Redding School District

Stay Withit - Stay withit at all time.  "Withit" is a term used to describe a teacher who is aware of and on top of student behavior. This is especially important if you are writing on the board. Never turn your back to your students when you are writing, but instead turn your body to the side and frequently look back to monitor the students.

Use Engagement Activities - Use engagement activities to keep students involved. The more you engage students in the lesson, the easier it is to keep their attention and reduce disruptive behavior.  Students will generally only listen for about 7 to 8 mins before needing to engage with the content that they just listened to.

Here are some strategies to consider - also see "Engagement Strategies"

• Choral response - whole class response technique involves vocalization of a set response from the lesson.  Be alert that not all students will answer with their voices the first time.
• Stop and Jot - Student listen without taking notes and every minute or so you stop and let student 'recall" the chunked information from your presentation.  Guide them through this process.
• Think, pair, share - Between chunks of lecture, have students stop and think. Then, divide the class into pairs and have the students share with partners what they heard.  Whole Brain Teaching has you doing this with both persons speaking at the same time.
• Survey, voting, opinion polls or whiteboard response - Peer pressure can be intense. By taking short polls or response times throughout the lesson students are more often honest and gives you feedback about what is working and not working in the lesson.

Management Before Instruction - The first time you conduct a teacher-directed lesson, do not worry about the students learning the content - make sure all students are paying attention to the instruction and not disrupting.  Never become so lost in the teaching the lesson that you forget about monitoring student behavior and engagement.

Do not wait for students to be quiet - Waiting for students to be quiet wastes time. Use your attention-getting signal to make sure you have the attention of all students before starting the lesson.  If still not working, then stop the lesson and practice your attention-getting signal and use your consequences to work towards 100% compliance.   Use Behavior Narration immediately after using your attention-getting signal to help more students follow your directions.

Use of Effective Presentation Skills - How you speak is as important as what you say. Effective presentation skills can help maintain student attention and keep them engaged in the lesson. Keep these useful tips in mind when speaking to your students:

• Facial expression. A stone face is a facial expression so bland that the message to students is cold and serious. An open face communicates enthusiasm and invites youngsters to pay attention and, when appropriate, to participate. Remember, it is okay to have fun, to care about whether students are learning, and to be a terrific teacher.
• Gestures. The most effective gestures are the ones you naturally use but slightly exaggerated when directed toward a whole class.  Hand movements actually re-energize you and invite student focus. Ineffective gestures are extra nervous or distracted movements like scratching, jiggling pocket change, twirling a pencil, twisting hair, or bouncing from one foot to the other.
• Eye contact. Eye contact is one of your most valuable resources. Scan the whole classroom and students will believe you are "all seeing." Anytime you hold a student's gaze for a few seconds, you are making contact without the need for words. Depending on what your eyes "say," that contact can communicate anything from "Get back to work" or "I understand."
• Voice. Your voice brings emotion to life. Vary your pace, volume, and pitch. Project to the whole room, but pull students to the edge of their seats with a well-timed whisper. Most importantly, avoid yelling at students. It is a poor use of both your voice and your behavioral repertoire. When you need to be serious, use a firm, deliberate tone.