First Day Tips

Tips based on observations throughout the first four lessons of the summer:

1) Keep it concise and positive:

·      When a student is off task you either have the option of drawing the whole class’ attention to it and creating the notion in students’ minds that the whole class is off task (which actually isn’t even the case) – a vicious downspiraling cycle – OR you can publicly narrate what you see that is positive (even if there are a number of things going on that are not ideal) and deal with the imperfections one-by-one through quiet, private, individual consequences. When it comes to class-wide culture, if the teacher actively avoids acknowledging the misbehaviors and the prevailing public narrative between teacher and students stays positive, the greater class-culture will remain positive.

2) When students ask to use the restroom during INM and GP:

·      Use a non-verbal signal (head shake no / hand-swipe) to say “no” and continue instructing without interruption. Your lesson is too important for these kids to miss and you have too little time to lose momentum while addressing these issues verbally.

·      Kids should be able to hold it until the IP or lesson transition, as long as this expectation is set in advance. Perhaps a class expectation could be that students who are suddenly so desperate that they fear having an accident could continue holding finger in the air after your denial but if they go at this point, they sit with you privately during lunch in order to review the lesson’s key points with you 1 on 1 (not because they are in trouble, but as a payoff for missing part of instructional time). This detail would have to be presented ahead of time, but could alleviate the strain of those situations where “desperate” students become melodramatic as a way to try manipulating the teacher into compliance.

3) When students begin to slink in their seats during instruction, avoid bringing attention to individuals engaging in this behavior by using non-verbal cues:

·      Pause, directly and confidently face the class, use a non-verbal cue/gesture that indicates all students should be sitting up (hands palms-up raising upwards, or “scholars posture” gesture)

·      If this doesn’t work you might continue instructing but use proximity to walk over and tap on a student’s desk or even quickly whisper “up please” while using your hand gesture again to the student

4) When one or more students murmur/side-talk/call out after expectations have been set to remain silent:

·      Try to avoid the “shh” approach or saying something long-winded that the kids will perceive as nagging (or begging) for silence – it cedes power to the talkers without having the desired effect

·      If during the IP or GP, silently hold finger to lips or use another non-verbal gesture for silence and pause instruction until students alter behavior (you might choose to look out across the whole class, so as not to draw attention to the negative behavior) – you might also just silently raise your own hand at the front of the room to model that you’d like students to be participating with raised hands, rather than by calling out.

·      You might also narrate positive student behavior you see elsewhere in the room

·      If first attempts don’t work you may have to interrupt your lesson: you could interrupt yourself and say “Oh! Let me take this moment to restate the expectations…” OR you could do the same but ask a volunteer in the class to explain the related expectations to the whole class. Sometimes just awkwardly interrupting yourself in the middle of a word and pausing for a quick instant is enough to get the message across.

·      If talking persists, pinpoint the individuals engaging in the behavior and in a neutral voice, say “____, you have a warning for talking” and move on immediately without further engaging the student. Mark the student's name on a clipboard (or ask them to move their clip or flip their card on the consequence chart) that the whole collab will use to track consequences.