4 great nonverbal cues (classroom management)

Meredith // March 10th 2011 // Classroom Management

My second year as a preschool teacher, almost half of my students were nonverbal (for a variety of reasons). Yes, my students were preschool age (3 to 5 years old), meaning their attention spans could be humorously brief, but additionally, a few of them were really struggling with hearing, attention, and practical English skills. Because I wanted to tailor my curriculum to engage every student, regardless of delays or disadvantages, I became a master of the nonverbal cue. Of course, whether you have students with special needs or not, nonverbal cues can spare your voice, keep kids on task, and cultivate an air of tranquility and comfort in your room. If you need any more convincing, check out our post, Why use nonverbal cues? Here are some of my favorites, as curated by experience, advice from colleagues, and various professional development sessions. Im making up another post with 4 more nonverbal cues as well to offer even more helpful strategies!

Capture a bubble. Everyone take a big breath in, pretending to capture a giant bubble in your mouth. Dont let it out! This is great for long, hallway transitions with younger kids. Also, once they know what it means, a simple puffed up cheek from you will remind them to zip their lips! Get it together. We all need a reminder to compose ourselves here and there. Falling out of place a bit makes life fun but sometimes too fun for class. For this one, you can squeeze an imaginary ball and have the student do so with you. When a student compresses their joints and exerts some energy squeezing the air between his/her hands, they will release some pent up energy and know that they need to re-focus. The classic . This one is the simple hand raise with two fingers apart (like the number 2 or a peace sign). If practiced and explained well enough, a teacher need to do nothing more than raise his/her hand to send 30 tiny arms up with peace signs and quiet mouths. Variations of this have proven their efficacy as well like a One, two, three, all eyes on me call from the teacher, followed by the 2-fingers up gesture and a One, two, all eyes on you! response from students. Cognitive shift. I was a big fan of embedding movement or light change into our routine transitions. Some children can have sensory reactions to turning the lights off in the classroom; some funding agencies tell teachers they cant turn off the lights because its dangerous. If you face these issues, just steer clear of darkening the room or flickering lights. Having students move, or flashing the lights when you want their attention signals a shift in their brain patterns, physically making them more attentive and ready to listen.

Of course, the real secret to verbal cues is that students know exactly what they mean. Practice, practice, practice!

classroom management that works

Our programs were developed by observing teachers in the classroom. We found that teachers who were most successful in their classroom management were those who were most systematic in their use of nonverbal communication. This is supported by research as well. According to the NEA, 82% of a teachers communication is nonverbal. What a teacher does makes a much bigger impact than what a teacher says. Nonverbal Classroom is ready to assist you gain control of your classroom so you are able to do what you are meant to do: teach. We are committed to reversing the trend of over-training and under-implementation. We offer coaching to help along the way, working one-on-one with teachers in their classrooms to help support the learning received in our seminars. A well-managed classroom provides a safe learning environment for students and allows teachers to perform at their best. We are confident youll find our program beneficial and hope youll take advantage of our services. Please browse our website for additional information and dont hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Non-verbal Cues for Procedures In discipline situations, Dr. Marshall suggests that before moving to the second phase of the Raise Responsibility SystemChecking for Understandingeffective teachers will first try

to make use of various unobtrusive techniques. These are explained in detail on pp. 90-93 of DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS, PUNISHMENTS or REWARDS. The use of very simple techniques involving body language, mannerisms and inflections in speech etc., will often be enough to help students regain focus and remain on track during lessons. Due to their gentle nature, these techniques also preserve the relationship between student and teacher in discipline situations. Non-verbal cues are just one way to focus students, encourage them to pay attention to a lesson or follow procedures. Teachers who use them find them to be very effective. In addition to the many ideas listed in Dr. Marshalls book, here are two more unobtrusive techniques: 1. For a change of pace from orally giving directions, smile and hold up a poster-size sign, to quietly indicate to students the need for a transition. Some examples would be: - Please clean up now. - Thank you! Time to return to your seat. - Show me that youre ready for recess. - Please line up. - Time to come quietly to the carpet. - Please take out a pencil. 2. Teach students various hand signs that can be used to remind them to follow established procedures. Here is a link to a site that demonstrates (through video clips) various ASL hand signs that can be used in the classroom. (Scroll down to find the beginning letter of the words you want to locate, and then look for the word in the right hand sidebar, where they are listed alphabetically.) http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm Hand signs can impart a strong message without being harsh. They can be directed to the class as a whole or to an individual student who has forgotten an appropriate procedure. Using hand signs allows the atmosphere of the classroom to remain quiet, productive and positive, and students are intrigued by the use of them. Students too, can also be encouraged to use hand signs, as a method to quietly indicate to their teacher a need to leave the room to use the washroom, get a drink or perhaps use the library or computer facilities. Some suggestions for hand signs that would be useful in the classroom: Walk (for when someone is moving too quickly in the room or hallway.) Listen (when someone has lost their attention)

 Stop Start Sit Move Please Thank you I need to use the washroom.