Tips on Class Management

Well Teachers , its not very easy to handle a class of boisterous children for 4 – 5 hours everyday. Here are some techniques which may help in dealing with noisy children and bringing about some form of discipline in the class.

The Statue Game

There are times when teachers require that the students should become quiet quickly. For example while moving from the classroom to the library or P.T. field. You can tell the students about a game called ‘Statue’. You must also tell them that this game will be played often by you. The moment you give them the signal ‘1….2….3….3….2…..1, Statues now you will become’, all the children are to freeze in their places and not say a word or move. You can time them and see how long they are able to keep still. Once they are quiet and you have got their full attention, you can give them the directions / instructions before they leave the class.

Maths Malady

This is a game that you can play when you find that you have completed your day’s lesson and still have some time to spare before the period gets over. Ask all the students to line up. 1. Ask the first student in the line to choose a number from 1 to 10.2. Announce an operation – example ‘ Add 7 ‘. 3. The child behind adds 7 to the number chosen by the first student.4. Every child keeps adding 7 to the previous student’s total.5. Any student who adds incorrectly is ‘out’ and has to sit down and the student behind him takes over, adding to the previous student’s total.6. The winner is the person who is standing after everyone is out.

Clap, Clap, Clap

This is a game which you can play when you want to make an important announcement and require the complete undivided attention of your students. It comes handy when you want the class to stop what they are doing and listen to you. Tell the students that you will clap to a certain beat and they should mimic you. As soon as you stop, their eyes should be on you and their mouths should be shut tight. You keep clapping beats till everyone is clapping with you and have their eyes on you.

Traffic Lights

If your classroom sounds like a traffic jam, this is an ideal method of bringing some semblance of order. You can make the traffic signal along with your students using thick card sheet and red, green and yellow papers. Make an arrow and pin it on the card sheet so that it rotates when required. Tell your class that when the arrow points to the red light they should be absolutely still, with their eyes on you and mouths tightly shut. The yellow light will be an indicator to them to listen to all your directions. The green light will signal that they can start their work.