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Additional Posts in Upper Elementary Teachers
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My kids sit in rows. I know that's not a popular stance. But. They have PLENTY of time to collaborate with a partner or group in flex seating areas. I do whole group instruction while kids are seated in rows, then they leave their desks to collaborate. I'm in a LOT of teacher groups on Facebook, and this topic comes up A LOT. The common thread for teachers at their wits end with student talking? The kids sit in groups. I've been to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, and all of their students sit in rows for instruction. Group work and collaborative work is done differently. But for whole group instruction, if you want the students to pay attention and stop talking, they need to be in rows, with direct eye contact with you. At RCA, they're adamant about the philosophy that students that sit in groups will pay attention to each other, and not the teacher. Again, the common thread with teachers who complain about chit-chatting and student talking is because their students are seated in groups, and they do not have direct eye contact with their students.
We use a culmination points system at my school beginning after Spring Break until culmination day. Students start with 100 points. All culmination activities, which take place EVERYDAY during the last week of school, require that students have a certain number of culmination points to participate...such as staff vs students sock ball game 80 points, autograph book 70 points, culmination t-shirt 60 points, picnic 50 points, etc... We have a whole system and clearly defined chart explaining how points will be deducted such as tardiness 1 point, no homework 2 points, incomplete or missing class work up to 5 points, excessive talking/disrupted behavior, etc up to 20 points, and more! It works like s charm!!! I tell my class you talk during testing you babe goes on the board as a warning if you continue each check mark is 5 points! I also use a lot of candy, chips, and some of their other favorite snacks to motivate them to continue working on stay on-tasks. Some days I simply take deep breaths, count to ten, and watch the clock in anticipation for recess, lunch, and dismissal!!!
Yes, but once that last week finally arrives and ALL those activities kick-in they a begging and crying for ways to earn those points back. That is when I remind them for the thousandth time how their choices for long-term consequences. I use to feel guilty in some circumstances, BUT now I don’t.
I am struggling with this as well! I’ve used a big version of the Kerplunk game and let them pull out sticks when they are on task. It seems motivating! I saw the idea on Instagram. 😄
I have “iPad” written on the board each day and erase a letter each time they can’t bring their volume down after 1 warning. When the letters are gone, they can’t use their iPads for reading or math rounds for the rest of the day. If they end a day with all 4 letters, they get a class compliment point. It isn’t perfect because I don’t want to erase letters when there are just 1-2 students talking, but it helps when the whole group is too chatty.
I started doing this thing where if they let me teach 45 minutes, the rest is their free time. But if I hear any side conversations, I will pause the timer. I teach 7th grade math.
I have them sit in groups. They create team names and earn points each wk for behavior, they can also lose points. It fosters team building and at the end of the week- they can pick from TBox or popsicle sticks that have a prize. I use VIP for Teacher, HW Pass, 15 min Comp. time, chew gum in class, etc. Simple but they really like it, and most like the sticks better than the TBox.
I had read them Harry Potter earlier, so I sorted them into Houses and they earned points. Talking and off-task behavior lost them points. They were working to earn pizza, candy, pop, $500 in class money, and a bonus surprise which was a swim party. They loved it and it was the best behavior I had seen all year!