i sympathize By Lisa

I too resorted to candy at one point and got out my infamous skittle jar I think about EVERY FIVE MINUTES by the end. We had some really great learning activities but it was a constant struggle to keep their attention whole group, even when it was for a very short time. They would fuss, touch other people, turn around and talk, etc. I tried EVERYTHING. Negative, positive, carpets, tape, cubes, stopping the lesson, you name it. In the end, the skittles won. LOL :-D I'm not proud of it!
I have a lot of thinking to do about how to handle whole group lessons next year.

These are some great suggestions. Keep them coming! I would LOVE to have a class this year that can be silly and fun when the time is right but is calm and orderly during important work and transition. I'm a very quiet person and just can't deal with a lot of noise, though I do understand that it comes with the territory. Its just that I've seen a lot of teachers with 1st graders who know exactly what to say and how to say it to keep them calm! So I know it CAN be done!

Some positive things I used this year to share:
-Secret walker and worker. During walks to specials and work time I chose 2 kids in my head and announced to the class that I had chosen a secret worker or walker (without saying who). If these two did the right thing they would get a sticker at the end of the walk or work. THe kids ALL wanted to stay quiet to get it b/c they didn't know who it was! Occasionally I would say "well I'm sorry but I can only award one secret walker today because the other was not on the right track (didnt say their name)" and there would be sighs of disappointment ;-).

-Ticket jar - I would stop occasionally and write names on little tickets (sometimes I'd say the names and sometimes not) to put in a jar. At random times and on Fridays I would pull names and those would get a small prize. We discussed probability and how the better you behave the more likely you are to have more tickets.

-Have tally points for each group of desks and keep it up on the board where they can see it clearly. I gave my groups shape names. By the end of the week the group with the most points got a prize on friday before dismissal. Great way to keep them quiet, they really help each other to quiet down. I did have criers every friday when they wouldnt win which was a little too much drama but I guess you'll have that in first grade.

-I announce a mystery spot during clean up. I don't say what or where it is or let them ask me questions. They clean up THOROUGHLY and QUICKLY because the person who finds my mystery spot will get a prize. (it could be a chair that needs pushed in, marker, scrap paper, etc.)

These were all things that worked for me this year! I found that I had to change them up quite a bit to keep it exciting.

Lisa