Tips, Advice, and Strategies

Short on time? Rebecca Alber cuts to the chase with five easy management strategies that novice teachers can begin using immediately in their classrooms in her "5 Quick Classroom-Management Tips for Novice Teachers." For a more detailed survey of practical suggestions on managing a classroom, including resources for all grades, explore Edutopia’s comprehensive Classroom Guide: Ten Tips for Classroom Management. Looking for additional tips and advice? Explore "The Dos and Don'ts of Classroom Management," a guide to the 25 best tips on managing a classroom from Edutopia’s community of educators -– a helpful list for new and expert teachers alike!

For additional guidance specific to the grades you teach, here are some additional resources for primary, middle, and secondary teachers.

Specific Tips for the Primary Grades

• Sarah Richard has identified several first-days survival strategies for teachers of young students in "First Day of Kindergarten: 8 Survival Skills."
• Looking for advice about common elementary-classroom quandaries? Gaetan Pappalardo’s "Classroom-Management Strategies for Elementary Teachers" is another must-read.
• For a better understanding of the research, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has published a practice guide, "Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom," that details easily digestible, evidence-based recommendations.
• Finally, educators from Mount Desert Elementary School in Northeast Harbor, ... to help elementary educators implement positive discipline strategies, build community, and keep kids engaged. Download third-grade teacher Rebecca Heniser’s lists of transition ideas, including cleanup transitions.

Specific Tips for Middle and Secondary Grades

• In Teaching Channel’s New Teacher Survival Guide: Classroom Management, management expert Jackie Ancess advises a new sixth grade teacher about classroom routines and a variety of other individual and whole-class strategies.
• Review the strategies English teacher Tyler Hester uses in his ninth grade classroom in Edutopia’s "Watch a Classroom Management Expert." Then learn more about his approach in his blog post, "7 Tips for Better Classroom Management."
• "Classroom Management Strategies for Difficult Students," from the Association for Middle Level Education, includes an array of research-based recommendations specific to middle school teachers, students, and classrooms.
• Last, former middle school teacher Ryan McCarty has compiled tips and strategies for Teaching Channel in "3 Things New Teachers Need to Know About Classroom Management."

Establishing Effective Rules and Routines

Establishing classroom rules and setting up consistent routines and procedures can help reduce classroom disruptions and keep the focus on learning. For a reminder about the difference between these two sets of strategies, start by reading "Rules and Routines in the Classroom," by Rebecca Alber. Richard Curwin describes the various purposes of classroom limits and rules in "The 5 Critical Categories of Rules." You'll find a first-person perspective on working with students to create a set of classroom rules in Nicholas Provenzano's "Creating Classroom Rules With a Bill of Student Rights."

Need examples of specific routines and procedures to teach? Davis, a veteran teacher, goes over some of the essential routines and procedures she discusses with her students in "Make a Mark By Establishing Classroom Procedures, from her CoolCatTeacher blog. For a list of common areas that may require procedures and routines, this list of "Classroom Routines and Procedures," from LEARN NC, a program of the UNC School of Education, is a handy reference.

Struggling with issues related to managing technology in your classroom? The following posts should help you tackle some common issues:

• Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom (Edutopia, 2014)
• Striking a Balance: Digital Tools and Distraction in School (Edutopia, 2014)

Managing Disruptive Behavior

No matter how engaging the lessons, every teacher is bound to encounter disruptive and off-task behavior in class from time to time, and it’s important to develop strategies and interventions to prevent learning from getting derailed. The following posts should help.

• First, in two excerpts from his book, Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation, veteran teacher Larry Ferlazzo offers some tips for managing disruption that are positive, rather than punitive.
• Second, Richard Curwin’s "Classroom Management: The Intervention Two-Step" examines what happens when a student acts up in class, and describes a two-step process for stabilizing the situation ASAP. You may also want to read Curwin’s "How to Make Consequences Work" for suggestions on how to make consequences more effective.

Gaining and Keeping Student Attention

Whatever the grade taught, strategies for gaining attention are an important part of any teacher’s classroom-management toolkit. The following resources include attention-grabbing ideas to try in elementary, middle, and secondary classrooms:

• 25 Attention-Grabbing Tips for the Classroom (Edutopia, 2014)
• 30 Techniques to Quiet a Noisy Class (Edutopia, 2014)
• Video Playlist: 7 Minutes, 7 Attention-Getting Moves (Teaching Channel, 2014)

Once you have student attention, how do you keep it? For more resources on engaging students, explore a variety of resources on Edutopia's Student Engagement page; consider starting with Edutopia’s "Student Engagement: Resource Roundup."

Building Relationships and Creating a Positive Climate for Learning

Fostering strong and consistent relationships with students can help new teachers build a solid foundation for other classroom-management strategies. Dan Ouelette, a former educator, describes how a focus on relationships changed his classroom for the better in "Student-Teacher Relationships Can Be Built Five Minutes at a Time."

Not sure where to start? The following articles and posts describe specific, concrete strategies that new teachers can implement:

• Relationship Building Through Culturally Responsive Classroom Manag... (Edutopia, 2014)
• 3 Ways to Make Meaningful Connections With Your Students (Edutopia, 2014)
• Two Minutes to Better Student Behavior (ASCD Inservice, 2014)
• Fostering Relationships in the Classroom (Edutopia, 2012)

Students learn best in environments where they feel respected, supported, and valued. To help students thrive in a safe, positive, and open classroom climate, consider the following tips from experienced educators:

• Building a Positive, Trusting Classroom Environment (Edutopia, 2012)
• 20 Tips for Creating a Safe Learning Environment (Edutopia, 2011)
• New Teachers: Building Strong Class Culture All Year Long (Teaching Channel, 2014)
• Back to School: 3 Question Activities to Connect Students (Edutopia, 2014)

Words of Encouragement From Experienced Teachers

Whether you are a new or a more experienced teacher, know that if you’re experiencing challenges, you’re not alone. As Mike Anderson says in "Effective Classroom Management for New Teachers," an article from ASCD, it can take number of years for teachers to get their feet under them, where classroom management is concerned. For additional support, visit Edutopia’s community to share, ask questions, and find support; and visit the Resources Toolkit for New Teachers for other curated new-teacher guides. These posts also offer words of encouragement:

1. Teaching is not an easy job, but it is an incredible and rewarding one. Joshua Block reflects on the many roles and identities juggled by teachers in "#Teaching is Adapting."
2. For teachers who need a pep talk in advance of another day of performance, read Todd Finley’s "You're Gonna Hear Me Roar: Overcoming Classroom Stage Fright," full of useful tips for working through fear.
3. Want to remember why you went into teaching in the first place? Todd Sentell, better known to Edutopians as the Dixie Diarist, offers an amusing and heartfelt list of ten things his special education students have taught him about teaching in "What Teaching Teaches the Teacher."
4. In the face of classroom-management challenges, it’s important to take a moment to regain perspective. In "Like a Wood Duck: Finding Peace in the Classroom," Ben Johnson offers some suggestions to help you regain your serenity.