With the holiday season starting, groups and classrooms get harder to manage. Students are ready for a break and are most distracted than ever. It is important to know how to effectively manage your classroom and keep students engaged in order to make the most out of the next few weeks.
Tips on How to Manage Your Classroom Before the Holidays
- Have a good icebreaker (5-7 min max). Let students get their energy out by having them do an icebreaker at the begging of the day or after lunch. For example, you can have students speed interview one another and share back to the classroom.
- Give an overview and a clear agenda of what students will be doing for the day; this helps students know what to expect during the day and to look forward to certain activities.
- Set expectations and intentions and lay out goals; this allows students to better understand what is expected of them and teaches them how to set goals for themselves and a group.
- Ask questions or present topics for the audience to discuss. Doing this makes students feel like they have a choice in what they are learning and increases engagement.
- Bring in an activity or engaging story to tie in the content. It is always important to incorporate experiential activities into learning to make new topics more tangible.
- Create a good morning routine. Routines create trust and build connections and respect; this can be as simple as creating a class chant.
- Share gratitude statements and positive affirmations. This allows students be able to relate more to one another, find common strengths and spread kindness.
We hope that these tips can help you feel less stressed and more productive over the next few weeks. Below you can read on how we incorporate peace circles into everyday classrooms as a way for students to regroup, open up and gain trust and respect amongst one another.
Love,