Teachers share tips to get little kids to behave

photos by Ali James/Special to the News Sentinel Shannondale Elementary School teacher Bill Cameron shows his class of kindergarteners how to match adjectives to fish pictures.

A room full of kindergarteners at Shannondale Elementary School are on their feet singing an enthusiastic rendition of "The Ants Go Marching."

Next, with just a few words of direction from teacher Bill Cameron, the class separates into pairs to rotate through their learning centers. Every student knows the routine and quietly works in his center while Cameron listens to a small group practicing their reading.

Cameron does not raise his voice, repeat his instructions or threaten time out to get his 20 students engaged and behaving for hours every school day. If only parents could work the same magic at home with just one or two children.

"At Walmart, you can see the parent that is consistent with her children," he says. "My mother was consistent. They (other kids) would say "go ask your mom," and I would know the answer already.

"What I tell new teachers, especially, is consistency, and whatever I do on day one I do every single day after that. I don…t change," says Cameron. "I put in place that very first day a routine, a schedule. When we have that schedule established, that…s when I start to teach."

Cameron is not the only teacher who has a few tricks up his sleeves. He and other local teachers share their methods here:

Attention, please

"Whoop-dee-doo! is my callout," says Cameron. The children immediately stop what they are doing and respond with a chorus of "Caribou" with their thumbs beside their ears and their fingers waggling. "But, any different noise out of the norm will get their attention, even bathroom humor, but there…s a fine line."

Lauren Bounds, a first-grade teacher at Thackston School uses a little bell or shaker to get the attention of her class. "A lot of times we…ll do clapping patterns and everybody knows they have to join in and usually after we do that for a minute they…re ready to go," says Bounds.

Keep their hands to themselves

Cameron uses "duck tails and bubbles," for which kids put their hands together behind their backs so that their hands look like duck tails and puff out their cheeks like they caught bubbles. This helps his class walk quietly down the hall in an orderly fashion.

Help them feel useful

According to Cameron, his students love to be helpful. He rotates star jobs, such as line leader, pencil sharpener and librarian in his little classroom community. He even appoints a substitute student. "I want them to know if they…re absent, that they…re going to be missed," he explains.

Amy Marion, a first-grade teacher at Webb School, also allocates jobs such as wiping the tables and sweeping the floor. Everyday jobs are unwritten, such as wiping up after themselves and recycling.

Use what makes them tick

"I…ve got my dinosaur boys and my shark kids and my Lalaloopsy girls, and I go home and pull from that media interest so I have them eating out of my hand," says Cameron. "I need to know how to draw a Lalaloopsy so I have their attention." He often integrates their interests into the lesson.

Give computer games a purpose

Cameron feels technology is useful, if it has a purpose. "If they have an interest in Angry Birds, I tell them they can play it for a short time, but they must tell me their score, and compare it. What…s their favorite bird? Then write it down. Then I have a language lesson."

Listen up

"Engage your child in a five-minute conversation in Kroger," suggests Cameron. "Ask them their interests and give them choices and then value their choices. No matter what they are."

Create a schedule

"You outline the day. There…s a flow to it," Marion explains. "They really do well with just knowing it…s going to be the same. Not having to figure something out. "If you…re not consistent, the kids are going to take over."

Show them the way

"I…ve had kids that still have problems with three-step directions in December," says Marion. "And I…ve given them a buddy who reminds them first thing in the morning, given them a checklist with pictures or a visual, something to check off. So they know the steps to keep them organized."

Save up for rewards

Bounds suggests giving kids a piggy bank with play money. Let them earn "money" for treats and privileges such as a trip to the ice cream parlor while learning to identify all of the coins.

Turn negative into positive

"If there…s one child being a detractor, give him an integral job," says Marion. "In first grade they like to roll around a lot, I bring them up and make them an active part of the lesson."

Take the pressure off

"Particular kids have a hard time sitting on the rug," explains Marion. "There…s a boy who gets a release if he…s carrying something heavy. So I might send him to the library with a pile of books. Another child I might send to the library and never see him again."

Set your expectations

"The expectations need to be the same at home," says Marion. "A lot of times, especially if this is their first child, the parents… expectations can be very low." She suggests you find out what the expectations are for your child at school and set similar age-appropriate ones at home.

"The difference between home and school is that school is already established before they even walk through the door," says Cameron. "I just have those expectations, this is what we do, this is how we act, this is how we behave in class."