Help Your Students Sparkle!

7 Tips to Classroom Management

When children walk through our classroom doors, they are not always ready to talk to me, or their friends. They are not always ready to sit quietly and receive information. They are not always ready to share their toys or morning work bin. They are not always ready to learn. Not because they don’t want to – but because they are still learning how to do these tasks we view as simple and inherent. You see, so many children today are walking through our classroom doors without a full stomach from a hot breakfast (or even a cold one), without a hug, a reassurance to have a good day or hope that there will be dinner and a happy evening ahead. They come to us, having endured so much trauma that their brains are not wired to trust for even the simplest of tasks. So, how do we as educators – in the span of a school day – help these precious children to calm their hearts and minds so they can receive information and learn something academic?

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We must begin by knowing that the process is slow, often difficult, but so worth it. We must celebrate the small victories with individual students and with the class as a whole. We must be mindful that what we see on the surface may stem from so much more going on underneath. We are not medical professionals, and may not have the mental health training that we seem to need…but we can incorporate some simple strategies that will help all our students, whether they come from a background of trauma or not.

1. Start the day with a Morning Meeting.
Use the time for the day’s agenda, a greeting, a time for sharing where the kids can get to know one another. Don’t include academic material during this time. It needs to be a safe zone where kids can feel free to be themselves without the pressures of performing academically.

2. Allow processing time.
Be understanding if a student doesn’t trust you just because you’re an adult. It is often the adults in their world who aren’t trustworthy. Don’t take it personally – just keep loving them and being consistent with your classroom management.

3. Use positive reinforcements.
Reward systems that truly reward work well – but once a reward has been earned, it remains earned. Never takeaway whatever it is the student has earned. Make sure to explain why a child is earning a reward. For instance, in my classroom, I hand out “sparklers.”(These are
really just little craft pom poms!) If I see a child with a positive behaviour that I have previously modelled, I will hand them a sparkler and say something like, “I see Johnny sitting so quietly in his space, with his hands in his lap. Thank you so much!” Even if Johnny is rolling
across the carpet five minutes later, I will never take back the sparkler he earned previously. Some kids may take longer than others, but eventually they see that the preferred behaviour is what earns the sparklers, and they all want to sparkle!

4. Reward Often and then Taper Off.
At the beginning of the school year, as students are learning the routines and expectations of a new classroom (or being in school altogether!) I reward with sparklers often! I keep a bucket near me at all times and even keep them in my pants’ pocket so I can hand them out as immediate feedback. This lets students know right away what they’re doing is a good thing. It makes them want to do it again. It makes the kid sitting next to them want to do it, too! As the students learn the expectations, I taper off how often I am giving out a sparkler, but
they still have the opportunity to earn several a day! The focus just shifts from behaviour to hard work ethic and quality work as they’re able to do more and more. (Sparklers are able to be “cashed in” for a prize of their choice on Friday each week. There are different levels of
prizes, so the students decide if and when they would like to spend their sparklers.)

5. Utilise a Whole-Group System.
Kids like to talk – a lot. In fact, most of my primary school report cards stated that I was an “Excessive Talker.” (This is yet another reason to have a Morning Meeting time! Our talkers can get a little bit of that out first thing!) Although I love to hear their stories and wild tales, there are times when students need to buckle down and actively listen to a lesson or to a friend’s ideas on a subject. It is often difficult for young children to learn how to wait their turn to speak. I use “Blurt Beans” to help aid in strengthening my students’ ability to learn and wait their turn to speak. Each day, the students begin with three beans. Their goal is to keep the beans all day. If they yell out, or interrupt the lesson, their learning or a friend’s learning by talking, they must turn a Blurt Bean back into the bucket. At the end of the day, any beans the students have remaining are placed into a big jar that has lines taped or drawn around it at various levels. Once the jar is filled to a line, the entire class earns a fun reward, such as a special snack, extra recess time, or some extra time to color pictures. All students earn the class reward, whether they contributed one bean or 50 beans! It is amazing to me each year what the power of positive peer pressure can do to influence those around you!

6. Allow Kids to Visit Antarctica.
Kids will inevitably encounter something that makes their anxiety go through the roof and trigger their survival mode. When they do, it won’t likely be a pretty situation. They may hide under a table. They may kick or scream, or refuse to speak. Have an area designated in the classroom for these times where the student can go and “cool” down by coloring, drawing, using a weighted blanket or writing about what they are feeling. When they are ready, they can rejoin the group. Make sure that after a student has been to “Antarctica,” they are given a
fresh slate with the adults in the room, too.

7. End the Day With an Afternoon Meeting.
So often, we forget the value in transitioning out of our school day. We put a lot of effort into transitioning INTO the day, but the afternoon is a flurry of packing backpacks, double checking transportation needs, and the transition is lost in the shuffle. I have found that an Afternoon Meeting is just as important as a Morning Meeting. This is a time where students are allowed to share a thought or feeling about their day, to say good-bye to their friends and to think forward about what lies before them that night and even into the next school day. This is a time where we also discuss our “Glow and a Grow.” What did we do well as a class today? (Glow) How can we do something even better
tomorrow? (Grow) I am always so impressed with the deep thoughts even our youngest students give to this time of reflection!

Children don’t come to us at school as perfect cookie cutters, all molded the same exact way. Not all strategies work for all kids, so it’s up to us to find the ones that do. These are some that have worked for a lot of my students – and I hope they work for a lot of yours, too!

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Jessica Youmans


Jessica Youmans
Jessica Youmans is an educator serving the Indianapolis, Indiana, USA community over the last 18 years. She is currently teaching Kindergarten 100% virtually, as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on in the United States. She is happily married to her husband and enjoys spending time with him and her four wonderful children, who range in age from 16 to 10. Above all, she works hard to make sure her students know they are deeply loved and cared for!