CREATING A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT “Catch students being good”

Be clear about your expectations. Discuss problems openly; always keep the focus on “things that may be interfering with our learning”. Be surprised by non- compliance; your dramatic response will make it memorable. Move when they move!

Use humor; be silly when the occasion permits. Laugh, read, and sing often. Hold celebrations to give importance to learning. Say “no” as seldom as you can, but mean it when you say it. Don’t allow children to bring their toys from home into the classroom. Keep your classroom and your desk tidy; insist that students do the same. Do not allow students to graffiti their notebooks.

Use consistent phrases in reference to the tone in the classroom ( e.g., “If what you are doing interferes with our learning, it can’t happen”). Use non-verbal disciplinary/ focusing cues as much as possible; to do this, cultivate the “teacher look” and hand gestures; a bell works well for many teachers as a signal for attention.

Be sensitive to students’ average attention span. Generally think 1 minute per year of age to get good listening without pauses, activity, or a shift in direction that will get students more active. Give BIG signals to signify shifts in thinking. Make eye contact and insist that all eyes are on you while you teach; developing a catch phrase that you use consistently will serve you well. When students get louder, you need to get quieter…a whisper is a powerful classroom management tool. Train students to understand that someone standing in front of them, looking toward them, is a non-verbal signal that a lesson is ready to begin or a speaker is ready to speak.

Address individual infractions individually…with a look, a directed pause, a touch, a name added to the end of your declarative sentence, or a whispered message. Get to know your students’ names quickly and use them often. Move as you teach. Plan for smooth transitions ( See Creating The Dynamic Classroom, pp. 26)

Develop strong motivational techniques. Start every lesson by telling students specifically what they will know or be able to do by the end of the lesson. Conclude each lesson by reminding students what they now know and are able to do. Use alternative support for discipline ( e.g., principal) as seldom as possible to maintain the message that students are responsible to you for their behaviour.

Involve parents in what’s going on in your classroom: - call every home during the first day/ week of school to introduce yourself; that way, the first home contact you make is a positive one! - hold events in the classroom to which parents are invited

- ask parents to give you advance notice if some home event is likely to have an impact on the child’s school focus and/ or behaviour. - send home classroom newsletters and students’ work samples regularly - use parent volunteers in meaningful ways.

Teach with Multiple Intelligences in mind! Offer choices when possible to address learning style preferences. Plan differently for rainy days, full moons ( and 2 days before), and high winds; these things make children restless and sometimes cranky; add more structure, more activity, colouring ( meaningful), and help students develop a language to create an awareness of what’s causing new feelings.

Tune in to your children’s physical needs ( e.g., desk size, warm clothing, lunches, snacks,etc.) Use a buddy system for the first day or two for new students. Teach manners! Use anchor charts for key phrases you want students to use. Don’t respond when they’re not used! Over-respond once they remember!

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