These are some common situations in our classrooms.  

 Many of the suggestions here come from Take Control of the Noisy Class, Rob Plevin, Crown House Publishing, 2016

 

How to get the class quiet in 15 seconds (see handout)

John Bailey – tapping the glass

Running commentary – I've got X looking at me, I've got Y looking at me

Put your hand in the air. When they see you they have to do the same, last one with hand in the air gets a consequence.

When the students stop talking and listen, go to them individually and quietly praise them eg Thank you for that, Jonny. It makes my job so much easier. 

 

Have a clear routine for this group – they come in, take off their coats, sit down and there is a “settler” task on their desk to get on with eg a wordsearch; labelling a diagram; puzzles; silent reading; groups of 3-4 words written on the board and they have to choose the odd one out; codebreaking tasks; make as many words as you can from a longer word eg renewable energy

Play calm and relaxing music as they do their settling task

 

Find out why – is it too easy/difficult, do they just crave your attention, is there sth going on at home?

Team them up with another student to help them out and get the ball rolling.

 

Find out why

Try and deal with it consistently, otherwise other sts will feel like they should be able to do it too

Lend them equipment but they have to give you something in return eg one of their shoes

Get students to lend each other equipment but make sure it is done in the first 5 minutes of every class.

Speak to them at the end of the class about the issue, but not in front of their peers. Get them to suggest how they might solve the problem of not having the right equipment.

 

Don't teach from the front, move around the class so that they know you are keeping an eye and involving everyone.

Have a quiet word, out of earshot, with one of them.

Have a quiet word after class, tell them (the ringleader) that the others really look up to them and that you need their help keeping everyone on task. Remind them that the success of the group depends on everyone cooperating in the class.

Tell students why you want them to be quiet, and end your sentence with thank you eg Jonny, when you shout and mess around, it disturbs other people, so please be quiet and get on with your work, thank you.

Move one or two students to the front. Set a timer and tell them that if they can work quietly and productively for 5/10 minutes, they can go back to their seat.

 

Get them to do a forfeit eg sing a song

Reward those who are on time.

Give them as little attention as possible, confirm they're late - don't ask them why, get them settled with a quick task and deal with them later.

Get them to fill out a form saying why they're late and keep a record of these.

Speak to them at the end of the class about the issue, but not in front of their peers. Get them to suggest how they might solve the problem of being persistently late.

 

 

Try not to look like you're taking it personally

Tell them you'll deal with the problem later “Let's not talk about it here. Come and see me at lunchtime so we can talk about it”

Ask them an off-topic question to diffuse their anger or divert them to something else

Don't give them a response – look at them impassively and don't say anything.

Offer them the chance to leave the room and compose themselves. Perhaps start with “I don't want you to leave the room but I also don't want things to get out of hand. If you need to leave the room to compose yourself, I'll understand. You can come back when you're ready”

Ask for their help with sth in the class to distract them. 

Greet the student, ask them how they are, remind them calmly and with a smile on your face that they're not allowed to wear headphones and the consequences eg you'll have to confiscate them.

If they put them back on again, approach them quietly and remind them that they shouldn't be wearing them, that you don't want to take them off the student but that you want to avoid them getting into trouble. Ask them to hand them over and tell them you'll put them in a safe place until the end of the lesson.

How to get the class quiet in 15 seconds (see handout).

John Bailey – tapping the glass.

Running commentary – I've got X looking at me, I've got Y looking at me

Put your hand in the air. When they see you they have to do the same, last one with hand in the air gets a consequence.

When the students stop talking and listen, go to them individually and quietly praise them eg Thank you for that, Jonny. It makes my job so much easier.  

Have a clear routine for this group – they come in, take off their coats, sit down and there is a “settler” task on their desk to get on with eg a wordsearch; labelling a diagram; puzzles; silent reading; groups of 3-4 words written on the board and they have to choose the odd one out; codebreaking tasks; make as many words as you can from a longer word eg renewable energy.

Play calm and relaxing music as they do their settling task. 

Find out why – is it too easy/difficult, do they just crave your attention, is there sth going on at home?

Team them up with another student to help them out and get the ball rolling. 

Find out why

Try and deal with it consistently, otherwise other sts will feel like they should be able to do it too.

Lend them equipment but they have to give you something in return eg one of their shoes

Get students to lend each other equipment but make sure it is done in the first 5 minutes of every class.

Speak to them at the end of the class about the issue, but not in front of their peers. Get them to suggest how they might solve the problem of not having the right equipment.

Don't teach from the front, move around the class so that they know you are keeping an eye and involving everyone.

Have a quiet word, out of earshot, with one of them.

Have a quiet word after class, tell them (the ringleader) that the others really look up to them and that you need their help keeping everyone on task. Remind them that the success of the group depends on everyone cooperating in the class.

Tell students why you want them to be quiet, and end your sentence with thank you eg Jonny, when you shout and mess around, it disturbs other people, so please be quiet and get on with your work, thank you.

Move one or two students to the front. Set a timer and tell them that if they can work quietly and productively for 5/10 minutes, they can go back to their seat.

 

Get them to do a forfeit eg sing a song.

Reward those who are on time.

Give them as little attention as possible. Confirm they're late - don't ask them why, get them settled with a quick task and deal with them later.

Get them to fill out a form saying why they're late and keep a record of these.

Speak to them at the end of the class about the issue, but not in front of their peers. Get them to suggest how they might solve the problem of being persistently late.

 

Try not to look like you're taking it personally.

Tell them you'll deal with the problem later “Let's not talk about it here. Come and see me at lunchtime so we can talk about it”.

Ask them an off-topic question to diffuse their anger or divert them to something else

Don't give them a response – look at them impassively and don't say anything.

Offer them the chance to leave the room and compose themselves. Perhaps start with “I don't want you to leave the room but I also don't want things to get out of hand. If you need to leave the room to compose yourself, I'll understand. You can come back when you're ready”

Ask for their help with sth in the class to distract them.

 

Greet the student, ask them how they are, remind them calmly and with a smile on your face that they're not allowed to wear headphones and the consequences eg you'll have to confiscate them.

If they put them back on again, approach them quietly and remind them that they shouldn't be wearing them, that you don't want to take them off the student but that you want to avoid them getting into trouble. Ask them to hand them over and tell them you'll put them in a safe place until the end of the lesson.