Do you have a chatty class? I am seeing lots of teachers asking for help with very talkative classes in different teacher groups. I have definitely had my share of chatty groups, but I really struggled with the group I had this year. I found that I really had to take a step back and reteach my classroom expectations. I do not expect students to be silent all the time, but I wanted them to understand when it's appropriate to talk to their friends and when it's not. It had gotten to the point of disrupting instruction and keeping students off task. I learned that I really needed to stop and reflect back to practices that had worked in the past. I will share a few here, along with a freebie that you can use in your classroom to help with this behavior.
Set Clear Expectations
I realized that I had not clearly taught when it is okay to chat with our friends and when it's not the appropriate time. After going through the different methods of instruction this past year during the pandemic, I knew that they just needed retaught those expectations. We discussed when good times were to talk with their peers, as well as the volume they should use. You may have posters in your classroom for the different volumes for talking. These are great to refer to during different parts of your day. This gives them a visual reminder on the expectation at the moment.
Make sure you also explain the WHY. Why is it important to work quietly sometimes? Why can we not talk when the teacher is teaching? Once you explain the reasoning, they begin to understand why it's important. We only discussed this, but I wish I had made an anchor chart for them to refer to throughout the day. I made one and am including the FREE download below. You can sort different instances in which they find themselves throughout the day, and whether it's a good time to talk or not. You can download that HERE or by clicking the image below. I included some common parts of our day, but yours may be different. You could just write additional areas and times below the sorting cards.
Mirroring
As humans, we tend to unconsciously mirror behaviors we see. That's possibly why we yawn when someone else yawns. The same can be true in the classroom. The teacher should exhibit the behavior you wish to see in your students. Appearing calm and patient truly makes a difference in how your students behave and respond. Have a call and response or some sort of signal to get students attention. Practice that signal over and over until you are confident they understand what to do, and then stick to those expectations. After you do the signal, wait for them to stop talking and then speak. Do not speak over them if they are still talking. (Remind them of the expectation again if you need to do so.) Then speak in a quiet voice so that students are really having to listen to hear the instructions. I also have them echo instructions to make sure they understand what to do next. A calming, quiet environment all starts with you. Use a calm voice, be firm if you have to be, but do not yell. Students will over time begin mirroring the behaviors they see in you.
Allow Lots of Opportunities for Talking
Our students love to talk. That's just natural, so build in lots of time throughout the day for them to do so. During instruction, I include lots of turn and talks in my lesson. It keeps them engaged and lets them have time to talk to someone. You do have to teach those expectations for turn and talks also. I also choose my battles with talking. There are times where it's not really distracting them from their work, so I let it go. Other times, however, it is keeping them off task so we discuss that before we do that activity, such as responding to the text in our reading journals. I also build in partner practice or a game into each lesson, which gives them that chance to be social. When they are talking academically, they are learning!
Calming Music
If students are completing an independent task in which they really need to focus, I will play calming music. I just search calming music on YouTube, and use a video there. I don't display the video; I just having it playing in the background. I always use the same one, so they know it's their signal to work quietly.
It also helps to have this playing when they enter the classroom in the mornings. I have all of the overhead lights off, and just turn on the lamps. We work like this all morning, and it really helps to start the day off on a calm note.
Incentives
Students are going to need incentives in the beginning. They really strive to be their best when they are working towards a goal. With this group, the excessive talking was keeping them off task during learning and work times. So, we played this On Task Game as a whole group.
You're right, especially with the mirroring and music.
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