This has to be one of THE most frustrating classroom challenges. You give directions, you ask if there are any questions, you tell your students to get started, and . . . they don’t. They fool around, they passive-aggressively take their time, they ask you what they’re supposed to do, etc.
Part of what students learn in school is how to listen, follow directions, and be independent. And part of a teacher’s job is to teach them how to do those things which takes lots of repetition.
How do you do that without sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher?
Here are 11 tips for how to fix that.
1 – First, you need to have a good attention-getting signal. There are a variety of ways to signal for your students’ attention. Here are some favorites:
~call and response (such as “hocus pocus, everybody focus”; “hakuna, matata”; “shark bait, hoo ha ha”; “to infinity, and beyond!”.
~turning the lights off and then back on
~count backward from five
~ring a bell or a chime
~”if you can hear me, clap once” chant
~clap a rhythmic pattern and students copy your pattern
~use a timer
Here are some devices you can buy on Amazon that are great attention-getting signals:
~wireless doorbell
2 – When you are ready to give directions, make it clear that they need to stop and listen (by using your attention-getting signal). And then you do the same. Stop, stand in one place, wait for eye contact from everyone (saying something like “I’m waiting for three more people, etc.” until you have everyone with you), then state your directions in a firm voice.
3 – After you give verbal directions, post them. You can write them on the board, display them under a document camera, type them on Classroom Screen, whatever works for you. Many students do listen to you but are more visually oriented. To help your students be more independent, make it easy for them to remember your directions by posting them visually instead.
Another helpful thing about posting your directions — when students ask you questions about the directions, just point to where they are posted. Don’t read for them, don’t repeat the directions, just point. This helps build independence and self-efficacy.
4 – When you are giving directions that will involve making a transition, train your students to wait until you give them the signal to switch and make that transition. Whether the word is “go” or “macaroni & cheese” or whatever other silly signal words you want to use, train your students to wait until you give the signal.
To train them to wait for your signal, pause and make them wait. If anyone moves before the signal is given, make some kind of noise, snap your fingers, clap, whatever gets their attention. Then signal them to return to their spot (their table, their carpet spot, their desk). And try again! They’ll get it, I promise.
5 – Have students repeat your directions to a partner. This gets everyone involved because everyone is having to talk. This also helps them to correct each other if a direction is misunderstood.
6 – When making a quick transition, count down from some number. For example, “By the time I get to 0, I want you to have your independent reading book out and be settled for reading. Ready? 10-9-8 . . .” etc.
For longer transitions, use a timer. This is especially helpful if you display it on a screen. The countdown timer on the online stopwatch site is useful as is the timer on Classroom Screen. Or you could use the countdown visual timer mentioned earlier.
7 – Give students a specific task to do to show that they’re ready for the next activity. Here are some examples:
*Put your finger on the heading of the article to show you’re ready to read.
*Paper, pencil, clipboard to show you’re ready for math.
*Table cleared, floor cleared, chair stacked, & stand behind your chair to show you’re ready to pack up for the day.
When you give this direction, it’s important to constantly monitor and acknowledge the students that have followed the directions. For some reason, everyone likes to hear their name called in a positive way. Simply saying, “Angela is ready, Mason is ready, Cole is ready”, etc. somehow gets everyone moving because they want to hear their name as well.
8 – Use as few words as possible. Try to really condense your directions to only the most necessary words. Long, rambling sets of directions, interspersed with answering random questions that some students call out (which is a whole different problem!) and redirecting other students, makes everyone tune out until you are “serious” about giving directions. Just like in tip #2 above, stand still, face the class, use a strong voice (not necessarily a loud one), and state the directions with the fewest words possible. Using gestures or holding up fingers (first, do this, second, do this) helps them remember your directions as well.
9 – Ask my favorite question. Any time students are off task with either listening to or following directions, ask my favorite question: “What should you be doing right now?” This question immediately makes the student have to think about what they are currently doing and what they are supposed to be doing instead. It puts them in charge of correcting their behavior without your having to nag and threaten.
10 – Encourage your students to “follow the leader.” By this, I mean that you can encourage them to watch what someone else in the class is doing when they are unsure about what they should be doing. However, it is important that they choose to follow the right leader! You don’t have to name names for this, although you could do that.
I usually give them an example that if I walk into the faculty meeting a couple of minutes late and I am not sure what we should have at our seats or what we should be doing, I look for certain teachers in the room who are almost always doing the right thing. I name the teachers because it makes my story more “real.” I show them that we naturally imitate each other, especially when we’re not sure about what we should be doing. But it’s important to look for someone who is almost always on track.
11 – Allow students to ask other students for help or directions. The rule of “ask three before me” or some similar guideline is helpful. This keeps you from being the only one in the room who can help or who can repeat the directions!
Try some of these tips and let me know how it goes!