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Researchers have found that elementary students spend an extraordinary amount of time not engaged in learning tasks- getting drinks, standing in line, waiting for other students, and so on. In addition to wasting academic opportunities, transition times also tend to lead to behavioral problems because students have nothing to do but wait (and as we all know, young children are notoriously bad at waiting). Consider the following ideas to help maximize the amount of time your students spend on task.
Transitioning in between (and during) lessons
- Make sure you have your kids' FULL attention before giving directions. You can do a 'hand check', in which you say those exact words and kids raise one or both hands in the air, waiting for your directions (which you don't give until you see EVERYONE'S hands). You can say, "Hands up" (kids do it) "Make them friends" (they clasp hands together in the air), "In your lap/ on your desk" (kids lower clasped hands and listen). Or you can say, "1,2,3, eyes on me" and even have the kids say back, "1, 2, eyes on you". You can sing a special song or recite a poem- it doesn't have to be about transitioning, just something they know and can participate in. Use a variety of techniques if you like- but make sure you are not talking before they are listening.
- Keep instructions as brief as possible. The younger your students, the less they will be able to remember. Multi-step directions can be nearly impossible for many children with ADD/ADHD and English-language learners to follow, so be mindful of their needs, as well. Sometimes it's not that children aren't listening or paying attention; they just can't process everything that we have said.
- Teach your students never to start any task before you give the signal. If you ask them to take out a book and turn to a certain page, most will immediately start banging around in their desks for the book and won’t even hear the page number. Instead, say, “When I give the signal, please take out your crayons and math workbook. Okay”. Your signal could be a hand gesture, bell, clicker, code word, or just “go”. Beware that most kids associate the word “go” with a race, so if you don’t want them rushing, choose another word. One teacher I know calls her signal word the "magic word" and often chooses something silly, such as 'pepperoni', as in, "When I say the magic word pepperoni, you will clear your desks. (Pause). Pepperoni."
- Have students repeat page numbers to you after you announce them. When you give the directions, say, :We're goig to be on page 180 in our blue math workbooks. [Hold up the book so students can see which one- you would be surprised at how many children get their books confused]. Which page?". The entire class echoes the page number back to you.
- Have students repeat multi-step directions back to you. If you want the children to put away a journal and pencil and take out a library book, say so and then ask, "What two things do you need to put away? Right. And who can tell us what you need to take out?" or say to a child on the furthest end of the room, "Robert, could you repeat the directions for anyone who didn't hear them?". Having the directions repeated by a peer is helpful because the child will likely paraphrase, giving students the opportunity to hear things in a different way, and students not sitting near you may be able to hear better if a neighbor announces them. If you do this often, students will pay extra close attention to your directions in hopes of being called on to repeat them.
-When moving from one subject to another, get the kids immediately focused on what’s coming next. “We will be learning a new vocabulary word in science today. When I give the signal, you're going to put away your math books and look for the new word in your science books on page 64. Raise your hand as soon as you find it. [Pause to let the directions sink in]. When I give the signal [pause], please put away your math books and take out your science texts. Okay, go”. Write "New vocab word pg. 64" on the board because some students will not be able to remember what to do after putting away their math books: this helps visual learners, as well. This is a lot of information, but when you use this strategy frequently, it will become easier for students to follow. The kids will be too busy trying to be first to discover the new word to play around in their desk or talk, and already they are getting in the mindset of science.
-When you're ready to start teaching, start a backwards countdown from 5 or 10. This is AFTER you've given directions and the majority of the class is ready: a countdown rushes the stragglers and gets the whole class focused. The countdown should be quick most of the time, not drawn-out, or the kids will lose interest. I have found backwards counting to be more effective because the ending number is always clear. (Sometimes kids forget if you said you were counting to 5 or 10... or was it 20?). There doesn't neccesarily have to be a consequence for students who aren't ready after the countdown. Kids will hurry anyway because they view the countdown as a contest. When you get to zero, just start your lesson. "5,4,3,2,1,0... Okay. Someone tell your partner what you learned yesterday about the 3 types of angles". There will usually be 1-3 kids who are still not ready, no matter what you do- at that point, move on without them, giving gentle reminders to individuals as needed. If you have a simple individual reinforcement system (such as beads), you could also give a reward every now and then to those who are ready on time.
- Use timers, bells, and music to signal the beginning and end of activities. You can play a specific song when it is time to clean up, or ring a bell when a group project needs to be done. Decide whether you want your students to freeze when they hear the sound and wait for directions, or immediately respond to what they heard, and teach them accordingly.
-Every second students spend rummaging through their desks is wasted instructional time, so think ahead about what materials your kids will need for your lessons. In a typical math lesson, my kids may need journals, math books, manipulatives, and often scissors and crayons. Because their desks are small, they don’t like to have a lot of clutter they are not using and will often sneak things back into their desk when I need them to keep the stuff out. To fix that, I try to limit how many things they need out at once, and how many times they take out and put away the same thing. Most kids start talking and become distracted whenever they're asked to get something out or put it away, so limit the amount of times you make that request. On days the kids won’t be using their math books, I have the warm-up on the overhead so they never have to take the book out. If they will be doing a worksheet later in the lesson, I ask the paper passer to place the worksheet face down on each desk. The kids then do their warm-up on the back instead of in their journals. This not only saves paper, but reduces the amount of times they go into their desks.
- Similarly, decide if you want your kids at their desks/tables or on the floor, and move them only once. Start on the floor and then go to desks or vice versa. If it takes two minutes to get them to the next place, and another minute or two to get them re-focused on the lesson, plus two more minutes to return the original spot and two to get re-focused, that’s 8 minutes wasted. Multiply that times the amount of subjects you teach and you could easily spend 30 minutes daily moving your kids from the floor to their desks. Plan out ahead of time where you will teach each regular component of your lessons and make sure there's a reasonable flow between components and subject areas.
See the Manipulatives page for specific tips on managing hands-on learning.
Using 'Brain Breaks' during transitions: the benefits of a structured 'time-out' for students' minds
-Why brain breaks are needed/ What research tells us The concept is based upon brain research proving what teachers have always known: young students have attention spans of only a few minutes and therefore need to have frequent physical stimulation and exercise as a break. The research is often associated with Howard Gardener's Multiple Intelligence theory and brain-based research, which is have an increasingly profound impact on what we know about how kids learn best. Please see the Brain-Based Learning page to find out more about Brain Breaks.
Using Yoga in the Classroom
Mrs. Gold shares 3 short yoga lessons you can use with your class (Calming and Focusing, Focusing and Energizing, and Meditiative and Calming) along with ways to implement and the benefits of using yoga during transition times. I have not tried this but would really like to. I would leave off the 'om' chanting at the end because I think that some parents might object to it and the activity could still be effective without it.
Transitioning into and out of the classroom
- Consider teaching your students to look at the board for directions (usually a warm up) every time they enter the classroom. Students shouldn't sit down in their seats and start talking or playing around while they wait for you to get your stuff together, nor should you expect yourself to be ready to teach the moment you walk in the door. After recess, I sometimes need a minute to speak to individuals about playground problems, examine cut knees, give permission to retrieve forgotten coats, etc. The students know to sit down and begin their math warm-up immediately when entering the room. This frees me up to handle other duties. Ideally I would be able to just walk right in and be ready to go, but my class is generally engaged in case I can’t.
- Have a student call kids to line up so you can get your belongings together and tend to individual student concerns (The Magic Touch). If you need to gather materials or handle something before you go out the door, this is a great strategy to use. Teach the kids to pick the quietest students first. I have also found it’s best to have them pick boy-girl because most elementary kids pick everyone of their same gender first. You can also use a technique that my 3rd graders love as much as my HeadStart kids! It's called 'Magic Touch'. You choose a child to look for those who are sitting quietly, and that person walks around and gives them a soft pat (the magic touch) on their heads. It will be unbelievably silent in the room while the kids wait to get picked. Make a rule that if someone gestures or says, "Pick me!", they cannot be chosen. You may also need to be standing by the door to reinforce the quiet line behavior of those kids who are already lined up. My rule is that if they start talking when they line up, they have to sit back down and wait for the magic touch again. Just knowing this is enough to keep most of them silent.
- Call students by teams to line up so the power of peer pressure works in your favor. Only call a team or row when ALL of the students in it are COMPLETELY ready. The faster kids on the team will help the pokier ones put away materials, tie their shoes, etc. so that everyone can get to lunch or recess faster. I have my kids fold their hands on top of their desks when they have everything they need to leave the room, because previously, I would call a team for lunch and then discover that one kid still needed to grab a drink from his backpack and the whole class would be lined up waiting for that child. Now, I don't call teams until all hands are folded, and if their hands are folded, they know that they must go directly to the line when they are called and may not get anything else from their desks or backpacks.
- Make a 'line order'. If you find that you are wasting a lot of time getting kids to line up ("He cut in front of me!", "I got there first!"), you may want to consider having a line order. I tried this in the past with larger classes (27 kids) and found it took wayyy too long for the kids to get in order. But, the classes I have had for the last few years have had some really strong personalities or talkative types that needed this kind of structure, so I gave it another shot. (These classes also had less than 20 students). I love it, and so do the kids! No more running for the door or squabbling over who gets to be first. You WILL need to teach them to remember who is in front of and behind them, and how to leave space for people who belong in front of them but have not yet gotten in line. Every few weeks, I would make the 5th or 6th person first and send the ones who were in the front to the end, then move the ones who were now in the middle up to the front, etc. so that no one was in the back of the line for long. One word of advice: if you do a line order, do it consistently, even when it's inconvenient or for a short distance. The kids need to know they can count on this routine, or it's not worth doing: they'll spend their time arguing over whether they need to be in line order or not. Here's a picture of a line order sign that one teacher at my former school hung by her front door as a reminder for her, the kids, and subs. Great idea!
Passing Out and Collecting Students' Papers
- Have 2 helpers do this job for an entire month, or at least a week. Switching jobs daily will lengthen the amount of time it takes to pass out materials as the new helpers learn the routine. Train those two people where to get the supplies, how to circulate among the desks to make sure everyone gets what they need quickly, and how to put supplies away, and those two people can train the helpers for the following month. See the Classroom Jobs page for more about this.
- Have helpers move in a set order around the room so they don’t miss students or overlap with one another.
- Use plastic baskets from the dollar store to keep papers together while they are being passed. When
students pass papers, no one will drop the pile or fail to see it
waiting on their desk: they take one from the basket and pass it on. The last person to get the basket returns it to a designated place.
- When needed, have kids pass to those next to them rather than in front or behind them whenever possible. Passing across rather than forward/backward cuts down on how often kids are ‘accidentally’ bumped with the baskets or drop the papers because the next person can see the basket coming to them.
- Show kids at the beginning of the year where to get extra papers and put extra papers back. How often do you hear, “I didn’t get one!” or “You gave me two by mistake!”. But you’re ready to teach the lesson- you don’t have the extras for those who need them because you didn't pass them out, nor do you want to be handed those leftovers. Students should know that all extra papers are still in the baskets from when they were passed out. (Or, if you don't use baskets, have a special drawer or tray labeled Extra Classwork Papers). Students simply walk over to the designated place where the baskets are kept and take (or put back) what they need without ever making you aware of the situation. When they say they didn't get a paper, shrug and say, "I don't have them, either"- it will only take a second for them to remember where to go. I like using a deep drawer because I don't clean it out often. You would be surprised how many times a child or I need a paper that was passed out weeks ago. Every few months, I'll take out the oldest papers from the bottom and let kids complete them during Fun Friday if they want to- and many of them do!
For more tips on passing out and collecting papers, see the Paper Trap page.
Cleaning up after lessons- this is the STUDENTS' responsibility!
- Explicitly teach your expectations. Make
a class list or diagram of what a clean desk looks like, or what the
classroom looks and sounds like when children are cleaning up. Brainstorm qualities of a clean room together. Be specific about what you want and teach for it.
- Do lots of modeling in the beginning of the year and throughout as needed. Have the class watch certain students “show us how to do it”.
- No one goes to lunch/recess until desks are clean. What better motivation for kids to clean up than the lure of food or free time outside? I give my kids 30 seconds to clean up their areas (not just desks- the chair and floor area, too), then send around the Clean Up Crew to inspect. If any part of the child's area does not look like the diagram above, the child has to fix it. At the beginning of the year, allot several minutes for this time: it will get shorter throughout the year. I don't do this every time we leave the room unless I have a particuarly messy class, but we do it several times a week.
- Teach kids to always clear their desks before leaving the classroom. If you need them toleave somethingout because they'll need it when you re-enter, insist that materials be stacked neatly on the upper right hand corner of their desks. Remember: administrators, parents, district visitors, etc. can visit your room at any time. Have the kids keep it clean!
- Have the 'Desk Fairy' do random inspections. I know primary grade teachers who pretend that there is actually such a creature who flies around to classrooms and leaves rewards for students whose desks are clean. I think it's a cute idea, but I don't like to give false information to my kids and I want them to know that I am the one who rewards them, so I just tell my kids every now then when they come into the room from specials or lunch, "I played the Desk Fairy while you were gone... check if you have a bead [part of our class reward system] on your desk! If you don't, check the Clean Desk diagram and see if you can figure out what needs to be fixed". The kids never know when I'm going to do this, so it's a motivation for the messier kids and a reward for those who are consistently well-organized. Also, I have little strips of paper already printed and cut out that say, "Thank you for keeping a clean desk, even when you think no one is looking. :-) Ms. Powell". I leave those on desks from time to time, sometimes with a bead, to let the kids know I appreciate their efforts.
- Consider a class rule: no throwing away trash at ANY time without permission. Some kids will find a staple or paper scrap and walk the long way around the room to the furthest possible trash receptacle and then meander their way back to their seat. Not only does this rule eliminate that problem, it also creates order when the entire class needs to throw away trash, such as after a cutting project. In recent years I stopped using this rule because my class size is so low and it's not as disruptive for those kids who physically need to get up and move sometimes, but I do still use it during projects when we're all cutting something at once. During those times, I call kids to the trash cans one row at a time, or boys then girls, etc. so it doesn't get too chaotic.
- Call one side or the room (or table) at a time to throw away trash so you can see who should and should not be at the trash can. You can also train students to automatically throw away trash when they line up to go to music or lunch, if those activities follow your lesson.
- Give a time frame for cleaning up and, if needed, a consequence. “I need you to be ready for math in three minutes (or when this bell goes off)." If you want, you can add, "Anyone who is not ready will ___ (fill in penalty)”. Counting down from 10 to 1 also works well, especially with younger students because they can easily gauge how much time they have left (and you can count more slowly or quickly as needed). You will rarely have to enforce the negative consequences, but do be warned that if you hype the children up, they will act like it’s a race- things will get done quickly, but also loudly and sloppily.
- Don't assume that kids have any seen any sort of organization before. I once said to a child that I knew came from a well-read upper-class family, "These books are all facing different directions! Is this how you put away books at home?". He blinked and said, "No, I just shove them all under my bed!". Some parents, just like some people in general, are more organized than others. Also, many parents baby their children. Either way, your classroom might be the first time a child is asked to stack something neatly or keep a desk tidy. Even the teachers your students had previously may not have taught or enforced organizational skills. Children NEED to learn to organize themselves, especially at school- why not be the one to instill in them that the value? I once had a particuarly messy child (from a disorganized family) who told me at the end of the year, "This was the first time I ever knew where anything was in my desk". I smiled and asked her, "Doesn't that feel good, to know that you are taking care of your things and you know how to find them?". She was beaming from ear to ear. Her natural tendency is still to leave things strewn everywhere, because that's her home environment- but she has experienced pride in keeping her belongings neat, and I really believe that will stick with her.
IT IS WORTH EVERY MINUTE YOU SPEND TEACHING ORGANIZATION AND CLEANLINESS TO KIDS!
Taking care of one's belongings may not be a skill on standardized tests, but is a critical component of being an efficient and productive adult.
Bathroom and Drink Procedures
-Tell kids on the first day of school that you are trusting them to be responsible, independent, and mature about the bathroom. I just lay it on the line for my students, and tell them why bathroom procedures are such a hassle for teachers and how much we hate having to monitor kids in that way. I explain that I don't expect to have any problems with THIS class, because they'll be able to follow the rules on their own. Most
years, the sign shown below is all the monitoring my class needs- they are allowed
to go to the bathroom whenever they need to, as often as they need to,
with no sign in. But I let them know from day one that if people start going five times a day, hanging
out in the bathroom for ten minutes, leaving a huge mess... I'll have
to limit their trips and make them sign in and out. Sometimes this
needs to be done only for certain individuals, until they can prove
they are responsible. Other years, there are so many kids that can't handle the freedom that the whole class has to be more accountable, but I would
rather give them the benefit of the doubt because it's so much easier
on me than having a tightly-regulated system. I have used a sign-in
sheet in the past (a column for the morning and one for the afternoon)
and each child could sign in once for each column. I have found in
general that the more rules and restrictions and discussions we have
about bathroom procedures, the worse things get. When I stay focused
on instruction, the kids are typically more independent with bathroom
procedures.
- Post a bathroom sign and use it as your sole indication of when students can go. I keep a sign on my board (above) that says "Please wait to use the bathroom" in red on the other side. I affixed two small magnets to each side and flip the sign to indicate when students can go. This ensures that no one misses instruction. If the sign is on green, they can go, and if it's on red and they have an emergency, they hold up two fingers.
IMPORTANT: ALWAYS ALLOW A CHILD TO USE THE BATHROOM!! Most school systems require this now, but when I started teaching, it wasn't a rule, and there were accidents when I told kids they couldn't go because I thought they were just trying to get out of working. Yikes! If you have a child who in your opinion is going too frequently, contact the parent. I've done this a few times and it solved the problem. (And actually, I once I had a parent tell me, "Oh, yes, he does have bladder issues, I forgot to send in the doctor's note!"). So the sign is for regular bathroom usage only, not emergencies. (You can download the printable sign here.)
- Encourage students to keep water bottles at their desks so they don't need to use the fountain as often. No one can concentrate when they're thirsty, and I know how much I enjoy being able to sip water all day long. I let my students keep water bottles at their desks so anytime they're
thirsty, they have water available without getting out of their seats.
(Yes, there are spills at times, but we live in south Florida and I
can't imagine only being able to have a three-second drink a handful of
times a day. I just deal with water bottles. It's far less
distracting than I thought it would be two years ago when I started
encouraging the kids to keep them). I have a sign posted by the water
fountain in case anyone forgets when they are allowed to drink or fill
their bottles. Children are actually very responsible with this privilege when it is presented to them as such.
- Allow kids to get drinks at specified, pre-determined times of the day. If they have to ask before they get a drink, you will have to answer the question several dozen times a day. It's much easier on everyone if you set up a routine and stick with it. The sign is a Word document that you can change to fit your routines: download the sign here
- Have a drink monitor who makes sure kids aren't playhing around or taking too long. The drink monitor can count for 5 seconds for each person, if needed.
- If the drinking fountain is in the classroom, call teams to drink one at a time. Do this at regular, predictable intervals during the day.
End of The School Day
- Have structured routines at the end of the day so things don't end on a crazy note. I don't have students copy homework
at the end of the day and I only pass out papers to go home two or
three times per week, so most of the time, my instruction goes until
one minute before dismissal begins. Then I ask the kids to put away
their materials and pack up. They are to wait silently to be
dismissed. If they are talking, they know I will hold them after the
bell, so they're pretty good about this. All bus riders go first and
car riders sit at their seats. I stand at the door and say goodbye
and/or hug each child on their way out. Then I have the car riders
stack the chairs and do their jobs, which range from changing the
calendar to erasing the board to doing filing. It's the same job for
the same kid every day so the routine goes smoothly- they change jobs
once a month or so. When they finish their jobs, they either go on the
computers or sit on the rug and talk quietly until the final bell
rings. Every teacher I know dismisses kids a little differently, but
the important thing I think is to make sure the kids aren't running
wild in your room and that they have a chance to say goodbye to you on
their way home. Your smile may be the last one they see that day, if
there's no one at home that cares, and the kids and I love to end the
school day on a high note.
- Insists on absolute silence when afternoon dismissal announcements are made. My students know that whenever the
loudspeaker comes on, they must stop whatever they are doing. They must freeze and be
silent. (If this is repeatedly a problem, and it always is at the
beginning of the year, the whole class has to put their heads down
during the entire dismissal time). Very few teachers insist on silence during dismissal because of the amount of initial reinforcement needed, and your students will probably need time to get used to the idea. I reinforce their behavior whenever there are announcements or interruptions made during the school day and children fall silent- "Wow, you all remembered our rule about listening to the announcements! I could hear everything the secretary just said. Thank you so much!".
- Have a visual so students know which buses have been called. I used this display one year- as each bus was called, a student helped displayed it in the pocket chart. Students did silent reading as they waited to be dismissed.
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