Ten Quick Classroom Management Tips for Elementary School Teachers

1. Be consistent! Follow through every single time. Your class needs to know that your word is law. Think very hard before you speak and do not make idle threats. Even five year olds will recognize wishy-washiness and take full advantage of it! It can be difficult to be consistent when several students act up at once or when you know a particular student has an extra difficult time staying on task, but your consistency will pay off! Teachers who have consistent classroom management plans and who follow through every time have quieter more productive classrooms.

2. Don't yell. When you holler, you are letting your emotions get in the way of both bonding with your students and keeping things consistent. Students do not respect an angry teacher. They might fear one, but that is not the right relationship to have with your students. When you yell, whatever the problem is, it becomes about you. In reality, if your students are not on task or are bothering other students, they are not usually out to get you, they are most likely bored or not thinking or just wanting to do something different than what you want them to do. If they are out to annoy you, you screaming is probably the reaction they are hoping for. Don't get in the power struggle that yelling usually leads to. Talk respectfully with your class, using your classroom management plan to help you consistently provide consequences for those students who cause disruptions.

3. Go with the flow. Some teachers are slaves to their lesson plans, or even worse, slaves to the teacher manual or someone else's lesson plans! Yes, we all have goals to meet and school/state requirements to fulfill, but there are so many different ways to meet these goals. Yes, have good lesson plans, but when they don't seem to be working, go with the flow! If several students are having problems staying on task, chances are there is something wrong with the lesson. Right there in the moment mix it up! Have one of your particularly difficult students draw an illustration on the board. Play an impromptu game that relates to the lesson. Divide into groups for discussion of the topic. Have everyone take out paper and scissors, and create silly models. There are so many ways to teach a concept; stay in the moment and use what works best!

4. Know your troublemakers. I hate branding students with labels like naughty or troublemaker but facing facts, every class seems to have a student or two that just can't seem to do the right thing. Make a friend of that student. Take extra time to work with him or her one on one. Try to figure out what the problem is. Do they need more activity? Are they having problems at home? Are they bored? Is the work too hard? If you can find some solutions for the one or two students who are the main disrupters, everyone will have a better year.

5. Put it in writing. Make sure that your rules and consequences are in writing and displayed prominently in the classroom. For younger kids include pictures to help them remember what the words say. Review them orally periodically with the entire class, with small groups, and with those who especially have trouble following them. When someone is not doing the right thing, state the applicable rule aloud. It is not fair to expect students to follow rules they don't know. When rules are reviewed regularly, they are more likely to become habit. This is what we want for our students.

6. Keep it simple! It might seem to make sense to create a rule for every single situation that could arise in your classroom, but this just isn't practical! No one can be expected to remember and follow a list of 40 rules. Keep the number of rules to a minimum and keep them short, simple, and to the point! Make sure that you use a vocabulary that is appropriate to the level you are teaching, and to explain the rules well when you review them. Watch for students who don't seem to understand and make a point of talking to them one on one to provide them with further explanation if necessary.

7. Revising is acceptable. Don't be afraid to revise your rules after the start of the year. Although you should be ready with a classroom management plan designed to best meet your needs at the beginning of the year, students vary, and your particular class may need more or fewer rules, or different consequences to make your year the best possible. If things just aren't working the way you anticipated, make some changes. Of course, make sure that your class is fully informed of the changes before implementing them!

8. Listen to the students! If you are consistently having problems, even after being consistent, ask the class for help. Your students may have ideas that you have not thought of. Ask them to brainstorm. What things do they think should be changed? Different rules? More or fewer rules? Different consequences? A change to the day's schedule or a different classroom arrangement? Not all of their ideas are likely to be practical or doable, but they may come up with the perfect solution to a problem you couldn't seem to eradicate.

9. Remove stressors. This goes for the students and the teacher! Is the sun in anyone's eyes? Adjust the blinds. If it is a long term problem, you may need to rearrange the desks. Does everyone seem to get antsy at the same time each day? Add a classroom stretch or brief walk to the schedule. Are you or the students hungry before lunch? A class snack break may be in order mid-morning. Does the class have trouble settling down after recess? Maybe you need to see if you can change the time of recess or schedule an appropriate transitional activity for right after. Make sure that you eat breakfast and lunch. A hungry teacher is a grouchy teacher! If you are having a particularly bad day for personal reasons, it may be a good time for an impromptu movie day so that you won't transfer your mood to your class.

10. Make them want to be there. This is the ultimate key to having a productive, joy filled classroom. The students have to want to be there. No one is going to be behaving if they feel powerless. Put a person where they don't want to be and rebellion is what naturally follows. Make your classroom into a discovery zone. Share your enthusiasm for learning with your students. Let them follow their passions and interests. As you get to know the individuals in your class and provide them with interesting lessons and activities that meet their need to learn and grow, classroom management will become less of an issue, and your students will look forward to coming to school each day ready to share and learn.