Regaining Control of Your Classroom

We all know one. The person who has the out-of-control classroom. I'm not talking the class where students are out of their desks, a little louder than usual, but still learning -- I'm talking the class where the teacher has lost control.

There are a variety of ways to prevent this or at least keep the chaos from rearing its ugly head too often!


Classroom management is the key. This needs to start on the very first day of school. Actually it needs to start with some prep by the teacher before the year even starts! What are the classroom rules going to be? Will students have some say in them? Where will the rules be posted? How will students learn and practice them? These and other questions should all be answered in order to have a successful classroom environment.


But what do you do if you've done all of this and you're still having problems? Maybe it's one student, maybe a small group, or perhaps your entire class has morphed into little monsters as far as behavior is concerned. Regardless, you need to get it back under control!


Here are some suggestions. Feel free to try one or several!

• Try something new! There's nothing that says you have to keep the same behavior plan and strategies all year. You could start a marble jar where students get a marble each time you catch them being good. When the jar is full, there is some type of reward for the entire class! Or perhaps individual students need a sticker system implemented. Just don't go switching things up every week!
• Keep your students engaged! Bored students are often behavior problems. Have an "early finishers" board where students can go to work on enrichment activities and make sure students always have books, magazines, and newspapers readily available!
• Sometimes just going over the expectations you set at the beginning of the year is enough to get the students back on track. Review the rules, discuss them as a class, and even have students write or draw about how they plan to follow them through the end of the year.
• After going over your rules and expectations, stick to them! Don't give students multiple warnings. You begin to sound like the talking head, and your students won't take you seriously. If there is a consequence for a certain behavior, give it. Students will learn to appreciate your boundaries.
• Talk to your students openly about the problem. Even the youngest learners can help you brainstorm ideas on how to behave and the possible consequences of not doing so. (I've even found some students want harsher punishments than I would give out!)
• Call the parents or guardians. Make sure to use the sandwich approach of stating a positive, discussing your concern, and ending with a positive. See what ideas they may be able to offer that have worked at home.
• Maybe you have older students who will not stop chatting. Give them 2-3 minutes of talk time every class period. That gives you enough time to teach the lesson, but also lets them know that you will give them time for friendships at the end of the period.
• Lead by example! Are your students chewing gum in class, bringing in food, or texting? Are you? Start acting the way you want your students to, and it will soon trickle down to them!

So maybe you've been wracking your brain, talking to colleagues, finding ideas on Pinterest, and trying different techniques all year. There are truly years where a class may simply be more challenging than the average one. We all know them! Everyone refers to them as that class. Just keep trucking along and doing your best! {Adding in a little chocolate or extra coffee can't hurt! ;) }

Take care all!

~HoJo~