Curing the Blurts

I noticed it the first day of school.  My class likes to talk!  They talk over one another.  They hold side conversations.  They get off topic.  They like to talk and I’m not even sure if they’re truly listening to one another.

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In an effort to take control of our classroom conversations we created a few charts and practiced.  We practiced and practiced and practiced.  A lot.IMG_1726 IMG_1727

We talked about self control.  Of course they needed to learn what “self control” is and what better way to teach the feel, sound, and look of self control than to use Teacher Tipster’s method:

We still aren’t “perfect” but it’s become a better situation!  All I now need say is, “This is a hand-raising conversation!”  They know what that means.  It immediately gets better.

What do you do to cure the blurts in your classroom?

2 Comments

  • Karen Glendon December 2, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    What an awesome and simple idea to jumpstart a conversation about self control. I’ll definitely use this if/when I feel it’s needed. Luckily I’ve been blessed with a well behaved group this year (10 girls and 5 boys)! Thanks for sharing this video!

  • suellen December 14, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    What a terrific analogy! Definitely will use this in my classroom and PBIS pep rally when the 4th graders intro Self Control to the school! Thank you!!

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