Submitted by Sally Utley, Columbia, South Carolina
Idea posted November 15, 2002
Sometimes I think that my WHOLE SCHOOL needs a time-out at the same time! It certainly fits with the 4th and 5th grades, and this year's K's and 1's are more immature than last year's. Some tricks I use are:
1) I change incentives regularly. All the discipline plans in the world that work for most folks will work for a month at the most. I get jealous of those who say, "I take the Boomwhacker® away from anyone who plays out of turn and that solves the problem." I'd have to take up all of them before we played anything!
2) Chalk Talk works for awhile. Stickers or stamps on the hand work on days when I really need to accomplish things. (These days, I give out a sticker EACH time I see kids following directions. Some leave class with 4 or 5. I watch the ringleaders very closely and try hard to find them doing SOMETHING right. Their first sticker usually acts as an incentive for them.) Sing a favorite song IF we finish this activity.
3) I do lots of hand/arm movements (every song - to give them something positive to do with hands rather than hitting their neighbor!). We keep our bottoms glued to the chair A LOT. They just get out of control too quickly.
4) When I begin to add movement, I start with stand up/sit down right in front of your own chair, and talk about safety. I don't want anyone to get hurt and cry in my music room! We must stay in our own space to be safe.
5) K's and 1's get to sit crisscross in the chair. That cuts down on legs swinging and kicking each other.
6) I constantly work on the seating arrangement. The "busiest" usually sit on the end of a row with an empty seat next to them to give them some space.
7) My time-out place is a chair at the FRONT corner of the room facing the board. I cut 2 sides of a large box, covered it with paper, labeled it Compose Yourself, and put a picture of Haydn writing music. The box acts as a screen on one side and behind the chair, so the time-out child sits in the desk, head down. I can see the child, but the child cannot gain the attention of the class with their antics. My rule for primaries is that they must sit quietly for one song. If they do that, they can come back to their seat. If they are noisy in time-out, they stay for another song. I have to work hard to remember to BRING THEM BACK IN TO THE CLASS. I have found that the longer they stay there, the more disturbances they will make.
8) I stand as close as possible to the ones having the most trouble that day. Sometimes I bring that student up front with me and just hold on to them in a gentle hug while I go on with the lesson. I think they need attention and sometimes (never always!) this works and they are quiet while they are in front with me. Sometimes I put a chair for me in front and a chair for one student right next to mine. As long as the student in question is in or next to the chair, I don't fuss, but I continually try to engage them in the songs. One very needy K would lay on the floor under the chair and sing all of the songs while he played with the bottom of the chair.
9) Some days we practice coming in to the room and sitting down, then lining up at the door over and over and over until we can do it in an orderly fashion.
10) Some days I escort the worst offender to the gym. There are 2 gym teachers and they have students on the wall writing if they forget their tennis shoes. They add mine to the lineup and they don't get to participate at all that day.
11) I have stopped class for the day. I do have some books in my classroom. I try to give a book to those who were trying to participate, but those who were disrupting must sit with heads down quietly, while I write the letters home! I figure why should I use my time at home with my own children to fill in these "bad day" notes. Take it out of the time of the kids who were having a bad day.
12) I also have a listening center that I have used in 2 ways. Sometimes I let those who are trying to learn go there while I deal with the rest who are not. Other times I send the one or two children who cannot remain in control of themselves to participate in this alternate music lesson at the back of the room (or in the time-out corner). I have used a tape of Peter And The Wolf and Beethoven Lives Upstairs™. Anything with music and narration would probably work.
13) I have used simple music games as incentives - we will play a game TODAY if we have a super day - 3 or less time-outs. Reward them quickly. Don't try to save them up. I tried playing games when they had accumulated 4 supers. Many of my classes will never even got two and then gave up. I just had to make myself shorten the lesson and save time for a 3-5 minute "game."
Things do get better as we begin to build our repertoire of favorite songs. Some days we just sing and sing and sing. Some days are still difficult, but they do get used to your style, and you will begin to figure out which kids are the ringleaders and be able to key in on them.