Much of your success with difficult students hinges on what you don’t do. But this is no easy task, because some of the most popular and commonly used strategies fall into this category. When seemingly everyone around you, including your closest teacher chums, is … Read more
Routines are the lifeblood of a well-run classroom. But it’s important they’re viewed in a positive light. Because if you cue the start of a routine and your students sigh and roll their eyes, or grudgingly go through the motions, then misbehavior will surely … Read more
The tendency is to corral difficult students, to limit what they can do, where they can go, and who they can be with. You keep them close. You provide a staccato of reminders and direction, of do this and don’t do that. You keep … Read more
The way you call on your students when they raise their hand can have a strong impact on learning and behavior. But the truth is, many teachers get it wrong. They call on students in whatever way feels natural and end up causing resentment … Read more
The secret to exceptional classroom management is a learning experience your students love and want to be part of combined with a consistently followed classroom management plan. The two work together, with each making the other stronger. From the first day of school onward, … Read more
So you send a student to time-out and almost immediately they start goofing around. They wriggle in their seat. They giggle and make a racket. They stir up their classmates and distract them from their work. Here you enforce a consequence in order to … Read more
Conventional wisdom says that you move around the room to keep your students engaged and involved. It’s an approach that buys into the notion that students are unable to focus without extraneous stimuli—movement, sound, proximity, novelty. It’s a belief that even in the midst … Read more
When a difficult student has a good day it’s normal to want to reward them for it. You’ve just witnessed behavior you’ve been hoping and praying for all year, and you want to seize the moment. You want to make it special and memorable. … Read more