I loved the humor some of these educators brought to the topic, along with some useful tips…

One teacher shared, “Some days it feels like we are running a zoo.  I find myself saying things like, “Well, you can tell the weather is going to change.  The kids sure were off the wall today.”  Sometimes sentences escape my mouth that I never imagined would be created. Every teacher, from novice to seasoned, needs a little creative classroom management in their classroom now and then.”

She also shared, “The time spent discussing your classroom expectations and procedures with students will pay off tenfold when they understand your goals and rules.  It is imperative to practice these routines and continue to state your expectations; model and explain every behavior from how and when to sharpen pencils to what lining up and transitioning in the hallway should look like.  There are times in the year, however, you may need a creative fix.  Here are some of the crazy ideas I have tried over my sixteen years of teaching.

Commercial Break—this strategy is designed for your talkative class.  Those groups of students who chat, visit, discuss, and never seem to stop talking long enough to do their work.  Back before the digital age over took classrooms, I used a piece of foam board and drew a TV on the front.  It had a power button, channel knob, and (most importantly) volume control.  I took a picture of the class engaged in work, enlarged it and glued it to the board.  On the flip side of the board I drew the same TV.  Then I wrote the words “Commercial Break”.  I discussed with the students what I expected for work time and then said when they were on task — working, quiet, engaged — we would take a commercial break.  What do you do at home during the commercial?  (Remember, this was before DVR and skipping commercials.)  You get up, grab a snack, go to the bathroom, or visit.  During the two minute commercial break students were allowed to chat about anything (school appropriate), so they could get their social fix.  Then after two minutes I returned the TV to work time and they got back on task.  When using this I started with a short work time with frequent commercial breaks.  As the students were engaged I lengthened the work time.  Eventually, most days, they would work for the majority of the time and the commercial break became our transition period.

Pick 3—another strategy for keeping your sanity is to have “Pick 3 before me!” rule.  With this rule students need to ask three other students to help before they ask you.  If they find three students who do not know the directions or cannot help with the concept, then you need to re-explain.  This works best with middle school and above.”

More of her tips can be found here:

Crazy Things I've Done–Creative Classroom Management

 

Some of her ideas were ideal for middle school while others seemed to be better suited for elementary.