I wonder the same exact things!

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I wonder the same exact things!
By Suzi

I am so glad you brought this up! As a sub, I often wonder what the noise level should be in the classroom. It's so hard because you never know what the teacher expects from them. Some teachers like total silence, some
allow a little talking.... I am just as clueless as you as to what to do about this. I know total silence is a lot to ask for on every assignment all day long, especially with the younger ones, but letting them talk can easily get out of hand. If the noise level gets to a point that I think is too loud, I go up to the front of the room and say 1....2....3....WHO'S TALKING?
Anyone

talking, even the slightest whisper, pulls a card (or gets their name on the board, etc...). They learn fast if you show them what you want.

As for talking while I am teaching, I don't allow it. I start pulling cards or writing names down, taking away recess, etc. The first couple show the class you mean business and they get the point from that, usually. They can't think that they can talk while you are talking. I always tell them that I will only give the directions once and I won't repeat myself. This usually gets their attention right away for some reason.

One other thing I have noticed is that if you sub for the same class, they will get a little better every time. Classes I have been back to many times never give me a problem. I have found they pay attention better, get quiet faster, and don't fool around as much. I started to see this happening after a while and this made me feel much better about my classroom management abilities. Until then, I was very insecure, I thought that maybe I wouldn't be able to handle my own classroom one day as well as I had hoped. What I realized is that when you have your own classroom, YOU decide when it will be quiet and when they can talk. The kids will become accustomed to what YOU tell them and will behave accordingly. They'll know your rules, your signals for quiet, and your expectations because you will be demanding good behavior from them everyday. This is something I always have to keep in the back of my mind because sometimes you just get those classes where they can't seem to shut up!

I would appreciate any advice anyone has to share...