Sound of Silence

Works4Me presents weekly practical classroom tips from real experts -- your colleagues!

1. Ding Dong Silence

Mary Graves, a math coach and department chair at Westridge Middle School in Orlando, Florida:

"To quiet my class, I use a wireless doorbell. I carry the button with me when I work with small groups. The students know that when I ring the doorbell, they need to lower their noise level. If I ring the bell while standing at the front of the class, the students know that I need their silent attention. The wireless doorbell has worked well for me and is a very inexpensive item."
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2. Changing Signals

From Robin Moreng, a third grade teacher:

"I have a large rain stick that I turn over slowly when it's time to transition from one activity to another. Students know that they must be in their seats listening for instructions before it stops raining or their name goes in our discipline book. I use a brass bell if we are switching from centers, and I also own a Yakker Tracker stoplight for classes that need extra noise management techniques. It helps to use different strategies so that students do not develop immunity to them. I also say, very quietly, 'thumbs up if you can hear me,' until this action spreads throughout the group and I can begin speaking. I never try to talk over a class. Sometimes I will stand, smile, and with eye contact to as many as I can, say, 'I'm waiting...but not very patiently.' At the beginning of the year, I give 'letters' for students who comply immediately, decreasing this award as the months progress and replacing it with consequences if necessary, such as staying in at recess to write a behavior analysis for parent signature. I have used these techniques with students in elementary and middle school."
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3. Taking Off Quietly

From an anonymous reader:

"I was reading an educational magazine when I stumbled across an article in which the teacher themed her classroom like an airport. The 'fasten your seatbelt' announcement is used to get children back to their seats and the dinging just before the captain speaks is used to gather the children's attention."
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4. Question of the Week: Vacation Catch Up

From the NEA Today writers:

"It's the time of year when some families decide to take a ski trip or get a bit of sun regardless of whether there is a school vacation or not. How do you deal with students missing school for extended family vacations? How do you manage the time you spend preparing take along packets or catching the student up upon return?"
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5. Sleeping Student

"I have one particular student in my self-contained E/BD classroom that sleeps every single day. She is living in a group home, so has no job or family issues to deal with after school. Medications have been altered several times, but the results are the same. She averages three hours a day sleeping in class. What can be done to keep her awake?"
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