"They're
rude." "They're inattentive." "They're off task."
"They're side-talking." Does that describe your class
or group? If it does, you're not alone. Those are the
nonstop complaints we've been hearing at our workshops
and at Live Expert Help on our web site
(http://www.youthchg.com.) The classroom management issues
are serious, frequent and dominant, but we're here to
help.

Here's the answer to the misbehavior. You have to teach
the behaviors before you can expect them. This does not
mean restating the expectations. This means that you
actually teach the specific skills that you want to see in
your classroom or group room. This means that you teach
each aspect of the target behavior, just as you must teach
all elements of spelling or riding a bike, in order to ensure
mastery. So, you have to teach all the skills for acting in a
respectful manner, talking one at a time, hand raising,
focusing, and so on.

Although we won't include any here, be sure that
you use lots of our popular motivation-makers so your
youngsters value your site and service. (There is a
sampling of our dynamic motivation-makers on our site at
http://www.youthchg.com/nws3moti.html.) The more students
value your service, the more their behavior will reflect that.
Similarly, the less they value your service, the more their
behavior will reflect that too.

Here are some ways to teach "mouth control", but don't
forget to cover all the other behaviors that youth and
children need to act acceptably in your setting:

Give Me Five
This is a fun intervention for younger students. Have the
child give you a "high five" slap while saying: "High Five!
2 ears listening. 2 eyes watching. 1 mouth shut."

Do the Wave
This is an incredibly fun intervention that doesn't come
alive at all in writing; you simply have to give it a try to
appreciate how wonderful it is. This intervention can be
used with any age group. Raise your hand, then teach your
group to fall silent while rhythmically clapping to this beat:
1-2, 1-2-3 (two slow claps and then three fast.) Most classes
quickly learn to instantly transform from rowdy to silent.
The effect of the sudden clapping is similar to a crowd doing
the wave at a basketball game. Allow students to take turns
performing the job of raising a hand to initiate the clapping.
You end up with a very quiet room-- with no work required on
your part to achieve it.

The Mouth Goes Shut
This device is fun with any age group, and it's quick and
simple. You simply raise your hand and teach your class:
"When the hand goes up, the mouth goes shut." If you wish,
a student can perform the raising the hand part of this
intervention for you.

Dragnet Helps
This device generates instant quiet. Sing the theme of the
TV show, Dragnet: dun da-dun dun, dun da-dun dun.
Teach students to be quiet in time to sing the last note with
you. (The entire tune: dun da-dun dun, dun da-dun dun, dun!)


Classroom Behavior Barometer
Craft a barometer out of poster board and show green,
yellow and red areas on the barometer. Label the green
area as "Go," the yellow as "Caution," and the red as "Stop."
Affix a moveable pointer and move it as necessary to
alert the class to how well they are controlling their verbal
behavior. You may use a traffic light signal instead of
a barometer, if you prefer.

How Often to Talk
This intervention is so simple, yet so often overlooked.
Ideally, every teacher or counselor would offer this
help to their group at first contact. Kids do not magically
know how often to talk during your class or group. Some
talk nonstop while others never speak at all. Have your
class establish a recommended number of times to talk
per hour. You can even create a chart to show each
group member how they are doing. But it's important to
remember that you must give specific, quantifiable goals
to students prior to expecting them to conform. Without
a specific number, many children will be unable to discern
what is a "reasonable number of times to talk." If you have
problems with talk-outs, test out this suggestion. You may
be very surprised.

The Talk Thing
Younger children, youth with ADHD, and many other
populations, can have trouble maintaining proper "mouth
control." If you don't like to require hand raising, or you
have found it ineffective, then consider using a "talk thing."
"What's that?" you wonder. A talk thing is any item that
you designate, but prior to talking, the youngster must be
holding the talk thing. You can use a tennis ball, a pen, or
any item that your group selects. You are simply substituting
external structure for that lack of internal control. Many
youngsters find the talk thing to be silly and fun, and may
comply more readily. For youth who impulsively speak out
a lot, the talk thing can provide brakes

Want more classroom management interventions like the
mouth-control methods above? Could you use more
techniques to manage unmanageable, uncontrollable kids?
Come to our workshop or check out the many additional
interventions for mouth control in our books, instant ebooks and
web site. Visit our web site for details: http://www.youthchg.com
or call us at 1-800-545-5736.

Article Source: http://www.articleset.com