This page is an e-mail sent to Dr. Mac's mailing list on 8/21/15.

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Howdy, fellow B-Listers!

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Whether it’s the start of the school year (northern hemisphere) or the middle of it (southern hemisphere), these 10 tips assure more productive and enjoyable time with your students.

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1. Have your materials and equipment ready to go before the class begins.  Traveling between classrooms?  In that case, send your teaching assistant ahead, or assign the set-up duties to a responsible student or team of students.  Perhaps the teacher in your soon-to-be venue can write or project your “do now/bell work” before exiting the classroom that you will soon occupy.

2. Greet your students outside of the doorway to your classroom.  Via instruction and practice, they will come to know to line up against the wall in an orderly manner.  On your command, they then pass by your inspection for proper attire, good attitude in their greeting to you, possession of required supplies, etc. (Send individuals to the back of the line if they need more time to calm themselves.)  Those learners who are approved for entry, find a “do now” (bell work) assignment on the screen/board.  They know to promptly engage in that short activity that serves as a review of previous material or a brain warmer-upper for what is to come when you take the helm.  This "bell work" allows you time to calm the end-of-the-line kids, prepare, or assist your in-class students who need additional support.

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3. While our attention is always captured by errant actions, attempt to handle them with low-level interventions.  Verbally recognize the kids who are doing the right thing as your subtle intervention or after it, being descriptive in your praise. (e.g., “Table 4 has all coats and backpacks on their chair backs and is working quietly.”, “I very much appreciate those learners who have their notebooks and pencils on their desks with lips closed and eyes on me.”).

  You might use the “auction” technique  in which you motivate increasing numbers of pupils to attend to the direction you uttered. (e.g, “I see 4, no it's 6 students who are showing me that they’re ready for dismissal.  I'm counting 9.  Can I get more?  Now I see 13, 17, 21.  Yes, nearly all.”)  Non-verbal reminders are good too; Utilizing actions that prompt pupils to display behaviors that are appropriate to the circumstances: These include the classic “teacher stare/glare”, pointer finger to lips to indicate the need for silence, pointing to your ear to indicate the need to listen, shrugging your shoulders with palms up to ask why a you ngster is engaging in a particular action, etc.

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4. When you give a direction, tell the student(s) what TO do.  Avoid telling them what NOT to do. (“Stop that.”, “Never ever…”, “Don’t be…”, "You can't...")  There are so many neurological and education reasons for following this advice, but let’s save it for another newsletter, or you can view the video series regarding effective phrasing at: http://behavioradvisor.com/Webinar.html  If those negative “void words” ("no", "don't", "never") emanate from your lips, follow them closely with a description of the action that you DESIRE the youngsters to display.

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5. Catch kids being good.  When students follow your directions/hints to behave properly, don’t hold a grudge or say "It's about time."  Rather, smile, give a “thumbs up” (if that is a positive gesture in your country… in some places it is an insult), say “Thank you” in a sincere voice, and/or other positive and appreciative responses.

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6. Review the rules and routines in various ways such as quizzes, role plays, and discussions of situations that occurred.  Don’t assume that first-day conversations on the topic are enough.  Practice, practice, practice.  Then practice again.  Yes, you’ll lose instructional time during the first few days or weeks, but over the course of the year you’ll exponentially⁹ gain back far more than you lose.  Engage in periodic rule/routine review sessions throughout the year, especially before and after holiday recesses.

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7. Discuss the reasoning behind the rules and routines. For example, they: (1) Are needed in group situations to prevent chaos; (2) Guarantee their emotional, intellectual and physical safety; (3) Create an environment conducive to learning; (4) Assure success in social & business situations in their futures, and so forth.  Kids cooperate more when they realize that there is really a well-founded reason for the guidelines and procedures.

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8. Remember that the sounding of the dismissal/end-of-period bell  is not the signal for kids to get up and run out of the classroom.  It is the signal to you to determine if your pupils are ready to leave. (Has the garbage been picked up?  Have materials been put away? Are the mouths quiet?)  Implement a dismissal routine. (Perhaps dismissing them by table or row that is "ready".)  Initially, you may have to stand at the exit door in order to enforce the new routine. (One that will be practiced and enforced until full cooperation is achie ved.)

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9. Log into Dr. Mac's 3-year archive of classroom behavio(u)r management tips. Click on the facebook icon or the link to be whooshed away to that treasure trove.    (or log onto face book.com and search for BehaviorAdvisor.com)

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10. Review the earlier B-List communique’ on the foundational strategies for engaging our learners and helping them make better behavior choices.

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 You can find a free video series on setting up rules and routines at: http://behavioradvisor.com/Teacher-SchoolServices/Essentials.html

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Now here’s the book to read to come up-to-snuff in classroom and behavior(u)r management:

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