Middle School, that wondrous age, that majestic transition. Middle school teachers never know what they’re going to get on any given day. Contemplative analytical discussions? Or paper airplanes and pencil fights? Either way, consistency is the key to classroom management. Here are three connected management techniques to help you transform your classroom.
Classroom Management Tip 1: The Joy of Writing
Instead of giving a verbal warning the next time a student is off task, put a dot or an X on their desk using a whiteboard marker. If you want to build a sense of mystery, don’t explain it at first. Let them wonder… and they will definitely wonder.
After a bit of time has passed (or the students are so focused on the dots that everyone is now off task), explain that the dots are visual warnings for disruptive behavior. In my class, students get three strikes and they’re out.
This makes it an excellent tool for individual student behavior management because it can be used for so many different situations. As a teacher, you get to decide which behaviors deserve a warning. You also get to decide how many warnings the students receive, and what the consequences are if they strike out. Finally, you can fold this into a reward system if you like. I use an X for warnings and a smiley face for rewards.
What’s nice about this technique is that you don’t need to interrupt class to give warnings to redirect student attention. A quick dot is all you need. Just make sure you use a dry-erase marker or something else that easily cleans off desks!
Classroom Management Tip 2: We all go down together
This idea came to me from a coworker who uses it to great effect in his classroom. At the beginning of class, draw a quick ship to the side of the board. The ship itself has three parts that can be erased, one at a time, when the class is off task. When the last part is erased, the ship sinks and the whole class suffers some sort of negative consequence. It may be being held a few minutes late, an extra small homework assignment, or a negative in a system like Class Charts. You get to decide what that is.
Unlike the dots, I use the ship as a whole classroom management tool. In other words, if about 50% or more of the class is off task, unprepared, or moving super slowly, this is when to erase a piece of the ship. For individuals, still use the dots on the desk.
You can even keep a running total of days without sinking ships in each of your classes with a reward for keeping that ship afloat! Again, you get to decide which reward works best for your class. Maybe they love watching silly videos of corgis racing, or perhaps they want to have a class outside. You can come up with several options for your students to choose from.
Classroom Management Tip 3: Countdown
One, ah, ah!
Just count backward from the number 10. Loudly.
This super simple strategy can be used with the entire class or with an individual student when they’re argumentative, disruptive, or obstinate. What happens when you hit the number 1? Up to you, but this connects very effectively to the X on the desk and the sinking ship.
If an individual hasn’t corrected their behavior, they’ll get an X as a warning. If it’s the majority of the class, a part of the boat will get erased. You may rarely need to do either of these things, though, because it’s remarkable how effective the countdown can be for getting students back on track.
So easy a teacher can do it!
I love these three simple techniques because they can be implemented immediately, and they work so well together. There is no overly complicated tracking system, flow chart, or calculus involved!
Furthermore, employing these techniques with a light heart and a good sense of humor helps strengthen your classroom community. For example, gleefully skipping to a student’s desk to place an X usually makes the class laugh (with you, not at the student), and it takes the sting out of the warning. Additionally, students love drawing the ships on the board at the beginning of class. Since they don’t want their artwork to be erased, this also helps keep them on track.
Now if only there were some management strategies for dealing with difficult administrators!
