Classroom Management/Organisation and useful resources in Senior Infants
When I moved into Senior Infants, I found classroom management the most challenging area and sometimes it can still be. Having specific strategies and resources from day one can make a big difference in your confidence and how well children settle into the class. I wanted to share some of the ideas that have worked well for me over the 7 years I have been in Senior Infants.
Here are a list of some ideas that I hope might be helpful:
1) Class Attention Grabbers
These are one of the best ways to get the children's attention. There is a range of them you can find on google, but here is a good freebie from Clever Classroom to get you started:
Below are the ones that I always use:
- Teacher calls out "Hocus Pocus" Children respond - "Everybody Focus"
- Teacher calls out "All set?" Children respond - "You bet!"
- Teacher calls out "Ready to listen" - Children respond - "Ready to learn"
- Teacher calls out "Ready to rock" - Children respond - "Ready to roll"
- Teacher calls out "Hands on top" - Children respond - "That means stop!"
On the first day I always introduce these and the children love them.
2) Give me Five
You can use this lovely visual when you are in circle time or something you can use as a little transition into the next subject. Explain Give me 5 with the class, so they will know what each finger represents.
- Legs criss-cross or still.
- Eyes watching.
- Listening.
- Hands & Feet to Yourself.
- Quiet
This lovely visual is free at Proud to be Primary:
https://proudtobeprimary.com/classroom-management-ideas/
3) Resting your voice
Over the years, I found it essential to have a mix of attention grabbers and strategies in place where you are not using your voice. A great example of this can be seen @goodmorningmsfoster on her Instagram. Here is the following link https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv_bVCnBeke/?igshid=17o8opm8q2pvw and it shows you some great ideas on how you can use movement and get the children to follow. These have worked well for me, and the children love them. Usually, I play a game or give a star to the table that responds the fastest.
4) Class Dojo
Class Dojo is a great system to use for individual and group awards. The children love seeing the characters and seeing how many points they have. I always add the parents so I can communicate regularly. Anything important, I would ring or set up a meeting. Sometimes messages on Class Dojo can be taken out of context, and it's important to keep the messages short and sweet.
5) Timer
I use a timer for class activities, Aistear, stations etc. I find it keeps the class and me on track. The one I use is a magnetic timer from LakeShore Learning. There are shipping taxes on this, but I have had mine for over 7 years, and I would be lost without it.
6) Individual rewards and Class Rewards
I have a new red reward chart in my store. I put these on the wall and give stickers throughout the day for good work, lining up, etc. It is editable so that you can type the names in. The children will get a new one when it is finished as they love taking it home showing their family. I give a prize at the end of it. I like keeping my reward chart close to the door as I give stickers for lining up also. Click the link below to view the reward chart:
https://primaryteacherinfants.com/collections/class-room-management
I also have a classroom reward chart. There is a ten and twenty option. These are great for encouraging the class to work together when doing independent work or lining up. When the children reach their 20 stars they get a class prize, an example would be a class party.
https://primaryteacherinfants.com/collections/class-room-management
7) Checking in with the children
On my store, I introduced name displays last year that includes a 'How are you feeling today?' area. The children use this to communicate if they are stuck on a task or unhappy about something that happened in yard, they put their paper clip on the red face. I find these charts help when trying to get around to the children and stop them from getting out of their seats to come up. This display can be used as a reward chart as well. I have been using this new 'How are you feeling today?' display for the last 2 years, and it's a really simple and a perfect size for their desks. Here is a link to my check-in displays:
https://primaryteacherinfants.com/collections/class-room-management
8) Noise Level
In class I use these light noise levels. I got the lights on Amazon and labels free on tpt from mrsosbornsworld.
https://www.
Each light represents a different level of sound which I bring the children through. They are on the whiteboard and directly in the children's vision so they can see what noise level they need to be on during task work. They have worked well for the last three years, and the children respond to them immediately.
9) Organisation
On the classroom table, I have a container for their whiteboards and also each child has their pencil case with a label on it with their name. This will work well again in September if the children need to have their own pencils, crayons etc. I found having their own pencil case made them more responsible for keeping their own items. I try to keep as little on their table as possible so they will not get distracted.
The storage caddy organisers at AbcschoolSupplies are great for holding items, so definitely worth a look.
10) Early Finishers
On day one, I give each child a whiteboard. Their whiteboards are kept on the table in a special holder. When they are finished with their work, they take out their whiteboard and work on sounds, tricky words or sums. The children absolutely love their whiteboards, and it stops the children coming up asking what to do or that they have already finished their early finisher sheet. I have been using my whiteboards for the last 7 years, and they are worth the investment in buying one per student. I got mine @mrpriceireland, and they were the wooden ones, not the plastic.
11) Lining up
Lining up for yard or home can sometimes be quite noisy. I always sing a song like below to get them to line up, or attention grabbers can work well here. Sometimes I go over Irish vocab, for example, through Irish asking them to point to their jumper, jump, point to their eye etc. I often give stickers for the best child lined up, or I tell them I have a secret person lining up that I am watching.
12) Classroom Jobs
I bought a lovely job display chart three years ago, and it works really well in the class. Every table needs a helper each day and a front and back leader. The class love having table leaders as they all have a job to do. I don't use all the jobs as I have 5 table leaders. You can also make your own version using the hands and making a display. I got this one on Amazon:
13) Visual Charts
Visual timetable displays are really important in the morning, especially for children who need routine and need to know the plan for the day. Before little break, lunchtime and home time, we go through what we have done. The children love this, and it's great satisfaction they have done all the set tasks for the day. They will always say, "Wow, we did a lot today". Twinkl have a range of visuals on their site.
The visual below is the one I use in class, and I got in on Amazon and used my Parcel Motel UK account as it worked out cheaper:
14) First day Back School activities
On my store I have a few worksheets for the first week back. The Fun Facts worksheet is a great way to get to know the students. The first drawing is a nice sheet to do on their first day and then stick in their scrapbook. The headline is editable so you can change to any class.
https://primaryteacherinfants.com/collections/class-room-management
The next set of worksheets is from my latest bundle. There is the my friends, Summer Holidays, Speed Chatting games worksheets.
15) Secret Walker Reward
This is another system to encourage the children to line up quietly. A full description a video of this is on my website.
https://primaryteacherinfants.com/collections/class-room-management
16) Toilet lanyards
I used these toilet lanyards last year. The children place the lanyards on little plastic hooks when the toilet is in use. When the lanyards are on the hook nobody can use the toilet. The children never ask me can they use the toilet, they use their lanyards. I have two bathrooms so I use two. I also have tidy up lanyards if you pick children to make sure the classroom is tidy each day.
https://primaryteacherinfants.com/collections/class-room-management
