Classroom management can make or break your classroom! It’s important to have a functional and consistent classroom management strategies that both you and your students can easily do and follow through with. If you’re new to teaching or need some fresh ideas, here are 12 classroom management tips to help you get started!
Did you know I have a YouTube Channel? That’s right! I just uploaded a compilation of my first 12 Classroom Management Tips! You can click here to check out the video OR watch the video below!
Here’s a compilation of 12 Classroom Management Tips for new teachers. Use these tips to manage difficult children from Kindergarten to 3rd Grade (Grade 3). I give clear, concise tips on all the little things needed to create a calm and respectful classroom. Here’s a breakdown of where to find these tips in this video.
Hallway Management Classroom Management Tips!
Classroom management doesn’t always pertain just to the classroom. What we do outside of the classroom can make a huge impact on what happens inside the classroom as well. If your students are getting crazy outside of the classroom, that crazy is going to carry over. These classroom management tips focus on the hallway.
Marshmallow Man!
To start the marshmallow trick, you have to take the “bag of marshmallows” and put them on your feet so you can walk really quietly. Then you have to take a few marshmallows and put them in your mouth. Finally, you need to hold them in your hands to keep your hands to yourself. This classroom management tip will keep your students quiet going down the hall. Plus, they will get to use their imaginations.
Repeat After Me
Another hallway strategy that you can use is a poem that you can have students recite before you leave the classroom. I have this by the wall and we always say it before we leave, sometimes more than once! This is how the poem goes:
My hands are hanging by my side
I’m standing nice and tall
My eyes are looking straight ahead
I’m ready for the hall
You can do this as many times as you want. I sometimes have my students whisper so they are focused on the task at hand.
Keep Your “Critters” Quiet
This is a great classroom management tip for elementary students when you need them to be quiet. You can buy a quiet critter at any dollar store or off of etsy. You basically just have a pom pom and you glue on some eyes. These quiet critters live in a jar in your closet. When your students are very quiet, they will come out and they can “sit” on each students’ desk. If students start getting noisy, you can take their quiet critter or you can have the critter move closer to the jar. The quiet critters also really don’t like being touched! So, students who play with their quiet critter will scare them off and they will run right back into the jar. If students are successful and stay quiet, you can give them a prize or a point or a team point.
Have Simple Attention Getters
Having strong classroom management means you need to have strong attention getters. Attention getters should be simple and something that aren’t too silly or distracting. There are so many attention getters you can do that I have a great blog about it! These attention getters include clapping, using yoga bell, wind chimes, a wireless doorbell, and more! Check out all of my attention getter ideas here!
Use Classroom Callbacks for Great Classroom Management
Much like using attention getters can be incredibly effective, you can also use classroom callbacks. A classroom callback is when you say something and then students respond back. When students have to respond back to what you said, you’ll get more of their focus. If you don’t get their focus with what you say, the other students who did hear you will draw their attention when they are responding to whatever you said firs. This is an effective classroom management tip because they will realize they missed the response. Below are some classroom callbacks you can use in your classroom.
- One…two…three…eyes on me (One, two eyes on you)
- Hocus Pocus (Everybody Focus)
- Flat Tire (Shhhhh)
- Hands on top (That means stop!)
- Macaroni and Cheese (Everybody Freeze!)
- Holy Mole! (Guacamole)
- To Infinity (And Beyond!)
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear (What Do You See!)
You can use any variety of sayings to make a classroom callback! No matter what you choose, make sure it’s something your class loves which will make this classroom management tip super savvy!
Promote Classroom Management with Flashlight Friday!
Having a fun activity can be a big motivator for students which can really help your classroom management. Flashlight Friday is a great weekly reward for students or something you can use as a special reward. With Flashlight Friday, you turn all the lights off during silent reading time and you sit in a circle and read with flashlights. This creates a different atmosphere which is fun for students and can help promote positive classroom management. If you’re worried about the cost, make sure you check out the video for all of my great tips!
Maintain Classroom Management with No Free Minute
Classroom management because so much harder to do when you have a ton of extra time. That’s why I like to use five minute time fillers in my classroom to maintain order. When students have “free time,” that’s when chaos can ensue. So, instead, I have several five minute time fillers that can last anywhere from one minute to the full five minutes I need. You can find all of these no prep time fillers by checking out my blog!
Manage Your Pencil Problems
For years and years I solved any pencil problems by having a community pencil place. All of the pencils went into a container and every day I had a special helper who would sharpen all of the pencils for the next day. However, this kind of failed because of COVID and the use of a mechanical pencil sharpeners can be hard. So, now all of my students have their own pencils and I have about 10 great pencil sharpeners. I taught my students how to use the sharpeners and they stay at my desk so students can use them as needed. However, sometimes we need to keep moving so then I have my students line up and I sharpen all of their pencils for them. This works well because they aren’t up and down and everything gets done in a timely manner!
Make Your Classroom Management Work for You!
This might not seem like a classroom management tip, but it might be the most important one. We all play the compare game. In this classroom, the teacher has everyone sitting down and doing exactly what they are supposed to. Whatever you need for your, classroom is perfectly fine! You can’t compare your needs to the needs of other teachers. Your classroom management needs to fit you. So, if you need quiet and focus, you need to maintain that in your classroom. If you need your classroom to be really clean and organized, then you do whatever you need to do to make that so. Your classroom management doesn’t just have to work for your students; it has to work for you too.
Classroom Management and Supplies
When you first start teaching, you’ll have to ask yourself if you want to have communal or individual supplies. I have always had communal supplies before 2020 with COVID. The parents would pay a fee and the school would get all the supplies which was nice because it ensured everyone had what they needed. Then, I would store everything in specific places in my classroom and use classroom management strategies to get their things.
Now, I have to use individual supplies. This was hard at first because you are always going to have some students who are just really bad at taking care of their things. However, when you start to teach your students this skill, they get better and better at it! Who knew? Well, all of us but sometimes we forget that doing things that are hard or inconvenient for you can be really great for students! So, with this classroom management tip, I really encourage you to consider teaching your students a new skill!
Using Reward Systems to Keep Classroom Management Strong
Classroom management really only works when there is some reinforcement behind it. I always say “choices have consequences.” If students are making good choices, they should have good consequences. So, to help maintain good classroom management, I would use a reward. If you don’t have a good reward system, check out any of the ones below.
What I Do In My Own Classroom
- Dojo Points work with class Dojo, however they might be something you have to pay for.
- Whole Brain Teaching boasts positive reinforcement without having to buy a prize!
- Positive Praise is a great way to reward students. It is simple and can be instant. Plus, you are building relationships.
You can find more rewards you can give to students by checking out my YouTube video.
Keep Classroom Management with Visual Schedules
A great way to help students focus and therefore maintain classroom management is by having a visual schedule. A visual schedule tells students what is coming up next which helps reduce anxiety for students. You would be amazed how much having a visual schedule posted and just knowing what is happening will help classroom management. In addition, it eliminates the distracting question, “What are we doing after this?” from your classroom.
What I Do for Classroom Management
I try to use a group classroom management program. Each table has a team mascot and they have a stuffy on their table. Then, together they work as a team to get points. At the end of the week, we add up the points and whichever team has the most wins. Now, you have to be a little sneaky because you want everyone to win at some point. I just make sure I pay attention to who won and I make sure students never know when or what they are going to get a point for. This gives me a little bit more control over who gets what. Then, everyone can win and everyone gets that positive reinforcement.
Classroom management is such an important part of your classroom. Remember to focus on the positive when you are creating classroom management strategies for your classroom. If you do, you’ll have a better atmosphere for you and your students to learn together.
I also have these posted on TikTok. If you are interested in a cute Science of Reading phonics card game, just fill in the form below and I’ll send it to your inbox.
If you’d like to read more on this topic, click below to learn more.
Adorable Classroom Management Freebie
Easy Classroom Management Plan That Works
5 Simple Ways to Create and Implement Classroom Management
6 Quick and Easy Attention Getters
