant impact on students' motivation and engagement is not controversial, nor particularly enlightening. Trucks can be...

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We teachers can never get enough ways to help create the classroom conditions for students to motivate themselves.

'Build Great Relationships'
Chandra Shaw has more than 24 years of experience in education, as a teacher, reading specialist, instructional coach, and now a literacy consultant at one of her state's regional service centers. Chandra is a TEDx speaker and amateur YouTuber:
One of the best strategies to create classroom conditions where students are more likely to motivate themselves is to build great relationships with students by making learning relevant, making them feel comfortable, showing how much you care about their learning, and teaching them what they need to know.

One way I did this was to start off the year by asking students to imagine this being the best school year they've ever had. I'd ask them to write down and discuss what I would need to do in order for it to be the most successful and best year for them. They'd work in groups and create a list. As they worked, I'd walk around and read through some of the things they'd written, affirming pretty much anything they'd put down by saying, "Oh yeah, I can definitely do that." Once they'd shared their lists with the entire class, we'd make the class' top 10 list from the things that had appeared the most on the groups' lists.

Each year, the students' lists would undoubtedly include things like, "You need to be nice, provide treats, not show favorites, play games, allow student use of phones in class, and teach them what they need to know to be successful." OK. That last one is what I'd often suggest as I walked around listening to their groups, and they usually agreed it was important and added it to their lists. At any rate, once the class list was done, and I'd assured them that I would absolutely do everything they'd listed in order to make this year the best year ever, I'd then share MY list of what I needed from them!

Throughout the year, I'd point to the list and ask if I was holding up my end of the bargain. And if they weren't holding up their end of my list, I'd point that out as well. By returning to our lists again and again, it showed that WE were in this together and all trying to make this the best year. It really seemed to motivate the students when they saw how consistent I was with doing what they needed to succeed.

Asking Questions
Irina McGrath, Ph.D., is an assistant principal at Newcomer Academy in the Jefferson County public schools in Louisville, Ky. She is a co-creator of the ELL2.0 Google site and is a co-director of the Louisville Writing Project (LWP) and a University of Louisville and Indiana University Southeast adjunct professor:
Over the years, I have discovered that certain strategies are more effective than others at getting and keeping students - especially English Language Learners - motivated to learn . One such strategy is simply giving students the opportunity to ask questions and search for answers on their own. Studies have shown the power of asking questions, and some cognitive scientists believe that they are so important that we cannot learn properly until the right one has been asked: If memory does not ask the question, it will not know where to index the answer" (Bain, 2004). By encouraging students to pose their own questions about what they are learning, teachers will be able to help fuel students' curiosity and promote further engagement in the classroom.

A great way to stimulate question asking is the Read Aloud Response Cards strategy, which teaches students to pay attention to the metacognitive process happening in their heads while listening to a passage being read out loud. The activity involves colored cards indicating tasks for the students to perform based on the card they receive: Those with yellow cards generate questions, green document their connections, red create a summary of the passage, and purple draw images either on paper or in their minds while listening to the passage. When the passage is completed, the students are sorted based on card color and work together to discuss and compare the results of their task, and eventually representatives from each group speak to the rest of the groups about their discoveries and questions during the activity. Ultimately, once posing questions becomes a routine and students realize that they are welcomed and encouraged, ELs' curiosity will start fueling their learning and desire to discover something interesting and new.

Another strategy that promotes conditions for students to motivate themselves is choice. Students get excited when they are provided with options for books to read, topics to study, assessments of learning, and final product. Every student is a unique learner, and by offering them a choice, we offer an opportunity to build on their interests and talents and take on a new topic in a way that brings joy to learning and gets students excited. For example, if we think about the end of the lesson reflection, there are different ways English-learners can accomplish that when they are provided with choice. Students can either list three or more things they learned that day or create three true statements and one lie about content covered in class. They can also use Vocaroo, Padlet, or any other app/platform to record a note to themselves with advice on how they might approach the lesson's task differently. Students can even create a two-minute video or a sketch to help classmates understand the lesson's content better.

Overall, students are more likely to be motivated to learn if given a sense of autonomy and self-derived excitement for a topic. The best ways I have found to help them have confidence and interest is to allow them to pose questions and to give them choices in their projects.

'Opportunities for Choice'
Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer at the Possible Zone, a youth-entrepreneurship and work-based learning program with a mission to advance economic equity. She has been in the field of education for almost 30 years as a middle, high school, and college teacher; researcher; leadership coach; school designer; and director for a network of schools:
While many factors influence students' motivation and engagement, it is central to ignite connection via relationships, share and uphold expectations, uncover and tap into students' strengths, create relevant learning experiences, and design for choice. Such strategies can unlock students' motivation for learning that lasts a lifetime.

Prior to the pandemic, a student survey of over 3,000 schools found that motivation and engagement declines as students progress in school; while 5th graders reported their engagement level at almost 75 percent, by 10th grade, students' engagement hovered at 33 percent. Read that again: 33 percent. Despite this stark statistic, there is hope: two items drive motivation and engagement: 1) when students "strongly agreed" that school was "asset- and strengths-based" and 2) when they affirmed that they had "at least one teacher who made them excited about the future," they were 30 times more likely to be engaged compared with those who disagreed. Search Institute research corroborates that students are motivated and goal-oriented when they feel a sense of belonging, safety, and acceptance.
1. Build relationships and seek out students' strengths

Design opportunities for students to show who they are: Kick off the school year with a project in which students take selfies or create profile silhouettes of themselves and share words, symbols, and pictures of things that they value; teachers can connect with and build from students' assets. Throughout the year, educators can provide opportunities for two-minute interviews in which students speak on a topic they're passionate about (e.g: the worst pizza in town or why Serena Williams is the best athlete ever); knowing who our students are and seeing their strengths is a powerful driver to build relationships and spark motivation.

Provide clear expectations, ask what students expect from you, and strive to uphold and meet expectations: When educators are clear about expectations andinvite students to share their needs, the relationship becomes bidirectional and is more likely to offer space to express care and challenge growth, both key aspects of developmental relationships. School designs like EL Education promote co-creation of norms and ongoing opportunities for students and educators to revisit and reflect on owning and meeting shared expectations; this cultivates an environment where voices and actions are valued.

2. Create relevant learning and opportunities for choice
Students experience motivation and engagement when educators help them get excited about the future. To see oneself in the future, it's important to activate students' self-concept and create opportunities to develop self-efficacy and agency. Consider these ideas:

Create authentic projects for real audiences: Research shows that when students actively pose questions and problem-solve real issues, conduct fieldwork, talk with experts, and produce meaningful work with impact beyond the classroom, not only does engagement soar but so does achievement. While educators may feel constrained by standards, consider small and larger steps to integrate relevant projects. This might include integrating interviews into a unit or, go big, like The Possible Zone, which engages young people in consultancies with local industry partners to solve authentic challenges and present solutions. Schools like High Tech High offer models of projects for inspiration.

Embed options throughout students' learning experiences: Student choice and autonomy develop agency, building decisionmaking skills for careers and lives. In the classroom, this might include entry points such as choosing where to sit, "how" to learn (e.g.: reading, listening to podcasts, interviewing an expert), or choice of topics (e.g.: demonstrating research and synthesizing skills via a topic determined by student interest). When designing-or co-designing-learning environments with students, educators should ask: Where can I offer productive choices? When determining where to sit, for example, a teacher might suggest, "Choose a seat where you'll be most engaged," or "Sit where you're comfortable." Students can revisit choices and reflect on their predictions.

Classroom Culture
Andrew Sharos is a teacher, administrator, speaker, and author in Chicago. He wrote the Amazon-best-selling book All 4s and 5s, which has become the road map to instructional methods and culture building for gifted and talented teachers. He also co-authored Finding Lifelines, a book for new teachers and their mentors:
Motivation for students really comes back to classroom culture. We hope to create a classroom culture that is so fun, engaging, and magnetic that students actually WANT to be in school. Teachers who engage students are ones who create a unique and different experience for the students every day.

In terms of concrete strategies, I like to have students learn outside the classroom in the halls, courtyard, on the grass, or in the auditorium. The walls of a classroom have limitations, and mixing it up in different spaces keeps the students on their toes.

I enjoy having a theme every day, like Weekend Monday, Positive Tuesday, Thankfulness Wednesday, Joke Thursday, and Cookie Friday. It might waste a few minutes at the beginning of every class, but it is time well wasted if the students are more engaged after we engage in some playful dialogue at the beginning of class. These are hallmarks of the class and moments students enjoy.

When students are not engaged, the teacher has to find ONE thing that connects the student and the teacher. The teacher could, and maybe even should be the reason why the student wants to come to school. This can only be made possible when there is a relationship built on love and trust.

Sometimes, this takes time. One student of mine was impossibly difficult to connect with, or so I thought. I recited a movie line from "Ace Ventura" one day, and she was the only person in the class who "got it." From that moment on, we connected. We have to keep chipping away at the less motivated. The students don't have to love the content and skills we are teaching, they just have to feel connected to us to be motivated to learn.
This is the first post in a multipart series.
The question of the week is:
What strategies have you used to create classroom conditions where students were more likely to motivate themselves, including those who didn't initially seem very engaged?
Chandra Shaw, Irina McGrath, Meg Riordan, and Andrew Sharos kicked off this series today.

Chandra, Irina, Meg, and Andrew were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show. You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

Thanks to Chandra, Irina, Meg, and Andrew for contributing their thoughts!

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It's titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all EdWeek articles, has been changed by the new redesign-new ones are not yet available). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 11 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below.

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How to Get, and Keep, Your Students Engaged (Opinion)

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Not all efforts to motivate students are equal. Here are some strategies that work.

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It's no secret; effectively managing an art room takes time, talent, and dedication. In fact, art teachers across the country cited Behavior Management as their biggest classroom struggle in 2018. It makes sense; if your students aren't behaving, they're likely not learning either.

And student behavior is just one piece of the puzzle. In order to manage a successful program, art teachers also must think about engagement, safety, classroom climate, and more.

What does successful classroom management look like, and how can you recreate it in your classroom? Let's take a look.

Today we'll be diving into everything you need to do in order to keep your classroom and program running smoothly. We'll cover behavior, expectations, engagement, and so much more.
Are you looking for a specific topic? Use the links below to get you where you need to go!
Here are 3 Things to Keep in Mind as You Think About Classroom Management

1. The Best Classroom Management Plans are Proactive

A good classroom management program starts before students even step foot in the classroom. That's because there are a number of things you can do to head off unwanted behavior even before it begins. Let's take a look at the top three.

Developing and Enforcing Expectations, Routines, and Procedures

Expectations

One of the most important things you can do to keep your classroom running smoothly is to have a clear set of routines, procedures, and expectations for your classroom. Although you can set these yourself, AOE Writer, Wynita Harmon, suggests looping your students into the process. According to Wynita, "Giving students a say will allow them to feel valued. As they contribute to the classroom expectations, they are more likely to follow them."

Whatever method you choose, be sure to clearly post your classroom expectations and consequences and refer to them often.

Routines and Procedures

In addition, you'll want to develop consistent routines and procedures for yourself and your students. When students know what to expect, they spend less time off task, and therefore, less time causing trouble.

Think about the times in class you will want to provide structure. These will include transition times like entering the classroom, moving from a demonstration space to workspace, cleanup, and more.

You'll also want to think about artmaking processes for which you might need to develop specific routines and procedures. For example, Alecia Kaczmarek shares how she helps manage painting projects in the article, 7 Paint Routines You'll Never Regret Teaching. You might also think about developing routines for clay, printmaking, or centers.

If you're looking for more information about exactly how to implement routines and procedures in your art room, you'll want to take a look at the Teaching Routines and Procedures PRO Learning Pack. Alecia will guide you through how to analyze different aspects of your classroom management plan in order to hone in on opportunities for improvement, helping you develop a classroom management plan that works.

Using Anchor Charts

One management strategy that has been gaining popularity is anchor charts. In the article,How to Curb Questions and Empower Students with Anchor Charts, Melissa Purtee describes anchor charts like this. "Anchor charts are visuals, often posters, meant to communicate important information through images and text. Because they are comprised of both words and pictures broken down into steps, they are an important resource for teaching to different learning styles and creating student independence."

Wynita Harmon also uses anchor charts in her classroom. She says, "Anchor charts work best when they are displayed near the materials they reference."

They remind students about techniques and processes.

They inspire students to explore techniques and processes.

They allow students to make independent choices about the artmaking process.

In other words, anchor charts are an effective classroom management tool because they allow students to help themselves. In turn, this frees up time you would normally spend answering student questions, allowing you to better monitor your room.

If you're looking to take your anchor charts to the next level, take a peek at this tutorial for making interactive anchor charts. Your students will love them!

When Routines Fail

No matter how well you plan, it's inevitable that, sometimes, your routines will fail. If so, don't worry. We have you covered.

Cultivating a Positive Classroom Environment

The second way you can stop behavior problems before they start is by making your students feel safe and welcome in your classroom. Ray Yang talks about this in the article,How to Get Students to Open Up in the Classroom, when he says, "In order to do their best work, students need to feel comfortable and able to give fully of themselves. Developing a space and culture that encourages vulnerability and trust helps students make that leap toward opening up more."

If you're looking for ways to create a positive, welcoming environment for students, check out these four resources.

In addition to creating a welcoming space, it's also important to build personal relationships with your students. As Wynita Harmon points out, "Building relationships with your students has a huge impact on behavior and academic success."

Of course, this is all easier said than done. Building relationships takes work, especially when you might see hundreds of students a week.

If you're looking for resources to help you cultivate strong relationships with your students, check out the helpful suggestions in the following resources.

In short, the better you know your kids and the more comfortable they feel in your classroom, the better behaved they'll be.

Planning Engaging Content

One last way to be proactive about classroom management is by planning engaging content. If your students are hard at work, there's less time to get into trouble.

At the Beginning of Class

One effective management strategy is to engage students from the moment they enter the classroom. Get started withThe Ultimate List of Secondary Art Room Bell Ringers. Then, learn about other strategies in How to Get Students Seated and Settled.

Starting class with sketchbook work is another strategy many teachers find works well. If you're interested in getting your students started with sketchbooks, be sure to check out the Sketchbook Ideas that Really Work PRO Learning Pack.

During Class

Of course, if you want your students to stay on task beyond the first few minutes, you'll also need to plan engaging content and projects. Whether you teach in a traditional setting or a choice-based setting, allowing students to create authentic art is important.

In the article, 4 Tips for Fostering Authentic Art Experiences in the Classroom, Melissa Purtee describes this idea in more detail. She says, "Authentic art is work created and planned by the student to express ideas that are personal and meaningful. It's what all the historically important artists we admire did and what visionary contemporary artists continue to do today. It's also a teachable behavior and an appropriate and necessary part of visual arts curriculum for all age levels."

Think about how you might include some elements of choice in your curriculum in order to keep students invested. If you're interested in taking an in-depth look at how to do this, take a peek at AOE's course, Choice-Based Art Education. You'll study different choice-based approaches and explore the power of a student-centered curriculum. Plus, you'll learn to give your students more autonomy without losing control.

Of course, even with the best-laid plans, there will be times when your "regularly scheduled programming" just isn't working.

It's easy to see why being proactive is an important part of keeping a classroom running smoothly. However, we all know things don't always go according to plan. No matter how much you frontload, kids are going to misbehave.

Next, we'll take a look at how to handle unwanted behavior in the classroom.

2. When Dealing with Behavior, Consistency is Key

One of the most important things to keep in mind when managing behavior is not to take it personally. However, like Alecia Kaczmarek says in7 Effective Love and Logic Strategies for the Classroom, "We all have those students who love to argue, push our buttons or just be temperamental in general." These situations can be hard! Having a clear, consistent plan will do wonders for your sanity.

When your students know what to expect, it is much easier to deal with behavior.

Whether you use a point system or reward system along with your clearly stated expectations is up to you. The important thing is that your students know what will happen if they don't meet them. The article, Why You Need To Post Consequences in Your Art Room, lays out one way you could do this in your classroom.

If you're looking for more in-depth information, you'll want to check out the AOE courseManaging the Art Room. Participants have the opportunity to identify their classroom management struggles and get personalized feedback and ideas to help things run more smoothly. Plus, throughout the course, they work to develop a comprehensive classroom management action plan to implement right away.

Here are 5 more resources to help you deal with unwanted behavior in the art room.

Finally, one strategy that can work with a variety of plans is a "Think Sheet."

In the article,How to Use a Think Sheet for Better Classroom Behavior, Lindsey Moss describes how it works. She says, "The sheet is designed to help students be more mindful of their behavior and its consequences after a situation has occurred. Rather than lecture or berate a student, the art teacher gives them a few minutes to calm down, and asks them to complete the sheet. Ideally, the student and teacher fill this out collaboratively, signaling they are a team and planning for future behavioral success." Click through to the article to download an example you can use in your classroom right away.

Now that we've talked about routines, procedures, behavior, and consequences, let's talk about what else classroom management might include.

3. A Good Classroom Management Plan Goes Beyond Student Behavior

When we think of "Classroom Management" often we zero in on student behavior. But in reality, managing an art room encompasses so much more. Let's take a look at a few other things that fall under this umbrella.

Planning for Substitutes

Having solid sub plans is key to keep your classroom running smoothly. It's your responsibility to make sure you give your subs every opportunity for success.

If you're looking for a comprehensive take on the subject, be sure to watch the Planning for Substitutes PRO Learning Pack. Lindsey shares a slew of helpful tips and tricks, plus specific sub lessons to leave while you're out.

Parent Communication

Another component of classroom management is parent communication. Whether you call home or not, dealing with parents can be tricky.
Here are 5 resources to help.
Safety

Keeping your students safe is another important item that falls under classroom management. The most important thing you can do to keep kids safe is to be prepared for any school emergency. Review your school's emergency plans on a regular basis, and make sure to put a copy in your sub folder.

Beyond that, it's up to you to make sure your kids are using supplies properly. Whether it's spray paint or X-ACTO knives, it's important to clearly communicate your expectations to your students.

Beyond the Classroom Walls

Art on a Cart

You might be thinking that all of this sounds great, but what if you don't have a classroom. While teaching art on a cart is no cakewalk, there are management strategies that might make it a bit easier.

Here are some tips just for you.

Utilizing Volunteers

Finally, no matter what type of environment you teach in, it's difficult to manage everything by yourself. If you haven't already, consider recruiting some volunteers!

The easiest place to find people to help is your classroom. Our students are often capable of so much more than we think. You might even consider starting an "Art Teacher in Training" program like Lee Ten Hoeve does at her school. You can read more about her time-saving system in the article,Why You Should Start an Art Teacher in Training Program Now!

Other jobs you might turn over to your art students include leading an art show and filling your display cases.

Parents also can be a huge help in the art room. Here are some ideas of how they might help save you time and free you up to worry about what's most important.

Finding Your Style

Just like the rest of teaching, finding your classroom management style is deeply personal. What works for one teacher or group of students may not work for another. You know yourself, your classroom, and your students best. Use that knowledge to your advantage!

As classroom management guru Michael Linsin points out in the article, Why You Shouldn't Care if Your Students Misbehave, "Your own personality has a dramatic effect on students-that alone, if you do nothing else but remain calm, can be so important," Linsin said. "Students feel that, feed off of that, and tend to behave and react as the leader does."

He goes on to say, "One technique that is effective is to, before school begins every day, make a decision. Make a decision that no matter what happens, you will keep your cool. It's amazing how effectively it works. When students misbehave, you become calmer, not the other way around. If you continue day after day, it becomes part of who you are."

That said, there will be days when no matter how clear, consistent, and calm you are, things will fall apart. When that happens, come back and read 15 Things No One Tells You About Teaching Your Toughest Class. We're here for you!
What are your favorite classroom management strategies? What questions do you still have about classroom management?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

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Everything You Need to Know About Classroom Management in the Art Room

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Managing an art room is not always easy. With messy materials, large class sizes, and time restraints, it can seem almost impossible to keep everything on track! As we all know, once a class loses focus, it takes a lot to get them back.

This is so important. We've all found ourselves in the middle of a class and realized what we had planned for the day took much less time than expected. Your panic grows with the realization there is nothing else planned or prepared for students to do after they complete their work. These are the times students start to act up. Even those who are not yet done with their work start to lose focus. The entire class may get off task.

To avoid this, make sure you have prepared several steps ahead. If you think your students will only be drawing and will paint the next class, prepare some paint just in case. Or have an extra activity planned to extend the knowledge of your early finishers. For example, if your students are doing a still life, provide an activity about how to add dimension using value. Whatever you do, make sure that you have more prepared than even your fastest student can complete in a class period.

2. Teach your expectations (and then teach them again!)

You go over your classroom expectations on the first day. After that, do you reteach them? If not, you should.

Even if your rules are simple, it is important to remind students of your expectations regularly. Try to do this before issues arise. I sometimes make my bell ringers about my classroom expectations, to see if we need to go over them again.

If you often revisit your rules and expectations, students will understand they are important. They will be more likely to follow them, too. And, if issues do come up, students will not be able to say they didn't know.

3. Use sound to structure class time.

Using sound to help manage a classroom is very effective. Most teachers use clapping or a call back to get the class' attention. There are many other ways that sounds can be used to manage a class, though.

One powerful way to use sound is to play different kinds of music for each activity. For example, play classical music as students enter and complete their bell ringers. When it is time to transition to the next part of the class, play a different kind of music, such as jazz. This will be a clear signal to students to transition. Once they get used to it, you will not even have to say anything as students prepare for your instruction.

Another great use of sound is to use a timer to pace the class. Timers are wonderful tools to structure class time. The sound of a timer going off is a clear signal to students to stop and move on to the next task.

4. Reward those who are doing the right thing.

Sometimes students need some positive reinforcement to remember the expectations. I often use a strategy of rewarding the students who are doing the right thing for the entire class. These are students who are meeting all my behavioral expectations the entire time. In a class that often has behavioral issues, these students can sometimes feel overlooked. It is important to show them you notice their effort to behave. This also serves to communicate your expectations to those who are not behaving.

In the beginning of the class, communicate your intention to reward those students who are doing the right thing. Make sure that you have enough for the entire class of whatever it is you are using as a reward. As the class progresses, remind students that you are paying attention to those who are on task and following the class rules. At the end of the class, go around and reward those who have met your expectations. You should not call out those who are not getting the reward. Just silently skip them. Most of the time, they know why they are not getting the reward. If they ask, privately give them feedback about what they can do better next time.

This strategy has proven to be effective with all of my elementary and middle school students. The key is to choose a reward students want. This can be anything from stickers to candy. Keep it small yet desirable.

5. Build positive relationships.

We all know that relationships are the cornerstones of good teaching. Building them takes time. Yet, once you have established strong relationships with your students you will have a much easier time managing your class.

I once had a particularly difficult relationship with a student. She was constantly disruptive. She would throw materials, talk back, and refuse to complete any work. I was not sure what to do. Conferencing with her, calls home, and detentions were not helping.

I decided to take another approach. I found out that she was on the school dance team, and came to one of their performances. I cheered her on from the audience. The next day as she entered class, I stopped her to tell her how impressed I had been watching her dance. After this, she never misbehaved in my class again.

Making time to find out about students and support them beyond the classroom is a powerful tool. By investing in your relationships with students, you build a culture of caring that creates a safe place for students to learn and grow. When students feel safe and cared for, they work hard and accept challenges.

Classroom management is multi-faceted and complex. Each class and student is different, and what works for one group may not work for another. If you work to keep students engaged and incorporate these strategies, you will be able to manage even the most challenging class.
What strategies do you use to manage your classes? How do you build relationships with students?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

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5 Classroom Management Strategies for the Art Room

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Managing an art room is not always easy. With messy materials, large class sizes, and time restraints, it can seem almost impossible to keep everything on track! As we all know, once a class loses focus, it takes a lot to get them back. This is so important.

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One of our assistant principals had this special ability to walk into the gym before school, raise his hand, and get 800+ middle school kids QUIET. No, I'm not kidding! How did he do it? Why do kids behave so much better for some people than others? It is a mystery. There is no classroom management author I've found who can truly explain this enigma. When you walk into one of these classrooms, the kids are quiet and on task and the teacher is ... doing .... what? No one knows. Even the teachers themselves have a hard time putting it into words. What are the"secrets" to commanding that magical attention, to creating order out of chaos?

........body language, mindset, character and self-discipline, energy, consistency, and with-it-ness.........

Nobody taught me about accountability in education training, and I have heard lots of other teachers state the same thing. Of course, discipline strategies are cultural and many times are used in highly negative ways - a lot of teachers use intimidation tactics to get kids to behave and we know this is a mistake. However, neglecting "When I let go of my authority ....., I am abdicating my responsibility to protect the environment in which the rest of the students live and learn - and thus their right to a quality education." to hold kids accountable for their behavior is just as big a mistake.

When does a teacher need to use Command Presence? The space of time between observing disruptive behavior and the teacher's response is where Command Presence comes in handy. The first two discipline strategies a teacher uses in response to misbehavior, "non-verbal" and "quiet-verbal," are dependent on the ability to have command Presence. You are much more likely to handle small disruptions effectively if you mean business. If you are projecting an attitude of authority, you will be able to cut down misbehaviors simply by making eye contact with students, moving in close (using proximity), gesturing, or by quietly correcting behavior.

In all honesty, my own natural state is down in the "No Power" zone described in the chart below. I have had to work really hard to overcome my weaknesses and get to a place where students take me seriously! From day to day, I may find myself back down in that zone if I'm not careful.

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One of our assistant principals had this special ability to walk into the gym before school, raise his hand, and get 800+ middle school kids QUIET. No, I'm not kidding! How did he do it? Why do kids behave so much better for some people than others? It is a mystery.

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I've written this for J. She's told me that she's an NQT who's really struggling with managing behaviour in the art room at the moment and feels like giving up. She feels unsupported which isn't right. During my teacher training, I worked in a really tough inner-city school and felt really isolated and unsupported. I cried into my pillow but gritted my teeth and soldiered on. The Art room offers an extra set of challenges to teachers as students are no longer facing the front in rows and are often given more freedom. Later in my career, at a brilliant high school, I was lucky enough to have a truly inspiring head of department who always gave me new strategies to try. Having a new strategy always made me feel positive and able to cope.

Greet Your Class

Stand by the door and give a friendly greeting. 'Welcome to the Art Room' or a cheery 'Morning', or 'Hello Artists!'. Even if you are ignored, force yourself to do it. This is your classroom, your space, you are in charge. Own it. Blast them with positivity.

Learn their Names

If you teach many students, learning all their names is a challenge. Knowing their names is essential for good classroom management. Using their name makes you more powerful. It's far more effective to say 'James, stop doing that' than 'Stop doing that'. If you are lucky enough to have a system where you can look at student photos next to their name, sit down and revise their names. I've done it and it helps.

A Zinger

A zinger is a striking, enthusiastic opening statement. Start your lesson with a zinger to immediately strike a positive note and spark your students' interest in the topic. Use an upbeat tone of voice. This lets students know that you want to be there, that their past behaviour hasn't beaten you, and that you love teaching art.

'This is going to be a brilliant lesson because...'

'I love teaching this lesson because...'

'What really fascinates me about this is...'

[Name] is my favourite artist/movement because...'

Asking yourself how you can start each lesson with a zinger is a good habit.

Addressing a Table

Place your hand in the middle of the table and state 'This table is doing brilliantly' or 'This table has got it' or 'This table is on task.' You are praising the table that is doing well. You are saying 'This is my space and I own it' with your hand. You are setting a positive tone in the room.

Conversely, put your hand in the middle of the table and quietly say 'This table is too noisy' or 'This table needs to focus'. You are directing the instruction where it is needed and not at the whole class. You're owning your space. You're in charge.

Whole Class Praise / Owning the Room

Walking around the room giving whole-class-praise is a great way to give a positive vibe whilst walking near students who might not be as engaged as they should and maintaining pace and asserting your authority all in one go. What? You can do all that just by walking around the room giving praise? Yes, you can. Useful phrases might be:

'There's a good working atmosphere in this room.'

'Brilliant, most of you are moving onto the second step.'

It might not even be true, progress might be poor, but if students think everyone else is making good progress, they will want to do the same. If students aren't on task and are too loud, still do it, but perhaps say:

'I'm seeing accurate/detailed/analytical/thorough work.

'There are some talented artists in this room!'

Seating Plans

It's an obvious one but easy to forget if you are feeling overwhelmed. Plan a seating plan that splits up students who struggle to maintain good behaviour or focus. Move students to areas where you spend more time.

The Broken Record

The broken record technique is a classic. Decide what your phrases are. They should reinforce your rules. I hear myself saying 'When I'm speaking, you're listening' frequently. Think of the problems you're having with behaviour. E.g. Too much chatting. Think of a phrase to combat it. 'Less chat, more work'. Don't be frightened to hammer home your rules. Never let your standards slip, keep on and on with your rules.

The Whisper

Shouting makes you sound out of control. You are punishing the whole class when it's most likely only a few individuals. It's been proven that a deeper voice has more authority. Walk up behind a student, come down to their ear level and really quietly say one of the following strong statements:

'I would like you to focus on your work. That's what you're here for'.

I'd rather be having a cup of tea at break but I'm happy to spend it with you, helping you catch up, if you don't make enough progress today.

I know you can do this. I want to see progress.

Again, use their name. 'Alicia, we don't do that in here' whispered can be really effective.

Getting the Bigger Picture

Sometimes it's a particular class that behaves badly and you dread seeing them. Find out which other teachers teach them, and then meet with them. Find out what strategies they use that work. Use the same broken record phrases. Hearing that other teachers find them difficult can make you feel better.

Managing Materials.

You need to minimise the need for movement about the classroom if behaviour is poor. This means being ultra-organised. Have things out on tables or in easy reach to hand out yourself. Use more trusted students to hand things out for you. One of your rules needs to be that students stay in seats unless given permission to move. It's ok to remind students of this when you start your lesson. Every lesson if needs be.

Materials as Rewards

Some materials are tempting to students. Glitter glue and gold paper spring to mind. I remember drawing fish with some particularly challenging students and dangling the carrot of adding some gold collage. They really wanted to get onto this stage of the process and this could be used as a tool to encourage better work before they were allowed access to it.

Thank you, not please.

'Stop that now, thank you.' This phrase assumes the student is going to do as you ask. Using please would be a weaker phrase and indicates that the student has choice. Always thank you, never please.

Dismiss the Class Table by Table, not all at once.

Dismissing your class table by table means you are in control. 'This table is tidy, you can go'. Walk around the room making sure things are up to your high standards. 'Put that in the bin'. 'This table worked really well today - you can go first.' Reward good behaviour whenever you can. If you don't normally do this, tell the class at the start of the lesson, and then make it routine.

Use Humour / Building Relationships

This is tricky if your students have created a 'them and us' atmosphere, but being able to laugh with your students makes them see you are human and builds relationships. I've found watching the same TV programs can give you something to talk about. Chipping in 'Oh I saw that wasn't it awful/sad/ridiculous' can build relationships. Listen out for what they watch.

Telling them a little bit about yourself at appropriate moments can also help build relationships. Tell them about your dog or leaky roof, whatever it takes for them to see you as a human being.

Ask for Help

Your employers have a responsibility for your welfare in the workplace. They don't want you to quit. You have to be brave and ask for help. All NQT's should be supported, especially if you're in a school where behaviour is a challenge. Your head of department should be your first port of call. Demand help.

Be Fighting Fit

If you are tired and run down, you are not going to be able to cope. Your physical and mental wellbeing is more important than your job. Make sure you get enough sleep, drink enough water and have some R&R. I know that is difficult but make it a priority.

The Good Bit

It gets easier every year. If you get your Yr7's under control, when you have them as Year 8's the following year, it will be that little bit easier. You will know your students and learn what makes them tick. Another positive as time goes by is, often (not always) older teachers seem to command more respect. When I look in the mirror (I'm 47) and bemoan my wrinkles, at least I can think my older face and presence make my job easier.

Positivity Attracts Positivity

I really believe if you are positive, positivity will come straight back at you. Write down 3 good things that have happened every day. (Maybe reading this blog post could be one.) Do this every day. It could be a kind word from a colleague or a great bit of work by a student. It could be a spectacular sunrise on the way to school or a phone call from an old friend. Buy a beautiful notebook and use your favourite pen to write these down. There is something important about committing them to paper. It will work, like magic.

If you have more behaviour management techniques to share, please comment below.

Further Reading
Education Support Partnership - Managing Pupil Behaviour

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Strategies to Manage Behaviour in the Art Room. - The Arty Teacher

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I've written this for J. She's told me that she's an NQT who's really struggling with managing behaviour in the art room at the moment and feels like giving up. She feels unsupported which isn't right. During my teacher training, I worked in a really tough inner-city school and felt really isolated and unsupported.

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Classroom Management in the Art Room - CKAL

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Learn our top tips for classroom management in the art room to help you start your year off right Read the article at Creative Kids Art Lessons.

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5 Classroom Management Strategies from an Art Teacher - THAT ART TEACHER

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I was so scared I was going to be a bad teacher. I have loved art since I was a kid. I grew up in a creative household that put art, music and creative expression before anything else. We painted and drew around the kitchen table daily, made homemade movies on the weekends and I got my first ukulele when I was a toddler. Art …

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Classroom management is a term used to describe keeping a classroom full of children functioning throughout the day. This includes all of the rituals, routines, structure, and more that allows you to keep your classroom running. But classroom management for elementary music teachers is a a little bit different than for classroom teachers, so after this post you'll have some tricks you your sleeve to help you with managing your class.

Classroom management is incredibly important, because without it, your classroom cannot function. No one can learn if someone is throwing chairs across the room. That may be drastic (hey, it happens), but also no one can learn if the kids are all talking the whole class and can't hear you.

Now, classroom management for elementary music teachers is an art form, so I suggest that you pick one of these principles to start working on this week. Once that one becomes a habit, then you can add another, and so on.

PS If you're reading this because you're a new music teacher, sign up for my FREE elementary music minicourse! You'll get videos and articles sent to your email about what to teach, creating a sequence, how to teach rhythm, how to teach melody, etc.
Click here to join!
First off... Assume it's your fault

The first thing to know is that as a teacher, classroom management is in your hands. As music teachers, we see all of the students in the school. Start observing your classes when they aren't with you. What do they act like with other teachers?

Because here's the thing- you can take the same class, give them a different teacher, and they will feel like a different class.

You may notice that certain classes behave better with you than with their teacher- or vice versa.

I once walked a second grade back to their classroom. Their classroom was on the other side of the hallway, but all throughout the hallway, they were silent, they were in line, hands to themselves- they looked like perfect little angels.

We get to their classroom, and the second they stepped over the threshold into their room, they lost their minds. They were all over the room, running up to their teacher asking questions, talking loudly, students everywhere.

I was in utter shock- I had never seen them act like that.

The only thing that changed was what teacher they were with.

Now, this can go both ways so when it comes to classroom management, take responsibility. Most of the time, it's your fault. The good news? If it's your fault, you can fix it!

If there's a behavior you don't love, look for a way to fix it. Don't leave it or assume it's the kids.

Now, I say this with a grain of salt. I am at a particularly difficult school, and because of that, some classes are just difficult. They won't all be perfect. If you have 30 classes, and one is rough, then you can chalk that up to being a difficult class. It can still get better though, so look for ways to improve.

Most of the time, classroom management is your fault- and that means that you can fix it.

So... how will you do that?

Classroom Management is about Relationships

The first piece of classroom management for elementary music teacher is all about relationships. Rita Peerson said kids don't learn from teachers they don't like. I would extend that to kids don't listen to teachers they don't like.

Now, not every child is going to love you, but there are a few key things you can do to ensure that students feel like they have a relationship.

Learn names: This shouldn't even be a question, but learn all of the students' names. Yes, all 700. Or at the very least, cheat and have a seating chart. But students should feel like you know them, and for that you need to know their names. (Click here for a video about how to learn names.)

Focus on fun: When you are a kid and you make a new friend, you get to know each other by playing together. The same thing goes for your students- when you have fun together, you become closer. You have fun moments. Spontaneous things happen. Try adding one "just for fun" activity to each lesson. And at the beginning of the year, focus on A LOT of fun.

Have a consistent demeanor: This one is to help students learn about you- when you have a consistent demeanor, then students know what to expect from you. If you are sweet one day and yelling the next, the kids will be confused and they won't know what to expect. Instead, try to have a consistent, pleasant demeanor. I know this one is easier said than done, but it makes a huge difference. You can read more about that from this book.

Talk to the kids: This isn't revolutionary, but talk to your students. Listen to your students. Ask them questions that have nothing to do with class. Learn their interests. Use your duty posts, use your before and after class time, use every bit of it.

Keep it Interesting

Teachers say the best classroom management plan is a good lesson plan. Although when it comes to classroom management for music teachers that is definitely not the stopping point, it is a good starting point.

You lesson plan should be fun and engaging in order to make sure students are actively involved and not bored. When students get bored, they get off task.

How do you make your lessons more fun?

Change the pace: Alternate between having the students up and down, doing movement activities, working together, etc. We typically start with a movement activity, then a sitting activity, and the kids are up and down all lesson long. We also change activities a lot- I learned in my general music methods that students can concentrate about as long as their age. So a five year old can only focus for about five minutes. That means you need to do something different every five minutes.

Faster: Keep your pace up, and continue switching activities so that students don't get bored.

Make sure they are doing something: Idle hands are the devil's plaything, so make sure the kids spend most of the class actually doing something. Moving, singing, keeping the beat, playing a game, etc. Don't let them get bored.

Group work: With older kids, I have found group work to be extremely efficient in making the class more fun. My upper grade students love to work together, so I am constantly looking for ways that they can work together to learn a song on the xylophone, create a movement for a song, create an ostinato, etc. If they can work together, they will have more fun. Plus, when they work together, they can talk so you don't have to keep them quiet.

Speaking of....

Don't talk over the students.

I have gotten a lot of questions recently asking how I keep the kids from talking over me.

The answer: Don't talk over them.

When you talk over the students, it gives them the idea that it's ok for them to continue talking while you're talking. It also means that they aren't listening and have no idea what you're saying.

You have to train the students to get quiet first, then you can talk.

The best way to do that is with a signal to get quiet and listen. Here's some of my favorites:

Hand: When my hand goes up, yours goes up and your voice goes off.

Chimes: I ring the chimes, and students put their hand up until the sound stops (this means they have to be quiet and listen)

Callbacks: You say something, and the students say something. And look at you. And are quiet.

If you're looking for callbacks, here are a couple...

Class? Yes?

Hocus pocus, everybody focus!

Macaroni and cheese, everybody freeze!

Are you ready kids? Aye, aye captain!

To infinity, and beyond!

Holy moly, guacamole!

I like to change mine every few weeks because I get bored. This also gives me the chance to really practice the call back at the beginning of the week, and practice having the students get quiet and listen.

The key word? Practice. They have to practice so that they will get this right. And if they do it wrong, they have to try again.

The classroom management plans for music teachers

Although relationships and a fun lesson are crucial for classroom management for elementary music teachers, you still need a plan. Kids will be kids, which means that they will test the boundaries (intentionally or not). You need a plan for when this happens- what will you do? What will the kids do?

I've done a few different classroom management plans, all of which are outlined in this post. The main thing, though, is to have a specific amount of chances a student has. Why? Because when a student knows where they stand, it is much easier for them to understand what they are doing.

Have you ever had one of those days when you had to call on the same kid over and over and over and over again? Finally you got frustrated and didn't let them play the game or called mom and they looked at you like you're crazy? That's because they don't know where they stand.

Whichever system you choose, make it specific and take the guesswork out for you. If an action means getting a yellow card, you don't have to decide whether or not they get it- they just do. Keep it specific and consistent.

As music teachers, one of the biggest tools up our sleeve is that our lessons are FUN. That means that an effective, easy consequence is for students to sit out of the fun.

Whatever classroom management system you use, one of your first tools should be having students sit out.

Always allow them the chance to come back and join the class, though.

Here's my system:

Yellow card: Student stays at seat but is not allowed to do any of the "fun stuff"

Orange card: Move to the audience where you can watch but not participate. This is the back wall in my room. Older kids also complete a think sheet during this station.

Red card: In the audience the rest of class, phone call home, silent lunch for upper grades.

It's quick, it's specific, and because I use laminated pieces of paper, it's tangible.

With a yellow or orange card, a student can come back- usually quickly. With a yellow card, I will usually wait a minute or two and if they have composed themselves, they put it away. With an orange, it's closer to 5 minutes.

Rules for the Classroom Management for Elementary Music Teachers

Don't forget that you need to have some rules in place so that students know what they should and shouldn't do. Shoot for 3-5 simple rules that can be applied to different situations. Ours are:

Follow directions

Be respectful

Be responsible

Be a participant

We go over these literally every day. When we are about to do an activity, we talk about ways that we can be responsible with our instruments or how we can be respectful to our group mates. When someone does something they shouldn't, I will specifically say, "That was not respectful, and we are respectful in music class. Go get a yellow card."

Whatever your rules are, make them specific and make them relevant. And most of all, keep them front and center.

You can grab a copy of my rules with the matching rhythms by joining the free resource library. Join here!

Let them earn something

In addition to whatever you do when a student misbehaves, you'll also want the kids to work FOR something. Nobody- especially children- wants to work for nothing. You work for that huge paycheck. The kids need something to work for too.

As a class, we do teacher v. student points. When the class is working hard, they get a point. If I'm working harder than them (repeating myself, restarting an activity, etc) then I get a point.

I see my students for a week at a time, so on Friday we take their points, subtract my points, and whatever is left is game time.

During our game time, the students pick a game that we have played before to play for that amount of minutes. I shoot for them to have 10 on a good week (about 2-3 points a day).

If I have more points then they do, then they owe me points and we sit in silence. I tell them it's however many points I have, but kids have no sense of time so it's usually only a minute.

On an individual level, we also do Class Dojo. If students do a good job, they get a point.

If your school doesn't have anything like that and you feel you need something extra to help, here's a few ideas or music room appropriate rewards for individual students:

Green cards: Give students who are working hard a green card. At the end of class, those with green cards can do something special like play a special instrument.

Drawing: With difficult classes, we do drawings. I have them "put their name in the envelope" (literally I have strips of paper and they write their names on them and put them in the envelope). On Friday, I pull 3 names and those people go to the prize box. This is really effective with upper grades.

Stickers. Just saying.

Class Dojo: You can set up your own Class Dojo account and set up your classes yourself. When students hit a certain number they can get something special. Check it out (free) here.

Music room coupons: Pick your instrument first, take your shoes off, special chair.... The possibilities are endless. Give kids their choice of a coupon and let them redeem it when they want to. If you do this, I would pick only a couple of students each day.

In addition to whatever you do, make sure you keep the praise coming too. Want the kids to sit criss cross applesauce? Find the one student who is sitting criss cross applesauce and say, "Thank you, Johnny, for sitting criss cross applesauce with your hands in your lap." You've never seen kids move so fast.

Keep the tone of your lessons positive- shoot for 5 positive comments for any one negative one (Johnny we don't throw instruments!).
Also read: Keys to Classroom Management for Elementary Music Teachers

Practice routines and procedures

The last component of classroom management for elementary music teachers is having rules and procedures- and practice them.

We already talked about the procedure for getting students' attention. What about everything else? Do students need to raise their hand? Can they get up and walk up to you with a question? How do you line up? How do you get supplies?

The thing about rules and procedures is that there is no "right" answer- but you need to have an answer. If can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you have an answer.

Think through procedures for the following:

Asking a question

Going to the bathroom

What to do with things kids bring to class

Sending students to the nurse

What to do if you finish your work

Sharing supplies

Then think through routines and systems for the following:

Lining up

Making a circle

Picking up supplies

Putting supplies away

Turning in written work

Fire drills

Rotating between instruments

Once you've established these routines, you will also want to practice them as they come up. So the first time we get instruments, we will talk about how to pick them up. Then we will practice how to pick them up. Then we will actually pick them up.

Excessive? Maybe. But with my fifth graders, they are so used to our routines that I can just call a row and they do what I want them to do. That is your goal- that by the end of the year or once students are older, they will already know how to do things, and you won't have to put as much effort into it.

There's a quote by Harry Wong that says you can either practice your rituals the first week of school or all year long. Wouldn't you rather practice a few times and then let it be second nature?

Routines are important when it comes to classroom management for elementary music teachers, because we don't see our students that often. Because of that, it's even more important that we have rituals, routines, and habits that are consistent from day to day.
Read all about routines here!

Alright, that is most of what you need to know for classroom management for elementary music teachers. There are a few more tips about classroom management for music teachers that I wanted to share that didn't fit anywhere else, so here they are:

If you play before I say...

One of the best things that ever happened to me was finding this saying on Mrs. King's Music Class, "If you play before I say, i will take your instrument away." (Check it out here)

I immediately implemented this rule, and it is a game changer.

I tell the students this EVERY TIME we play instruments, and I mean it. If they make a sound with that instrument at the wrong time, it goes up.

I know that seems mean. It may be. But it's also necessary to 1. Keep your instruments in good working order and 2. Save your sanity.

I do this with every class, every time. And every time SOMEONE plays and that someone loses their instrument. Once you take one, the rest believe you and it will be a lot better.

I typically just take it for a minute or two, and then give it back. But if there's a second time by the same student, they lose it for the rest of class.

To help with this, we have a few "positions"

Magic X makes an x with whatever instruments you have and is quiet

Ready means hands are out in a playing position but you aren't playing yet

Rest means instruments are all the way on the floor and hands are all the way off

With the little kids, I have them put their hands on their shoulders so that I can easily see their hands and they are so far away from the instrument that it is hard to make sneaky noises.

Redirect them to something

When a student is off task, make sure you redirect them to doing something. Kids need something specific to do. Saying "Stop talking" is less effective than "Please track me when I'm speaking."

Another reason why I like hands on shoulders- then instead of saying, "Don't touch the instruments!" I can say, "Put your hands on your shoulders." That gives them something physical to do. It also makes the class more positive because when you direct them to something, it is typically phrased as a positive instead of a negative (stop doing whatever).

Be ridiculously specific

As a music teacher, I am often thrown into classrooms to help or doing duties where I see teachers interact with students. One of the biggest mistakes that I see is teachers not being specific enough- especially with littles.

If you are going to move around the room, you need to take the time to express when students can and cannot go. Don't assume that they magically know. Maybe they should know not to go into the instrument storage area- but if you didn't say that, you can't assume that they know.

This is one example of a million, but make sure that you are specific with directions. This is especially important for classroom management for elementary music teachers, because we only see our students once a week or every few days. That means there is a lot of time to forget.

If most of the students are doing something wrong, then you were not specific enough. Remember- you're in charge, and if they didn't understand, then you need to find a way for them to understand.

Take the following conversation, for example:

We are discussing holiday traditions, and one student said that her family eats Thanksgiving food for Christmas. I replied that we do the same thing. Another student yells out "Ewww!" Now, that's rude and it's blurting, so he has now broken two of our rules (be respectful, follow directions). I asked why he said that, and he said, "You eat month old food for Christmas?"

Assume good intentions

Along with that, assume that students are trying. Most kids most of the time WANT to be good. They want to do the right thing. They want to please you. Many, many times if they do something they shouldn't, it's often just a misunderstanding or miscommunication.

Before you jump down a student's throat, take the time to understand why they did that- you'll find it's usually not malicious.

Now, we all have students that do push boundaries and intentionally do the opposite of what you say, but they are few and far between. Most students are trying to be good. Even the "bad" ones are still trying to be good- they just don't know how.

Before you freak out, stop and ask the kids why they did a certain thing- it may open your eyes. It also shows the students that they are being heard. Which takes me to the next thing....

Remember they are people too

Finally, remember that kids are people too. They have thoughts, opinions, ideas, and feelings. They have bad days. They get upset. They get tired. They are human.

When you remember that- that is a little PERSON- it helps you to think of them in a better light. They are little people trying to figure out the world and do their best. Sometimes they don't do what we want them to, but it's usually just because they don't know. So teach them. Love them. Have them leave you happier and better than when they came in. They are only little for a short amount of time, and they are little with you. Treasure that. Enjoy the moments.

Alright friends, that's all- as if that's not a lot. Really should just write a book at this point- we need to talk about for classroom management today.

If you have questions, the best way to reach me is on Instagram @beccasmusicroom or by email beccasmusicroom@gmail.com

I'd love to chat about anything you need help with- especially classroom management for elementary music teachers. I may not be able to help, but I can always be an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on! Reach out with any questions that you have.

Happy teaching!

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Classroom Management for Elementary Music Teachers - Becca's Music Room

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Learn all about classroom management for elementary music teachers and take control of your general music classroom today!

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By Rachel and Jessica Shield | Middle School Band Directors

We see 375 band students every day and have very few discipline issues or distractions during class. Below are six music classroom management strategies we use in our program.

Teach, Model, and Reteach Routines

Explain and show students how you expect them to do EVERYTHING. Include even the easiest behaviors: entering the room, where to build instruments, where to store cases, how to set up the music stand as a workstation for the class period (pencil, tuner, warm-ups, music). Insist that routines are done correctly every time and it will become habit for you and the students.

Use Nonverbal Signals

A simple arm raised by a teacher indicates all students need to raise their hands and become silent. Nothing proceeds until the room is silent. This sounds too simple but it works. When used consistently and diligently it quiets a noisy room of 80 sixth grade brass players in about 10 seconds. We have gotten to the point that students will initiate the arm raise when they hear talking among the students. Develop your own plan and use it every rehearsal every day.

Keep Rules Simple

Our classroom rule is "Act in a way which does not create problems for others." We follow that up with our posted Rehearsal Expectations:

Pencil on EVERY Stand

Music out of Plastic

Mark Corrections (The more you mark, the less we stop!)

Eye Contact with Director (Track)

Instrument to Mouth on Count-Off

Correct Playing Position & Posture

Raise Hand for Comments & Questions

Positive Body Language & Energy

Apply What You Already Know

Behavior Is Productive & Effective

Organize Your Space

Set up the room with aisles for you to be able to roam the room. Get off of the podium and move throughout the ensemble. Proximity does wonders for student behavior and allows you to see the rehearsal from their perspective.

Keep the Room Clean and Organized

Have the room set with the correct number of chairs and stands. Have a spot for everything: extra music, pencils, tuners, lost and found, etc. Use binders for student materials to eliminate lost music. Put a pencil pouch in each binder to hold reeds, oil, tuners and pencils. Put the daily plan on the board so students know what to set up for when they enter the room.

Play More, Talk Less

Students are in band to play their instrument. The more they play the more they will like it. Many student errors can be fixed through slow repetition of small sections. Do not be afraid to repeat something a dozen times if needed. Your kids are tough, they can do it. When stopping to make corrections use three short phrases to include: who, where, what. For example: trumpets, measure 43, staccato notes-put space between. It is also very effective to model the correction on your instrument or by singing. Every stop should be 30 seconds maximum.

Consistent Expectations

No matter how tired or frustrated you might become, calmly insist that there is only one way to do things in your classroom: the right way. What you accept is what you will get. Firm expectations and a loving attitude toward the students will create a comfortable and secure environment for you and your students. The whole point of music classroom management is to develop a system that removes distractions and logistics and allows students to focus on the task at hand: music.

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6 Music Classroom Management Strategies - MFA Education %

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Rachel and Jessica Shield share classroom management strategies for middle school

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It's 9:00 in the morning, and twenty seven sixth graders just piled into your room. They are animated and social, and learning a new song may not be high on their personal list of priorities. Forty five minutes later, their teacher comes by to pick them up at the same moment that the kindergarten teacher delivers twenty two five year olds who have had a rough morning. She wishes you luck as she heads to the office for a meeting. Next up is second grade, who is waiting patiently in the hallway for the kindergarten teacher to pick up her class- her meeting ran late and she apologizes as she takes the hand of her line leader to head back to class. Does all of this sound familiar? Teaching music at an elementary school is a LOT. We have a rotating door of classes with new groups of students who have very different needs every 30-60 minutes. Each homeroom teacher runs their classroom differently, and it can be very difficult to switch gears so often and match the classroom climate of their homeroom. Finding a classroom management strategy that works for you is crucial to your success as a music teacher.

When I first started teaching elementary music in 2006, I worked at a school that had used clip charts in every classroom. The chart came with the kids to music, and kids moved their clips down if they didn't behave. I also used a 3-Strikes system for classwide behavior choices. In both of these systems, students were penalized for poor choices, but there was no room for positive reinforcement beyond verbal praise... which is nice to receive, but doesn't always hold a lot of value for a child. Each year I would tweak my system. First I allowed classes to cancel their strikes if they turned things around. I tried keeping track of the strikes and awarding the class with the least strikes each quarter with a special day. I thought creating competition between classes would help motivate the students, but it really didn't. I would often have one grade level where all of the classes did great and only one class won, while in another grade none of the classes really deserved a reward, but I had to give one anyhow.

As my school began the journey of PBIS, we did away with the classroom clip charts. We were encouraged to use positive reinforcement instead of negative consequences with our students. It took me a few years to really iron out the details of a classroom behavior management system, but I am really happy with what I am using now. So... what do I do?

On my whiteboard at the front of the room, I have a small silver board. On this board, I have three laminated music notes. Each time a class enters my room, they start with all three notes. Throughout class, students (as a class) can earn "bonus" notes or lose notes based on their behavior and effort during music. If they earn a bonus note, I take one of the three notes and move it up above the silver area. If they lose a note, a bonus note would move back down to the silver area or one of the three notes they started with would move below the silver area. These notes are fluid throughout the entire class. They can move up and down at any time.

After I take attendance, we pick a Mystery Musician. I give two clues about who it is, but don't give it away. I have a spreadsheet with each class list on it where I can keep track of who has had a turn- no one gets a second turn until everyone has had a turn. During class, I make comments such as "Oh, I love how my Mystery Musician is sitting quietly!" or "My Mystery Musician is being such a kind friend right now." or "Ooh, my Mystery Musician needs to make some better choices." These little comments get everyone to check their behavior without calling out an individual student in front of their peers. It's amazing how helpful this strategy is!

At the end of class, we check to see how many notes we have. If we earned two bonus notes, I would see two notes moved up, and that would be a total of five notes. If we lost a note, I would see one below the other two, and that would be a total of two notes. At this point, I start to give more and more clues about who the Mystery Musician is until the kids figure it out. Here's where the fun part is- the Mystery Musician gets to play the notes that their class earned on our gong! So if we have five notes, the Mystery Musician plays the gong five times. But if we only have two notes, they only get to play it twice. If we have one or zero notes, we do not play the gong. I do not reveal the Mystery Musician, and we try to do better next time. This is a very rare occurrence.

For several years, I kept track of how many notes each class earned, and when they reached thirty notes, they got to vote on a reward such as choose your own seats, bring a stuffed animal to music, or their favorite, "trick your teacher" where we played a trick on their homeroom teacher when they came to pick up their class. The kids generally enjoyed this, but it was a pain to manage and inevitably some kids didn't want to do what the class voted on. Since my school uses the PBIS Rewards App (where kids earn points for positive behavior choices), I now just give each student in the class a point for each note their class earned. So if the class had five notes at the end of music, each student gets five points added to their account. The students can cash in their points for items from our school store. This eliminates the arguing over which reward they all want AND means that we don't lose time from music class to vote and carry out the rewards.

I hope this has given you some ideas for how you can manage your classroom! This system has been in place in my room for several years now, and it works well for my students in grades K-6. I am happy to answer any questions you may have! Just let me know in the comments!

Musically,

Chrissy Hutzel

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Classroom Management in Elementary Music - The Music Crew

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Teaching music at an elementary school is a LOT. Finding strategies that work for you is crucial to your success as a music teacher.

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sarahlmauro

Updated: Apr 14

An added bonus? While I myself am a music teacher and will be using musical examples, these scenarios and techniques are applicable in just about any elementary classroom setting!

What we might have said in the past: "Nope. Try that again."

Better: "You threw the drum into the basket. Try that again."

Best: "I notice that you chose to throw the drum into the basket. We need to be safe with these instruments. Can you try that again in a gentle way?"

But there is an unrealistic expectation coming from you : expecting these 6- or 7-year-olds to have learned and internalized what your rules are while at the same time keeping still and not using the scarves.

Strategies for helping students manage these impulses and

keep your lesson on track:

Trust takes time and practice to build, so it makes sense that some students will get to that point faster. But be careful about how you phrase your encouragement so students know that trust is a work in progress. And be sure to tell them this one-on-one and not in front of the whole class.

You might be wondering what an unnatural consequence looks like.

Join the ADM Community for content and actionable strategies around meaningful and joyful music education. It's perfect for new teachers, teachers in new positions, or any music educator looking to try new things in their classroom. Click here to learn more!

An added bonus? While I myself am a music teacher and will be using musical examples, these scenarios and techniques are applicable in just about any elementary classroom setting!

What we might have said in the past: "Nope. Try that again."

Better: "You threw the drum into the basket. Try that again."

Best: "I notice that you chose to throw the drum into the basket. We need to be safe with these instruments. Can you try that again in a gentle way?"

But there is an unrealistic expectation coming from you : expecting these 6- or 7-year-olds to have learned and internalized what your rules are while at the same time keeping still and not using the scarves.

Strategies for helping students manage these impulses and

keep your lesson on track:

Trust takes time and practice to build, so it makes sense that some students will get to that point faster. But be careful about how you phrase your encouragement so students know that trust is a work in progress. And be sure to tell them this one-on-one and not in front of the whole class.

You might be wondering what an unnatural consequence looks like.

Join the ADM Community for content and actionable strategies around meaningful and joyful music education. It's perfect for new teachers, teachers in new positions, or any music educator looking to try new things in their classroom. Click here to learn more!

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5 Behavior Management Strategies for the Elementary Music Classroom

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In this post, I'm sharing 5 unexpected behavior management techniques for you to use in your elementary classroom. These long-game strategies will help your students understand the why behind the rules you implement in your classroom and help build intrinsic motivation and other real world skills.An added bonus?

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Classroom Management in the Elementary Music Classroom

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How to use humor, consistency, modeling, and long-term thinking to improve your classroom management in the elementary music classroom.

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PE Blog - Read & Discuss Current PE Topics

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7 Strategies for Classroom Management in Physical Education

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Most elementary students have physical education one time per week for 30 minutes. You will have those students 36 weeks during the year. That equates to 18

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Mastering the Dynamics of PE Classroom Management: A Comprehensive Guide

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Welcome to this comprehensive guide on mastering classroom management in the evolving field of Physical Education.

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4 Classroom Management Strategies For PE

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Classroom management strategies typically describe the traditional classroom, but don't address PE. Check out these classroom management strategies for PE!

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Student misbehaviour is consistently regarded as one of the biggest concerns and challenges for PE teachers, especially trainees and NQTs. Fortunately we are not alone, as schools and educators from around the world have shared their struggles and noted how poor behaviour significantly impairs class progress.

Pupil misbehaviour distracts both teachers and pupils from a learning focus, which has resulted in teachers having to spend more time on behaviour management rather than student learning. In 1979, Sieber estimated the average teacher reacts to behaviour problems approximately 87 times a day, or 16,000 times a year, which is likely similar in today's schools or potentially worse. Subsequently, the challenge of managing behaviour has been described as the "most distressing aspect of the profession" (Gal, 2006, p.377), and contributes to teacher dissatisfaction, stress, burnout, and early retirement from the profession. As a result, it has been suggested that many heads of schools tend to employ teachers predominantly on their ability to manage behavioural problems. Therefore, it is invaluable for physical educators to clarify the different classifications of misbehaviour and to have a repertoire of behaviour management tools [ 1-6].

In schools, teachers have been expected to encounter a wide range of misbehaviours, which are largely similar for both classroom and physical education lessons. The most troublesome and frequently occurring misbehaviours are relatively mild but repetitive disturbances which have a disruptive influence on the class, these include talking, distracting others, and late arrival. Whereas, the more severe disturbances are less common but equally important, "as even one case of these types of incidents is one too many" (Krech et al, 2010). These include aggressive behaviour, bullying and dangerous conduct, which may be harder to detect as they are likely to be shielded by pupils. In PE lessons, the reported misbehaviour of pupils is largely similar, but possesses a slightly more extensive list due to the physical nature of the subject [ 6-10]. For the purpose of clarity, students' misbehaviours in general lessons and physical education were compiled from literature to produce a diagram, ranging from mild to severe disturbances [see Figure 1].

For dealing with these misbehaviours, a range of models and standard techniques can be found in behaviour management texts, which encourage proactive planning, excellent management skills, and positive interpersonal relationships. Proactive planning requires teachers to provide pupils with structured lessons, which begins with the establishment of clear expectations, rules and routines, followed by the production and implementation of well-planned and well-presented lessons which are individualised to the needs and interests of the students. In research by educators, pupils' academic achievement and attitude has been linked with the establishment of clear expectations, rules and routines by teachers at the beginning of the school year. Thus, teachers are recommended to clearly state their expectations for students during the first few lessons of the year, clarifying any possible misunderstandings, and the consequences of misbehaviour [ 5-12].

There are many ways to go about establishing expectations for your class. However, a very simple set of expectations that encompass all types of behaviour, are:

1. Respect for others and equipment

2. Listen carefully to instructions and follow them quickly

3. Try your best at all times

This should be one of the first things to go through with your classes at the beginning of the very first lesson, and should be revisited throughout the school year as needed (particularly after an extended break or with younger students).

In addition, the development of rules and routines during the initial lessons will provide students with consistent expectations for how your PE lessons will start and finish, from lining up, getting changed and the procedures for handling and storing equipment, which all contribute greatly to class control [ 5, 7, 12].

Good management skills (in combination with proactive planning) has been identified as an effective approach for handling primary misbehaviours of a repetitive nature, and is composed of non-verbal and verbal cues. Non-verbal cues are a non-intrusive, non-confrontational strategy which has been highlighted as an essential management tool for teachers to possess, as it is unlikely to cause any negative effects. Examples of non-verbal cues includes the use of physical proximity, maintaining eye contact, the teacher stare, waiting for silence, hand signals, and body language [ 6, 13-15].

Physical proximity involves the teacher moving into the misbehaving students' area to convey the message that their inappropriate behaviour has been noticed. Whilst, maintaining eye contact and the teacher stare can halt misbehaviour as they illustrate to pupils the teacher's awareness and control without disturbing the learning environment. When talking to the whole-class, it is essential to wait for silence before addressing your students, this has been acknowledged as an easily achievable non-verbal control technique, which is complimented by the use of hand signals (e.g., a finger to the lips to signal silence or a raised hand) or body language (e.g., folded arms to signal waiting and expectancy). Therefore, non-verbal cues have been recognised as subtle yet effective techniques to manage primary misbehaviours, which can help minimise noise in your lessons and reduce teacher stress [ 5, 12, 14, 15].

Despite the use of non-verbal cues, sometimes the simplest and most efficient approach to managing pupil misbehaviour is by asking the offending pupils to stop; this has been referred to as verbal cueing. In literature, the general consensus and guidelines for verbal cues suggests teachers remain calm and polite for all disturbances, using a positive approach to frame their correction and direction. This could be achieved by privately talking to the pupil(s) about how their behaviour was unacceptable, its impact on others, and then offering a positive alternative by clarifying the appropriate behaviour and promoting the task. Alternatively, you could start by asking pupils why they've been stopped and spoken to, and for them to reflect on their behaviour and if it matches the classes' expectations.

If the situation continues and requires the pupil to be reprimanded, teachers have been recommended to depersonalise sanctions, by rejecting the behaviour, not the student, and highlighting that continued misbehaviour will force the teacher to issue a sanction whilst emphasising the pupils autonomy e.g., "If you choose to continue to behave in this way..." [ 5, 9, 12].

In order to maintain and develop positive interpersonal relationships with students, teachers need to be firm, consistent, and fair, demonstrating that they care about both pupil's work and their lives inside and outside of school. This requires teachers to be accepting, confident, caring, relaxed, in control, professional, humorous, in charge of the class, inspiring, encouraging, and passionate about their subject. If teachers adopt these characteristics, use good management skills and proactively plan their lessons a foundation of control and discipline will be established in lessons. If forced to sanction a student, literature strongly opposes the use of coercive and aggressive disciplinary strategies, such as shouting, threats, exercise as punishment, criticism and sarcasm, as they have been reported to diminish a sense of responsibility, distracts pupils from learning, damages self-esteem, and can cause escalation of misbehaviour [ 5, 13, 16-18].

With regards to sanctioning pupils, the aforementioned micro-level strategies (non-verbal and verbal cues) are the most effective for handling primary and some secondary misbehaviours. Whilst more severe and aggressive behaviours would require macro-level guidance via the school's behaviour policy [ 6, 12]. All schools are different in this area with some still permitting the use of detentions, whether during break or after school, which should be administered on the same day. Whilst others prefer a more relational approach such as restorative justice meetings where the pupil(s) involved discuss the situation in more detail in an effort to resolve the issue and prevent reoffending. This should be overseen by the Head of Department or by a member of senior management. Other strategies include phone calls home and meetings with parents to discuss their child's behaviour and to establish a behavioural improvement plan.

When rewarding pupils, it is also advised to follow your school's/department's policy. However, one of the most effective forms of reward in a school has been recognised as positive comments. Which is important for fostering positive interpersonal relationships, raising pupils' self-esteem, and reducing off-task behaviour, which includes recognising good behaviour, praising high standards of work and appropriate attitudes [ 12, 13, 17, 18). The best use of extrinsic rewards have been described as informational, which generally consists of the teacher providing specific and private feedback about a student's competence at a certain task [ 18-19]. Other meaningful methods of rewards include e-mails or phone calls home to share student's accomplishments, which help build a positive rapport with both pupils and parents.

Once you are familiar with your school's behaviour policy, it is beneficial to use the Classifications of Misbehaviour (Figure 1) to establish a clear hierarchy of sanctions that are in adherence with your school's policies and literature. For example, for initial primary misbehaviours (mild disturbances) the first step could be a non-verbal cue, the second step, an anonymous verbal cue i.e., "Still waiting on one more person!", the third, a private verbal cue which would consist of talking quietly, yet firmly to the student about the behaviour you expect from them (you could even tell them that this is their first verbal warning). If their misbehaviour continues then decide on your next steps, maybe asking them to work with another group or alone, or to sit out for few minutes. If a student continues to choose not to follow the rules, then they have had ample opportunities to adjust their behaviour and it is now the time to use the next sanction. In your school this may be a break-time or after-school detention or a meeting with the head of department etc. Again, it is vital that you operate under the school's behaviour management policy.

With regards to more severe misbehaviour (i.e., secondary) you will most likely jump straight to a verbal cue (first warning) or for tertiary misbehaviour a sanction such as a detention, or even being excluded from the class or being collected by a member of senior management may be best.

As a result of this literature review, the key points for effective behaviour management can be deduced to the following steps:

Classifications of misbehaviour (primary, secondary and tertiary)

Proactive planning (clear expectations, rules and routines, structured lessons)

Excellent management skills (non-verbal and verbal cues)

Positive Interpersonal Relationships (teacher characteristics)

Rewards (specific and private feedback)

Clear hierarchy of sanctions (in alignment with school behaviour policy)

As physical educators if we have an understanding of these aforementioned principles and actively make strides in developing our own classifications, hierarchy of sanctions, routines, lesson planning and personal skills which are tailored to our school's ethos and policy documents then we will have laid a strong foundation of high expectations for our PE lessons. This can then be bolstered by reading up on different behaviour management strategies, reflecting and sharing best practice with colleagues and even help in the development of the school's behaviour policy which should be a living, breathing document.

References

1. Vogler, E.W. and Bishop, P. (1990) 'Management of disruptive behaviour in physical education' Physical Educator. 47, pp. 16-26.

2. Kulinna, P.H., Cothran, D. and Regualos, R. (2003) 'Development of an Instrument to Measure Student Disruptive Behaviour' Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science. 7(1), pp. 25-41.

3. Sieber, R. T. (1979) 'Classmates as workmates: Informal peer activity in the elementary school'.

4. Gal, N. (2006) 'The role of Practicum supervisors in behaviour management education' Teaching and Teacher Education. 22, pp. 377-393. Attendance Policy. London: DfE.

5. Bailey, R. (2001) 'Managing Behaviour', In Teaching Physical Education: A Handbook for Primary & Secondary School Teachers. London: Kogan Page. pp. 99-116.

6. Krech, P.R., Kulinna, P.H. and Cothran, D. (2010) 'Development of a short-form version of the Physical Education Classroom Instrument: measuring secondary pupils' disruptive behaviours' Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. 15(3), pp. 209-225.

7. McCormack, A. (1997) 'Classroom Management Problems, Strategies and Influences in Physical Education' European Physical Education Review. 3(2), pp. 102-115.

8. Houghton, S., Wheldall, K. and Merrett, F. (1988) 'Classroom Behaviour Problems which Secondary School Teachers say they find most troublesome' British Educational Research Journal. 14(3), 297-312.

9. Lewis, R. (1999) 'Teachers' support for inclusive forms of classroom management' International Journal of Inclusive Education. 3(3), pp. 269-285.

10. Garner, P. (2009) 'Behaviour for Learning: A positive approach to classroom management' In Capel, S., Leask, M. and Turner, T. (eds.) Learning to Teach in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience. 5th edn. London: Routledge. pp. 138-154.

11. Haroun, R. and O'Hanlon, C. (1997) 'Do Teachers and Students Agree in their Perception of What School Discipline Is?' Educational Review. 49(3), pp. 237-250.

12. Cowley, S. (2003) Getting the Buggers to Behave 2. London: Continuum.

13. Ellis, S. and Todd, J. (2009) Behaviour for Learning: Proactive approaches to behaviour management. Oxon: Routledge.

14. Rink, J.E. (2006) Teaching Physical Education for Learning. 5th Edn. London: McGraw Hill.

15. Atici, M. (2010) 'A small-scale study on student teachers' perceptions of classroom management and methods for dealing with misbehaviour' Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 12(1), pp. 15-27.

16. Department of Education and Science (DES) (1989) 'Discipline in Schools: Report of the Committee of Enquiry Chaired by Lord Elton' The Elton Report. London: HMSO

17. Smith, R. (1995) Develop your classroom management skills. Lancaster: Framework Press Educational Publishers Ltd. pp. 1-18.

18. Morgan, K., Milton, D., and Longville J. (2015) Motivating pupils for learning in PE. In Capel, S. & Whitehead, M (Ed) Learning to Teach Physical Education in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience. 4th Edition. London: Routledge.

19. Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M. (1985) Intrinsic Motivation and Self Determination in Human Behaviour. New York: Plenum Press.

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Behavior Management in Physical Education | The PE Project

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Behavior Management · Discipline · Managing Behavior · Misbehavior · Behaviour Management · Misbehaviour · Sanctions · Phys Ed · Physical Education · PE ·Pedagogy

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First Week of School Management Rules and Procedures
(Link to Podcast Episode)
YouTube Show Below:

Resources and Links

Check out how we prepare for students here at Tips for Teachers the Week before School Starts

Rules and Procedures or Play Games? This can be a tough decision. We have learned establishing the rules first and sprinkling activities in is the best approach.

First impressions are important

Smiling faces are a great way to welcome students

Connect with students build a rapport (ask them about their summer)

Learn Names (if you don't already know them)

Create a video of what you do over the summer, helps to humanize you.

Allow students to tell you what they did over the summer. One word or two words maybe a sentence or two but NO LONG STORIES.

Have a Plan for when students first come into the gym. (On the black line/in the middle...)

Side Note: Kindergarten is totally different check out the tips we use for them here

They walk in and take a tour around the gym on the black line

Discuss the difference between their classroom and the Gym

Start to establish the PE Rules - "Must raise your hand if you have something you want to say"

Take pictures of the students with name tags on so you can learn their name

Coordinate with the other Related Area teachers (Art, Foreign Language, Computer) to "preview" the areas. You can meet all of the students on the first or second day.

Practice simple movement activities (walking and jogging) to establish stop and start signals.

Read books to help students learn about PE. We like Gym Teacher from the Black Lagoon".

Home Base Spot

Use the home base spot as a check for understanding after introducing rules and procedures.

If you don't do the home base spots until Week 2, leave spots within your roster to add new students.
Physical Literacy Videos

Helps students to understand the "Why" in Physical Education in a visual.

Physical Education Rules

Establish the expectations for success throughout the year in class.

Do Not Interrupt - Raise hand

Stay on Your Feet - No sliding

Have Fun and Do Your Best

Wear Athletic Clothes and Shoes

Do Not Touch Equipment without Permission

Consequences

Strike Two - Refocus - This is a chance for the teacher to have a conversation with the student focusing on how their behavior is affecting others in the classroom.

Relate it to real-world rules and consequences. We all have to follow rules in order for the world to be safe.

Discuss procedures for not wearing athletic clothes and shoes. Have a checklist available for communication with parents.

Instant Activity

Click Here for our favorite Instant Activities and Warmups

The first week we introduce or review Walk and Jog. There are numerous instant activities teachers can do but this is an easy fall back plan for students to warm up with.

Use instant activity as a way to review locomotor movements with older students.

Motivation for younger students as a different way of moving than they do in their classroom.
Go over Bathroom and Water Fountain Procedures

Easy rule - When the music is on you can get water or use the bathroom, when the music is off, you need to be listening or lining up to leave the gym.

Kindergarten is different, eventually, they will be at the level where they can use the restroom on their own, but it is important to have a plan ready.

We try to communicate with classroom teachers to have kindergarten students use the restroom before they come to PE class.

Emergency Procedures

Go over what to do for Fire, Tornado/Earthquake, Code Red/Intruder Alert

If time needs to be saved you can have students point to an area of safety.
First Day Game Activities

Adventure Bingo Great way for students to learn about themselves and each other.

Noodle Dance TagPlace GIF or short videos of dances on a screen to give students a visual.

Reviewing Personal and Open Space with locomotor practice. Easy way to get students moving without lots of equipment.
Review, Preview and Thankyou

It's important to thank students for their hard work and let them know you appreciate them doing their best in class.

Recap and review what was taught in the lesson. This is a great time to check for understanding.

Preview what is being taught next week. Gives the students something to look forward to in the next lesson.

Tool designed to allow students to solve their own problems.

Students must go to the conflict corner before coming to the teacher.

Go through the problem-solving list of questions, if a resolution is not found, then they can ask for help from the teacher.

Allows the teacher to be free to teach the lesson, give feedback on the skill, build rapport with students, and not be involved with student tattle-telling.

Students give themselves an assessment on their performance for the day.

"Good Job" is the standard. Students are following directions.

"Keep On Trying" gives the students a visual for when they do not follow directions.

"Need More Effort" student missed valuable PE time because of their behavior.

"Wow" Challenge - a reward for achieving the outcome of the lesson.

First or Second Week Activities

Hula Hut Relayis a great Week 2 lesson to put into practice student self-assessment. Game creator J.D. Hughes has tons of great content at his website

Cross The River- great game for allowing students to work together and make mistakes. Also works on perseverance and how to respond in positive or negative situations. Valuable life skills.

Four SquareWe go over the Four Square rules so recess runs smooth.

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First week of school tips - management and procedures for PE Class

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(Link to Podcast Episode) Smiling faces are a great way to welcome students Connect with students build a rapport (ask them about their summer) Learn Names (if you don't already know them) Create a video of what you do over the summer, helps to humanize you.

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How to Avoid Clean Up Chaos in the Elementary Art Room

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Classroom management is the most challenging part of a teacher's job. No teacher wants to get into a power struggle with students. Even when you are a seasoned teacher who has gotten the art of keeping order in the classroom down to a science, you will need a sizable toolkit of de escalation techniques for teachers for dealing with disruptive student behavior. Learning is only possible in a compassionate environment characterized by trust and respect, so your own behaviors and calming strategies make a big difference. Resources are available for teachers who want to get better at de escalating student behavior.

De Escalation Techniques For Teachers

In your classroom, every student's behavior affects the other students. The way you respond to an agitated student affects the entire class. If you respond with active listening and you address the problem while showing respect for the student's feelings, not only will you de escalate the situation, but you will also send the message to the whole class that you are in control. Students learn from your example. If you resort to power struggles, then you will not be able to de escalate the current problem, and more than one student's behavior will be worse in the future.

De Escalating Student Behavior Is an Essential Part of Teaching

The stress of life affects everyone, especially students. By de escalating student conflicts in your classroom, you are modeling effective conflict management and healthy responses to stress. If you engage in exclusionary practices and publicly shame students, you will either lose your authority or students will disengage from the learning environment. Your job as a teacher is not just to teach students English, math, science, social studies, or a foreign language. Your goal is to model practical strategies for engaging with stressful situations. You should lead by example and practice brief role-play exercises to help students build a developed awareness of their own emotions and those of their peers.
Related Article: 10 Behavioral Strategies for Preventing Bullying in Schools
Are You the Cause of the Power Struggle?

Accepting responsibility for your actions is an important part of teaching and of conflict management. Your age alone means that you have more experience practicing de escalation strategies than your students do, even if you are in your 20s and it is your first time being in charge of a classroom on your own. No one should expect sixth graders to know how to de escalate a wide variety of contentious situations, especially when they are upset.

Mind Your Body Language

It goes without saying that staying calm is conducive to de escalation, but raising your voice and making threats or accusations is not. The de escalation process can build the road to success or failure before you say a word. Even if you stay calm, you can make a student feel more anxious just by your nonverbal communication. Don't get too close to a student's personal space or stand with your arms crossed or your hands on your hips. The student might feel that this is a threat, even if you mean it as a neutral response. This is especially true with elementary school students since adults are so much taller than they are. It is easier to manage a successful intervention when you consciously focus on keeping your body in a calm state.

Know When Students Want to Be Left Alone

Sometimes teachers inadvertently escalate conflicts with students. It might feel natural to draw attention to a student who does not seem to be paying attention in class. Maybe your teachers did that with you and your classmates when you were in school. Many students dread getting challenging questions from teachers even when they are in a good mood and are well-prepared for school. Avoid making demands of a student who is giving nonverbal cues that he or she wants to be left alone.

Teachers know that they should not take it personally when students cannot avoid bringing their emotional turmoil into classrooms with them. Remember that every student is also a person, one who has less experience dealing with anxiety and other negative emotions than you have. Sometimes the best thing you can do with a student who is wearing a grumpy expression is to ignore him or her for the moment. Do not raise your voice or incite everyone to look at the troubled student. Do not try to argue with the student about why your course is more important than the problem that is occupying the student's attention. Ultimately, your job is to support the student on his or her path to becoming an emotionally mature adult. This means giving the student time to get into a frame of mind to be taught. Leave the student alone for a few minutes and focus your statements and your eye contact on the other kids. After the bell rings, ask the student if he or she is upset and give him or her an opportunity to discuss the problem with you.

Build Classroom Management Into Your Lesson Plans

Teaching involves a fair amount of improvisation, and so does de escalation of conflicts, but the more you plan to use de escalation strategies, the easier it is to de escalate the conflicts that can arise in your school. De escalation strategies are not always intuitive; you probably wish that someone had taught them to you sooner. You can make learning to de escalate conflicts and to stay calm when you are angry a part of your curriculum. Teachers should give students the support they need to practice de escalation with their peers and with adults.

Empower Your Students By Teaching Them De Escalation Strategies

The most important thing your students learn from you is not the multiplication tables or the elements on the periodic table. It is how to react to the conflict while treating the person as a human being. Not only should you model the behaviors that constitute an emotionally intelligent response to conflict, but you should explicitly teach de escalation strategies to every student under your tutelage. Learning to de escalate conflicts will help students well beyond your classroom. They will learn to implement the most effective behavior in conflict situations, without letting negative feelings cloud their judgment.

The classrooms that best prepare kids are the ones that treat de escalation as an ongoing topic of conversation. For example, you should post a sign on the wall of your classroom that contains guidelines for conflict resolution behavior. It should contain clear examples of behaviors conducive to de escalation. For example, "Don't get angry at other people for things they cannot control," and, "Adults are not always right just because they are older; it is worthwhile to discuss your point of view with them." Likewise, you can have a rule that says, "Talk to other people about their troublesome behaviors when you are calm."

Deal With Your Own Feelings First

You have heard the proverbs about how you must manage your own emotions before you can make a successful intervention in someone else's conflict. Physician, heal thyself. Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. You must fill your own cup in order to pour from it. Students will push your buttons every day, but it is important to keep your feelings in check if you want to have any hope of dealing effectively with behavior issues.

Keep Calm and Focus on the Behaviors

It can be hard to ignore it when kids are trying to provoke your anger and calling you names, but it is important not to respond emotionally or to take out your anger on the kid that it is your job to teach. You can leave the classroom under the charge of a support staff member while you take a few minutes to calm down. Think of all the things you don't want to say to the kid and then come back and talk about the situation. Don't escalate matters by immediately threatening to send the kid to the principal's office. Classrooms are the best place to address conflicts that originate in them.

Support for Teachers Struggling to Respond to Behavior Issues

You must change your own behavior before you can change anyone else's behavior. The best way to do that is by implementing de escalation techniques for teachers confidently and on an ongoing basis. Life is hard, and you have the unenviable task of helping young people manage their emotions and get to an easier stage of life. The more you know about de escalating conflicts in your school, the more rewarding your job will be and the more of a lasting impact you will have on the kids you teach.

Defuse Offers Specialized Training for Teachers

You can receive thorough de-escalation training for teachers to use in your school. Defuse offers de escalation training in person and online for individuals and groups. Our training courses are customized to your professional field, namely teaching. Contact Defuse De-Escalation Training to learn more about how to de-escalate common types of conflicts in your school.

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Teacher Approved Techniques For De Escalating Students -

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Classroom management is the most challenging part of a teacher's job. No teacher wants to get into a power struggle with students.

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De-escalation is the process of calming down a situation before it escalates further. It is helping to slowly bring the temperature down before it reaches a boiling point. This is critically important skill for all educators and parents because children and young adults feel overwhelmed and angry sometimes; we all do.

With that said, learning to de-escalate situations is not always easy. It requires practice and a toolbox of techniques. Not every strategy is going to work perfectly in every situation (or with every child). Sometimes you will need multiple strategies, or trying different techniques to see what works in that moment.

Challenging behaviors happen. Kids and teens can act out in disrespectful ways, refuse to work, yell, or swear. These are just a few examples. It's important to note that there is always a reason for the behaviors, even if we don't see that reason in the moment. Often, kids and teens might feel overwhelmed, angry, frustrated, or worried about something going on. With that said, how we, as adults, handle those challenging behaviors can make all the difference. We can choose to engage in an argument with kids and teens, or we can help de-escalate the situation. De-escalation is the answer.

De-escalation doesn't prevent all challenging behaviors from happening, but these techniques can help defuse a situation before it gets worse.

A question commonly asked is: Doesn't this mean we are letting kids and teens get away with challenging behaviors and outbursts? No! De-escalation is about helping kids calm and think clearly, so we can get to the root of the problem and work through the challenges together. There might be a need for logical consequences (such as cleaning a mess up), but that comes later, only after the child is calm and can rationalize their actions.

As always, the goal is to help the child calm down so they can think clearly and make good choices moving forward. And if we want kids and teens to make the best choices, we have to help them get calm first. De-escalation strategies are the tools in the toolbox that help us get there.

So, the important question is, what de-escalation strategies can educators and parents use when kids and teens are overwhelmed, upset, or engaging in challenging behaviors? There are actually MANY de-escalation strategies to try. In this post, I decided to focus on the most important and effective techniques.

Here are the 7 more important de-escalation strategies for educators and parents to have in their toolbox:

1. Act calm.
There is a reason this de-escalation strategy is listed first. Acting calm is the single most important de-escalation strategy for teachers in the classroom. Having a calm demeanor and tone of voice helps set the tone for the child. Even research suggests that appearing externally calm can help reduce aggression. Acting calm can be incredibly difficult since challenging behaviors in the classroom aren't calming at all from an educator's perspective; they heighten our emotions too.

Imagine a student yelling or swearing. Your heart might beat faster and blood pressure might rise. It's a stressful situation. Of course, the goal is to help calm the child. This is why it is critical to model the calm we want the child to feel.

One important manta to remember is: Act calm, even if you're not. Not only will this convey a calming message to the child or young adult, but it also gives you time to use some strategies to calm down too.

Some strategies to help you (as the adult) feel more calm during challenging situations include:

Practicing deep breathing

Using positive self-talk

Thinking of something calming (your dog or favorite vacation spot)

Take a break (walk away or switch off with another colleague)

2. Give a choice.
The truth is that we, as adults, cannot force kids and teens to do anything. We can, however, give choices, which helps learners feel more in control of their own actions.

Also, giving choices helps empower kids and teens. So often, learners act out in negative ways because they feel they don't actually have a choice. By giving them a choice, we are reminding them that they are in control. Choices also reduce the chance for a power struggle.

Some examples of choices to help de-escalate a situation might include:

Do you want to do your work at your desk or standing by the counter?

Would you rather read with your group or go back to your desk and read on your own?

Choose any 5 questions to answer, and then you can take a break.

3. Give space and wait time.
Our brains don't think clearly well when we're overwhelmed by strong emotions. There is a scientific reason for that; When we experience strong feelings, the amygdala in our brains takes over, activating the flight, flight, and freeze response. At the same time, this response can override the part in our brains that help with decision-making. From a survival point of view, this is important. It's what allows us to survive in life-threatening situations. The problem is that kids and teens with growing brains are still learning how to manage those emotions.

This is why giving space and wait time is crucial. Kids and teens can't think clearly in the moment when they are overwhelmed or upset. Trying to rationalize with them can sometimes be met with more resistance, possibly even escalating the situation more.

Giving space and wait time isn't about sending a child to "time out." It is letting them know you are here for them in a compassionate way, while also recognizing their need for calm time on their own. Sometimes a little space and quiet go a long way. Try some strategies and phrases to give space and wait time:

Say, "I'm here when you need me, but I'm going to give you some space."

Say, "I can tell you feel ______ right now. Take some time to yourself and I'll check back."

Just politely give the expectation and walk away.

4. Listen and repeat what was said.
Actively listening to kids when they are upset is a key de-escalation strategy because we all want and need to be heard. Here are some tips to consider when practicing active listening with kids and teens who are upset:

Prompt with questions: What happened? Can you tell me about what's going on? Do you want to talk about it?

Be compassionate. Remind them that you care and want to listen.

Give your full attention. For smaller kids, it helps to kneel down to be eye level with them.

Don't interrupt. Let them share what they need to.

Repeat back what you heard. This mirroring approach can help kids feel calm and listened to.

Validate their feelings. Let them know that you understand and can see their perspective.

5. Say, "Let's talk about this later."
Saying, "Let's talk about this later," is a de-escalation strategy for a few reasons. It pauses the conflict, giving critical calm-down time to the child who is struggling. Also, this technique lets others around (including other students) that you aren't ignoring the challenging behaviors; you are just addressing them at a more appropriate time.

It is a win-win technique that helps reduce the chance for a power struggle in the moment.
6. Invite them to join a calming activity.
Helping kids and teens regain their calm is an important goal of de-escalation. There are many coping strategies and activities students can try: reading, drawing, mindful breathing, journaling, and exercising to name a few.

Of course, it can be difficult for children and teens to engage in these calming activities on their own when they are overwhelmed. This is why it is important to invite them to join a calming activity, or co-regulate. Use this free printable coping strategies list to come up with ideas together.

Co-regulation is setting a positive and supportive tone, modeling a calming activity, and encouraging others to join. You might say, "I'm going to sit and color here. Feel free to join me when you are ready." Even if kids and teens don't join to start, many times they will with just some time and space.

One important note: When a child is frustrated or overwhelmed, this isn't the time to teach new coping strategies and skills. If you notice a student is struggling with engaging in calming activities (like coloring, positive self-talk, deep breathing, or journaling), it might be helpful to teach and practice these skills at a later time when the child or teen is calm.

7. Change the subject to a more positive one.
Changing the subject is a strategy to help invite calm into the moment. When kids and teens feel more calm, they're better able to process information, problem-solve, and work through challenges. It's important to note that changing the subject to a more positive one needs to be done thoughtfully. A strong relationship should already exist, since you don't want the child to feel you are ignoring their current needs.

The idea is to calm the child by talking about something else that makes the child feel happy and calm. A few conversation-starters to help change the subject might include:

Let's look at pictures of _______ together. (photos of any favorite item or animal)

Can you tell me about _________? (favorite activity)

These prompts and questions should be tailored to the individual learner.
Free De-escalation Strategies List
Use this free printable de-escalation strategies list to help remind you about these techniques and several more.

Above all else, do what works in the moment. Different strategies are going to work for different students in different situations. Keep the strategies in your "toolbox" to help struggling students work through escalating situations in the future.

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The 7 Most Important De-escalation Strategies for Challenging Behaviors

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De-escalation is the process of calming down a situation before it escalates further. It is helping to slowly bring the temperature down before it reaches a boiling point. This is critically important skill for all educators and parents because children and young adults feel overwhelmed and angry so

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As we approach fall 2020, schools are preparing for a "new normal," which will most likely be far from it.

Whether schools are starting the year with in-person instruction, using a hybrid model, or teaching completely online, schools and teachers will need to be flexible. They may have to shift back and forth between different models of instruction throughout the school year.

As we wrap up our Student-Centered Learning blog series, this is the first post of four in our mini-series, Engage and Empower Learners: How Student-Centered Learning Supports Learning Continuity. In this mini-series, we will discuss how adopting student-centered learning principles can actually help school leaders and teachers facilitate the transition to this "new normal" of teaching and learning while still nurturing student growth.

In this first post, we will be revisiting two core tenets of student-centered learning: voice and choice. We will explore each one in more depth to understand why implementing student-centered principles into the learning environment can improve student engagement and make teaching and learning, no matter what environment you and your students find yourselves in, more student-focused.

Student choice: Tapping into learners' strengths

As we discussed in the first post of our student-centered learning blog series, " What Exactly IS Student-Centered Learning?", giving students choice means providing them with options and allowing students to choose what works best for them.

Giving students choice can mean giving students the ability to choose:

the way in which they want to learn content,

the process they use to learn the content,

when they learn the content, and/or

how to demonstrate their understanding of the content.

Giving students choice can provide an opportunity for learners to tap into their passions and strengths, allowing them to deviate from what everyone is doing and learn in a way that makes sense to them.

Improving student engagement

We know that during this time of distance learning, one of the challenges that schools have faced is disengaged students. This lack of student engagement can be a result of inequities in terms of technology, a lack of self-discipline and motivation, and/or not having a workspace at home that is conducive to learning.

In fact, the disengagement of students is a challenge for schools, whether instruction is virtual or face-to-face. So it is no wonder that this doesn't improve, and can, in fact, be more challenging in an online learning environment.

However, the school leaders that we have worked with and spoken to indicated seeing higher levels of engagement in remote learning environments when students have choice.

Whether students have options related to the format of their learning, the content of their learning, or the manner in which their learning is assessed, providing choice can increase student engagement, student performance, and students' perceived value of their learning.

Student voice: Encouraging student agency

As it relates to creating a student-centered learning environment, voice refers to students having the ability to shape and design their own learning, co-creating their learning plan or pathway.

Giving students voice may involve encouraging students to:

share their ideas or understanding,

design their own project or unit,

set goals and monitor their own learning, and/or

lead a conference, discussion, or presentation.

Related to the idea of voice is the concept of student agency -when students are active participants in their education, taking responsibility for their learning, and being given some degree of control in the process.

With student agency, the amount of control should vary from grade level to grade level, keeping in mind the degree of control that is age appropriate for students to have.

It is important to note the overlap that exists with voice, student agency, and with choice. Here is one way to think about it: choice encourages students to choose, from a set of options provided for them, the path or process that works best for them. Voice is when students are responsible for or included in designing their learning options.

Choice, voice, and student agency are all ways in which students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning.

Increased student ownership

In our conversations with school leaders and teachers, we know that those schools that already implement student voice and agency in their learning model made the transition to remote learning much more easily.

In the blog, " Student-Centered Learning At FlexTech High Schools," FlexTech's Director of School Leadership, Dr. Sarah Pazur, shared:

"Schools that have created the conditions for student agency are going to have an easier time with rapid or extended closures because students aren't waiting on the adults or the system to tell them what to do. They [students] are inspired by the work they're doing because they had a voice in shaping and designing it-they created it and it doesn't live in the school building."

Students who already had that agency expectation were able to move forward academically much more easily than others who have never had the experience of taking ownership of or shaping the path of their learning.

And their teachers, who were already functioning in a student-centered learning environment, continued to focus more on continued student learning rather than on teaching.

Incorporating voice can help students take ownership of their learning and rely less on their teacher to direct the process, resulting in higher levels of student engagement, empowerment, and hopefully achievement.

Final thoughts

Schools will look different this fall, there's no doubt about that. However, the need to rapidly adopt virtual learning is no longer an emergency. We knew it was coming.

So what can we do differently this time?

What changes can we make now to benefit students not only for this school year, but in the years to come?

Giving students voice and choice-the opportunity to choose to learn the way they learn best and to direct some aspects of their learning-helps to make students feel personally invested in their learning and gives them a role in shaping and creating it rather than it being simply delivered to them.

In the blog, " Student-Centered Learning At Hamilton Community Schools," superintendent of Hamilton Community Schools, Dave Tebo explained:

"Giving choice gives voice, but it requires a leap of faith, which is difficult for teachers to take-to empower students to make the decisions for themselves. Giving students ownership of their learning is a key component of a student-centered approach."

No matter what environment teachers and students find themselves in, hopefully it is one where students are:

...deciding for themselves based on their interests and strengths

...given opportunities to design some part of their learning

...empowered, excited, and engaged

We encourage you to take a leap of faith. Try something different. Voice and choice may be just what you and your students need.

Student-centered learning blog series

In our Student-Centered Learning blog series, we lead a discussion each month about student-centered learning: what it is, how it can help students and schools, and how to make it a reality. Our hope with this series is to provide practical insights to school leaders, teachers, and parents on how to make education more meaningful to students. Stay up to date on future blogs in this series by signing up for email notifications!

About the authors

Christa Green

Christa received her master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She taught middle school language arts and social studies for seven years before coming to work for Michigan Virtual in 2018. As a research specialist with the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, Christa enjoys using her passion for education, curriculum, research, and writing to share and shape best practices in online and blended learning with other educators within and beyond Michigan.

Christopher Harrington

Dr. Christopher Harrington has served public education as a teacher, an administrator, a researcher, and a consultant for more than 25 years and has experience assisting dozens of school districts across the nation in the design and implementation of blended, online, and personalized learning programs. He has worked on local, regional, and national committees with the Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL) and various other education-based organizations aimed at transforming education through the use of technology.

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How Implementing Voice & Choice Can Improve Student Engagement | Michigan Virtual

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As we approach fall 2020, schools are preparing for a "new normal," which will most likely be far from it. Whether schools are starting the year with in-person instruction, using a hybrid model, or teaching completely online, schools and teachers will need to be flexible.

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Shifting the Thinking to Learners with Authentic Voice and Choice

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Authentic student voice and choice is about helping students understand themselves as learners.

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In order for students and teachers to achieve maximum benefit from the learning experience, it is critical to create a positive classroom culture based on a vision for educational success. Teachers can prevent many occurrences of problem behaviour and minimise disruptions by establishing a common language for expected behaviour, co-developed with teacher-student involvement and implemented with ongoing explicit instruction. It is important to teach these in the same manner that academic content is taught by using explicit instruction, examples of what to do and what not to do, practice opportunities, and ongoing prompts for appropriate behaviour for preventing problem behaviours and enhancing learning in the classroom. The purpose of this guide is to describe an evidence-based classroom practice to address behavioural skill deficits by teaching behavioural expectations as part of an effective classroom management system to promote learning.

What does it mean to teach expectations, routines and procedures?

Expectations provide a common language for behaviour across all students and adults, preventing misassumptions and thus behavioural errors in the classroom. Describing these expectations by establishing well-defined classroom routines with procedures provides structure and helps students to be engaged with instructional tasks ¹. Simply posting classroom expectations is not enough to create behaviour change - s tudents must be taught the desired skill in order to address the skill deficit. When explicitly teaching and reinforcing consistently across time, the likelihood of task engagement and academic achievementincreases ². Below is a summary of the five steps needed to establish and teach the expectations, routines and procedures within the classroom ³.

Expectations should be observable, measurable, positively stated, understandable, always applicable, and consistently upheld. Expectations are broadly stated to apply to all people (students and adults) across all settings including all activities. They should be stated in understandable terms that are aligned to the development and culture of the classroom: for example, 'Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe'

Identify routines and procedures that are essential for success in the classroom. Routines to consider include arrival and dismissal, transitions between activities, accessing help, turning in work, handing out materials, what to do after work is completed, making up missed work, and so on. Consider whether there are differences in expected work behaviours during large group, independent, or small group instruction.

Involve students in defining expectations within the established classroom routines. Have students first confirm the routines for understanding, then have them discuss and describe what each expectation means for them during each routine (what these behaviours are and how they look). They should reflect what students are supposed to do rather than what they should not do (for example, 'walk' rather than 'don't run', 'quiet voice' rather than 'don't yell', and so on). Including student voice along with teacher assistance will help in defining the specific classroom procedures, and this team approach builds teacher-student relationships, inspires ownership, and creates a positive classroom climate. Some examples of positive expectations include:

'Being respectful means using inclusive language'

'Being responsible means having all materials ready at the start of class'

'Being safe means keeping hands and feet to self during transitions'

Teach the expectations, routines and procedures using examples and non-examples, modelling, and opportunities for students to practise and receive feedback from both the teacher and peers.

Develop engaging lessons to teach the expectations, routines and procedures. Remember to focus on what they are supposed to do such as 'Hands to self' instead of 'Don't touch'.

Regularly refer to expectations when interacting with students (for example, during prompts, specific praise and correcting inappropriate behaviour) and modelling the behaviour

Continue to check for understanding, practice the expected behaviours, and prompt/pre-correct to enhance a classroom climate of success

Obtain student commitment to support expectations. Have students sign a document such as an oath, pledge, or contract to confirm understanding, establish importance and assist in accountability, and remind students of commitment for ongoing performance feedback.

It is ideal when school leadership supports and endorses a school-wide system that establishes consistent practices within and across classrooms for a cohesive approach to learning that benefits all.

References

Brophy, J. E. (2004). Motivating students to learn. Erlbaum.

Johnson, T. C., Stoner, G., & Green, S. K. (1996). Demonstrating the experimenting society model with class-wide behavior management interventions. School Psychology Review, 25, 198-213. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.1996.12085811

Office of Special Education Programs. (2015). Supporting and responding to student behavior: Evidence-based classroom strategies for teachers. Washington DC: Office of Special Education Programs. Retrieved from www.pbis.org

By Dr Heather Peshak George

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Teaching expectations, routines and classroom procedures: Practices for effective classroom management - THE EDUCATION HUB

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Explicitly teaching classroom expectations and practices can help to prevent problem behaviours

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A sense of predictability can help facilitate deep thinking, and teachers can also use routines to promote student agency.

Routines establish a sense of predictability in the classroom that supports students' learning. By knowing what to expect, they're better able to engage in curricula without being thrown off by unexpected activities or scheduling shifts.

Below, I share instructional routines used in my practice that are relatable to teenagers, require higher-order thinking, and kindle voice and choice. They're applicable across educational frameworks, from project-based learning (PBL) to Common Core and International Baccalaureate (IB) standards.

Meme Monday

In China, where I currently teach, memes are ubiquitous. To leverage students' interest, I created Meme Monday, a routine in which two students work together for a week to find a meme that needs editing. The pair keeps some considerations in mind while searching: Is this meme appropriate for school? What message is the meme sending to readers? How can this meme be improved? What are the meme's strengths?

Students send me an image of the meme and a brief response to each of these questions. The following Monday, they display the meme, and a class discussion ensues.

First, the class discusses the meme's message. How effectively is the message conveyed? Who is the meme's target audience, and how do we know? Students provide feedback from the perspective of the target audience or from the perspective of an editor considering options to enhance the meme's message; feedback includes image selection, word choice, and tone.

After students share feedback, those who found the meme edit it-an activity that lends well to formative assessment. We display the finalized meme and pick a new pair for the following week.

Spiderweb Discussions

Alexis Wiggins, international IB and AP educator, created the spiderweb discussion, in which teachers have two options: remaining silent or tracking student-led discussion. I've found that the first approach motivates students by putting them in charge, but some drop non sequiturs. When teachers track discourse, they introduce a level of accountability and create documentation that facilitates group reflection.

Tracking means that each interruption, comment, joke, and textual reference is documented using Wiggins's coding system. I've made slight adaptations, such as using the model to provide instant feedback via a Smart Board spiderweb so that students can make real-time adjustments as they talk. You might ask students if they are comfortable having feedback displayed or prefer to receive private suggestions. To further promote agency, you might nominate a student to draw the discussion web and/or provide feedback.

Save your spiderwebs as tools for reflection; showing students their first spiderweb alongside their most recent provokes rich discussion and writing about their growth.

Sustained Silent Reading

Reading can expose students to more robust vocabulary than screen media, and repeated exposure to robust vocabulary can facilitate greater retention, moving complex words from short-term memory to students' working lexicons.

Sustained silent reading is one way to promote this process. It involves making time during school for students to read. Protect time during class, preferably one day a week, for students to bring a book they enjoy and wish to silently read.

Fridays work best for my students, and I've found that they're more eager to engage when they're allowed to select their text (within reasonable grade-level parameters) and have access to many genres-exposure that helps augment analysis skills.

Wonder Wall

Author and educator Kelly Gallagher assigns his students an article to read every Monday morning, an important literacy routine. I practice a subtle adaptation of this method by creating a wonder wall.

Students pose a question related to our unit question (for PBL educators, this would be the driving question). Students pen their questions on a section of the bulletin board (I've found that black paper and white crayons or glowing markers make the wall unique).

They then try to answer their question by finding a related article, pasting it into a Microsoft Word document, and providing a link to their source. Students send their documents to me, and I print them for annotation. Or students may choose to print their own or annotate electronically.

What argument or purpose does the creator have for writing this piece?

What text features are used by the creator, and how do these features aid meaning and/or impact the audience?

How does this article compare and contrast with a reading in a different genre?

How does word choice impact readers of this text?

How does the organization or structure of the text impact readers?

What opinions do I have about the section I read?

Which textual evidence supports these opinions?

What section(s) of the reading did I find difficult, and why?

I provide an exemplar for annotation by penning my own question on the wonder wall and doing the assignment myself. I give students a copy of my annotations and share the following questions as guides (aligned with Middle Year Programme (MYP) IB frameworks):

How did the article answer (or not answer) a curiosity or question you had?

What reading strategies did you use?

What was one difficult word in the article, and what did you do to aid your comprehension?

Which annotation are you most proud of, and why?

Would you recommend this article, and what makes you say that?

Who in this room would also like this article, and what makes you say that?

I ask students to engage in the same process with their articles for homework or invite them to bring articles to class for group annotation. Once they've done so, they present their annotations using guiding questions to support metacognition and critical thinking:

Once students are comfortable with this routine, I enhance the process by asking them to compare and contrast their current articles with previous articles.

This routine, like those above, empowers students' voice, choice, and higher-order cognition while keeping learning interactive and rooted in predictable structures-lessening extraneous processing and facilitating students' deep thinking.

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Classroom Routines That Support Students' Voice and Choice

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Classroom routines help to keep students engaged. See how one teacher brings joy to literacy through the use of consistent practices.

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There are so many things to think about as you work to set yourself and your students up for success this school year. Whether you are a first-time teacher or a veteran, the first few weeks of school are your opportunity to create the foundation for your classroom culture through strong, intentional classroom routines. By taking the time to establish, introduce, and practice clear, consistent routines, you ensure that your students can fully focus on learning.

Why Clear, Consistent Routines Matter

For any classroom to function smoothly, students need a clear understanding of what they are expected to do throughout the class period or throughout the day. In my 6th grade classroom, students knew that they were expected to come in and had 2 minutes to get to their seats and get started on the Do Now. This meant that every student knew they could chat with friends as they made their way in, but by the time the posted timer reached 10 seconds, they needed to finish conversations and shift their focus to the work.

This one routine made the start of class run so smoothly because my students knew exactly what to expect when they walked in. This meant I didn't have any students walking up to me asking "What are we doing today?" nor did I have to stress myself out about getting everyone to start their work. Students knew what to do and what was and was not acceptable during those first two minutes of class and could therefore get themselves settled into the mindset for learning. This set the tone for the rest of class.

While that was only one of many classroom routines, it illustrates the power of consistency in the classroom. When students know the routines, and understand why they exist, they can more easily focus on learning.

Not only do routines help students shift their focus to learning, but clear, consistent routines are also extremely helpful for students with anxiety. Imagine walking into a class without consistent routines: you aren't sure where to sit, you aren't sure what you need to have on your desk, you aren't sure what to be working on, can you ask the teacher a question right now? Not to mention any anxiety about the actual content! By ensuring every student can walk in and immediately know what to do, you create a supportive environment that allows every student to start class with confidence.

Determine What Routines Look Like for You and Your Students

The routines for your classroom will depend heavily on the grade you teach, the subject you teach, and your own unique style. As with everything we do at Fishtank, we empower teachers to consider their unique students when making instructional decisions. However, there are some general considerations when determining what routines might look like for you and your students.

In general, it is helpful to consider routines for the start and end of class, and routines for what students should do if they finish their work early.

Because the very start of class can set the tone for the entire class period, it is incredibly helpful to establish a routine for this time. If you are working with younger students, you might be the one responsible for determining this routine and then sharing it with students. If you work with middle or high school students, however, it can be very impactful to involve them in the creation of those routines.

At the beginning of the year, I wanted my students to come into the room silently and get started on their work. I quickly realized that it was not working and I was wasting so much energy trying to enforce a routine that wasn't necessarily suited for my students. So, instead of continuing to push against them, I asked them how we could reshape the routine to reflect their needs too. This is when we established the 2-minutes to your seat routine. It truly changed our time together; I was no longer starting class already frustrated that my students walked in talking and, because they felt ownership over the routine, they stuck to it. At the 2-minute mark, students were silently working at their desks.

When thinking about the end of class, this routine is not only important for you, but it makes a huge difference to the next teacher or staff member your students are going to see. Maybe you've had this experience: your students come to you after a bit of a wild class and their energy is all over the place. If not, you're lucky!

In my own classroom, the last 5 minutes of class were dedicated to packing up our stuff and a whole class reflection. Sometimes, students shared that they really enjoyed an activity we did or that they thought the day's content was particularly challenging. Sometimes, this was a time to address classwide behavioral concerns or push my students to take more academic risks. Whatever the 5 minute conversation involved, it ensured that my students were taking time to reset and refocus themselves before leaving my classroom for the next subject.

Once we had determined what the start and end of class would look like, I focused on what students would do if they finished their work early. You have probably had a student before that was consistently finishing work early. Maybe this student sat quietly and waited to move on, but in my classroom, this student would start chatting with friends right away or doing anything to entertain themselves. To help prevent students from getting themselves or their classmates off track, I created options for my students once they were done.

Students were expected to either read their independent books or could choose a fun worksheet from a bin I kept on my desk. These worksheets included quick fluency practice, review problems from previous units, sudoku puzzles, and word games. By creating the routine that students would continue working on a task silently if they finished their assigned work, all students had the opportunity to work in an environment conducive to learning.

Introduce, Practice, and Revisit Routines

Once you've determined what your classroom routines are going to be, you have to introduce them to students, practice them, and plan how to reinforce them. As I mentioned before, it can be helpful to involve students in the creation of routines. This can be done by introducing the routine openly to students and inviting their thoughts and feedback-students' involvement will depend on their age and grade level.

Once you and your students are clear on the routine, it's time to practice! It might seem like a waste of time to practice something like walking into a classroom or packing up materials in a given amount of time, but the practice helps students internalize the process, and can be a fun way to get students invested.

I always started by having my students practice any new routine the wrong way: if the routine were walking in and silently getting started on work within 2 minutes, I would tell my students to show me everything they shouldn't be doing. They would be laughing hysterically by the end of this quick practice where students were singing, dancing, and continuing to talk well past the time. Then, we would shift to practicing what it should look like. This gave us an opportunity to talk about why the routine mattered and how it would help everyone learn more effectively.

Once we had practiced our routines, students were able to follow them pretty easily. But, I knew there would likely be times I'd need to revisit the routines. Revisiting routines had two main purposes in my classroom: reinforcing the routines and expectations if students were no longer following them or changing the routine to better align with where our classroom was at the time. The day after a long break would usually be a time to reinforce routines and expectations after not seeing my students for multiple days.

The start of a new quarter or semester would be a time to revisit and potentially change the routine for my students. At the beginning of the year, students had to stay in their assigned seats during independent practice. But, after a semester of showing maturity and accountability, I allowed my students the opportunity to sit where they chose while working independently, as long as they continued to complete their work.

Want more ideas to set your students up for success this school year? Dive into the Fishtank Blog to find strategies for engaging every student, guidance on using Fishtank resources, and the latest on what works in the classroom. Create your free Fishtank Learning account today to access thousands of free, standards-aligned, lesson plans in ELA and Math.
Rachel Fuhrman is the Curriculum Marketing Manager at Fishtank Learning. Before joining Fishtank Learning, Rachel spent 5 years as a Middle School Special Education Teacher in New Orleans, LA and Harlem, NY. Outside of the classroom, she has been a frequent contributor to multiple education blogs and focuses primarily on student engagement and instructional practice topics. Rachel earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and her Master of Science in Educational Studies from The Johns Hopkins University.
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Strong routines help simplify your school day. Explore tips for building the classroom routines that set you and your students up for success all year long.

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Classroom Routines Eliminate Chaos and Confusion - Dr. Catlin Tucker

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Classrooms with clear systems, routines, expectations, and workflows run more smoothly, eliminating behaviors that can derail a class. Our work as educators is not simply to teach students content and skills related to our subject areas. It's our responsibility to cultivate independent, self-directed learners capable of sharing the responsibility for learning with us, their teachers.

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We often talk about the importance of community building in the classroom at the beginning of the school year. You may play "get to know you" games, assign "all about me" activities, or play show-and-tell to learn more about your students and build your community. But community-building activities are not only crucial at the beginning of the school year-they're really important all year long. Community building is critical to supporting a sense of belonging, which is shown to increase academic performance and decrease the risk of loneliness, depression, and anxiety.

Here are 10 ways you can foster belonging and build classroom community year-round.

1. Collaboratively develop classroom rules and community guidelines at the beginning of the school year.

No matter what grade level we teach, we can empower our students to have voice and agency in their classroom community. At the beginning of the school year, gather together and collaboratively create expectations for the class around how students will treat one another (e.g., listening, being kind, no bullying). Remember that the rules should be more about how we expect students to behave toward one another within the class vs. getting work done and being on time. Creating community rules as a whole class communicates that each individual student's input is valued. You can return to these throughout the year and revise them or add to them as a community.

2. Incorporate "get to know you" and community-building activities throughout the school year.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is classroom community. In order to create a sense of belonging, you have to dedicate time to that throughout the year. Students' likes, dislikes, and interests are constantly changing so it's important to continue "get to know you" activities throughout the year so that we can learn and relearn all the amazing things about the individuals in our classroom community. "Get to know you" activities should include sharing with one another as well as reflection that allows children to feel proud of who they are and their importance in the class.

3. Greet each student every day.

Never underestimate the power of a "Good morning. How are you?" These individual hellos can make a huge difference to students, particularly those who may not feel seen or important in spaces at school, at home, or in the community. Greeting students individually can also open up the opportunity for dialogue if a student is in need of more support. KMHF's classroom conversation starters can help you get students sharing more about themselves.

Setting aside time to work and/or engage with students one-on-one helps foster a sense of belonging. Fostering positive interactions and attention for students from diverse backgrounds is crucial to supporting students' sense of belonging.

4. Regularly build in time each week for socialization.

Equally important to teachers building relationships with students is students building connections with one another. With social times such as play-based programs and recess being reduced or eliminated in many schools, it's important that we find ways to build in time for students to connect with their peers over shared interests and get to know one another outside the context of classwork.

5. Talk openly about "belonging uncertainty."

Belonging uncertainty is the feeling of being an outsider, and most people will have that feeling from time to time. Children who regularly feel belonging uncertainty can experience negative effects like poor academic performance. You can help students overcome their doubts about fitting in by talking openly about feelings of loneliness and uncertainty. Have students reflect on times when they've felt like they do belong. You can also encourage students to participate in activities where they have a sense of belonging.

6. Make time to discuss community concerns.

All communities face conflict, and classrooms are no exception. It's important to set aside time to discuss community concerns and behavior, such as bullying or microaggressions, that impact the safety and security that is necessary for community and a sense of belonging. These conversations can be guided by the community rules as well as students' experiences of feeling excluded.

7. Let student interests guide your planning.

Belonging is bolstered when students feel that their interests are seen and valued. Find ways to incorporate all student interests, not just the most popular ones/trends, into learning. This could include having book report options with a wide variety of genres, science fairs incorporating student interests, or open days to teach one another about hobbies.

8. Celebrate diverse backgrounds and experiences.

While we often highlight diversity months (Black History Month, Disability Pride Month) and holidays, we really need to be celebrating diverse background experiences year-round. Our students (as well as ourselves) hold intersectional identities that impact the way they experience the world every day. Celebrating these diverse experiences, including family traditions, hobbies, and cultural or religious practices, validates the importance of each unique experience in the classroom community.

9. Explicitly teach feelings and emotions.

Helping students identify feelings and emotions can help them advocate for themselves in places they feel that they don't belong. For instance, if a student feels excluded at recess and identifies that feeling excluded makes them feel sad, they can voice these feelings to their peers. Peers who understand feelings and emotions can then connect to others through empathy, learning how to include those who feel excluded. The Kids Mental Health Foundation mental health curriculum for teachers can guide you in teaching feelings and emotions in a developmentally appropriate manner.

10. Collaborate with community partners that reflect student backgrounds and experiences.

As our student community grows more and more diverse, the teaching field continues to be predominantly white and female. Thus, our students may not see themselves reflected in the adults in the school community. Collaborating with community partners can provide students with adult mentors who reflect their own lived experiences, bolstering their sense of belonging.

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Classroom Community: 10 Ways To Build a Sense of Belonging

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Read our tips for building classroom community, from collaboratively developing rules to explicitly teaching feelings and emotions.

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By making the time to build the relationships that allow learners to feel a sense of community- that they are "in this together"- teachers create a safer, more equitable environment where all students participate and achieve.

Students in schools and classrooms with a strong sense of community are more likely to:

Be academically motivated (Solomon et al., 2000).

Act ethically and altruistically (Schaps, Battistich, & Solomon, 1997).

Develop social and emotional competencies (Solomon et al., 2000).

The Developmental Studies Center's Research on the Child Development Project has identified four key components of a caring classroom community (Schaps et al, 2003):

Mutually respectful, supportive relationships between students, teachers, and parents.

Frequent opportunities for students to help and collaborate with others.

Frequent opportunities for student voice and agency, including over the classroom shared agreements, how conflicts are resolved, and what content is studied.

A sense of shared purpose and ideals among all members of the classroom.

SEL teams can foster community-building in all classrooms by supporting teachers in developing and collaborating on consistent developmentally appropriate strategies. These may include learning about their students' interests, lived experiences, and cultural backgrounds; providing opportunities for parents to engage in classrooms; developing structures for students to get to know each other; and listening to students' feedback on classroom instruction or procedures (see this tool to guide staff chats with students to strengthen relationships and seek feedback).

Classroom Shared Agreements

Creating classroom shared agreements is a powerful strategy for developing a sense of community. These agreements reflect students' shared understanding of how they wish to be treated and will treat one another, and connect to the school's vision and schoolwide norms. Prominently displayed in the classroom, they reinforce SEL and help create a shared sense of purpose and ideals.
To support classroom shared agreements:
Download Tool

Sample Lesson Plan: Generating Classroom Shared Agreements

This tool provides guidance for creating classroom shared agreements, which reflect students' shared understanding of how they wish to be treated and will treat one another.

Additional Resource: Teaching Tolerance Professional Development: A New Set of Rules

Community Building Circles

Regular class meetings, often conducted while seated in a circle, can be used to build a sense of belonging and trusting relationships as well as a way to introduce academic content. In elementary classrooms this may be a daily or weekly practice. In middle and high school classrooms, consider facilitating circles at the beginning of a semester, after a break from school, to begin and end a unit, during advisory periods or extracurricular club meetings, or to process current events. Building circles into your schedule on a consistent basis will increase the effectiveness, by building on the relationships and skills that are developed each time students participate.

Download Tool

Community Building Circles

This tool includes planning considerations, a set up checklist, a recommended circle process and planning template, and four sample circle scripts for middle and high school classrooms.

Setting Up Physical Space for Community

The space teachers create for their students matters, and can encourage students to think of themselves as an interdependent community of learners.
Consider the following strategies to set up your physical space for a sense of community:

Designate whole-group meeting spots (e.g., carpet area), preferably away from students' tables.

Create displays for student work and interactive bulletin boards, and invite students to contribute.

Build students' sense of ownership and self-management skills by setting up a class library and storage area that students are responsible for maintaining.

Establish a space where students can voluntarily go to cool down or talk through challenges or conflicts (for example, a Peace Area).

Ensure that images around your classroom space reflect a diversity in culture, race, experience, gender, age, etc.

Note: A school's efforts at SEL are more likely to succeed if you consistently make space to discuss SEL implementation. Grade-level team meetings are an excellent time to support reflection, inquiry, and collaboration among teachers.

Download Tool

Using Grade-Level Team Meetings to support a Positive Classroom Culture

This tool provides guidance for using grade-level team meetings to collaborate and reflect on strategies for building positive classroom cultures
Here are a few additional tools to support classroom community building:

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By making the time to build the relationships that allow learners to feel a sense of community- that they are "in this together"- teachers create a safer, more equitable environment where all students participate and achieve. Students in schools and classrooms with a strong sense of community are more likely to: Be academically motivated (Solomon et al., 2000).

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Interviews with teachers reveal the importance of relationship-building and student voice and choice. Here’s how to incorporate these in classroom routines.

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In this blog we discuss the importance of building community in the classroom and how to create a communal class environment.

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A great engaging Kagan structure for reviewing information which gets all students involved and it does take more than 10 to 15 minutes.

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To add structure to the process of finding a partner, divide the class into two equal groups. Have one group make a circle and face out. Have the other group make a circle around the first group and face in. Students in both circles should stand face-to-face with the person across from them.

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kagan publishing teaching catalog teacher resources school supplies music games cooperative learning differentiated instruction educational products esl ell foreign language posters multiple intelligences textbooks math books science literature social studies

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Kagan specializes in staff development and educational resources for teachers. Visit our online store, magazine and message board the leading authority on cooperative learning, classroom discipline and multiple intelligences.

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Think Pair Share Kagan structure - getting all students participation.

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Untitled Document

Three Types of Pair Structures to Elevate Student Learning

Dr. Spencer Kagan

To cite this article: Kagan, S. The Power of Pair Work. Kagan Online Magazine, Issue #64. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. www.KaganOnline.com

Cooperative Learning created an instructional revolution. Stacks of studies overwhelmingly proved that students learn better together than alone. For more than forty years, our team has been working with schools to implement Kagan Cooperative Learning, our unique approach to cooperative learning. At the heart of Kagan Cooperative Learning are Kagan Structures, easy to learn and use step-by-step instructional strategies that release the power of student-to-student interaction. In Kagan Cooperative Learning, we advocate student teams of four. One important rationale for teams of four is because teams of four break evenly into two pairs for pair work. Whether or not you choose to fully implement teams as prescribed by Kagan Cooperative Learning, you can reap many of the benefits of cooperative learning by using simple pair structures. In this article, we look at some of the benefits of pair work and the different types of pair structures you can use to boost student learning, regardless of if you use Kagan Cooperative Learning teams or not. Even if you are well versed in Kagan Cooperative Learning, with little effort, you can enhance your already successful mix of instructional strategies by adding additional pair structures to increase student engagement and liking for class and content.

The Power of Pair Work

In addition to team structures, Kagan Cooperative Learning includes pair structures. While there are many advantages to creating teams and using teamwork, pair work has some advantages over teamwork, including:

Increased Active Engagement - With pair work, there is twice as much active engagement at any one moment compared to teamwork. In pairs, one in two students are active at any one moment versus one in four in teams.

Decreased Mind-Wandering - With pair work, there is less "down time" waiting for other teammates to take their turn.

Safety and Intimacy - With pair work, some students feel safer sharing with just one partner than with three teammates, and the content of the sharing is often more intimate in pairs.

Management - With pair work, if a student gets off task, it only impacts one other student as opposed to three. Managing a disruptive pair may be easier than a disruptive team.

Enhanced Variety and Stimulation - With pair work, there are many possible ways to pair up students, which creates novelty and excitement.

These reasons are spelled out in some detail in a prior article, "Pairs Versus Teams." In the article I conclude not that pair work is better than teamwork or vice versa, but that teachers can get the best of both worlds by using pairs and teams.

Three Types of Pair Structures

There are three categories of structures that include pair work:

1. Simple Pair Structures

2. Pair Work Embedded in Team Structures

3. Pair Work Embedded in Whole-Class Structures

In this article, first, we look at these three types of pair work, providing examples of each. In the section that follows, we show how pair work implements the ten functions of cooperative learning. The hope in writing the article is to promote a greater use of pair work. Many teachers, cooperative learning implementers or not, underestimate the power of pair work and do not implement pair work as frequently as would be optimum.

1. Simple Pair Structures

The first category of pair structures is Simple Pair Structures. These structures only involve two students working together for the duration of the structure. The teacher can have established pairs in the classroom or can put any two students together for the structure.

There are many simple pair structures that can be used drop-of-the-hat to enrich any lesson. Some teachers call them their "back-pocket structures" because they can reach into their back pocket and pull them out at any time. Simple Pair Structures have also been called "Stop Structures," because at any moment a lecturer may stop lecturing and ask students to do a RallyRobin to review what has been said, a Pair Share to state what they think is most important, or engage in a number of other simple structures to enhance engagement and learning. Examples of simple pair structures:

RallyRobin. In RallyRobin, partners take turns quickly stating something, depending on the curriculum and learning objective. For example, to cement learning the teacher may say, "With your partner, take turns stating facts you learned from the video." RallyRobin can be used for generating ideas like, "Take turns with your partner listing ways we could address climate change." RallyRobin is also a great way to list examples of an idea or category such as, "RallyRobin with your partner things you would find in a desert ecosystem."

Pair Share. To make learning relevant, the teacher may have students do a Pair Share, each describing how they will use knowledge just taught. For examples, students can be asked to Pair Share ways they will use multiplication in their life; times they will write a business letter; why knowing the Bill of Rights is important.

There are dozens of simple pair structures developed by Kagan Publishing and Professional Development. Detailed descriptions of all the structures described in this article may be found in the following books: Kagan Cooperative Learning, 59 Kagan Structures, 60 Kagan Structures, 68 Kagan Structures, and 54 Kagan Structures. Here we provide very brief thumbnail sketches of a few. Among the many simple pair structures:

2. Pair Work Embedded in Team Structures

As mentioned, many Kagan Structures are team structures. Students work in teams of four to complete tasks. But in many team structures, one or more of the steps of the team structure calls for pair work. Stated another way, pair work is embedded in some team structures.

Typically, we think of team structures as something we do in the classroom when we have established cooperative learning teams. We are big advocates of forming teams. Among the many reasons for teamwork are creating a sense of belonging, improving student relations, and developing social skills. Many team structures can be done periodically without reliance on established teams by putting two sets of pairs together to form a quick team of four.

My favorite example of pair work embedded in a team structure is Three-Step Interview because combining pair work and teamwork, more is learned than if students did just pair work or teamwork.

Three-Step Interview. Three-Step Interview can be done within an existing team, or by putting any two pairs together for the last step. The first two steps of Three-Step Interview are a Pair Interview in which partners interview each other. The interview is either brief or timed. For the last step, each pair pairs up with another pair to do a RoundRobin in which each student paraphrases what their partner shared in the pair interview. Teachers may encourage students to use the names of their partners as in, "My partner Laurie believes...."

I am proud to have created Three-Step Interview because, by combining teamwork and pair work, we accomplish more than could be accomplished by either alone. By adding a RoundRobin following the pair work, Three-Step Interview holds each student accountable for listening to their partner. If students know ahead of time that they will have to paraphrase their partner, they listen more intently. Thus, the structure helps students acquire an essential social skill: attentive listening.

Additional examples of pair work embedded in a team structure:

3. Pair Work Embedded in Whole-Class Structures

A whole-class structure is one that involves students interacting with many classmates over the course of the structure. The are many whole-class structures in which student-to-student interactions consist of two students pairing up to do something together. For example, Quiz-Quiz-Trade involves students interacting in a variety of pairs with their classmates, quizzing each other using question cards. Let's look at some whole-class structures that include pair work:

Inside-Outside Circle. Inside-Outside Circle is one my favorite structures because it allows so many different types of pair work. Students form two concentric circles with the inside circle facing out and the outside circle facing in, so each student faces a partner. After students interact with their partner, the teacher calls for students in one of the circles to rotate one or more partners ahead for the next pair interaction. Six popular forms of pair interaction during Inside-Outside-Circle:

1. Pair Share

2. Timed Pair Share

3. Pair Interview

4. Timed Pair Interview

5. Quiz-Quiz with teacher-posed questions

6. Quiz-Quiz-Trade with question cards

Among the other whole-class structures entirely or partially based on pair work:

Pair Work Implements the 10 Functions of Cooperative Learning

In Kagan Cooperative Learning, we have developed many Kagan Structures. A primary reason for so many structures is that classroom learning has many objectives. We want students to master curriculum. We want students to master procedures. We want students to learn to communicate well with others. We want students to develop social skills. Different structures are designed to reach different learning objectives. In our work in Kagan Cooperative Learning, we have identified ten classroom functions that Kagan Structures fulfill. For each of the ten functions, there are many structures a teacher can use. For example, Numbered Heads Together and Showdown are two different team-based structures to promote content mastery.

As we take a closer look at pair work, we find that we can accomplish the ten learning objectives using pair structures. The table below, Pair Structures Fulfill Functions, lists the ten functions, provides a sample pair structure that fulfills each function, explains how, and offers content examples.

Pair Structures Fulfill Functions

Function Type

Function

Sample Pair Structure

Explanation

Content Example

Interpersonal
Classbuilding Inside-Outside Circle
As students rotate, they interact with classmates in a variety of positive ways.

Students rotate to do a pair share with different classmates learning their favorite after-school activities.

Academic
Knowledge-building RallyRobin
As students review the ideas or items presented, it cements that knowledge in semantic memory.

Students do a RallyRobin stating the amendments in the Bill of Rights.

Each structure delivers a curriculum in addition to our academic curriculum. For example, when students do a Three-Step Interview, regardless of the academic content, they listen to their partners more carefully in steps 1 and 2 because they know step 3 is coming (so students know they will be held accountable for sharing what they heard from their partner). This enhanced listening fosters enhanced understanding and empathy. When students do Build What I Write, they learn to take the role of the reader as they write. Although the focus is enhancing writing skills, students are practicing taking the role of another, which fosters empathy. The different enhanced curriculum built into each structure is one rationale for using a range of structures.

Conclusion

Pair work offers advantages over having students work exclusively alone or exclusively teams. Among the benefits are more learning and less boredom. The process of interacting with peers in the classroom unleashes a social element to learning not present with independent work. Like with team-based learning, students verbalize their thinking to a partner, hear different ideas, receive immediate feedback, and have someone to help and coach. This all results in greater learning. As learning is more interactive, it is less boring. Students love the enhanced stimulation and engagement that springs from a classroom in which they interact with a variety of classmates and interact in a variety of ways. At a time when students are accustomed to high levels of stimulation, a classroom dominated by any one structure is experienced as boring.

Pair work offers advantages over having students work exclusively alone or exclusively teams. Among the benefits are more learning and less boredom.

There are many Pair Structures, each of which fulfills different learning objectives. Teachers who do not form and maintain teams as prescribed by Kagan Cooperative Learning can take advantage of the power of pair work without using the entire Kagan approach to cooperative learning. Pair Structures are generally quick to implement (after all, we can do a Pair Share or a RallyRobin in a few minutes) and create spice and stimulation in any classroom while allowing fulfillment of a range of learning objectives. While we encourage teachers to use the entire Kagan approach because of the full range of benefits included, pair work, with or without the use of teams, yields many of the benefits of cooperative learning.

For teachers who implement Kagan Cooperative Learning, hopefully this article encourages you to consider sprinkling in more pair structures to your daily teaching. For teachers hesitant to take on implementing all the elements of Kagan Cooperative Learning, pair structures offer an easy yet powerful onramp to the benefits of cooperative learning. There is great power in pair work!

References

Kagan, S. Pairs Versus Teams. The Necker Cube of Cooperative Learning. Kagan Online Magazine, Issue #63. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. www.KaganOnline.com

Kagan, S. & Kagan, M. Kagan Cooperative Learning, San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing, 2017.

Kagan, S., Kagan, M., & Kagan, L. 59 Kagan Structures. Proven Engagement Strategies. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing, 2017.

Kagan, S., Kagan, M., & Kagan, L. 60 Kagan Structures. Proven Engagement Strategies. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing, 2019.

Kagan, S., Kagan, M., & Kagan, L. 68 Kagan Structures. Proven Engagement Strategies. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing, 2020.

Kagan, S., Kagan, M., & Kagan, L. 54 Kagan Structures. Proven Engagement Strategies. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing, 2022.

Kagan, S. & Kagan, M. Kagan Cooperative Learning, San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing, 2017.

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kagan publishing teaching catalog teacher resources school supplies music games cooperative learning differentiated instruction educational products esl ell foreign language posters multiple intelligences textbooks math books science literature social studies

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Read Dr. Spencer Kagans provocative and insightful articles on Kagan Structures and how they have the power to transform education. Cooperative learning, multiple intelligences, the brain, character development, Win-Win Discipline.

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Student engagement with Kagan cooperative learning structures

Student engagement is one of the high quality instructional practices expected in all classrooms in District 62. Student engagement includes tapping into students' interests and lived experiences, making learning interactive, nurturing students' authentic voices, and engaging in academic conversations.

Kagan cooperative learning structures are one way in which high student engagement is supported throughout the district.

Use of Kagan cooperative learning structures ensures that all students experience positive interdependence, individual accountability, equal participation, and simultaneous interaction.

Cooperative learning structures support students' social emotional and academic development.

Illinois State Standards

Illinois has adopted the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. Learn more about the Common Core Standards below.
COMMON CORE STANDARDS & INSTRUCTION

Some of the Kagan Structures Used in CCSD62

In a Timed Pair Share, the teacher first has students think about a topic. Then for a pre-announced time (often a minute), one student in each pair shares his/her thoughts while the partner just listens.

This is ideal to create equal participation for elaborate responses. Second, in Timed Pair Share, students respond to each other. Pair Share is for that quick two-way share.

See CCSD62 students participating in this structure in the video below.

In this process, the class or the students are divided into groups. This is done to encourage group learning, team building and cooperative learning.

The group of students are given a sheet of paper and a pencil. A question is posed to the students in such a manner that the students can write multiple answers for a given question. A timer is set and the students are asked to write the answers. Each student of a group writes one answer and passes the paper to his other group member.

Till the time is up, the students keep writing answers by passing the paper in group. After the time is up, the student is asked to read out the answer he has written. This enables the entire group to work together and come up with suitable answers.

See CCSD62 students participating in this structure in the video below.

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community consolidated school district 62

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Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures - Community Consolidated School District 62

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Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures - Community Consolidated School District 62

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Students guess what color glitter will be inside these shapes and then use quiet snapping to celebrate. A couple only take a few minutes and then back to work.

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CLAY CRACKING ASMR - Guess The Color Inside! Clay popping

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The Best Back to School Brain Break Ever! | Would you Rather| GoNoodle

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Whether you're in the classroom or meeting virtually, learning (and teaching!) can get tiring. After putting in hours of hard work, a short reprieve can be good for the mind and body. We've put together this list of fifth grade brain breaks for those moments when you need a change of pace!

1. Would You Rather? "Among Us" Edition

Would you rather...have an egg hat or a cheese hat?

2. Minecraft Workout

Get moving with seven rounds of fun!

3. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Great for in-person and virtual activities!

4. Price Is Right Exercise Game

Perfect for physical education activities and fifth grade brain breaks!

5. Cha Cha Slide Dance

"Clap, clap, clap, clap your hands!"

6. Ultimate Locomotor Skills Bop It Challenge

Who can keep up?

7. Mario Kart Fitness

Start your engines!

8. 5 Minute Pokemon Yoga Workout

Gotta catch 'em all!

9. Fortnite Follow

Get ready to move!

10. Minecraft Fitness Run!

It's a race to defeat the Ender Dragon!

11. "This Is The Way" Baby Yoda Grogu Fitness

Run, duck, jump, and dodge to get Grogu (Baby Yoda) home!

12. Stretching

This great stretching brain break activity can be done anywhere.

13. Fortnite Dance Freeze Game

Follow the dance and then freeze when the music stops!

14. Yoga Freeze Dance + HIIT Cardio Workout

High-intensity intervals and yoga poses combine together for one great freeze game!

15. Avatar Martial Arts Lesson

Perfect for Avatar: The Last Airbender fans!

16. I Spy - Among Us Edition

A great workout for the brain and body!

17. Fitness Trivia

Answer each question by choosing the right exercise!

18. Meme Mood Game

Get ready for lots of laughs and fun!

19. Move Like the Avengers Workout

Les Mills created this fun, free five-minute workout for kids!

20. Daily Stretch

A good stretch for the classroom or at home!

21. Bring It Down - Flow

Help kids learn how to gain control of stressful energy when it becomes too hard to handle.

22. Dice Game

This energizer will have everyone moving!

23. Optical Illusions

These are simply mind blowing!

24. Would You Rather? Travel Energizer Game

Where would we go if we could travel?

25. Classroom Meditation

A simple but powerful mindfulness meditation for the classroom!

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25 Fifth Grade Brain Breaks To Energize Your Classroom

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Whether you're in the classroom or meeting virtually, learning (and teaching!) can get tiring. After putting in hours of hard work, a short reprieve can be good for the mind and body. We've put together this list of fifth grade brain breaks for those moments when you need a change of pace!

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I don't know about you, but when I sit through a faculty meeting or professional development session of any sort, I start getting antsy by the 30-minute mark. If you can relate, just imagine how your students must feel when they've been sitting for too long. Educational brain breaks are the perfect way to help your students redirect their energy and focus when they start to fade.

I find it super-beneficial to incorporate quick mindful, physical, and mental check-ins with my students as a regular part of my classroom routine. These breaks include all types of movement, yoga and breathing exercises, as well as jokes, quick videos, and more. The activities I use have helped me throughout my lifetime, so I love sharing them with my students. Here are my favorite educational brain breaks that are sure to increase productivity and give your kids a much-needed way to unwind before the next lesson.

Mindful Educational Brain Breaks

1. Use transition times for mental check-ins

Transitions are a big part of the elementary school day. When I first started teaching 19 years ago, I was surprised by just how much time it takes to get ready for specials or to bring students back from centers. It's hard not to feel like that's lost time. That's why using transition time for mental health check-ins is such a game changer. Mental health check-ins can help students get in touch with their emotions, refresh and recharge, acknowledge and cope with negative thoughts and overwhelming feelings, and be more focused throughout the day.

2. Pretend to breathe like an animal

Source: Stephanie Sanders

This video shows students how to pretend to breath like some of their favorite animals. The snake breath involves hissing while slithering from side to side, while the whale breath has students pretend to breathe out through a blowhole! Tap into creativity by picking other interesting animals and acting them out through breath.

3. Do a 10-minute guided meditation

These guided meditations are educational and are perfect to use as brain breaks whenever you and your students just need to breathe. Catch your breath with any of these 20 guided video meditations.

4. Practice "focus ball" breathing

Walk your kids through the following exercise: Stand or sit with legs and feet together. Bring your palms together in front of your chest. Keep your fingertips touching as you pull your palms apart, forming a ball with your fingers. Press your fingertips together until you feel the muscles in your hands and arms activating. See if you feel your core tighten too. Now close your eyes and as you breathe in, inflate your ball, and as you breathe out, flatten the ball by pushing your palms together. (Repeat these instructions for 60 seconds).

Learn more: Mindful.org

5. Try the old ear-nose switcheroo

This is a quick and easy challenge to reset the brain. Instruct kids to touch their left ear with their right hand and at the same time touch their nose with their left hand. Then have them switch their hands and touch their right ear with their left hand and their nose with their right hand. Switch back and forth a few times. Then have them close their eyes, take a deep breath, and blow it all out.

Learn more: YouTube: Ear-Nose Switch

6. Take a yoga break

Source: The Pyjama Foundation

Inspire kids to move, stretch, and practice mindfulness with yoga. These printable yoga cards make it easy to incorporate yoga into your educational brain breaks. Each page includes a picture and description of the pose, and each page includes poses of increasing difficulty from level 1 to level 5. And don't worry, it's not a huge time commitment. The sequence on each card is designed to take only a few minutes.

7. Stretch it out

It's never a good idea to spend too much time sitting in one position. Allow kids to take a break and bring some flexibility back into their spines. Have them stand with their feet shoulder-distance apart. Put their left hand on their hip and raise their right hand overhead. Lean to the left and stretch their arm as far as they can to the left. Repeat on the right side. Then stand tall and slowly roll down one vertebra at a time until their hands reach the floor (or at least their shins). Have them take a deep breath then slowly roll back up. Repeat as necessary.

Learn more: Mom Junction

8. Focus on sound

Have kids sit quietly with their eyes closed. Ring a chime or gong. Have them listen carefully to the chime, feeling the vibration in their body as the sound reverberates and then slowly fades. Tell them to breathe slowly and deeply as they focus on the sound.

9. Do a quick mindfulness activity

Mindfulness activity cards provide great educational brain breaks. Stash a pack in your desk and pull them out whenever you need them. Each card will give a prompt for kids to try that will let them refocus and recharge. Perfect for moments when you need to bring down the energy in the room.

Buy it: Mindfulness Cards for Kids at Amazon

10. Chill out with this cross-body exercise

Have kids stand tall and cross one leg in front of the other while pressing the outsides of their feet together. Now have them cross their arms over each other at the wrists. Clasp their hands and curl their arms into their chest. Take a few breaths, and uncross and cross the opposite way for a few more breaths.

11. Float with jellyfish

When you really need to take the energy in your room down a notch, turn off the lights, set a timer, and put on a calming video. For example, Cat Trumpet put together a jellyfish aquarium video where kids will find themselves under the brilliant blue sea in the middle of a swarm of jellyfish. They'll be mesmerized by the slow, fluid motions and lulled into calmness by the soothing music.

12. Break out the hot hands

This is a good break when you sense a weariness in the air. Have kids rub their hands together vigorously until they warm up. Tell them to close their eyes and place their hands over their eyes. Instruct them to breathe deeply as they clear their minds and refocus.

13. Try cat and cow poses

Source: Flow and Grow Kids Yoga

Have kids start on all fours and then give them the following instructions to complete the cat and cow yoga poses: Place your shoulders over your wrists and hips over your knees. Arch your back to the sky and tuck in the tailbone (cat pose). Let your head fall between your arms. From there, sink the belly towards the ground, and lift the chest and chin (cow pose). Gently alternate between the two poses while breathing deeply.

14. Do nothing for two minutes

Never underestimate the power of stillness. When the energy gets a little ramped up, and it's time for the entire class to take a pause, have them drop everything and glue their eyes to the screen as you show this countdown. The gentle lulling of the waves and the sight of the sun sparkling off the water will reset their nervous system in a jiffy.

Learn More: Calm

15. Spread your wings (in slow motion)

Walk your kids through this winged movement: Sit cross-legged on the floor. Stretch your arms down by your sides with your palms facing inward toward your body. Slowly raise both arms while rotating hands forward. When your arms reach shoulder level, your hands should be facing forward. Continue raising arms, slowly rotating palms so that by the time hands are overhead, palms are facing each other. Slowly lower arms, repeating the rotation (palms facing each other, palms facing forward, palms facing sides) until they are once again resting at your sides. As you raise and lower your arms, stretch them as long as you can, as if you are scraping the sides of the room and the ceiling. Repeat slowly three times, breathing deeply.

Physical Education Brain Breaks

16. Play Silent Ball when you have downtime

You can play a quick game of Silent Ball anytime, anywhere. Play a quick three-minute game right before dismissal or before transitioning to a new activity. All you need is a small squishy ball. The rules are simple: 1) stay quiet and 2) don't drop the ball when passing it around. This activity is one of those educational brain breaks that builds a positive classroom community, fosters friendly competition, and boosts nonverbal communication. Enjoy the silence.

17. Line up in unique ways

Kids are very social and curious beings. Most of them love to chat with one another at any chance they can get. Lining up to leave the room for anything is the perfect chance for them to mix and mingle. Make a more productive use of this time by having students line up in special ways. Some fun ideas include lining up in alphabetical order by name, by birth date, or by height order.

18. Just jump!

Sometimes kids just need to bounce their energy out. Have them pretend they are bouncing on a mini-trampoline (this will keep their movement on a vertical plane instead of all over the room), and give them a couple of minutes to let loose!

19. Take a cue from the stadium

Here's one for a group of kids-start the wave! Beginning at one end of the room, kids stand up and throw their arms overhead, bringing them back down as they return to their seats. Each row follows until you reach the other end of the room. Amp it up by encouraging your kids to tap their feet or tap their hands on their legs so that they are in constant motion. This activity works great on Zoom too!

20. Stir the pot

Have kids visualize they are standing in front of an enormous cauldron. Inside the cauldron is an ooey-gooey pot of caramel. Take hold of a large stirrer and plunge it to the bottom of the pot. Slowly begin to stir in a clockwise direction. Have them use their whole body to help get a full range of motion in their wrists and shoulders. Instruct them to throw their hips into the action. After a minute or two, reverse the direction.

21. Make it rain

Conjure up a rainstorm! Sitting or standing at a desk or table, have kids tap one finger on the desk, then two, then three, then four, then their whole hand until you all feel like you're in the middle of a deluge. Work your way backward from five down to one as the storm ebbs away.

22. Energize with these

First, instruct kids to touch their left elbow to their right knee, then touch their right elbow to their left knee. Switch back and forth, going slowly at first, building speed until they are going at a vigorous pace. Next, do some windmills by standing tall with their feet shoulder-width apart and their arms stretched out. Bend at the waist and touch their right hand to their left toes, then their left hand to their right toes. Switch back and forth.

23. Make X's and O's

Walk kids through the following exercise: Sitting in a chair with your feet on the ground and legs together, curl your body into your lap, folding yourself into a tiny O shape. Next, open your arms and legs wide, forming an X shape with your body. Pull back into an O shape, then back out to an X shape. Repeat three times.

24. Energize in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Get hearts pumping with a quick sequence of exercises. Call out five actions for your students to do as quickly as they can. For instance, five jumping jacks, four push-ups, three sit-ups, two squat jumps, and one tree pose.

25. Take a cruise on an imaginary skateboard

Have your kids line up next to a wall and place one hand on the wall. Tell them to plant the foot closest to the wall and swing the other leg, as if pushing off the ground on a skateboard. Start slowly, with tiny swings, moving up to power pushes. Repeat on the other side.

26. Take a break to groove

Music is a great way to reset the mood in a room and raise the energy level. Put on a fun song and have a 30-second freestyle dance party. Here's a big list of school-appropriate songs for kids.

27. Or take it to the next level

Teach your kids the steps to popular dances such as the Cha-Cha Slide, the Macarena, or the Kidz Bop Shuffle.

28. Ramp up with a round of cherry pickers

This easy activity will get your students' hearts pumping and give their brains a boost. Have them jump up off the ground, then down to the floor into a push-up position. From there, instruct them to hop their feet up into a frog position, then pop up to a standing position.

29. Clap on, clap off

When you say "clap on," kids clap their hands vigorously together. When you say "clap off," they stop as quickly as they can and freeze. Or follow along with this a fun video.

30. Skip it out

When the energy is fading and kids need to get their blood flowing, put on a peppy song and pull out the imaginary jump ropes. Have kids skip or jump rope in place until the song ends.

31. Make like a blender

Tell kids it's time to make fruit smoothies. Ask them to pretend they are in a blender and they are strawberries (or blueberries or bananas, etc.). Dramatically pour orange juice or yogurt into the air in front of you. Tell kids when you flip the switch that they need to wiggle and jiggle (separately, not together) until they are each individually blended up. Start with a slow speed, moving up to medium speed, fast speed, and finally turbo speed. And then reverse it! Start at turbo speed and go back to slow speed.

32. Celebrate with a silent cheer

This activity is perfect for the end of an activity or a sustained amount of work time-especially for kids who are learning remotely. Let kids stand up and silently cheer and gesture in celebration. How animated can they get?!

33. Do a full-body workout

This kid-friendly exercise video is great for your body and brain! Kids can follow along through a set of workout moves that will get their blood pumping.

34. Play popcorn

Students will all be sitting in their chairs, and at any time, a student can jump up and say, "Pop!" Once they do, that student remains standing. If two students pop up at the same time, everyone takes their seats, and the game starts over. How quickly can the entire class pop without having to start over?

35. Hit the wall

Pushing against a solid object is a good way to displace extra energy from your body. Have kids stand facing a wall with their arms stretched out in front of them, palms on the surface of the wall. Push the wall away with all their strength for a count of ten. Relax for five seconds, then push again. Other activities they can do at the wall include calf stretches and wall push-ups.

36. 3, 2, 1 blastoff!

Instruct kids to stand and then squat down with their hands on the ground in front of them. All together, count down 3, 2, 1. When you get to zero, they should push up like a rocket, jumping as high as they can-letting all of their energy burst from their center.

37. Quick as a snap, wink

This is a quick and easy refocusing activity. Tell kids to snap their left fingers while they wink their right eye. Switch to snapping their right fingers while winking their left eye. This activity is particularly effective for younger learners who may find both activities challenging.

38. Balance break

A great way to get kids out of their chairs is to practice balance. Have them hop on one foot. Then up the ante by having them stand on one foot and bend their other knee out in front of them.

39. Tabletop push-ups

Kids can use their desk, a chair, the side of their couch-anything really. Have them place their hands on the table and focus their eyes in the center, moving down slowly and pushing back up.

40. Try some facial gymnastics

Have kids get their silly on for 30 seconds. Tell them to wiggle their eyebrows up and down as fast as they can. Then try to raise one eyebrow at a time.

Mental Brain Breaks That Are Educational

41. Take a comedy break

Comedy is a great release when the atmosphere is feeling a little intense. Show a funny video clip or have kids volunteer to tell a joke or pose a few silly riddles. We have compiled a number of jokes by theme on WeAreTeachers for kids of all ages for guaranteed laughs. For example, your students will love one of our most recent additions, 34 Cat Jokes for Kids. From there, you can find dog jokes, seasonal jokes, food jokes, and much more.

42. Share fun facts

In addition to joke compilations, we have plenty of fun fact lists on our site with themes that will thrill your students. Plus they're an educational way to teach your students new information during brain breaks. Get started with these fun feline facts to accompany the jokes above. Meow!

43. Practice another language

Source: startasl.com

Teach your kids the alphabet in sign language. Use brain breaks to practice by singing the ABCs while signing the letters. Then practice vocabulary words by spelling them out loud while signing the letters.

44. Find out how it's made

Remember that classic Sesame Street video about how crayons are made? We watched in awe as crayons rolled off the assembly line, wrapped in paper, and then slipped into those familiar cardboard boxes. Kids today are just as fascinated by how things are made! Here are our favorite videos about how things are made-from fireworks to LEGO.

45. Take a doodle break

According to researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, downtime is essential for brain health. Kids need time for their growing brains to integrate and process the vast amount of information they receive each day. In other words, it is actually beneficial to give our kids time to allow their minds to wander. Try this: Set a timer for three to five minutes and let kids silently doodle with pencil and paper or a dry-erase board and marker while soft, calming music plays in the background.

Learn more: Sage Journals

46. Try a directed-drawing activity

Directed drawing activities walk your students through the process step-by-step so anyone can create their very own masterpiece. Teachers can lead the session by drawing on the whiteboard or chart paper while students follow along. Even better, there are plenty of videos on YouTube that lead the lesson, giving you a little break too. We have done the work and gathered some our favorite free directed-drawing activities for kids. Grab your favorite art supplies and get creative!

47. Gather your favorite GIFs

Make a slideshow of your favorite GIFs and have your kids act them out. Funny animals are a good place to start!

48. Find the object

Kids don't even have to get out of their seats for this one, but they can! Have one student start by finding an object and saying, "I see something beginning with the letter [fill in the blank]." The first person to guess the item correctly gets to choose the next object. This can be a fun one to play on Zoom too! You can have kids add in additional clues to help.

49. Clap for a little call-and-response

Pep things up with a little call-and-response clapping. It's simple to do and is often used in the classroom to get students' attention. Simply clap out a pattern that your kids will repeat back to you. Switch out the pattern a few times until everyone is focused and engaged. Alternatively, try a vocal call-and-response. Sing out a few riffs and have kids echo the tune back to you.

50. Color yourself mellow

Even grown-ups have picked up on the coloring craze as an excellent way to calm down and zone out. Put on some nice mellow background music, set a timer, and pass out some of these free mandala coloring pages.

51. Try a brain-break spinner

One way to make sure educational brain breaks are effective is to change up activities. Check out these online movement spinners for Wheel of Fortune-type games that help you add variety to brain breaks!

53. Would You Rather?

Students of all ages love participating in Would You Rather? videos, which can be found all over YouTube these days. Each video is approximately 8 minutes long, and students are given two scenarios where they choose which one they would rather participate in. Topics range from food items to activity choices to places to visit and more. As students choose the scenario, they move to either the right or left side of the room. Students then perform 30-second rounds of a specified exercise before repeating the process with another choice. Some of our favorite Would You Rather? channels include PE with Mr. G, Phonics Man, and Fix and Play. Students love when their teacher participates with them in the fun!

Learn more: PE With Mr. G

52. Write it out

Don't underestimate the power of journaling or creative writing. Give your kids a 5- or 10-minute break to open up a page of their notebook and write about anything they'd like. They don't have to share it with the class or do anything else with it; just use the quiet time to focus on something they love and want to write about.

Educational Video Brain Breaks by Grade Level

54. Brain-break compilations by grade level

If you are looking for a sample of brain breaks suitable for your students by grade level, look no further. We have created separate links of 25 videos each for individual grades at the elementary level. Go down the list and find your favorite!
Kindergarten Brain Breaks First Grade Brain Breaks Second Grade Brain Breaks Third Grade Brain Breaks Fourth Grade Brain Breaks Fifth Grade Brain Breaks
What educational brain breaks do you love? Share them in the comments!

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Quick, easy educational brain breaks that will help students re-energize, refocus, and give their brains a much-needed boost.

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60 Engaging Brain Breaks for Elementary Students

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Do you need an effective way to keep students focused throughout the day? Read this guide for 60 unique classroom brain breaks to implement today!

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SplashLearn Blog - Educational Resources for Parents, Teachers & Kids

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60 Best Brain Breaks for Kids to Help Them Focus Better

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Let's take a look at some of the best brain breaks for kids that will not only help them learn better but also keep them engaged and entertained for long!

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Jump into our must-haves from our former educators and BrainPOPers on some essential brain breaks for elementary students to try today.

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Early Childhood Education

Theater games make fun brain breaks that also foster valuable executive function skills.

Picture this: You are transitioning to a new lesson, and suddenly your class is full of bouncing legs and restless bodies. Chatter abounds, and fidget toys appear from nowhere. It's time to take a brain break.

However, finding the ideal activity that's simple and hits the reset button can be a challenge. For some variety, you may want to consider theater games. There are a slew of exercises that actors use to refocus, build community, and stimulate their energy that work well during transitions or whenever kids need to refocus.

While they can certainly help students concentrate, there are other benefits to these exercises: mindfulness, executive function skills, growth mindset, social and emotional learning, and especially fun, depending on the game. Gholdy Muhammad, professor and author of Unearthing Joy, notes that we can find joy in the classroom "when we create learning experiences that encourage students to have fun and problem solve, with their voices (and perspectives) centered." These brain breaks provide just such an opportunity.

8 Fun Brain Breaks to Help Students Focus

1. Silent circles of sameness. In this activity, students stand at the perimeter of the room, and you pose a statement to the class. Students who agree with the statement move to the center, while the rest stay at the edges. Debate topics such as "Zoos should not exist" or "Unicorns are superior to dragons" work well. You can also tie in themes from books ("Wilbur is brave." "Wonka is kind.").

Or use it as a way for the class to get to know each other ("I have a sibling." "I speak more than one language."). For extra movement, start your statements with " Jump into the circle if..." and keep changing up the verb (Spin! Hop! Run! Wiggle!). This activity gets kids connecting with each other, fostering fun and community in the classroom.

2. Mirror game. The mirror game is a classic acting exercise developed by the pioneer of theater games, Viola Spolin. Working in pairs, one student is the leader, who initiates movements, and the other is the reflection, who copies their motions. The moves could be abstract and dancelike or realistic, such as brushing teeth or making breakfast. The leader keeps their movements slow so as to not leave their reflection behind.

Additionally, students can make facial expressions showing emotions like anger, fear, and joy. The partners can switch roles after about a minute. Scientists have studied the mirror neurons in the brain and regard them as the seat of empathy. As students see their own selves reflected, it brings increased feelings of connectedness and belonging.

3. Laugh like a ___. Brainstorm a list of animals, creatures, or characters. Cue this game with a phrase like "Drop everything and laugh like a ___." It can be fun to do a few in rapid succession (for example, "Drop everything and laugh like a monkey... like a whale... like a giraffe"). Science shows that laughter releases endorphins in the brain, so what better way to reset than that?

4. Feather balance. Ask students to balance a feather on the palm of their hand. This helps them practice mindfulness as they focus on the feather, moving to keep it upright. Growth mindset is also at work in this game.

Carol Dweck, author of the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, says, "No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment." While some students might say, "I can't do it!" you can introduce the magic word yet into the conversation and then apply it to more academic topics later.

5. Boom chicka boom. This vibrant chant can get repeated in any style imaginable. Play around with different themes from books: "Big Bad Wolf style" or "Lorax style." You can also tie in units of study, using animals or professions in the community. To get the body involved, encourage gestures that get repeated too. Model a few versions, and then pass the baton for the students to lead.

6. Human knot. Students circle up and hold the hand of someone next to them, and then with their other hand take the hand of someone who is not next to them. They then have to untangle themselves without letting go of anyone's hand and find their way back into a big circle. This full-body exercise builds teamwork and trust. Encourage "voices off" for an extra challenge.

7. "Down by the Bay." The classic song by singer Raffi is a lovely way to get music, rhyming, and even acting into the mix. You can sing it in its original form and then encourage new verses from your students. Ask students to fill in the blank for the lyric "Did you ever see a ___" and then come up with a new rhyme to finish the verse.

This game benefits early readers, since studies show that rhyming builds literacy skills. Students can embody the rhyme, moving across the room or in their seats, as if they were a "shark trying to visit a park" or a "T. rex escaping a hex!," which adds an imaginative and kinesthetic element to the brain booster.

8. Who started the motion? One student steps outside the room. Another is selected to be the motion captain; they start a repeatable gesture (like clapping and snapping in rhythm, tapping their head and then their feet, etc.) and then switch to another one. Meanwhile, the class copies these gestures. The other student comes back into the room and observes the motions, even as they change, and tries to guess who is the captain. In this exercise, students develop their power of observation and collaboration as they move in sync.

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8 Brain Breaks to Spark Joy and Help Young Students Concentrate

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When young students take a brain break, their focus improves, and these activities also foster valuable skills like executive function.

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Last updated by Linda Kamp on *

Are you looking for ideas and tools to use to help break up the day and give your students well-deserved mental breaks throughout the day? You're in luck! Here are 16 exciting brain break games and more for your students that are quick and easy to implement.

Brain Breaks Benefits

According to Brain Balance, a second grader's attention span ranges from 14-24 minutes. Yep, that means the average time that your students should be able to maintain focus is just 2-3 times their age.

Thankfully the days are long gone where we expect our 7-year-old students to sit still at their desks all day long. We are growing in our knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices and adjusting the way we teach.

Brain Breaks are quick (and oftentimes planned) activities that give students a mental reset. They do not take up a lot of instructional time, yet provide your class with many benefits.

Giving students brain breaks can help to:

Increase engagement

Reduce Stress

Enhance focus and mood

Promote healthy habits

Improve cognitive skills

Encourage social-emotional growth

Brain Break Games

Breaks can range from a quick 5-minute structured game to dances, to deep breathing techniques. Let's start with some of my favorite brain break games!

Simon Says

Simon Says likely doesn't need an introduction. This timeless favorite is a quick brain-break game guaranteed to get everyone involved.

Tip! I like to be Simon so I can get the whole class up and moving before I try to get them "out".

Freeze Dance

Freeze Dance is always a fan favorite in my class. I turn on some popular Kidz Bop songs and have everyone free dance until the music stops. After freezing, they try to hold the statue pose until the music turns back on.

Find Someone Who

If you have an extra chatty class, they will appreciate the chance to play "Find Someone Who" . I typically put up a prompt on the board and students have to walk around asking their classmates questions until they find someone who matches the description. It's a great way to build social skills and strengthen your classroom environment as well!

Find someone who has the same favorite sport as you

Find someone who has the same amount of siblings as you

Find someone who has the same favorite classroom subject

4 Corners

If you are looking for a slightly quieter and more structured game, a round of "4-corners" is a great way to get your kids up and moving. All you need to do is to number your corners and find one die to roll. Bonus points if it's a large die!

Then, have the students choose a corner and roll the die. If you roll their number (1-4), everyone in that corner has to go sit down. Keep playing until there is one student left.

YouTube Channels and Videos for Brain Breaks in the Classroom

There are so many fun YouTube channels that are dedicated just for brain breaks in the classroom. Here are some of the best!

The Learning Station

The Learning Station channel has some great options for younger students. "Move with Me" is a great choice as it tells students exactly what to do so it's great for getting even your shyest students up and moving!

Kiboomer

Kiboomer channel has a plethora of different brain breaks and learning songs that are best for preschoolers and kindergarteners. The "Party Freeze Dance" song is a great option if you want to remove yourself from the freeze dance game (meaning you won't have to be the one starting and stopping the music).

Plus, it tells the students which movement they should be doing to help some of the embarrassment that some kids feel around free dancing.

P.E. with Mr. G

P.E. with Mr. G is such a fun brain-break exercise channel for all ages. He makes the students feel as if they are playing different video games with some of their favorite characters. Many of the videos have kids running, ducking, jumping, and dodging as they race to the finish lines.

A personal favorite of mine is Yoga Freeze Da n ce. Students get to dance and practice some yoga poses throughout this brain break.

Pancake Manor

Pancake Manor is a great choice if you are looking for a fun themed brain break in the elementary classroom. They use fun puppets and have videos around Halloween, Christmas, seasons, and other educational topics. If you are looking for a fun one that everyone will love, " Shake Break " is a winner!

Super Simple Songs

As the name suggests, Super Simple Songs YouTube channel is your one-stop-shop for all your favorite classics. They use cute cartoon characters to engage all the students! Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is a great structured brain break!

KIDZ Bop

For those of you who teach upper elementary school, Kidz Bop brain breaks are always a favorite. They remix all of the most popular songs in a kid-friendly way. Your class will be up singing and dancing in no time. " Make Some Noise" is a great dance-along brain break!

Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel

Although Jack Hartmann does have some songs that are solely meant to be fun, most are great learning supplements as well. My all-time favorite from Jack Hartman is the ' Tooty Ta' song. It's great for brain breaks and for sound substitution to build phonemic awareness!

On his YouTube channel, you'll also find songs about money, counting, spelling, and more!

Fix and Play

Fix and Play is wonderful for when you want to switch up your dancing/singing brain breaks. This YouTube channel features a mixture of games including "Would You Rather", "What is this?" and "Do You Remember". All the games do a wonderful job of allowing your students to use their brains AND get some wiggles out.

UJU Videos

Similarly to the Fix and Play channel, UJU Videos have a wide variety of different games that can be used as quick and structured brain breaks. My classes always love doing the themed 4 corner games.

Websites for Elementary Brain Breaks

Some Schools have YouTube blocked or do not allow the use of the website due to the inability to block all advertisements (you never know what might pop up, unfortunately).

Thankfully, there are some great websites that are dedicated solely to brain breaks for kids!

GoNoodle

I have yet to meet a child who doesn't like GoNoodle. Although you do need to make an account to access all the videos, it is free and easy to do so. Once inside, you'll find so many helpful and fun videos.

There are sections dedicated solely to dancing, stretching, and singing, and others that can be used as supplements to your instruction time!

Cosmic Kids

Cosmic Kids is a subscription based website that gives you complete access to all the Cosmic Kids videos completely ad-free. You can become a member for just $65 a year. If not interested in paying, you can still find most videos for free with ads!

Cosmic Kids has a large selection of engaging Yoga videos that are meant to inspire movement and mindfulness.

Move to Learn

Move to Learn is a wonderful website with a collection of different brain break videos. The videos are broken up by age group, so there is something for every classroom! There are even lesson plans and printable activities included on the website!

Brain Breaks for your Students Recap

There are so many fun YouTube channels, games, and websites at our fingertips that are jam-packed with exciting brain breaks for our students. After implementing structured brain breaks throughout the day, you'll quickly begin to see the benefits.

If you've found this post helpful, please share it with other teachers on Pinterest and your social media channels!

What are YOUR favorite brain breaks? Did I miss any good ones? If you found this post helpful please share it with other teachers on your social media channels!
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16 Exciting Brain Breaks for Elementary Students

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Are you looking for ideas and tools to use to help break up the day and give your students well-deserved mental breaks throughout the day? You're in luck! Here are 16 exciting brain break games and more for your students that are quick and easy to implement.

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Written by Holly (Teach Starter)

Gone are the days of making your students sit still for hours at a time. We now know, thanks to extensive research, that kids need to move and take brain breaks to improve their concentration and brain activity.

The image below shows two brain scans. The first is of a student who has been sitting quietly doing a test, the other is that of a student who has just been for a 20-minute walk. The brain is much more active after some form of a brain break.

This blog will outline some quick and easy ways to get your students to take a brain break, even if it is for 10 minutes, it is sure to limit distractions and improve attention.

Make it part of your classroom routine.

As teachers, we know the research, we know that brain breaks are an essential part of the classroom routine. However, sometimes it get's hard coming up with fun ways to incorporate brain breaks into the classroom. Here are some fun and easy resources that are the perfect solution to this problem.

Use our brain breaks activity cards and signs to create a 'Brain Break Board'.

Included in this resource are coloured circles that can be stuck on the end of paddle pop sticks. Use these signs to indicate to your students what activity they will be doing. I used our Letter, Number and Punctuation set - Cartoon Green for the heading.

Examples of Activities

Dance Off

Choose an age appropriate song for your class. Play the music and have the students dance. When the music stops, students have to freeze. Whoever moves, is out. Keep playing until there is one person left. Those students who are out, help spot students who move when the music is off.

Hot Potato

Classmates gather in a circle and toss a beanbag or tennis ball to each other while music plays. The player who is holding the 'hot potato' when the music stops is out.

The winner is announced when one player is left.

Scissors Paper Rock

This is a 2-player game, but the whole class can play in a knock-out round tournament. On the count of three, players pick their position:

rock - hand in a fist

paper - hand flat, palm down

scissors - extending the first two fingers and holding them apart.

The winner of that round depends on the items formed. If the same item is formed, it's a tie.

rock crushes scissors

scissors cuts paper

paper covers rock

Silent Ball

Find an area where you can safely toss a ball around. No one can talk or make a sound - being silent is the aim of the game.

The ball is tossed between classmates. Students cannot throw the ball back to the person who threw it to them. If a player misses the ball, talks or makes a bad pass, that student is out. The last two players are the champions.

Heads and Tails

Students stand in a group or at their desks. The teacher calls out true or false statements.

True - hands on your head. If a student thinks the statement is true, then they put their hands on their heads.

False - hands on your bottom. If a student thinks the statement is false, then they put their hands on their bottoms.

If your guess is incorrect, you must sit down. The last person standing wins.

Other Brain Break Ideas

Fitness Bingo

Use our different fitness bingo cards. Kids love playing BINGO so why not incorporate a little bit of a brain break with some fitness bingo!

Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades

Using each of the suits in the deck of cards, place one in each corner of the classroom. From the remaining deck of cards, remove the Aces and then shuffle, pull out a card and show it to the students, they must yell out 'hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades' and run to the correct corner. Students who go to to the incorrect corner or the last few students to the correct corner are out.

Shuffle, Shuffle, Group!

In this game, students shuffle around the classroom until the teacher says, "Groups of 5," at which point the students must quickly group themselves into groups with the correct number of people. Students who are left over must do three jumping jacks before the next round starts. The teacher can call out any number for the group size.

The Bean Game

This is a favourite here at the Teach Starter office, The Bean Game.

This active game encourages the development of listening skills, cognitive processing skills, physical activity and social skills. Students move carefully and silently around a safe, open space. As soon as they hear the 'bean call' ask the students to make the shape or movement of the corresponding bean as quickly as they can. This will become a class favourite.

Timed Chatter

Allow the students to do what they are desperate to do. Set a3-minutee timer and allow the students to get up and talk to their friends.

Fitness Lucky Dip

Place our 24 fitness exercise cards in a bucket and have students randomly select an activity to perform.

Do you use Brain Breaks in the classroom?

We'd love to hear your ideas, share in the comments section of this blog.

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26 Brain Break Ideas for the Classroom - Teach Starter Blog

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Written by Holly (Teach Starter) Gone are the days of making your students sit still for hours at a time. We now know, thanks to extensive research, that kids need to move and take brain breaks to improve their concentration and brain activity. The image below shows two brain scans.

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The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM

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These actions can be short pockets of movement, creative activities, or even brief mindfulness practices. The point is to make it active rather than passive.

If we know that movement improves brain function, then why do we continuously build a practice that completely disregards the needs of growing brains? A static body creates a static brain. In this collection, we're sharing a variety of ways to put hands-on, minds-on learning into action with over 45 brain breaks for kids.

Planning for Brain Breaks

Planning brain breaks into your lessons can be easy by simply getting students out of their seats. For example, after sitting for a mini-lesson, have students apply their new knowledge by creating. This can be done by:

creating a visual representation on chart paper hanging in the room (that they have to get up to write on)

have them get into groups and create a tableau (the original mannequin challenge) with peers

or have them "reteach" by taping a tutorial of the new information.

Even if you don't "plan" the brain break into your lessons, if you notice students starting to get lethargic, have them move.

This can be as simple as having them stand up and switch seats with a peer. While they are "visiting" their peer's space, have them comment on their peer's notes by adding something they forgot or creating a question. They can even write a little note of appreciation to their peer.

After two minutes, have them return to their seats. Even though it's only a couple steps, it will increase the heart rate, and pump oxygen to their brains.

If you need some more ideas on planned brain breaks, check out these resources:

Regardless of student population, or available instruction time, brain breaks for kids can be the key to successful student engagement in the classroom.

Changing Up the Learning Space

An easy way to incorporate movement into the classroom is by altering the space to fit the needs of the instruction. It will take some practice and very clear procedures, but it is very doable to have students reconfigure the movement into the classroom strategy and make the space conducive for the type of learning that is occurring on any given day.

Here are 5 ways to get students up and incorporate movement into the classroom strategy by rearranging their space:

1. Theatre Seating

The theatre environment is the traditional high school set up: rows of desks facing front. This setting can be used when you need to impart knowledge that students can't get anywhere else (which isn't much so you shouldn't have to use it very often).

2. Groups/Pairs

Groups and pairs are great for everyday work. They don't have to be actually doing group work in order to be in this setting (in fact don't do group/pair work unless it has a purpose).

Debate style has rows facing each other and can be used as debate, but also as an everyday setting.

4. Discussion

Discussion is set in a circle, sometimes a double circle and again, doesn't have to be used only for discussions.

Away, literally no desks. This is great for stations, gallery walks, 4 corners, walk the line, or any activity where you need space.

Partner with PE and Dance

When you are ready to take your brain breaks to the next level, consider partnering with your PE/Dance departments. This is a great way to create school wide brain breaks for kids. Have the PE/Dance departments create and film mini movement segments and then send them out to the staff. If there is at least one "go-to" video per week, then any time your class is losing steam, play the video and have your students move!

Everyday Brain Breaks

After the year begins and classroom routines are established, try introducing brain break strategies that your students can utilize at any time. Access to these tools should be available during built-in brain break segments throughout the day.

Here are some everyday classroom brain break tools to consider:

Students may engage in any one of these activities as long as they are respectful of their task, respectful of others, and respectful of returning materials in the same condition in which they were taken.

During instruction, or while reviewing steps of a project, you may decide to 'press the pause button' and provide a two minute brain break so that your students can regain focus at the larger task at hand.

Depending on the class, you may also provide students the freedom to pick their own brain break if they are finding it difficult to concentrate. This can be a good differentiation tool for learners who need more movement throughout the day.

5 Fast Arts-Focused Brain Breaks

Whether it's a 60-second brain break or a 20-minute recess, having release time is important for all learners. And while there are many options out there, not very many really get those creative juices flowing. That's where these fun arts-focused brain breaks for kids come in!

Engaging Students in Down Time with Fun Arts-Focused Brain Breaks

The trouble with fun arts-focused brain breaks is that sometimes, they are just about getting up and moving around. But that's a lost opportunity. You can actually use any break as a way to gently begin weaving the arts in and through your content.

Here are 5 of our favorite artful and fun brain breaks for the classroom that make the building that bridge a little easier:
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1. BEACH BALL ELEMENTS

2. FIND IT FAST

Call out 3 items. For example: something silver, something soft and something with jagged edges. For each item you call out, give students 5 seconds to find and bring back that item. Then, give students 1 minute to create a sculpture out of those 3 items.

3. YOU COMPLETE ME

This is a student favorite! Here's what you do: start by pairing up students. One person in the pair hums the beginning of a song and the other person hums the ending. Switch roles and repeat. Then, switch partners.

Create a set of index cards with various emotions or expressions written on them. Divide the class in half. One half creates a circle with their backs towards the inside. The other half creates a circle that faces the other students (creating concentric circles).

Give an index card to each student in the inner circle. They may not look at it. Inside circle people hold up their card for their partner to see.

The partner must create the emotion or expression using just their bodies/faces. The inner circle partner must guess what is on their card from the acting of their partner.

Once completed, pass the cards down the circle 3 people and repeat.

5. BUST A MOVE

Draw out a piece of paper at random and read the element.

Arts integration can be challenging. You aren't sure where to start, it might be scary to dedicate so much time to a whole new teaching approach, and you may even be nervous that the lesson won't turn out the way you hoped. All of that is perfectly normal! Which is why I'm a huge advocate for integrating the arts with classroom arts-focused brain breaks.

Brain breaks offer the perfect opportunity for "bite-sized arts integration". You don't have to develop an entire lesson idea, nor do you have to worry that you'll have to sing or draw in front of your students. It's a nice little gateway to integrating the arts so that you can get your feet wet and get some success under your belt first.

We can all use a little break now and then. Why not turn it into a way to explore the arts?

Creation Station

A specific art-related brain break tool that's helpful in the classroom is an area called the Creation Station. This area houses a variety of art materials, books, and tools that students can use in any manner they wish.

It is always refreshing to see how creative they can be with the provided tools and materials. Especially when you can see students incorporating various aspects of art that we have already learned!

Students know that anything that is started at the Creation Station doesn't need to be completed in one sitting, provided their work and tools are properly handled and maintained.

While students are not always able to adequately manage this privilege, it does allow them to better regulate classroom behavior and individual attention span. In the general education classroom, or in the art classroom setting, students feel empowered when they have been provided with a greater sense of ownership to self-regulation.

24 Arts-Based Warm-Ups for the Classroom

Still need some ideas to help students embed some mind stretches throughout the day? Here's a set of 24 warm-ups you can use in the classroom. Try them as bellringers, brain breaks for kids, or even as a transition in your lessons.

No matter what age or grade level you teach, brain breaks for kids can have a positive impact on learning. Try using just one of the ideas from this collection and see how it affects your classroom this year.

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These actions can be short pockets of movement, creative activities, or even brief mindfulness practices. The point is to make it active rather than passive. If we know that movement improves brain function, then why do we continuously build a practice that completely disregards the needs of growing brains?

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Classroom Management Resources

Create a healthy and happy learning environment with middle school classroom management strategies that are rooted in brain science.

Dr. Adriana Chavarín-López
Strategy and Instructional Support Officer, San Diego Unified School District

Dr. Michael Vea
Strategy and Instructional Support Officer, San Diego Unified School District

Advice from Teachers in America

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Classroom Management Articles and Resources

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If you're looking to stay up-to-date on the latest in classroom management strategies, check out this curated list of our most popular and relevant blogs.

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Brain breaks are short mental and physical activities that help kids take a break from learning and recharge their minds. Taking a few minutes to engage in a brain break activity enables kids to focus better, improve their mood, and feel less stressed.

If you are looking for some brain break ideas, we've got you covered! In this post, we will explore the most beneficial and fun brain breaks for kids across a variety of categories. Let's get started!

15 Brain Breaks Games for Kids

Brain break games are great resources to help kids unwind in an entertaining way. Here are the top-rated, game-based brain breaks for kids of all ages.

1. MentalUP Learning Games

MentalUP is an innovative educational app that offers fun and beneficial brain breaks for kids. It is the ultimate app that brings together the best brain breaks, all designed by pedagogues, academicians and game developers who understand how to make learning enjoyable.

MentalUP offers a wide range of games and exercises that are tailored to kids' specific needs, interests, and learning pace. From cognitive games to physical education exercises, MentalUP is one of the most comprehensive apps on the market featuring a wide range of physical and mental brain breaks for kids.

The award-winning app is trusted by schools, parents, and educational professionals around the world and is awarded for its effectiveness in improving cognitive skills and making learning enjoyable for children. Plus, it tracks a kid's progress and provides personalized recommendations based on their strengths and sides that can be improved, so you can rest assured that they're getting the best learning experience possible.

So, why wait? Get started with our app to give your child the gift of learning with MentalUP! 🥳

Download now to access 150+ fun games that fall under the main categories of attention, memory, logic, visual intelligence, and verbal intelligence. 🤩✨

These games enable children of all ages to continue developing themselves even when taking a break from their lessons and recharging their minds. 💪🧠
DISCOVER MENTALUP
2. Simon Says

This game is one of the most fun brain breaks for kids that improves kids' listening and focus skills.

Basically, the leader gives instructions starting with "Simon says," and players must follow the instruction. If "Simon says" is not said and the player still follows the instruction, they're out.

4. Charades

This is a fun brain break game in that one player acts out a word or phrase while the other players guess what it is. No speaking allowed!

Playing charades is one of the most beneficial classroom brain break ideas for kindergarten kids. It enhances kids' nonverbal communication skills while encouraging creativity.

5. Pictionary

If you are looking for virtual brain break ideas to utilize both in the classroom and at home, you can try playing Pictionary with your kids.

It is a fun and fast-paced drawing game in which one player draws a picture while others try to guess it. Plus, it is great for supporting kids' visual communication skills and promoting creativity.

6. Heads Up

Playing Heads Up is one of the most fun brain break ideas for middle school and older kids. The game can be played with cards or via the Heads Up app to encourage kids' teamwork and communication skills. It is pretty simple to play: players hold a card or phone on their forehead and others give clues to help them guess what's on it.

7. 5-4-3-2-1!

This is one of the best brain breaks for kids of all ages. It is a simple yet extremely fun game that encourages kids to partake in five different physical activities in descending order. For example, you could get them to do 5 jumps, 4 sits ups, 3 hops, 2 swing arounds, and 1 clap. It is great for giving kids a quick and fun exercise.

8. Find It Fast!

If you are looking for quick brain break ideas to utilize both indoors and outdoors, you can try playing Find It Fast with your kids. All you have to do is to look around and identify some colors or objects. Then you must shout out the chosen object or color for kids to find them as quickly as possible. The last person to get it is eliminated. You can repeat until you have a winner!

9. Tic Tac Toe

Tic Tac Toe is one of the most beneficial brain break ideas for elementary students. It can be played quickly to enhance strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.

Simply put, players take turns placing X's or O's in a 3x3 grid to try to get three in a row. The game can be played solo or multiplayer, and players can keep playing until someone gets three in a row or there are no spaces left to make a new move.

10. Hot Potato

This is one of the most fun brain break ideas that encourages quick thinking and fast reflexes. It can be played both indoors and outdoors and is especially great for kindergarten and elementary kids. During the game, players pass a ball or object around quickly and try not to be the one holding it when the music stops.

11. Red Light, Green Light

Red Light, Green Light is one of the quick brain breaks for kids that improves kids' listening skills and reaction time. It is a fun and popular game that can be played enjoyably by young kids.

To start the game, kids get in a line. The chosen player calls out "green light" and players move forward, and "red light," they stop. If any player is caught still moving after "Red Light!" has been called, they are out of the game.

12. Freeze Dance

Freeze Dance is one of the most fun brain break ideas for kids, teens, or even adults! Plus, it is great for expanding creative movement and coordination.

All you need to do is put some music on and start dancing. During the activity, which is also one of the best music games for kids, players dance to music and freeze when it stops. Players that keep dancing after the music stops are out of the game.

13. Act Like...

This is one of the most fun kindergarten brain breaks for kids. Give your kids 3 minutes and watch how much they can act out while taking their creativity, communication, and physical skills into action.

Choose a theme for kids, such as animals, sports, or actions. Then let them take turns acting out a word or phrase related to the theme for the others to guess. Play the game until all kids have had a turn. You can benefit from different materials, such as Disney trivia questions, to make the game more interesting.

14. Rock, Paper, Scissors

The famous Rock, Paper, Scissors is actually one of the greatest brain break ideas for elementary kids. It enhances pattern recognition, decision-making skills, and hand-eye coordination in kids.

To play Rock, Paper, Scissors, players simultaneously make one of three hand gestures: rock, paper, or scissors. The winner is determined by a simple set of rules where rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock.

15 Physical Brain Breaks for Kids

Now that we have discovered the best brain break games for kids, let's take a look at the physical brain breaks for kids that will both improve their physical endurance and help them recharge their minds.

16. MentalUP Fitness Exercises

As the only app on the market that contributes to both the physical and mental development of kids, MentalUP offers a fun fitness module featuring more than 240 exercises that enable kids to create daily exercise routines and recharge their minds by getting active.

You can utilize the app both indoors and outdoors to provide your kid with the physical brain breaks that will improve their endurance and keep them entertained for a long time. Plus, the app does not include any inappropriate ads or content, which makes it a safe and beneficial tool for continuous learning.

Would you like to reach the best physical brain breaks for kids of all ages? 💪👟

Download MentalUP to discover 250+ of physical activities in strength, cardio, stretch, balance, and gymnastic categories. Let your kids get a complete physical education!

MentalUP fitness is here to help your kids kickstart their fitness journey and recharge their minds whenever they need it. Don't waste your time-get started with MentalUP right now! 🚀✨
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17. Yoga

If you are looking for an exercise routine that expands the benefits of brain breaks for kids, you should definitely get your kids practicing yoga poses.

Yoga involves physical poses, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques that can improve balance, coordination, flexibility, and concentration in kids. So following a full yoga routine regularly can be one of the best brain break ideas for kids.

18. Jumping Jacks

If you are thinking about how to take a brain break between all those busy study schedules, you can try jumping jacks for both yourself and your kid.

Jumping jacks are a simple and fun way to get the heart rate up and improve cardiovascular health. They can also improve coordination, balance, and agility in children. Practicing it between daily tasks or study sessions helps individuals recharge their minds.

19. Dancing

Making a list of brain breaks without including dancing would be meaningless. Dancing freely is one of the best brain breaks for kids and even adults!

Just take a break for 10-15 minutes, put on some music, and start dancing however you like with your kid. This quick brain break will contribute to your kids' coordination, balance, and rhythm, as well as distract them from stress.

20. Running in Place

This is one of the most effective exercise brain breaks for kids. It improves coordination and gross motor skills in kids and increases their energy and focus for learning.

To perform this activity, kids should stand with their feet hip-width apart and begin lifting one knee up towards their chest while swinging the opposite arm forward. They should then quickly switch legs and arms to create a running motion.

21. Bear Crawls

Bear Crawls one of the best brain break ideas for kindergarten kids. It is great for keeping them moving and supporting their coordination, core strength, and gross motor skills. Simply put, children crawl on their hands and feet, keeping their knees off the ground while pretending to be a bear.

22. High Knees

Practicing high knees is one of the most effective brain breaks for older kids. It improves kids' cardiovascular endurance and gives them relief from being busy with studying.

For this exercise, kids stand in place and lift each knee up to their chest in a marching motion. They can keep doing it for 2-5 minutes.

23. Tai Chi

Tai chi is a martial art that is practiced for defense training, health benefits, and meditation. However, it can also serve as a great example of brain breaks that can be done through physical activity.

During tai chi practices, kids perform slow, deliberate movements while standing in one place. This helps them to focus better and improves their balance, flexibility, and mindfulness.

24. Stretching

Stretching is one of the best brain breaks for ADHD students as it enables them to practice both physical movement and mindfulness simultaneously.

Kids can engage in a variety of stretching exercises to give their minds a break from learning activities. They can try stretching their toes or arms above their heads to feel a sense of relaxation.

25. Hula Hooping

Hula hooping is one of the most fun holiday brain breaks for kids. You can take it wherever you go and let your kids enjoy freeing their minds while enhancing their coordination, balance, and cardiovascular endurance.

It is pretty simple to play with a hula hoop. Kids keep twirling it around their waists or arms as long as they like. They might be unsuccessful on the first try, but you'll see that they will get better in time.

26. Wall Push-Ups

This is a challenging activity that can be one of the most effective brain break ideas for high school kids. It is great for improving upper body strength and endurance as well as giving the mind some relaxation. Basically, children place their hands on a wall, bend their elbows and lean into the wall, then push back until their arms are straight. It can be repeated 5 to 10 times.

27. Wall Sits

If you are looking for strength-improving brain break ideas for high school kids, following wall push-ups with wall sits can be a great idea. To do the exercise, kids stand with their backs against a wall and slide down into a sitting position with their knees bent. Then, they hold the position as long as they can.

28. Crab Walks

Crab Walks is one of the most fun and effective brain breaks for kids, especially the young ones who are familiar with practicing gymnastic movements. The activity improves coordination, upper body strength, and gross motor skills, and it's pretty simple. Kids sit down on the ground, then raise up their core and begin walking on their hands and feet for a couple of minutes.

29. Frog Jumps

This is one of the most fun brain breaks for kids in the classroom, especially for kindergartners. It contributes to their lower body strength, coordination, and balance as well as helps them relax.

To complete a frog jump, kids go down and jump up with both feet, as if they are leaping like a frog. They can keep jumping as long as they feel comfortable.

30. Yoga Ball Bounces

Yoga Ball Bounces is one of the best physical brain breaks for kids at home. All you need is one yoga ball. Plus, it improves core strength, balance, and gross motor skills.

It's pretty easy and fun: kids sit on a yoga ball and then start bouncing on it while maintaining their balance. They can keep bouncing for 2 to 5 minutes.

10 Mental Brain Breaks for Kids

Mental brain breaks are short periods of time during the day when kids take a break from mental work or activities to engage in something different. This can include activities like meditating, visualization exercises, or simply getting up and moving around.

Here are the best mental brain breaks that reset kids' minds and bodies and help them return to their tasks with renewed energy and focus.

31. Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditations can help kids focus their attention and develop greater awareness of their thoughts and emotions.

So encouraging kids to meditate can both expand the benefits of brain breaks for students and give their mind relief. Just try making your kid sit quietly, focus on their breath or a specific object, and bring their attention back to their breath whenever their mind starts to wander.

32. Deep Breathing Exercises

Short and quick deep breathing exercises can be great brain breaks for kids in school or at home. Deep breathing helps kids calm their mind and reduces their stress levels.

Motivate your kids to take slow, deep breaths in through their noses and out through their mouths between lessons or daily learning activities. You'll see how it will improve their stress management skills in time.

33. Visualization Exercises

Visualization exercises are great brain breaks for kindergarten students, especially for those who enjoy imagining things.

You can try to encourage your kids or students to imagine a peaceful or calming scene in their minds by asking questions about their desired places and guiding them through. Also, you can find recordings of guided visualizations online.

34. Coloring or Drawing

If you are thinking about what are good brain breaks for Christmas or Halloween, you can try encouraging your kids to engage in themed coloring and drawing activities.

These activities reduce stress and regulate kids' moods by offering them a great way to express themselves and practice their imagination. You can provide your kids with themed coloring books, colored pencils, or markers to encourage them to get creative.

35. Listening to Music

Listening to music between stressful tasks or long study sessions can be extremely soothing and calming for kids of all ages.

So if you are looking for easy brain breaks for kids, you can try encouraging them to listen to their favorite music or explore new artists they can enjoy when they need a mental break.

36. Solving Puzzles

Solving puzzles is one of the best brain breaks for kids as it engages their minds and reduces stress. Puzzles can come in many forms, such as jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, Sudoku, and more.

Completing a puzzle can give kids a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, which can boost their mood and reduce feelings of stress or anxiety.

37. Journaling

Writing down thoughts and feelings can be great brain break ideas for primary school kids as well as older kids. It helps kids process their emotions and reduce stress.

You can prompt your child or students to keep a journal about a particular subject or write down their current thoughts and feelings when they feel stressed or overwhelmed.

38. Laughing

We all know that laughter is a powerful stress reliever. It is also one of the best brain breaks for kids of all ages. It provides numerous benefits for both kids and adults and is a great way to boost happiness and enhance family connections.

All you need to do is watch a funny video with your kids or tell them some entertaining math jokes or jokes about real life to make them laugh when they feel stressed or overwhelmed. In these kinds of times when you need a good laugh, you can always benefit from different sources such as would you rather questions for kids and fun questions to ask kids.

39. Taking a Mindfulness Walk

Taking a mindfulness walk is one of the best brain break ideas middle school or older kids can enjoy. It involves paying close attention to your surroundings and your body as you walk.

When you are on your way home or on an evening stroll, make them engage in a mindfulness walk by asking them to notice the sights, sounds, and smells around them. Tell them to take deep breaths and focus on their steps and how their body feels as they move.

40. Watching Documentaries

Watching documentaries can be one of the most engaging and educational brain breaks for kids. Let your kids take a break from their regular activities and watch a documentary about a topic they find interesting.

This will stimulate their curiosity and enhance their critical thinking skills as well as help them destress from their daily routine.

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8 Relaxing Brain Breaks for Kids

Relaxing brain breaks are great for helping kids regulate their mood, improve their emotional intelligence, and support their stress management skills. Here are the top 8 relaxing brain break ideas for kids.

41. Taking a Nap

Sometimes a short nap can be one of the best brain breaks for kids at home. Taking a 30-seconds nap can help kids recharge their minds and reset their brains.

Make sure your child is getting enough sleep each night, and encourage them to take a nap if they need one during the day. Keep in mind that long naps might negatively affect their sleeping routines.

42. Taking a Bath

Taking a warm bath can be a great way for kids to relax and unwind. So if you are thinking about how to give your brain a break or help your kids recharge their minds, try letting them take a warm bath with some calming essential oils or Epsom salt for extra relaxation.

43. Guided Relaxation Exercises

If you are googling "brain breaks for elementary students Youtube," you are probably looking for online guided relaxation exercises.

Guided relaxation exercises involve listening to a recording that guides individuals through a series of relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, visualization, or progressive muscle relaxation. You can find them on Youtube and encourage your kid to use them when they are overwhelmed.

44. Reading

Reading between long lessons can be one of the best brain breaks for students in the classroom. You can allow your kids or students to take a break and read a book that they find calming or enjoyable when they feel overwhelmed by studying. It is a great way to help them distract their minds and promote feelings of relaxation.

45. Taking a Nature Walk

If there is a natural park or reserve you can take a trip in the fall with your kids, taking a nature walk might be one of the best fall brain breaks for kids.

During your walk, you can ask your kids some questions about the environment around them and ask them to pay close attention to the sights, sounds, and smells around them. This will help them relax their body and unwind their mind.

46. Playing with a Stress Ball

Engaging in stress ball activities can be one of the best holiday brain breaks for kids. It provides a great way for kids to release physical tension and promotes relaxation.

You can find a variety of stress balls designed for kids online or in stores and allow your kids to play with them as they wish when they are overwhelmed with daily activities.

47. Sensory Activities

Sensory activities, such as playing with sand, water, or playdough, can be a calming and engaging way for kids to take a mental break.

If you are planning to organize Easter, Christmas, or Halloween brain breaks for kids, you can check online or stores to find themed sensory activity sets that will give your kid's mind a break from daily activities.

48. Hugging a Stuffed Animal

Kids love playing with stuffed animals. These toys can be great tools if you are looking for quick and effective brain breaks for kids. Just encourage your kids to hug their stuffed animals when they feel anxious or overwhelmed. This will be comforting and grounding for them.

7 Skill-Building Brain Breaks for Kids

Skill-building brain breaks for kids are short, engaging activities designed to give them a mental break from focused learning while also enhancing skills, such as creativity, problem-solving, communication, physical coordination, organization, and concentration.

These activities allow kids to both recharge and build cognitive skills that can benefit their overall development and academic performance. Let's dive into the best skill-building brain breaks for kids.

49. MentalUP Cognitive Skills Games

The MentalUP app provides kids with hundreds of cognitive skills games that can improve their intelligence and recharge their minds. With its adaptive learning technology, the app tests and analyzes kids' skills and provides them with the best cognitive games that fit their needs and interests.

With MentalUP, it takes only 20 minutes daily to expand kids' skills and give them a break that unwinds their minds. That's why it is the best source of fun brain breaks for kids of all ages.

From memory games and concentration games to visual intelligence and word games, all the cognitive exercises your kids need for a brighter future are in MentalUP! 💡🌟✨

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50. Learning a New Language

Learning a new language is one of the most fun and engaging brain break ideas for kids of all ages. Encourage your kids to take a break from their regular activities and spend some time learning a few new words or phrases in a different language. This will benefit their overall cognitive development and improve their linguistic skills.

51. Coding

Short coding practices might be a great way for kids to take a break from daily routines. Nudge your kid to spend some time coding a simple program or working on a project.

You can also find online coding games and lessons to diversify their coding experience. Spending time with such activities will unwind their mind, help them develop their problem-solving skills, and enhance their creativity.

52. Playing an Instrument

Playing an instrument is one of the most relaxing and soothing brain breaks for kids. Also, it is a great activity for kids to improve their memory skills and enhance their hand-eye coordination.

All you need to do is motivate your child to take a break from their studies and spend some time playing their favorite instrument.

53. Cooking

If you are looking for some fun, skill-building brain breaks for kids that will give them a break from screens, you should definitely try cooking with your kids.

Spending time in the kitchen stimulates kids' creativity and improves their organizational skills. So next time you are looking for some brain break ideas for kids, try cooking their favorite dishes together.

54. Gardening

If you are looking for some holiday brain breaks for kids, you can motivate them to spend some time outside and care for their plants.

This will be a calming and therapeutic brain break for your child and contribute to their overall wellness by improving their mental health and enhancing their sense of responsibility.

55. Playing a Sport

Playing a sport can be one of the most fun and invigorating brain breaks for kids. Participating in regular sports activities improves kids' physical health, enhances their teamwork skills, and allows them to recharge their minds.

All you need to do is find a sport that fits your kid's age, interests, and physical abilities. Then you can motivate them to regularly engage in the chosen sport.

The Benefits of Brain Breaks for Kids

It is clear that there are a variety of brain breaks for kids that benefit their overall well-being in different ways. Now, let's summarize the general benefits of brain breaks to see how they can contribute to your kid's mental and physical health.

Improve focus and attention

Reduce mental fatigue

Allow the brain to rest and recharge

Boost creativity

Provide opportunities to move and be active

Help regulate emotions and reduce stress

Enhance memory and learning

Promote a positive classroom or home environment

Encourage socialization and teamwork

Help with self-regulation

Enhance physical health

Improve academic performance

Foster positive relationships

Frequently Asked Questions About Brain Break Ideas

Now that we've explained the best brain breaks for kids in different categories and explored their benefits, let's take a look at the most commonly asked questions about brain breaks to clear all the questions in your mind.

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55 Brain Breaks for Kids: Fun & Educational! - MentalUP

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Are you looking for some effective brain break ideas? Read our blog post to discover the most fun and beneficial brain breaks for kids of all ages!

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To boost creativity and productivity, take time out for movement, calming exercises, and a healthy dose of fun.

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Ever notice your students fidgeting and their eyelids drooping in the middle of class? It's a sign they need a brain break!

These quick and simple activities aren't just playtime - they're scientifically proven to improve cognitive function, memory retention, and overall well-being. Studies show that those who participate in regular brain breaks perform better, especially when learning new skills.

In this article, we'll provide a comprehensive list of 80 brain break activities for kids from kindergarten all the way to grade 12. We'll also explore additional tips and resources to make brain breaks a seamless and valuable part of your classroom routine!

Why Brain Breaks in the Classroom Matter

Improved Attention: Brain breaks improve attention in multiple ways. They combat mental fatigue by giving the brain a short rest, similar to how muscles recover during breaks from exercise. They also help by shifting focus, increasing blood flow, and boosting mood and engagement.

Enhanced Memory Retention: When students are bombarded with information, it's hard to make it stick. Brain breaks act as a mental reset, allowing them to process information more effectively and retain knowledge for longer periods.

Reduced Stress and Improved Mood: Long stretches of focused work can lead to frustration and decreased motivation. Brain breaks provide a stress release, lowering cortisol levels and creating a more positive learning environment for everyone.

Increased Physical Activity: Sitting for extended periods is not ideal for growing bodies or minds. Movement-based brain breaks promote blood flow to the brain, which enhances cognitive function and alertness.

Boosted Engagement:Brain breaks help prevent boredom and fatigue, leading to increased student participation and a more interactive classroom experience.

Brain Break Activities for Grades K-2

Choose a leader among your students by using arandom name picker so everyone gets an equal opportunity to lead.

For a more efficient and waste-free alternative, match shapes and colors straight on your presentation slide using ClassPoint'sDraggable Objects.

1. Yoga Poses for Little Yogis. Introduce simple yoga poses like downward-facing dog or child's pose.

2. Playdough Power Play. Provide playdough for students to squeeze, mold, and create something fun.

3. Categorization Challenge. Call out a category (e.g., animals, fruits) and have students take turns shouting out examples as quickly as they can.

Brain Break Activities for Kids in Grades 3-5

1. Jumping Jacks. Get those hearts racing with a quick set of jumping jacks.

2. Scavenger Hunt Surprise. Hide clues around the classroom and have students search for them while moving about. Alternatively, you can also hold a digital scavenger hunt for distance learning students or blended learning classrooms.

3. Charades Challenge. Divide students into teams and have them act out vocabulary words or historical figures.

4. Animal Relay Race. Divide into teams and have each student hop like a bunny, crawl like a crab, etc. to reach the finish line.

5. Tongue Twisters Time. Challenge students to say tongue twisters quickly and clearly. (e.g., "She sells seashells by the seashore.")

6. Brain Teaser Trivia. Run a quick trivia game in PowerPoint and present a series of questions, short riddles, or math problems and have students work together to solve it.

Need more ideas for a fun trivia activity in the classroom? Download these PowerPoint templates inspired by American game shows likeJeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Family Feud.

1. Hopscotch Hop. Draw hopscotch squares on the playground for a classic outdoor activity.

2. Freeze Dance Fun. Play music and instruct students to freeze in silly poses when the music stops.

3. Ball Toss. Have students stand in a circle and toss a ball to each other, counting the number of throws successfully completed.

4. Minute to Win It Challenges. Adapt simple "Minute to Win It" challenges for the classroom. (e.g., Stacking cups, balancing objects on a spoon)

5. Would You Rather? Present age-appropriate "Would You Rather" scenarios to spark discussion and critical thinking.

6. Word Chain. Start with a word and have students take turns adding another word that begins with the last letter of the previous word.

7. Quick Doodling Challenge. Give students a random prompt and a short amount of time to create a doodle that reflects it.

Turn yourPowerPoint slides into a student drawing activity in class so your pupils can doodle straight on their devices.

Brain Breaks for Middle School (Grades 6-8)

1. Riddle Me This. Challenge students with brain teasers or logic puzzles to get their minds thinking.

2. Pictionary Power Play. Divide into teams and have them take turns drawing clues for their teammates to guess.

Looking for a fuss-free way to group students? ClassPoint'sGrouping feature allows you to do just that, straight from your PowerPoint slides!

1. Brainstorming Bonanza. Present a simple problem and have students work together to come up with creative solutions.

2. Jump Rope Relay Race. Divide into teams and have each student jump rope for a designated time before tagging the next teammate.

3. Make a Statue. Play music with different tempos. Students create a statue that reflects the music's mood when it stops.

4. Word Association Game. Start with a word and have students take turns saying the first word that comes to mind.

5. Short Stretches for Tall Thinkers. Lead students through some simple stretches to loosen up tight muscles.

6. Quick Quiz Challenge. Test knowledge with a short pop quiz covering recent issues, common sense topics or vocabulary words.

Quizzes shouldn't be boring or daunting! Turn your PowerPoint slides intointeractive quizzes and choose from multiple formats like MCQs, short answers, and more!

Brain Break Activities for High School (Grades 9-12)

1. Mindful Minute. Guide students through a short mindfulness activity like focusing on their breath or progressive muscle relaxation.

2. Creative Writing Spark. Present a random prompt and give students a few minutes to brainstorm a story idea.

3. Fact or Fiction? Present interesting statements and have students guess whether they are true or false (followed by a quick explanation).

4. Jigsaw Puzzles. Work together on a short jigsaw puzzle to promote teamwork and problem-solving.

5. Vocabulary Scramble. Write vocabulary words on the board with the letters scrambled. Students race to unscramble them correctly.

Easily gather your students' unscrambled vocab using ClassPoint'sWord Cloud. With a simple click, you can showcase everyone's answers straight on your PowerPoint slides.

1. Two Truths and a Lie. Have each student write down three statements about themselves - two truths and one lie. Students take turns sharing their statements and the class guesses the lie.

2. Make a Meme. Provide students with images and online meme generators (with appropriate supervision). Challenge them to create funny memes based on current events or school life.

Collect all of your students' funny meme ideas straight on your presentation slides with ClassPoint'sImage Upload.

1. Logic Puzzle Challenge. Present a short logic puzzle or brain teaser for students to solve individually or in pairs within a time limit.

2. 20 Questions. Think of a person, place, or thing (you can either come up with the idea yourself or appoint a student). The class gets 20 yes or no questions to guess what it is.

3. Emoji Pictionary. Instead of drawing words, students draw emojis that represent a given phrase or saying. Their classmates have to guess the phrase based on the emoji picture.

4. Social Media Slogans. Present a fictitious product or service and challenge students to brainstorm and write catchy social media slogans to promote it.

5. Deep Breathing Exercises. Introduce advanced breathing techniques like alternate nostril breathing or box breathing to promote relaxation and focus.

6. Haiku Poetry Break. Present a nature-based prompt and have students write a short haiku poem (three lines, 5-7-5 syllable structure) within a limited time.

7. One-Sentence Story Starters. Write down intriguing sentence starters on slips of paper. Students pick one and spend a few minutes writing a short story based on that single sentence.

8. Virtual Museum Tour. Take a short virtual tour of a museum or historical site using online resources. Spark discussions about the exhibits or historical periods explored.

9. Word of the Day Challenge. Present a new and interesting word each day with its definition and etymology. Students can use this word in a sentence or create a short skit demonstrating its meaning.

10. Improvised News Report. Divide into pairs and assign each pair a random historical event or current situation. Students improvise a short news report from a specific perspective (e.g., a witness, a historical figure).

11. One-Minute Monologue. Give students a random character or situation and one minute to create and perform a short monologue in character.

12. Listening Break with Nature Sounds. Play a selection of calming nature sounds (ocean waves, birds chirping) and encourage students to close their eyes and focus on the sounds, promoting relaxation and stress reduction.

13. Abstract Art Challenge. Give students art supplies and a short time to create an abstract artwork based on a feeling or emotion (e.g., frustration - messy scribbles, joy - bright colors).

Free Downloadable PDF for Brain Break Activities in the Classroom

Want to keep this handy list of brain breaks at your fingertips? We've created a downloadable PDF document that includes all 80 activities, categorized by grade level for easy reference.

This printable resource is perfect for keeping on your desk or hanging in your classroom for quick access to engaging brain breaks throughout the day.

3 Bonus Tips for Teachers: Making Brain Breaks Seamless and Effective

Brain break activities for kids are powerful tools, but implementing them smoothly requires a bit of planning and creativity. Here are some tips to help you integrate brain breaks into your classroom routine seamlessly.

#1. Strategic Scheduling

Don't leave brain breaks to chance! Schedule them throughout the day at strategic times. Aim for 2-3 minute breaks, ideally:

Before Challenging Tasks: Right before a new concept or a complex activity, a brain break can help students clear their minds and approach the task with renewed focus.

After Long Periods of Focused Work: Long periods of focused work can lead to mental fatigue. A brain break helps students recharge and refocus before moving on.

Transition Points: Use brain breaks as natural transitions between activities or lessons to avoid disruptive shifts in energy levels.

#2. Adapting to Your Classroom

Space Limitations: Don't let limited space hold you back! Many activities, like riddles, tongue twisters, or quick drawing challenges, require minimal movement. You could also consider projector-based movement games or quick educational AR/VR experiences (if available).

Differentiation: Cater to different learning styles and abilities. Offer a variety of brain breaks (movement, creative, academic) and allow students to choose an activity that best suits their needs.

Gamification: Utilize educational platforms that offer gamified learning experiences for engaging challenges. Use leaderboards and badges to create a sense of friendly competitiveness among students.

#3. Keeping it Engaging

Props & Themes: Liven up brain breaks with props (beanbags, balls) or themes (animal movements, holiday-themed activities). This adds a touch of fun and keeps students interested.

Variety is Key: Rotate brain breaks regularly to prevent boredom. Consider utilizing ClassPoint AI quiz generator to turn your PowerPoint slides into a fun, interactive quiz filled with surprise questions.

Student Participation: Get students involved! Ask them for suggestions or allow them to create their own brain break variations.

Bonus Tip: Be a role model! Participate in the brain breaks with your students. It demonstrates the importance of taking breaks and fosters a more positive and collaborative learning environment.

Final Thoughts

Brain breaks are no longer playtime distractions - they're essential tools for boosting focus, memory, and overall well-being in your classroom. This comprehensive list of 80 activities provides a springboard for incorporating brain breaks seamlessly into your daily routine, catering to students from kindergarten all the way to grade 12.

Remember, the key is to keep things engaging and varied. Don't be afraid to get creative and adapt activities to fit your specific space limitations and student needs. With a little planning and enthusiasm, you can transform brain breaks into energizing moments that refresh young minds and create a more positive and productive learning environment.

So, the next time you see your students fidgeting or their eyelids drooping, don't reach for the next worksheet, but reach for our brain break activities PDF instead! You might be surprised at the positive impact it has on your students' learning and overall classroom atmosphere.

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80 Brain Break Activities For Kids From K To 12 (Free Downloadable PDF Included!) - ClassPoint Blog | ClassPoint

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Energize young minds with 80 brain break activities for kids from K to 12)! Downloadable PDF, teacher tips & age-appropriate suggestions included!

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Taking quick brain breaks throughout the school day is one of the best ways to keep your students focused on learning.

"Breaks, especially those that are multisensory and involve kinesthetic movement, are helpful with focusing, visualization, alleviating stress, and more," says Leana Malinowsky, a second-grade teacher in New Jersey. "Depending on the activity, it also offers time for students to connect socially and practice teamwork skills."

Everyone needs a brain break sometimes, especially kids who have been working hard all day. Depending on your classroom space, your breaks may be small motor-type exercises with simple hand movements or large motor exercises that involve lots of moving. These brief intermissions will help wake up your students and refocus their attention on the next task, especially at the end of the day when their minds are particularly prone to wandering.

You can initiate a brain break before, during, or after a lesson, and while transitioning to a new activity or a new classroom space. If you have noticed that there are particular times during the day when your students seem to lose focus, that's when a brain break will help the most.

Try using brain breaks after giving direct instructions to your class. For example, if you have just taught a math lesson, you might ask your students to count how many steps it takes them to move from the carpet back to their seats. The majority of students will be so focused on counting their steps that they have little time for chitchat or other distractions.

The next time you and your students need a quick refresh, try these brain breaks to bring even more joy to learning.

Brain breaks not only keep your students engaged, but they also help them retain information, says Terry Stoufer, a third-grade teacher in Florida.

Stoufer's brain breaks often incorporate music, dance, and storytelling, but she also likes to use exercises that cross the midline - engaging both the right and left hemispheres of the brain. "One example is touching the right elbow with the left knee in a stretch and vice-versa," she says.

To get the most out of these brain breaks, try following them with class read-alouds about the brain like The Brain Is Kind of a Big Deal and Your Fantastic Elastic Brain. Students can learn how the brain works, why brains need to rest, and how they can stretch their own brains to develop a growth mindset.

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Ideas for Student Brain Breaks in the Classroom | Scholastic

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Keeps students engaged with these fun stories that pair perfectly with brain breaks.

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How do you keep your class focused? Because a class of students is filled with many different personalities, focus can sometimes be an elusive thing. All it takes is one student challenging your classroom rules - in a large or small way - to change the tone of the entire classroom that day. Other times there will be external forces at work, like an upcoming holiday or schoolwide event. However, for you to be the most effective teacher you can be, you must be consistent despite the disruptions and challenges that occur on a daily basis. Here are a few classroom management tips to help you maintain balance in the classroom.

Classroom Management Tips

One way to maintain some consistency throughout the length and breadth of a school year is by employing these classroom management tips:

1. Greet Your Students Personally

Meeting each of your students at the door with a personal greeting helps to build rapport. This isn't just a first-day-of-school technique - greeting your students as they come into your classroom should happen all year long. It lets them know that you see them as individuals and creates trust and respect... which carries over into the teaching and learning that happens once class begins.

2. Set Clear Expectations

Of course, the other part of the above tip is that you must communicate your expectations clearly. If you want your students to be respectful, you must tell them that. Model what that respect will look like in a number of situations - on the playground, in the hallway, and in your classroom. Respect for you as their teacher means no talking while you are talking. Respect for each other means being considerate of others' feelings and ideas. Respect for themselves means their best efforts in everything they do in your classroom.

3. Assume the Best

Your students will behave as you expect them to. If you begin with the assumption that there will be misbehavior, chances are they will fulfill that expectation. However, if you expect the best from them and communicate these expectations, they will do everything they can to meet your assumptions about their character and abilities. It's just human nature, and it's at work in everyone from children to adults.

4. Demonstrate

It's likely you have certain procedures designed to make each day run smoothly. For some students, just telling them what those procedures are won't be enough. Showing them, however, will help it stick. Interactive modeling will put actions to the words you use. If your morning routine includes coming in quietly, hanging up backpacks, stowing lunchboxes in cubbies, placing homework in a designated spot, and sitting down, demonstrate that procedure. As the year progresses, re-demonstrate it if need be.

5. Find the Right Tone of Voice

The tone of voice you use when speaking to your students matters. Using the wrong tone can have far-reaching effects, especially from your at-risk students. Every class will be different, so what worked for last year's class might not quite fit the students you have this year. It might take a few days to get your tone just right, but once you do, the rewards can be big. Remember this when you must correct students, individually and as a group.

6. Correct Minor Infractions

Students will test boundaries. It's up to you to correct these forays into poor behavior before they become larger issues. If your students learn that you won't let even the smallest infraction slip by, you will maintain your authority over your class. Just be sure that your correction is proportional to the infraction.

7. Remain Positive

There will be days that challenge you and your students, no matter what. No one is immune to feeling defeated from time to time, and that feeling can spread if you allow it. As difficult as it might seem to remain positive in the face of challenges, you owe it to yourself and your class to turn negative feelings around. Take a deep breath and summon your powers of positivity.

8. Have a Plan

No teacher walks into the classroom unprepared. You know what your students need to learn, and you prepare the path for them to develop that knowledge. On the days when the planned lesson goes off the rails, having a backup plan (or three) will come in handy. Consider the overall personality of your class and develop a contingency plan that will help get your students back on track.

9. Praise and Recognize

It's a boost to be praised for something you do well - and your students are no different. How you do it, however, will have a bearing on how your students receive such praise. Research suggests that over-the-top praise in front of the class serves little purpose for motivating students. However, delivering praise subtly and quietly -even something as simple as a pat on the back - makes it personal and effective. Build positive relationships with your students and they will want to learn with you.

A Great School Year Depends on Classroom Management

Classroom management is a big part of teaching. Maintaining focus and a sense of purpose in the classroom can be a challenge on some days. Building positive teacher-student relationships helps to diminish many of these challenges. If your school uses a PBIS framework, however, classroom expectations are part a larger framework of schoolwide expectations. The reinforcement of these concepts schoolwide can boost classroom management for every teacher.

What's more, if your school uses PBIS Rewards, recognizing and rewarding students can be a great deal simpler with a digital token economy system. Acknowledging positive behavior is as easy as a quick scan or keystroke. Recognize one student or an entire class quickly, and move on to the next part of your lesson plan.

Here are some related articles you may find interesting:

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Classroom Management Tips for a Great School Year | PBIS Rewards

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How do you keep your class focused? Because a class of students is filled with many different personalities, focus can sometimes be an elusive thing. All it takes is one student challenging your classroom rules - in a large or small way - to change the tone of the entire classroom that day.