Quiet+Signal



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This poster is a must for classroom management. Things that we value should be prominent on our classroom walls. Designate a management area in your classroom. Do not instruct from the same place you manage the class as there is alot of research out there that various spaces can be contaminated. Once in your management "zone" myriad of signals can be used to quiet the class but my personal favorite from personal experience is the hand signal. ======



 When the whole class’ attention is needed raise your hand. The students who see your hand up should in turn raise their hand, look at you, and close their mouths. As more and more students see other students quiet and focused they should follow suit. The teacher does not begin to speak until all hands and eyes are focused and he/she thanks the class for their attention. As the need to focus becomes more urgent (ie students are blowing the signal off) the teacher simply raises the hand higher and higher. Don’t let them stretch it all the way out! With practice, this is a very effective strategy. All classes Should have a quiet signal of some sort. I personally used to ring a bell (and believe you me, the students didn’t want me to have to ring it twice because then I started to make up the time I had to wait for them to focus during their free time!) We took 50 students on a bus to New Orleans from El Paso on a field trip. As we were driving, Ms. Howard stood up, enacted the quiet signal from the front of the bus and had the kids' attention within 15 seconds. The bus driver nearly wrecked the bus he was so shocked. Also worked at the aquarium...kids everywhere but the message traveled quickly and brought immediate respect for the ritual.

** Personalize the poster for your school, just make sure if you mean business about a ritual or routine that it is posted and enforced! **