4 Quick and Effective Classroom Management Strategies

Grab students’ attention with these classroom management strategies. Using these tips to gaining control of the classroom will enable teachers to create a positive learning environment.

4 strategies for classroom management

Classroom management is often the most challenging part of teaching. Teachers can be perfect instructors but still struggle greatly with keeping students under control and paying attention. A large part of being a teacher is not only sharing knowledge, but also creating an environment that is conducive to learning.

The following are quick and effective strategies to grab the attention of students in the classroom:

1. Give Me 5

This strategy is both quick and effective getting students to settle down within five seconds. The 5 steps are:

1. Eyes on the speaker

2. Quiet

3. Be still

4. Hands free

5. Listen

Instruct the students to follow these steps as they count. Initially, have the steps written somewhere in the classroom as a visual reminder of what the students should do. As the teacher counts they can count down with their hands while the class is settling down. With time and practice, students will begin to follow the steps with out prompting.

2. Stop sign

This combines two fun techniques of using a timer and a paper replica of a traffic light to get the students attention. Green is for “go” or in this instance “talk”, yellow is for “slowing down” or “becoming quieter” and red is for “stop” or “silence.” The timer should allow for 5 seconds on each color. So once the students are in the class, the light goes from green to red, within this time students are expected to settle down and listen to the teacher’s instructions.

3. “Quiet” words and phrases

So instead of saying “quiet, settle down or attention”. Have the students brainstorm for a fun and interesting “quiet word.” The rule is that once the teacher says the “quiet word” students have 5 seconds to settle down and focus. For example, the quiet word for one week could be “hiccups.” Teachers can also introduce students to codes for behavior like SALAME which means “Stop and look at me.” Attention phrases are another fun strategy to try. For instance “who’s ready?” can be said to the students and the students can reply, “we are,” indicating that the students are ready and listening.

4. Target curiosity

When structuring the classroom, try to come up with a creative plan that can build student’s curiosity. This can be used to settle them down and capture their attention faster. For instance, prepare a video clip that can be played when the students have assembled. They will immediately focus on teacher and the video, and give their full attention. Be creative and see how the students become excited to see what it is going on each day.

There are numerous techniques which can be used in the classroom, but be sure to choose the most effective and simple strategies to help with easy classroom management.