If you’ve found yourself shouting at your class (either out loud or in your head) to quiet down and get to work, you’re not alone. One of the most common struggles in upper elementary and middle school classrooms is managing a noisy class…especially when students just won’t stop talking. After all, there’s only one of […]
Whole-Class Rewards for Noisy Classes (That Don’t Make Things Worse) Read More »
Here’s a truth bomb for your Tuesday (or whenever you read this): You can’t teach responsibility in a day. In upper elementary classrooms, responsibility usually shows up as students following directions, managing their behavior, and getting their work done without constant reminders. You can create the world’s best-designed mini-lesson. You can introduce it and teach
Finding effective classroom management strategies for older grades – specifically upper elementary and middle school – can be tricky. Most classroom management strategy advice is written with younger students in mind. This isn’t because students in grades 4-8 magically learn how to behave over the summer; it’s because behavior in older grades becomes more complex,
7 Classroom Management Strategies for Grades 4–8 (That Don’t Fall Apart by October) Read More »
If rewards really worked the way we’re told they do, classroom behavior would get easier every year. Instead, many teachers find themselves stuck in a cycle of bribing, begging, and burnout, especially in upper elementary and middle school classrooms. That’s not because rewards are useless. It’s because most reward systems are built to enforce compliance,
Do Rewards Facilitate Learning…or Just Temporary Compliance? Read More »
