Staying a Step Ahead of the Class

I had an unusually difficult day substitute teaching last week. First I screamed at the students for interrupting me while I was working with a reading group. Then I screamed at the students for getting out of their seats to go to the pencil sharpener while I was trying to get a math class started. Then I screamed at the students for talking in the hallway.

It was only later that I realized that I could have prevented all this - only by staying a staying a step ahead of the class! So, to prevent this happening again, I made a list of situations in which this advance step is possible and necessary.

when managing a reading group

"Teacher, I need to sharpen my pencil." "Teacher, I'm having trouble with problem number seven." "Teacher, Johnny's drawing pictures instead of doing his work."

Don't interruptions like this tempt you to commit child abuse in the first degree? They did me, too. And these interruptions might have all been prevented with just a few short words: "Class, can I have your attention, please? I have to work with Sarah and Nathan on their reading, and that means that I can't be interrupted. Do all of you have work to do? Good. So will all of you be able to work quietly until I'm through working with Sarah and Nathan? Good!"

getting math class started

"Math class is going to start in a little bit. So I hope to see every one of you in your seats with your books opened to page 91 at ten twenty-five.

"You have sixty seconds." Barbara hurries back from the pencil sharpener.

"You have forty seconds." Ellen hurries back from the trash can.

"You have twenty seconds." Barbara and Ellen quickly look on their neighbors' books to find the right page number.

No, that's not what happened. I wish it did happen that way. Rather, I stood in front of the class for ten minutes, yelling at the students because math class had not already started.

lining up to go out to the hallway

"I am watching to see who will be the first to line up quietly for gym class." That went pretty well. Children love contests, and these children loved this one.

What didn't go well was the next episode.

walking in the hallway

I forgot to tell the students that I was also watching to see who would walk to gym class. Only one in child in the whole class scored perfectly.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic