Start off your school year on the right foot! Here are 6 body language tips to help with classroom management:
1. Lesson Starters: From the moment her students walk through the door, Ms. Bubb demonstrates that they have her undivided attention, making students more likely to focus on Ms. Bubb and her instructions.
2. My Teacher Look: Keep students on track and redirect behavior with just one look. Every teacher needs one of these. Watch how Ms. Noonan uses her “Teacher Look,” and come up with one of your own.
3. The OTHER Teacher Look: Teacher looks aren’t just for redirecting behavior. This “Other Look” helps students feel comfortable sharing and encourages them to take risks.
4. Reinforcing Learning and Engage and Motivate: There are so many simple ways to engage students in a lesson, and to help them think and recognize that their thoughts matter and are being listened to when expressed. Both of the videos above are great examples of how nonverbal cues can make all the difference in facilitating learning.
5. Creating Bonds: Whether we realize it or not, our body language can send out all kinds of signals. In this video, Mr. Grier signals to students that he wants to connect with them simply by the way he moves through the room and gestures during their discussion.
6. The Close: As a lesson ends, teachers often see students glancing at the clock or becoming fidgety. Here are some strategies for sustaining student attention through the close of the class, ending on a good note.
Do you use any of these tips? What tips would you share with fellow teachers?