No Fail Tricks For Getting Hallway Behaviors On Track

Hi Friends! I have a quick post for you today, to share some tips and tricks I use in my classroom to keep my students from thinking they are part of a Championship parade every time we step foot into the hallway!

#1... SET THE GROUNDWORK

Ok, so you CANNOT just assume that kids know how to walk quietly and with self-control in the hallways. Even if this is not their first time in school, even if you know who their teacher was last year, and you KNOW he or she taught them how to walk, blah, blah, blah... SAVE YOURSELF SOME TIME AND SANITY...AND DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING!!! Remember, these are children. Self-control, walking, and quiet are not things that come naturally to children. Chaos, noise, running, and mayhem? NATURAL BEHAVIORS OF CHILDREN! (Do you see what I am saying?)

In my classroom I am a big believer in using social stories to help support my teaching of classroom behaviors and social skills. So, I use the social stories Walking In The Hallways and There Are Times To Talk LOUDLY And There Are Times To Talk Softly to facilitate strong discussions about proper behaviors and expectations in the hallways.

We talk, and talk, and talk some more! (Notice I said WE talk...not just I talk.) Talking together about the behaviors rather than being talked to about the behaviors is much more effective! That is why I like using the social stories. They are great springboards for discussion.

#2... PRACTICE

Next, we practice. We practice EVERY PART of the behaviors we want to see in the hall. We practice in the classroom first. (Walking, facing forward, hands at our sides, not talking, staying in line.) Then we practice in the hall. An important part of practicing is modeling for the students what you want to see. Show them what you see them doing right and show them what you see them doing wrong! (No names of course!) Students love to see you model a behavior knowing in their heart that they've got it right! They also love watching you model those crazy inappropriate behaviors too, like, "should we walk all the way down the hall rubbing our head on the lockers as we walk...like this?"

#3... MAKE GOING INTO THE HALLWAY A FUN EVENT

When we line up to go into the hall, we have a couple chants that we use as a fun way to get ourselves prepared to leave the safety and anonymity of our classroom and enter the "real world". These chants come from our friend Emily at Polka Dots Please. 

We just love everything she does! (Yes, I may be slightly biased since she was once my student teacher many years ago, but once you visit her blog and her store, I am sure you will love her as much as I do!) Our favorite is the "Mirror Mirror On The Wall" chant that tells us to check ourselves in the mirror before we go out the door, to make sure we are ready to go! (It is also a great way to check our hair and teeth to make sure we are presentable for the "real world" without feeling vain about it!)

#4...HOLD THE STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE

After all that talk and practice and modeling about proper hallway behaviors, it is important to then make sure you hold your students accountable for those same hallway behaviors. Stop periodically as you are walking and turn around and check on them. Walk slow enough that they can keep up with you (I am SO guilty of forgetting to do this!), and acknowledge their good behavior when you get to your destination so they know you are noticing their hard work! I have a couple other ways I hold my students accountable in the hallways. One way, is to have the line leader carry the Voice Level Indicator sign in the air for the class to see, to remind them of the appropriate voice level in the hallway. 

I also hand out Celebration Tags for good hallway behavior. 

Then there is the Secret Walker....Have you tried Secret Walker in your classroom? If you haven't, you have got to..THIS is a gem! 
Ok, so here is how Secret Walker works...
In my classroom, one of the class jobs is Caboose. The job of the Caboose is to always be at the end of the line when we go anywhere (we keep the same jobs all week), and to choose and watch the Secret Walker. THIS IS A COVETED JOB!!! THERE IS NO MORE POWERFUL SITUATION IN A FIRST GRADERS DAY! (wink wink!)

So, in the morning when the students come in, the Caboose student will choose a name out of the Secret Walker envelope. (NO PEEKING! This is very important, or you will find that friends will only choose friends, etc.) The Caboose then lets you know who the Secret Walker is but is not allowed to tell anyone else. (Revealing who it is before the end of the day is an immediate loss of power for the rest of the week!)

Whenever we leave the classroom, the Caboose is then in charge of watching the Secret Walker to see if he/she is following the hallway rules. At the end of the day it is revealed whether or not the Secret Walker did well. (I assist with this process if I have a particularly difficult Caboose, or know that the Caboose may not be an impartial judge for whatever reason.) If the answer is YES, THE SECRET WALKER DID A GREAT JOB IN THE HALLS TODAY, then and ONLY then does the Caboose reveal the name! (This way we are not ridiculing anyone for bad behavior.) The Secret Walker gets a round of applause, a slip/poem to take home, and a Brag Tag for his/her necklace.

 That is it! My students LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, the Secret Walker routine!

(By the way, when we pull names, we leave those names out of the envelope until all the names have been pulled. Then we put them all back in and start again.) 

(If you are interested in trying any of these ideas in your classroom or want to learn more about them, just click on the pictures!)

Hope this helps with your hallway behaviors! Happy traveling!

5

Making A "No Name Board" For Your Classroom and Your Sanity

     Hi Friends! Today I want to show you how to make a "No Name Board" for your classroom. What is it and why do you need one? Well, let me just tell you...
     So, a "No Name Board" is a place to put those papers that INEVITABLY get turned in NAMELESS... EVEN AFTER YOU HAVE SAID 7,985,453,213 TIMES "Don't forget to put your name on your paper." It is, essentially, a place to put those poor, nameless papers. And...for some reason, those NAMELESS papers that NO ONE would claim before...suddenly, magically, miraculously seem to reconnect with their owners once they have been "featured" on this "fancy-shmancy board".
     But, the why you need one of these boards in your life IMMEDIATELY may be the most important part in all of this...

TO SAVE YOUR SANITY!

     Because, here is the deal, you and I both know...it is going to happen. No matter how many times you say it, sing it, repeat it, chant it, dance it, and act it out together in cooperative groups...there WILL BE students who will turn in their papers without names on them... In the past this may or may not have been something that has made you tiptoe very close to the edge of your sanity. But NO MORE! I am here to save your sanity with the "CUTENESS FACTOR" of the "No Name Board".

     Now hear me out...I am a firm believer that 

FUNCTIONALITY + CUTENESS = HAPPINESS x INFINITY

EVERY SINGLE TIME!

     So, yes, there will always be papers without names on them. Yes, it is irritating. But now, when you go to hang them on the "No Name Board"...you will immediately stop and think to yourself, "Look how cute that "No Name Board" is! I am so glad I made that absolutely cute thing and I have it in my life!" Then you will forget all about being irritated that those few papers don't have names on them and you will go and drink a cup of coffee and celebrate your FANTASTIC self!

                           *To get yourself a coffee mug like this one, click on the picture above.*

Here is a video showing you the steps I went through to make my "No Name Board".

As promised in the video, here are the steps for making the "No Name Board" written out for you.

   
You can get all the supplies you see here from Hobby Lobby and Michaels, and if you don't want to go to both stores, I am sure you can find substitutions for any of these products in either store or even in your own home. (For instance, I already had the clothespins, paint, and both kinds of glue at home, just waiting to be used for a fun project!) *I just noticed I did forget to take a picture of the q-tips. Sorry...you also need a couple q-tips!

How To Make A "No Name Board":
1. Evenly space five clothespins at the bottom of the board. You want them to hang over the edge. Use a q-tip to apply the wood glue to the top portion of the clothespins (from the end to the metal piece) and then stick them onto the board. (The use of the q-tip is so that you don't get goopy wood glue all over everything...or maybe that is just something I do when I am crafting.) Let those dry for a few hours. (The bottle says 24 hours...I cannot wait that long when I am creating CUTENESS! But you can do what you want!)

2. Spray paint your board and clothespins black.(Don't forget to do the edges.) Let paint dry. (I would say something about watching paint dry here...but I won't.)

3. Now measure and cut the ribbon to edge the board with. Then use the Tacky Glue to glue the ribbon down with. (I don't use a q-tip for this glue, because it usually comes out of the bottle pretty controlled.)

4. Next, you are going to make your ribbon knots. Choose four ribbons for each clothespin. Cut the ribbons in half and set half aside. Once you have them in half, then holding them together, fold them in half, leaving about a  1 1/2" or 2" loop at the top. Tie the whole bundle in a knot. Do this for each clothespin. Using the Tacky Glue, glue the ribbons down by putting the glue onto the clothespin and then pressing down on the ribbons.

5. Last, you need to position your letters onto the board. This pack of letters only had one alphabet set in it, but we need two N's. Instead of buying two letter packs, I just used the Z turned on it's side to make the second N. (Take that- Company that made the letters but only sells one alphabet per pack!!! What can you spell with only one of each letter??!!!) Once you have your letters positioned how you want them, then glue them down using the Tacky Glue. Leave the board set out to dry. (Probably overnight this time.)

6. You can put whatever kind of hardware you need to on the back to hang it. I put thick strips of magnets on the back of mine and hang it on my whiteboard because we cannot hang things on the walls at my school. (It takes quite a few magnets to hold it up.)
   

This is what your final project will look like!

TOTAL CUTENESS...RIGHT!!???

In the video I told you we sing a song about putting our name on our paper in my class. It does work for the majority of the kids. If you would like a copy of it you can get it by clicking on the picture below.

   
     Oh, and here is a close-up picture of the big paper clips from Michaels that I used the extra ribbon on. I just tie the ribbon into knots at the top. I usually put three or four ribbons onto each paper clip. These make GREAT gifts for team members!

Send me pictures of your "No Name Boards" and your paperclip creations! I would LOVE to see them so I can get my HAPPINESS x INFINITY out of their FUNCTIONALITY + CUTENESS!
Thanks for stopping by!

0