There are roughly 3.8 million public school teachers in the United States.
If you’re new to becoming a teacher, learning everything you need to know can be overwhelming.
One thing you’re probably on the lookout for are classroom management tips. This way your lessons can go smoothly and without issue.
Let’s take a look at nine of the best classroom management tips.
1. Use a Natural, Normal Voice
It’s easy in a room full of children to be constantly raising your voice. Unfortunately, this isn’t the best approach to getting and keeping students’ attention.
When you talk in a voice that isn’t normal and natural, it causes stressful energy in the room. Students will end up mirroring your energy level, so it’s important to give them a good example to follow.
Using a normal voice doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be differentiation in your tone, however. An inviting and conversational tone is a great choice when asking a question in a lesson. When you’re instructing them to get into groups or put their notebooks away, though, you’ll want to use a matter-of-fact, declarative tone.
2. Wait to Speak Until All Students Are Quiet
This might seem counterintuitive. If you have a particularly rambunctious group of kids, it might seem like your only option is to shout over them to get their attention.
Instead, though, you should wait to speak until everyone has quieted down and is ready. If you try this, you’ll notice that the students will pick up on it and will cue eachother to quiet down. This is a commanding way to keep control over the classroom and keep an ordered and peaceful environment.
3. Utilize Non-Verbal Communication
Another effective classroom management tip is to use non-verbal communication. Getting your students conditioned to understanding that when you raise one hand in the air while making eye contact that you are asking for their attention. Another tactic you can use is flicking the lights on and off.
These types of non-verbal communication tactics are a great way to also give students time warnings. If they have three minutes left in a test or an assignment, you can let them know without interupting their flow.
4. Build Relationships
One of the most effective of these classroom management tips and tricks is to build relationships with your students. There is no substitute for this.
It’s important for students to trust their teachers. You probably remember that when you were in school, there were some teachers that you acted like a perfect angel for and others that you might have been less respectful towards. Having a relationship with a teacher can make all the difference in how students behave in any given class.
Get to know your students on a more personal level. This will help you get more out of your teaching experience in addition to your students getting more out of their learning experience. It’s important to never make students feel embarrassed for asking questions, avoid using sarcasm regularly, and to learn how to pronounce each and every child’s name correctly.
5. Be Prepared
Being prepared can make everything about your day and year go much more smoothly. It will take you time to develop your teaching style, but work to create lesson plans that go along with your style. As you go along, you’ll learn what piques the curiousity of your students, which is a great way to keep them way more engaged.
6. Show Enthusiasm
It’s hard for students to get excited about a subject if the teacher seems bored by it themself. When you show up enthusiastic about class, it will rub off on your students. This means that participation, learning, and interest will improve.
7. Master Transitions
Every class, you’ll have to change gears at least once or twice. Mastering transitions is an important class management skill.
When you transition, it’s easy to lose students attention. If you have a plan for making smooth transitions between tasks or topics, this will make each class run much more smoothly.
8. Make the Classroom a Device-Free Zone
Few things are more distracting to students than their devices. From the get-go, it can be smart to institute a device-free or “tech-off” policy.
You can have a rule that all students must put their devices face-up on their desk and turned off. If necessary, you can have penalties for students breaking these rules.
Just because your students are easily distracted by technology doesn’t mean that schools can’t use technology to their advantage. Check out this school management software to learn more.
9. Celebrate Hard Work
It’s important for students to get feedback when they put effort into their learning. One way you can do this is to identify milestones and celebrate them once their reached.
You can also highlight teams or students who are going above and beyond. You can have the other students ask them questions about how they were able to accomplish their work.
Kids need to have motivation to stay focused and pay attention in school. If the only reward is a grade, they might not be particularly interested in doing more than the bare minimum. When you positively affirm hard work, it can encourage them to truly engage.
Use These Classroom Management Tips to Aid You in Your First Year Teaching
No one said teaching was easy, but it can be an incredibly rewarding profession as well. If you’re just starting out, using these tips for good classroom management can help.
Did you find this article full of classroom management tips helpful? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our article for more informative and useful content!