My students won't stop talking.Help!!?

Question

I've been watching this group of kids since they were in first grade. They have been super talkative every year. It doesn't matter which teacher they had (we have 2-3 per grade level), every year this has been the worst group in the school. They've finally made it down the hall to my fourth grade classroom and they have not changed one bit. Usually on the first day of school the kids are on their best behavior. This group was talkative from day one and the other fourth grade teacher and I had to get onto our classes several times that first day.

It's a small private school where the kids have been together for 4 years and know each other very well. Any suggestions? By the way, we do a lot of partner, group and whole-class discussing in my room, anyway. We also do quite a bit involving hands-on, both group, partner and individually.

Answer 1

Do what every other teacher threatens to do, give them more homework, or tell them the next one to talk without permission will get written up. Problem solved.

Answer 2

Gosh, I am in a small private school with 6th graders with the same problem. A lot of it, I just have to accept...but to minimize it as much as I can I:

1. Put them in rows and if they earn the right to be seated in pairs by showing me they can be quiet, I'll do that. If they are loud again, they go back into rows. (I change seating for group work.)

2. I have a chart on the board and I make a big deal about going up to the board with my marker to make a tally mark. Once I get to 5 tally marks, the class "owes me" 5 minutes of recess to do more class work.  Generally, the dramatic swing of my arm up to the board gets them quiet and I don't have to put the mark down.

3. I tell them if they can't be focused in class to work, they will have to do whatever we are working on as homework or I  have threatened to--then followed through by assigning additional homework.

4. I send notes home for parents to sign, or if a student just won't stop talking after several requests, he/she has to write an essay on why that is a problem and have parents sign it.  This usually stops it for a while.

My kids are really good kids, it isn't mean talking or even that they mean to be disrespectful...they are just super-social.  But boy it gets annoying!! I feel your pain!

I like the treat idea for the kids that demonstrate quiet behavior that someone mentioned above. I might give that a try too!

Answer 3

Rather than trying to stop or minimize the talking, try refocusing the discussion to topic related conversations.  We teach using the inquiry method at my school and the classrooms are full of students interacting with other students - but it has to be on the curriculum being studied.

Answer 4

something that got our class quiet:

the teachers had their doors open and one from down the hall told her kids to be loud while our teacher went down the hall and slammed the door screaming "HEY!!! SOME KIDS ARE TAKING A TEST!!!!! AND THATS TOTALLY ANNOYING TO THEM, SO CAN U FREAKIN SHUT UP AND LET US TEST IN PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS SOOOOO ANNOYING AND IF MY KIDS KEEP TALKING LIKE THEY DO NOW, OHHH I'LL BE IN AN EVEN PISSIER ATTIDUDE, SO SHUT UR FREAKIN MOUTHS" then the door slamed and she came back and everyone was quiet,

or: dont tell them and get some candy (not like a bar of candy but like a little snack size starburst or two) and give a couple of them to a random kid and say "jimmy was the quietest kid this week so he gets starburst" but be sure not to tell them or else they'll be super good, let them be all sad they didnt get a starburst!

Answer 5

Split them up, assign the whole class to seats.  separating those specific kids as far away from each other as you can. Unfortunately not all children are taught basic, respect, and discipline at home.  Is it possible to split the kids up by trading some students with the other 4th grade teacher?

Answer 6

Kids respond best to easily attainable short term goals. They respond to rewards a lot better than punishment too. I like to bet my students that they can do certain things and behave certain ways. I have a marble jar. Every time they win a bet, in goes a couple of marbles. If they mess up, out come a few marbles. Once the jar is full, I give them 5 extra minutes of recess. I let them bank up to 30 minutes of it, and then we go outside to play kickball or something. That 30 minutes or recess can buy you hours and hours of efficient, friendly, and relaxing teaching.

When they start to get loud, I just rattle that marble jar and it's like I just turned the volume down on the stereo.

Plus, they know I HATE taking marbles out, and I LOVE putting them in the jar. Once you establish that positive relationship, the last thing they want to do is make their teacher unhappy by forcing me to take marbles out.

I am of the opinion that most kids like a friendly and relaxed classroom. They just need the tools to create it for themselves.

Of course, some groups are easier than others. For the tough ones, you just have to remember that you are the adult and they are the kids. It pays to have a log fuse and a thick skin!

Good luck! I get my new group in just a few weeks.

Answer 7

I hate to say this, but if they have been this way since 1st grade you might just have to accept it. Sometimes groups of personalities just get together in a way that creates chaos. I'd way rather have a talkative group than a mean group.

What I would do is give them opportunities to talk, just as you are doing, but let them practice silence. I used to bet my kids they couldn't be quiet for 10 minutes and they would bend over backwards to prove me wrong. If they blew it and started talking, I'd be really nice and give them another chance. Of course, there was usually a chocolate reward at the end. My reward was that they were not as noisy as usual.

Another thing I did was allow guest teachers - the student would teach the class. It helped them realize how hard it is for the teacher when they are so talkative.

I pretty much laugh stuff like this off and take a "what am I going to do with you guys?" attitude. If they are basically good kids, use humor to help them see how ridiculous they are.

Count your blessings that you only have them one year!

Answer 8

http://www.fredjones.com

http://www.harrywong.com

Nothing need more be said.

Answer 9

When they talk..are they talking about school work or gossip?Threatening students will do no good. You need to establish rules at the very beginning of the school year so they know what is and is not acceptable behavior. Post them in your room. Let the students help with establishing a few of the rules. Then go over the rule list and make sure they all understand them. By the fourth grade, kids are old enough to understand what is acceptable behavior. If rules are broken, follow through with discipline.

Also, have you considered there may be too much activities and hands on projects going on in your room? Kids need quiet time too, to journal or read. Also make time to talk privately with each student, get to know him or her. Also, at the beginning of the school year, write to the parents, letting them know your expectations and invite them into your classroom.  

Answer 10

Try CHAMPs.  A used book is around $50.  This is a complete system, but it is for difficult groups, so it includes consequences.  Harry Wong and Fred Jones assume that if you follow their mthods, the students will behave - not always so.  Basically, there is a template for actually teaching behavior, along with instructions for implementation.  He also suggests procedures for difficult classes.  Teachers are always told to do this, but never told HOW.

In the meanwhile, I would also go back to direct instruction for a while, and really limit the conversation.

Answer 11

Don't know if this ok in Canada? Ask the talktive students open thier mouth wide for over 10 min, just like a punishment. This was happened in my home country, and the children would shup up.

Answer 12

firstly are you really a teacher

anyway you put the noisiest students at the front and the less talkative at the back so you keep an eye on them at all times they also need a bot more strictness in class if you need to raise your voice raise it because if they are seriously noisy they deserve it .

Answer 13

Keep them very busy.  Limit the amount of your talking.  Find a rubric for group work participation or better yet have the kids make one  - let them decide what the criteria, goal and target are.  Then the students assess each other and themselves as to how  they have done in the participation component of group, pair or individual work.  

Please no extra homework - what good does that do?

Answer 14

give them more homework if they talk.  

Answer 15

1.  i never say actions in the negative.  if i want students to be silent, instead of saying "stop talking", i say "we are silent".  instead of saying, "your too loud", i say, "everyone's writing".  i state the action i want to see.  it sounds corny but it really works.  people respond to the last word they hear.  the last word is what registers and is the action they tend to do.  so if you are saying, "stop talking" they are hearing "talking" and that's what they do.  i read this years ago and have found it to be true year after year.

2.  time group activities. give slightly less time than the group or partners think they need and have them separate back into rows.  calling on the groups or partners to report their answers doesn't mean they have to be still grouped to do so.  if they are at tables instead of desk, add points or a reward for the group that is the quietest when they finish (set up some kind of system).

3. give clear directions of what is expected when the group is through collaborating (ie. read silently, make an individual list of questions to ask the other groups, move back to your row, complete next assignment)

4.  my best advice is to time everything and to set up some sort of reward system.

Answer 16

I would definitely split them up. Put a talkative student at the end of a row sitting next to a quiet bigger child of the opposite s*x.  It works great if you have a small boy seated next to a tall quiet girl.  Then, award points for the quietest team or group.  Try to divide up the talkative kids evenly among  groups.  I'm assuming that your class consists of students divided into groups.  By awarding points to the best groups, creates positive peer pressure and students really strive to become better instead of just always being punished.  A combination of incentives and punishments, but the punishment would really be the consequences of not earning enough points,is a great way to control behavior problems in school.