The typical advice is that time-out should mirror in minutes the age of your students. So, for example, if a student is eight years old, then time-out should be eight minutes long.
It’s also common to hear recommendations for even shorter time periods.
Two or three minutes for primary age students and five minutes for fourth grade and up. But here are SCM, we believe in longer time-outs.
- 12-15 minutes for K-3rd
- 15-20 minutes for 4th-7th
Note: Teachers of eighth grade or higher should be using our high school plan, which doesn’t include time-out.
There are three reasons why we prefer a longer time-out.
1. Time to Reflect.
Your students need time to calm their emotions, breathe a moment, and then begin reflecting on their misbehavior. This takes awhile.
If your rules are clear, you’re consistent, and you follow your plan to a tee rather than adding a lecture, talking-to, and the like, then effective reflection will come naturally.
2. Time to Miss.
What drives reflection and ultimately regret is when the student feels as if they’re missing something. They must want to return to their normal seat.
This underscores the importance of creating a classroom your students enjoy being part of. If this is the case, then more time equals deeper regret and greater desire to improve behavior.
3. Time to Learn.
Although consistency is key, the stronger the accountability the better. The longer a student is able to sit with their mistake (within reason), the more fully they’ll learn from it.
They’ve heard you say that misbehavior is unacceptable because it interferes with the rights of others to learn, but your actions speak louder.
Less Time in Time-Out
If your time-out is too short, then you’re not allowing the three lessons above to make an impact—or much of a difference.
Your students have to feel it.
They must be eager to return to the class they like being part of or time-out won’t be effective. By using longer time-outs, you’ll be able to see this eagerness on their face.
In fact, it should be something you’re looking for before allowing them to return.
In this way, because longer time-outs are more effective in curbing future misbehavior, over the course of a school year your students will end up spending far less time in time out.
PS – Check out this week’s YouTube videos:
1. The 10-Minute Fix for Inconsistent Consequences
2. How to Teach Engaging Lessons
3. Why Students Don’t Follow Your Classroom Rules
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Perhaps true, but I only have each class of students for thirty minutes total maximum (because of travel/ transition time to my classroom) so I tend to make time outs rather short and say they can come back now if they feel ready to rejoin without interrupting learning. It is easier for them to do work at our table than in a chair. If I had the same class all day I would let them sit out longer.
Here in Germany the teachers travel. The students stay in the classroom.
From a logistics point that seems to be the better solution.
I would like to know what happens if the student continues to act up while in time-out.
While timeout is a widespread practice, in my eyes, and I teach high school, students belong inside the classroom.
Personally,I’ve found “busy time in” more effective. Instead of distancing the student “abroad”, he/she will sit up front closest to my desk, and do a writing task content-related, e.g. copying the story/ drafting a True-False quiz on the topic (+ answer key)/ writing sentences or a short composition on the subject matter in class, or discipline-related e.g. write and learn by heart a short speech on the value of time.
They must turn in their product within designated time. This could sometimes be up to fifteen minutes.
What do you think?
I like this. I think it could be interesting to take this even further. I wonder how the time in time relates to brain science? My hypothesis… I am guessing that 15 min or maybe even more is how long it takes for a child to regulate their nervous system once they have lost their cool, acted impulsively, etc. Most misbehavior comes from the child being disegulated. Which also connects with the importance of having a calm and structured classroom on the front of things. Anyhow, thanks Michael. You always get me thinking.
The point about needing enough time for a student to actually miss the class really struck me. It makes sense that a two-minute time-out barely interrupts a student’s day, while a longer one creates a real sense of what they’re missing out on. I also appreciate the distinction that longer time-outs only work when the classroom is a place students want to be part of — that puts the responsibility back on building an engaging environment first. The three-part framework of reflecting, missing, and learning is something I’ll be thinking about.