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I made a good number of blunders my first year teaching that still make me cringe. I learned, though. And it鈥檚 fair to say that聽when it comes to managing a classroom, most of what we learn as new teachers is trial by fire. It鈥檚 also smart to heed the advice of those who have walked鈥攁nd stumbled鈥攂efore you. If you鈥檙e struggling with discipline, here are five tips that you can start using right away.

Classroom Management Tips for New Teachers

1. Use a normal, natural voice:聽Are you teaching in your normal voice? Every teacher can remember this from the first year in the classroom: spending those first months talking at an above-normal volume until one day, you lose your voice.

Raising our voice to get students鈥� attention is not the best approach, and the stress it causes and the vibe it puts in the room just isn鈥檛 worth it. The students will mirror your voice level, so avoid using that semi-shouting voice. If we want kids to talk at a normal, pleasant volume, we must do the same.

You want to also differentiate your tone. If you are asking students to put away their notebooks and get into their groups, be sure to use a declarative, matter-of-fact tone. If you are asking a question about a character in a short story, or about contributions made by the Roman Empire, use an inviting, conversational tone.

2. Speak only when students are quiet and ready:聽This golden nugget was given to me by a 20-year veteran when I was in my first year. She told me that I should just wait and then wait some more until all students were quiet.

So I tried it; I fought the temptation to talk. Sometimes I鈥檇 wait much longer than I thought I could hold out for. Slowly but surely, the students would cue each other: 鈥淪hh, she鈥檚 trying to tell us something,鈥� 鈥淐ome on, stop talking,鈥� and 鈥淗ey guys, be quiet.鈥� They did all the work for me.

My patience paid off. Yours will too. And you鈥檒l get to keep your voice.

3. Use hand signals and other nonverbal communication:聽Holding one hand in the air and making eye contact with students is a great way to quiet the class and get their attention on you. It takes awhile for students to get used to this as a routine, but it works wonderfully. Have them raise their hand along with you until all are up. Then lower yours and talk.

Flicking the lights off and on once to get students鈥櫬燼ttention is an oldie but goodie. It could also be something you do routinely to let them know they have three minutes to finish an assignment or clean up, etc.

With younger students, try clapping your hands three times and teaching the children to quickly clap back twice. This is a fun and active way to get their attention and all eyes on you.

4. Address behavior issues quickly鈥攁nd wisely:聽Be sure to address an issue between you and a student or between two students as quickly as possible. Bad feelings鈥攐n your part or the students鈥欌�攃an so quickly grow from molehills into mountains.

To handle聽those conflicts wisely, you and the student should step away from the other students, just in the doorway of the classroom perhaps. Wait until after instruction if possible, avoiding interruption of the lesson. Ask naive questions such as, 鈥淗ow might I help you?鈥� Don鈥檛 accuse the child of anything. Act as if you do care, even if you have the opposite feeling at that moment. The student will usually become disarmed because she might be expecting you to be angry and confrontational.

If you must address bad behavior during your instruction, always take a positive approach. Say, 鈥淚t looks like you have a question鈥� rather than, 鈥淲hy are you off task and talking?鈥�

When students have conflicts with each other, arrange for them to meet with you at lunch or after or before school. Use neutral language as you act as a mediator, helping them resolve the problem peacefully聽or at least reach an agreeable truce.

5. Always have a well-designed, engaging lesson:聽This tip is most important of all. Perhaps you鈥檝e heard that if you don鈥檛 have a plan for them, they鈥檒l have one for you. Always overplan. It鈥檚 better to run out of time than to run short on a lesson.

From my own firsthand experience and after many classrooms observations, there鈥檚 one thing I know for sure: Bored students equal trouble! If the lesson is poorly planned, there is often way too much talking and telling from the teacher and not enough hands-on learning and discovery by the students. We all know engaging lessons take both a serious mind and time to plan. And they are certainly worth it鈥攆or many reasons.