Any classroom management strategies that REALLY WORK?

Question

traditional setup, 25 students, about 10 of them are the "regular" rule breakers

as children-- they talk, act as their favorite cartoon characters, wander around or pick a fight with someone while the i am talking/introducing a concept. No matter how nice i tell them to behave or how firm i try to be.. they still disobey. is there ANY technique/reward system/activity/etc. that helps lessen this classroom mess? most of them are not interested with the star stamp on their hand if they behave, and i can't afford to spend for tangible rewards.. isolating a student is also ineffective.

Answer 1

In my class we have a fairly normal routine...I try to make circle time as fun as possible...but know when to let go and move on.  

I use a management system in my 9 centers throughout the room.  Four to a center unless I specifically allow otherwise.  The children have come to realize that without their center card they are not allowed to be in a center...and that the favorites fill up fast.  The  center cards are passed out after circle time, and anyone who did not participate at the appropriate time are asked to do a modified circle time.....sing a few songs, answer a question or two, etc..... while the rest of the class is already playing in the centers that they have chosen.  

They have about an hour of center time, and have to clean up and check out of the center before moving to another center.  To insure this with a few of mine I have to take the center card or the toy in the next center away with a promise of giving it back once they have cleaned up where they were previously playing.  

During the hour of center time they are pretty free to choose what they want to do, as long as the basic classroom rules are followed.   This lessens my having to discipline as they are allowed to play freely.  There is a 5 minute warning before clean up time, than it is outside....a reward for cleaning up.  Anyone who is not cleaning has the following consequences:

-sit on the side while the others are cleaning

-not allowed to play in the center the next day or later in the same day

-anyone cleaning in a center they did not play in gets a reward...stickers from me

Hope this helps

Answer 2

PARENT OF FORMER TROUBLE KIDS

My son's class there was a felt chart and it looked like a stop light. On it it had the names of all the students on little Velcro things. All of them started on green at the beginning of the day. First infraction the student would go to yellow(the warning) next infraction they would be on red and loose their playtime. It worked for my 2nd son.

   Ultimately if it is the same student time after time I would really consider having a notebook log to go back and forth between you and the parents so they would absolutely know when their kid is misbehaving and they can address it the same day. As a parent it is hard to punish a child for an infraction that happened a week ago (I have this problem with most of my children's educators). Not to mention you can have the parent give you insight into what his mood is for the day or why he is behaving that way. THIS DID WORK FOR MY 3rd CHILD!!! by the end of the year he was the student of the month.

Answer 3

Please tell us that with 25 preschoolers that you have an aide to help you?  If not, recruit some parent or grandparent volunteers.  The more adults in the room, the better the discipline.  Also, sometimes there are homeschoolers in an area who might want to come volunteer time.

Also, use the divide and conquer method.  divide the kids into groups and let them rotate through activity stations.  Keep activities safe, age appropriate , and interesting.  The older they are , the more structured instructional time you can work in.

Establish some routine such as how to enter the room and hang up their coats, how to wash their hands, how to listen to a story etc.   Use role modeling and practice.  Reward good behaviors more than poor behaviors.  For preschool, you probably have a lot of music, art, and movement activities in your schedule.

Use natural consequences as much as possible, such as, if a child draws on the wall, an adult can help him/ her collect cleaning materials and clean the wall.

Talk to your director about discipline problems, both for guidance and so that the director is prepared if parents come in to discuss the situation.  And, if the kid continues to be a problem, refer him/ her for help, talk to parents etc. Perhaps the director knows of an experienced effective preschool teacher who you could shadow or who might mentor you. Our town has preschool social workers, therapists etc. who work with the schools and families on behavior issues.

I have included a few  websites below to give you ideas, but try a search using "preschool" discipline as your search term.   Your job should be a fun one that you enjoy everyday.