- Class Meetings – Hosting a class meeting is the perfect way to start the school day, because it is an informal and unintimidating way to get important points across to students. The conversational style of a class meeting lends itself to open communication and supportive, encouraging talks about expected behavior and rewards/consequences.
- Team Points – When your classroom is set up in small groups, give each group a chance to earn points when they complete an activity or exhibit a positive behavior. Your small groups will work hard to earn those points!
- Table Wars – Similar to Team Points (above), use a little friendly competition to help manage your classroom. When your students are working in small groups, have them compete against one another, earning points for teamwork, staying focused, cleaning up
- supplies and more.
- Team Names – Another great way to manage your small groups is to give your students a way to take ownership of those groups. Let them work together to come up with a team name.
Visual interactions
- Class Dojo – Class Dojo is an online student behavior tracker that is perfect for classroom management. You can display Class Dojo on your smart board, using it to give students rewards and tokens. You can even use it to communicate with parents!
- Sticker Charts – Sticker charts also help students visually gauge their behavior. Students will love working towards a prize or goal as they fill up their sticker charts.
- Yacker Tracker – When students are working in small groups, you can use a yacker tracker to show students if their voice levels are appropriate. A red light would warn students to quiet down, while a green light will encourage them to continue their behaviors.
- Color-coded Cards – Instead of using a clip chart, you can also use color cards to help students track their behavior. Students can flip their cards to a different color based on their behavior.
- Behavior Punch Cards – While your students are working independently or in small groups, walk around with a fun-shaped hole punch and punch their behavior cards when you noticed positive behavior.
- Gold Tags – When you notice a student following classroom rules or complete an activity, give them a gold tag. Gold tags can be exchanged for a classroom prize at the end of the day or week.
- Countdown Clock – If students know when to expect an activity to end, they can make sure they complete all of their learning goals before the time is up. That’s why a countdown clock is perfect for your classroom.
- Fill A Jar – Every time an individual student, table group, or the whole class does something positive, you can add an item to your jar. It can be anything, from pom-poms to rocks or marbles.
Out loud
- Callbacks – Callbacks are a great way for you to get your students’ attention and give them instructions for the next activity. Callbacks can be anything, from saying “Class, class” and having your students answer back with “yes, yes” to saying “1-2-3, eyes on me.” Find a callback that works for your class and make the most of it!
- Shushing Pattern – Words aren’t the only thing you can use to get your students’ attention. You can also make a shushing pattern and have your students shush it back to you.
- Classroom Transition Songs – When it’s time to move on to the next thing, get students moving with a transition song. You can come up with your own transition song or chant, or you can easily find a class favorite online.
- Line Up Chants – A chant can also be used to get your students lined up for leaving the classroom. Not only will this get students in line faster, eliminating long transition times, it will also keep them focused and on good behavior as you take them into the hallway.
- Raise Your Hand – If it’s time for your students to transition to another activity or to simply work more quietly, then simply raise your hand and wait for students to quiet down and raise their own hands.
- Sign Language – When you’re in the middle of an engaging lesson, the last thing you want to do is stop teaching the whole class to tell a student that they can grab a kleenex. That’s why sign language can be such an important classroom management strategy. Teach students simple signs such as bathroom, tissue, sit, stand, or I have a question. This will eliminate plenty of interruptions!
- Routines – Kids thrive on routine, which is why you should make routines a part of your classroom management strategy. Decide what works best for your class and use that throughout the year, remaining consistent with routines and expectations.
- Proximity – If you have a student that is not on task, it’s amazing how focused they can become as soon as you walk near them. Use your proximity to help manage students, encouraging them to be well-behaved and on task.
Games
- Porky the Pig Classroom Blurters – When you have a student that blurts, it’s time to play the Porky the Pig game! Have a pig mounted on your whiteboard, along with a collection of coins attached to magnets. When a student blurts, they have to put a coin in Porky’s mouth. At the end of the week, if Porky has collected too many coins, the class does not earn a reward. If they meat their goal, then the whole class can enjoy something fun.
- Candy Land Behavior Game – Mount a candy land board for your class to see. Each student gets 5 moves a day, but can earn extra moves forward or backward based on behavior.
- Kindness Chain – Challenge your class to build a kindness chain. Each time your students are kind or follow classroom expectations, they can fill out a paper link and add it to the chain. Once you reach a certain number of links or length, the whole class can earn a reward!
- Brownie Points – Give your students a chance to earn brownie points! These points can be displayed on a baking sheet at the front of the room so that they can see how close they are to earning their classroom prize. The reward could be a brownie dessert!
- Classroom Puzzle – Mount magnets to the back of each puzzle piece and then give your students a chance to earn those puzzle pieces throughout the day. At the end of the day or week, students can put the puzzle together on the dry erase board, displaying a beautiful picture that represents their classroom behavior.
Brain Breaks
- Go Noodle – Go Noodle is an online resource that is a must-have for any classroom. Simply play a fun video and watch as students dance, jiggle and wiggle their energy out. They’ll be more prepared to learn after taking a Go Noodle Break
- Fidget Toys – Some students need to fidget to help focus. Give students what they need by providing fidget toys, stress balls, or even notebooks to help keep them focused.
- Calm Down Zone – Students also need a chance to calm down when they’re upset or hyper. Create a safe zone for students to calm down, such as a corner of the room with a cozy chair. During a break, students can use this area to calm down and get focused until the next activity. Make a calm down kit with a few special items that a child can use when needed.
- Brain Break Activities – Have a set of brain break cards ready with simple activities that kids can do easily and quickly when they need a break. Great for the whole class to get up and moving!
Incentives
- Prizes – Get some small prizes online or grab some items from a garage sale. Students will love earning little prizes.
- Coupons – If you’re looking for reward ideas that don’t cost a thing, print off some coupons for students to earn. This can be anything, from picking their seat for the day or sitting by a friend.
- Classroom Economy – Print some fake dollar bills and let students earn money to buy prizes. Not only is this a great classroom management skill, it also gives your students practice counting money, as well as spending it.
- Raffles – You can also use raffle tickets for your classroom management strategy. Hand out tickets to students following directions and draw a few names at the end of the week. Whoever wins the raffle, will get a special prize.
- Holiday-Themed Prizes – Students can be extra energetic before a holiday. Use that to your advantage and have a holiday-themed prize box. This can be anything, from a Boo Bucket for Halloween to a Pot of Gold for St. Patrick’s Day.
- Fun Friday – Another free prize your students can earn each week is Fun Friday. If students meet their class goal for behavior, you can save the last 20 minutes of class as their Fun Friday time. Students will be able to play educational board games, centers, iPad apps and more!
Parent Communication
- Positive Notes Home – When a student does an exceptional job, make sure you send a positive note home. This will endear yourself to the child’s parents, letting them know that you love and care for their child. This will also make it easier to talk to the parents if you start to notice negative behavior.
- Daily Folders – Use daily folders to communicate with parents. Each day, write a note to parents with the behaviors you’ve noticed, including both the good and the bad. Parents can also write back to you, keeping you informed of any personal issues that you should be aware of.
- Thinking Sheet – When a student has displayed negative behavior multiple times, it’s time to do a little bit of thinking. Send home a thinking sheet with the student, giving them a chance to reflect on what went wrong for the day. This will also make the parents’ aware of any issues you’ve noticed.
Classroom Management Strategies: The Ultimate List – Proud to be Primary