Pretty typical behaviour

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Pretty typical behaviour
By Cathy-Dee

Hi Missy,

Grade 1 is such an invigorating grade to teach. Even after being in kindergarten they still need a lot of work with routines and it tends to take anywhere up to 4 weeks to really get a handle on them.

I have
found over time that having a bag of "tricks" to get their attention and to in a way make things somewhat of a game for them tends to work well in the long run.
For the hallways - I like to use this system. Mystery Walkers - I let them know ahead of time that I will be looking for 2 mystery walkers who are following the rules of being in the hallway. Those walkers may get a treat,

a sticker on their charts, points, or whatever towards any system you are using.
They love this as it's like a contest and they all work hard. If the whole class does exceptionally well I may reward the whole class from time to time.

Quiet/Noisy times - grade 1 students are noisy - they learn a lot by hearing and verbalizing. However they also love to chat. So you have to strike a balance.
I often use music as a signal - when the music is on - voices are off.
I will also flick lights to remind them to use quiet voices.
Walking around the room during your lesson - just stand beside the group that is talking - they will stop most times.
You can actually buy a yacker light (I've seen them but I don't know the official light) - it changes colour based on noise levels so the students learn to keep it at a certain colour - they are pricy though.

- I also like to use response chants such as
A B CDE (The students repeat after me). So when I need their attention I start the chant and they just automatically reply - then I have their attention.

I do have a page of hints on my school's website, if you'd like the link, just send me an email and I'll send it to you.