Teachers establish norms, expectations, and procedures that form the classroom culture for their students. What teachers do interactively with students builds the classroom environment whether teachers do so consciously or not. Learning environments are most productive when they are free of fear and intimidation. Teachers who are able to positively redirect negative student behaviors toward learning show good classroom management skills. By removing obstacles to learning and encouraging growth, inspired teachers create classrooms that run smoothly.

The Unaware Teacher

A well-managed classroom is no accident. A teacher's actions mold student behavior. Some teachers have no clear vision of what behavior they expect from students or how to reinforce desired actions and interrupt undesirable patterns. Also, students arrive with different notions of what proper behavior is, or no idea at all. If students' previous classrooms were chaotic, they will bring related habits with them. Teachers must retrain students, instilling expectations for the behavior they require from students. The unaware teacher doesn't know how to do so.

The unaware teacher uses muddled directions and procedures

There's an old saying: "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else." Unaware teachers don't yet know how to guide their students because they haven't thought clearly about their destination and how to get there. Here's a typical unaware teacher:

"Write your name on your predictions—no, wait. Don't put your names on them because we'll exchange papers and I don't want you to know whose guess you are looking at. Pass them forward—no wait, I don't want you to see anyone else's prediction. Just put them in the box. Hang on a minute; that will be too noisy and take too long. I'll just come around and collect them. Turn your paper face down on your desk until I get to you."

This teacher needs to decide a course of action and then follow through. Students need to know what's expected. Conflicting directions undermine students' confidence in the instructor.

Consistent procedures prevent disorder by creating classroom habits. What is the procedure for passing in papers? One teacher prefers to move around the room to make contact with individual students for a few seconds. Another wants every student to walk up and deposit papers because physical movement will diminish restlessness. Teachers use clearly thought-out procedures to reduce classroom confusion.

When he was a new teacher, Harry Wong, coauthor of The First Days of School (Wong & Wong, 2005), asked students to pass papers forward, up the rows. His students swatted classmates' backs to get their attention and called out their names. In response, Wong taught his students to pass papers leftward across the rows so they could make eye contact with the person beside them. The person nearest the wall then took the papers to the assignment box. Passing papers became a quiet and orderly procedure.

The unaware teacher uses procedures in ways that confuse students

Sometimes expectations conflict with one another and teachers must clarify desired behavior. Suppose a teacher prefers that her pupils line up to ask questions, get a drink, and go to gym, lunch, and recess. One day she announces a race to write the correct answers to geography questions on the board. Students lean forward with excitement.

The teacher reads the first question. Four students dash up and scrawl answers on the board. She becomes upset because they didn't line up and reprimands them. There is a conflict between the idea of a race and the teacher's usual expectation for lining up. If she wants lines at the board, students need to know this is expected. There is nothing wrong about her expectation, but it should be made clear in advance to avoid confusion.

The unaware teacher reacts instead of preventing

In the previous example, the teacher reacts after the behavior has occurred. She does not explain her expectations in advance; she reprimands afterward. Unclear expectations waste time and create student misunderstanding.

Harry Wong (Wong & Wong, 2005) makes a clear distinction between rules and procedures. If students break a rule—"no hitting," for example—they face consequences; however, if they fail to follow a procedure, Wong concludes they need more training in that procedure, so he provides more instruction and practice. Wong's goal is to make every procedure habitual and smooth, so time is spent on learning instead of reprimanding.

Unaware teachers reprimand often. Expectations aren't stated in advance, so students learn them only by failing to meet them. Students are scolded because they don't know what the teacher wants and thus do what is unwanted. Some decide that they'll never get it right, so they stop trying.

If students are asked to make models of chemical compounds from toothpicks and miniature marshmallows, what will happen? Many students will be tempted to eat the marshmallows. With no prevention plan, the teacher will soon be admonishing students for eating the supplies. Instead, before passing out materials, the teacher could tell students to eat one marshmallow and use the rest for models to be hung as mobiles in the classroom, or to eat no marshmallows until she has checked their construction. Procedures used as prevention rather than as a reaction make cooperation more common and scolding infrequent.

The unaware teacher deals ineffectively with disruptive students

Knowing when to intervene and how best to do it is an art. At any given moment one or more students in the classroom may be misbehaving. If teachers respond to every transgression, there is time for nothing else. A student folding paper into an airplane is less serious than a student cutting another's hair. Neither is as serious as a physical attack. Each needs a different response.

Making airplanes can be stopped by silently taking the folded paper without interrupting the lesson. The teacher wastes no time discussing it. The "barber" needs to be interrupted, too; however, this act is more invasive and permanent. A strong response can still be done calmly, by asking the culprit to wait in a time-out area until the teacher is ready to discuss punishment.

A physical attack by a student is a genuine emergency that must be stopped immediately. Teachers stop everything to deal with this situation. Until the office has been called, the attack ended, and the perpetrator removed for counseling or expulsion, the planned lesson must be set aside.

In between paper airplanes and assaults is a vast range of behaviors. Good teachers evaluate each behavior and determine appropriate responses. When unaware teachers do not respond at all, classrooms move toward chaos. Teachers must learn to deal with disruptive students quickly and effectively to preserve an atmosphere conducive to learning.

Disruptive behavior is not a character trait. Rather than believing a student is a troublemaker, a lazy student, or a chatterbox, we can rearrange our own thinking. We can choose to believe that a troublemaker is a child who hasn't yet learned to be peaceful. A lazy student hasn't yet learned organizational skills or the satisfaction of completing a task. The chatterbox hasn't yet developed impulse control. Each of them can change recurrent behaviors by creating new habits, with teacher support. The goal is to turn every disrupter into a productive student. Harsh overcorrection wastes as much time as ignoring misbehavior and makes the classroom a fearful place. If we separate students from their errors in judgment, we create a classroom setting that helps all students learn.

Questions to grow by

• Do you teach students clear procedures for normal activities in your classroom?
• When chaos erupts, do you examine your instructions to see if they contributed to the problem?
• Do you frequently scan the classroom to look for disruptions?
• Do you attend to the noise level to identify growing disruptions?
• Do you distinguish between minor and serious disruptions and respond accordingly?

The Aware Teacher

Aware teachers have figured out that order and organization are important, so they try to create and maintain them. They are so focused on gaining obedience, however, they sometimes use fear, ridicule, or bribery rather than clear, logical guidelines to nurture self-direction. They are unlikely to use prevention techniques and often ignore warning signs, letting problems advance too far before intervening.

The aware teacher provides procedures based on compliance

Classroom management requires that students be taught to follow rules and procedures that advance the goals of the classroom. Some teachers ask for cooperation; others demand complete obedience at all times. Some inspire a desire to please; others use fear of punishment. At the aware level, teachers don't think much about choices for students; they want students to follow guidelines without question: "Be good. Line up. Raise your hand. Don't touch others. Don't throw things. Turn in your homework. Bring your book. Put things away."

If students know the rules and if the teacher consistently enforces them, order will follow. Learning is increased by reducing confusion. But rules don't cover every possibility. For instance, if sixteen 1st graders are lined up at the drinking fountain and Monique suddenly twists out of line, how will the teacher react? She might remind Monique that she broke a rule and has forfeited her chance to get a drink. The teacher might also wonder what prompted Monique's behavior: Was she stung by a bee? Kicked by a classmate? Either situation makes enforcing the rule less defensible. Good management includes finding out reasons for atypical behavior and being judicious in reactions.

For instance, if the rule is "stay in your seat," but the class contains a student who is incredibly restless, it might be wise to let him silently pace the back of the room during lectures. Thus, the teacher can reduce the time spent reminding the student to settle down and all students might learn better. The teacher can stipulate that the offer will be revoked if the pupil distracts others. A teacher who demands constant compliance would not think of this coping strategy.

Imagine a situation where an 8th grade teacher is called to the office and leaves a student in charge. There are clear rules: don't touch others, don't take things from the teacher's desk, don't leave the classroom without permission. Suddenly a young man falls to the floor in what appears to be an epileptic seizure. One student opens the teacher's desk drawer and takes out a sweater to use as a pillow. Another goes to the restroom for paper towels because the student has cut his head. Two other students hold their convulsing classmate to prevent further injury. Obviously, violating normal rules during this type of event is better than slavishly following them. Neither the student left in charge nor the ones attempting first aid should be reprimanded for their choices, even though they broke rules that should be followed in most situations.

The aware teacher leaves students unclear about procedures

Although aware teachers know about the importance of regular procedures and attempt to use them, they don't yet do so consistently. When I was inexperienced, I tried to borrow methods from other teachers. Because I hadn't developed the procedures from my own needs, style, and experiences, I often got muddled when I tried to apply them. For instance, I tried recording transgressions on the board with checks and following up with a series of consequences. I found I got distracted trying to decide whether certain annoyances were worthy of being recorded and therefore punished. Eventually I developed my own procedures to prevent, instead of record, infractions.

Inconsistency can result from the teacher's lack of confidence. If students point out reasons why a procedure doesn't work or is illogical, the teacher may make exceptions or stop the practice altogether. When normal procedures erode this way, students remember. Students develop a casual attitude toward procedures when expectations are fluid.

The aware teacher rarely uses preventive strategies

Remember the saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? The aware teacher hasn't yet learned to stop problems before they start. In the past, I thoughtlessly told students to turn in their papers, line up, or get out materials before I had finished giving instructions. They'd start the action and miss the remaining directions. I'd find myself shouting over a buzz I had triggered myself. Eventually I learned to rearrange the order of my remarks or ask students to wait until I finished my instructions.

Some procedures are so important that we organize preventive measures such as fire drills. Teachers are trained to close the windows, take their roll book, and leave the classroom door unlocked. Students are trained to leave quickly through the door marked on the posted exit plan. One thousand people can exit in two minutes because of clear instructions and regular practice.

During a year, dozens of classroom situations can either go smoothly or not. At the aware level, teachers don't envision all the possible scenarios in advance. Nor do they consistently prepare students to behave appropriately. How are students to proceed to the library, the lunch room, or the bus? How are they expected to act on a field trip or when classmates are giving speeches? Where are supplies stored in the classroom? How are papers turned in or returned? Aware teachers may train students to follow procedures in some areas, but not all.

The aware teacher ignores early signs of disruptive behavior

"That's it, Freddie! That's the third time you've sharpened your pencil since lunch. I see you poking Jessica every time you dance past her. I've had it. You're staying inside for recess!"

Freddie is on the teacher's last nerve. He went to the pencil sharpener, danced down the aisle, and poked Jessica many times. Why did the reaction take so long? This teacher ignores minor infractions and reacts only to major problems. For some teachers, misbehavior is not yet considered a problem, or it has become a big problem and they overreact.

If Freddie is seen poking another student, the wise teacher restates the rule about not touching others. Seeing a student dance down the aisle, distracting others, is addressed with a calm directive: "Walk, Freddie." Trips to the sharpeners are ended with a silent hand gesture, by providing a replacement pencil, or by standing next to Freddie's desk. If Freddie continues to misbehave, an experienced teacher administers consequences. When a teacher doesn't react quickly to misconduct, students are trained to try mischief, knowing they may be free to act with impunity.

Questions to grow by

• Can you imagine a series of small steps to interrupt disruptions when they first begin?
• Are you able to prevent behavioral problems by changing your management approach?
• Have you tried looking for deeper reasons behind student misbehavior?

Self-Development

Picture students carrying out your directions so you can predict problems and prevent them. Imagine what will happen if you ask students to pick up supplies, what will happen if you pass out supplies, and how it will work if one person from each row does it. There is a place for each method; some days students need to move, some days you don't want them to. By visualizing each activity, you can choose which best advances your behavior management goals. Try justifying why you use certain procedures. Stretch your thinking by imagining a different way to achieve that end. Then question the end you have in mind. Does your objective merely prompt compliance, or does it increase learning and provide support? Have conversations with students about what helps and what hinders their learning. Their observations offer real insights to new approaches to assist their learning.

Collegial Support

Help colleagues find ways to prevent problems. If a coworker is focusing on punishment, emphasize the use of prevention and proactive choices. Try asking why they chose a given approach. Invite them to imagine a series of alternatives and predict the results of each possibility. Keeping students involved with meaningful, interesting assignments prevents many behavioral problems from developing. Departments can work together to plan novel experiences to help students master important curricular goals. Alternatively, two or three teachers may work together to brainstorm ways to keep students focused.

The Capable Teacher

Rather than valuing exterior obedience only, capable teachers want students to be fully engaged from within; they plan their actions to encourage student involvement, using clearly stated expectations. They have learned to predict or sense some developing problems early. When they catch problems, they use either prevention or early intervention to redirect students toward productivity.

The capable teacher uses procedures that encourage engagement

Good classroom managers use two kinds of procedures: standing orders, which are practices that always apply, and special instructions for the project at hand. Both improve student performance.

At the start of school, effective managers show their students the procedures that will be used all year. A science teacher who requires lab reports provides guidelines and shows examples of good reports. He shows students how to meet his expectations. He wastes no energy complaining that students come to him ill-prepared. He simply teaches them to succeed. This ensures a more productive year.

Similarly, English teachers explain and demonstrate methods they will use for correcting errors and revising papers. Business teachers teach memo writing and ask that class notes be submitted as memos. Art teachers explain procedures for accessing supplies, drying and storing artwork, and displaying finished creations. Wise teachers explain the behaviors they require.

During the first weeks of class, much time is devoted to procedures. Is the time wasted? Not at all. Once procedures are in place, the rest of the school year moves more efficiently, allowing time to cover more material.

Capable teachers also use procedures for specific measures related to the task at hand. It may be simple—an instruction. It may be complex—a time line of due dates to guide students through a seven-week research project. Teachers soon realize that even apparently simple instructions have many interpretations by students. Procedures are designed to help students avoid pitfalls. Teachers establish procedures in advance to assist individuals and maintain a healthy learning environment for all.

The capable teacher consistently communicates expectations

Capable teachers don't assume that everyone knows how to behave or do what they have in mind. No two people carry identical assumptions or memories. When you ask a roommate to buy milk and he or she brings home a half gallon of whole milk instead of the full gallon of 1 percent you had in mind, we're reminded of the many ways the same statement can be interpreted. When a complex project is assigned in the classroom, look at the multiple ways students interpret each section of the instructions. Capable teachers make expectations clear and accessible with discussions, posters, checklists, and models from previous years. Teachers cannot expect desired patterns of behavior from students without clarifying teacher expectations.

Teachers can change or improve their procedures. Adapting an existing rule or procedure or adding one for a good reason is perceived by students as consistency because the expectations are clear both before and after the adjustment. Explaining reasons for changes usually wins students' cooperation. Even if students dislike the rule, they understand what is expected.

The capable teacher sometimes uses preventive strategies to encourage engagement

Capable teachers predict problems based on experience and take action. Ms. Al-Masri, a speech teacher, sees that some students sleep through speeches presented by classmates. Some whisper or pass notes. She tries tapping sleepers to awaken them, but they don't stay awake. Her movements distract speakers and keep her from evaluating speeches well. Frustrated, she decides to involve students.

Ms. Al-Masri gives evaluation forms to students and asks them to evaluate one another. Problems arise. She bases a part of the grade on peer responses, and students and parents claim it is unfair. Providing forms for everyone uses lots of paper and the payoff is small. Students check boxes with little thought and write few comments. She realizes she needs a better way to involve her audience.

Ms. Al-Masri borrows the idea of "glow and grow" from a presentation by Ruth Nathan (1990), coauthor of Writing to Learn (Temple, Nathan, Burris, & Temple, 1988). For each speech, students are asked to write down the speaker's greatest strength (a reason to glow) and an area that needs improvement (a way to grow). On speech days students divide a sheet of paper into quarters. As the speakers are announced, listeners write one name at the top of each quarter sheet. After a speech everyone writes down the greatest strength of the speaker and the most important improvement needed. The classroom seems like Valentine's Day as the notes are delivered to the speakers.

This assignment requires more involvement than checking items on a form. Students enjoy writing legitimate notes to one another and speakers enjoy honest, focused feedback. This procedure keeps everyone attentive and increases learning for both speakers and listeners. Ms. Al-Masri eliminates several past problems—sleeping, whispering, and passing notes. Ms. Al-Masri's students report other benefits from the activity. Many are surprised to learn how many strengths their classmates point out. Confidence improves and nervousness subsides.

Finding preventive strategies is a learning process. Each failure is a step toward success if we take a lesson from it. Years of experience can yield an intuitive sense of what any given procedure will elicit from students but only if we pay careful attention and analyze our choices.

The capable teacher addresses and redirects most disruptions

Capable teachers know that ignoring disruptions doesn't work. Intervention is necessary and can be done effectively in a variety of ways. Consider the body language of teachers: an arched eyebrow, a pointing index finger, the director's cut with the hand slicing across the neck, a shake of the head, peering over the top of glasses, waving off, hands on hips, pursed lips, a frown, a look of consternation or dramatic confusion, eyes heavenward, eyes cut to the right or left, eyes tightly closed while shaking the head, mouth tucked to one side, faked look of shock. Capable teachers use such signals to guide students to the task at hand. Students read these messages clearly and usually change their behavior.

Seating charts are a standard tool for changing or controlling behavior. Students who need constant supervision are moved to the front row. Simply standing near a student encourages a return to work, much like the sight of a police cruiser causes a driver to slow down. Clearing the throat or saying a pupil's name can do the same.

These techniques prevent minor infractions from turning into major disruptions. Because capable teachers are highly aware of most actual or potential disruptions, they intervene often enough to keep most students productive most of the time.

Sometimes capable teachers go a step further. After a "don't do that" message, they redirect students with a "do this instead" message. If Mr. Xu walks up the aisle and finds Connor using the eraser of his pencil to outline a race car on the tabletop, Mr. Xu can wordlessly stop him by taking the pencil, turning it around, and returning it. If he follows up with a quiet question, "How many questions have you finished?" the student's attention returns to the assignment and he is likely to continue working after Mr. Xu moves on.

Questions to grow by

• Do you critique procedures from students' viewpoints to see if your techniques keep youngsters tuned in?
• Do you openly state your vision for student actions before they begin?
• Do you have your students practice doing things the right way?

The Inspired Teacher

Inspired teachers make all management decisions based on student learning. Because they believe that every student can understand the material, they arrange their procedures to enable student mastery. These teachers use procedures and prevention strategies so effectively that learners begin to demonstrate self-management. Student disruptions are quickly noticed, and learners are consistently redirected with minimum force.

The inspired teacher uses procedures that focus on student learning

Ms. Lee's third-hour class is the most talkative, distracted, unfocused group she has faced in many years. She uses all her usual approaches with little success. She doesn't want to shift into high-punishment mode, knowing it will make the classroom unpleasant for everyone, but she doesn't plan to ignore the problem.

"We are wasting so much time," she laments to a fellow teacher.

"Time is money," quips her colleague.

The comment gives Ms. Lee an idea. The next day she begins a class discussion.

"How much tax money will be spent on educating you this year?"

"10 bucks?" The guess triggers general laughter.

"No, about $6,700. Now, how many days in the school year?"

"Too many!" Giggles.

"180," says Ms. Lee. "Get out your calculators. How much does it cost per day to educate you?"

Students turn with curiosity toward those with calculators.

"$37.22?"

"Right," says Ms. Lee. "Let's round it off to 37 dollars. Since there are six hours in the school day, what do taxpayers pay for each class you take?"

"$6.16!"

"Yes."

"Hey, I wish they'd just give it to me," calls out a joker.

"They do," says Ms. Lee. "You have to collect it in knowledge, not cash. They must really care about you guys! Now, how many people are in this class?"

Counting starts. "33!"

"Yes. So, what does this class cost?"

"$203.28."

"Good. Let's just say $200. Do I get paid that much?"

"No."

"Where does the money go?" she asks.

"Heat?"

"Janitors."

"Books and furniture."

"People who work here!"

"You're all right," says Ms. Lee, "but think about this: Every day I am responsible for delivering $200 worth of education while you are here. I owe it to taxpayers. It also means you are responsible for learning every day. If you don't learn, you're wasting your $6. If you keep everyone else from learning, you are robbing them. Stealing $200 is pretty serious. We need to get serious about learning."

The class stares.

"I expect you to use every minute you have here. I'm going to try hard to do the same. Don't cheat yourself or anybody else."

Behavior improves. Students realize that they share a mutual goal—learning. Whenever someone slips, they are reminded to get back on track. Interestingly, Ms. Lee doesn't have to do the reminding. Classmates call out, "Stop wasting my $6." Everyone in the class knows exactly what is meant. Students correct themselves without Ms. Lee's intervention.

This mini-lesson shows students a social reality related to their actions and illuminates Ms. Lee's rules and procedures regarding student learning. Students distill the lesson into a new idea: "Stop wasting my $6." This idea redirects students into learning-oriented actions. Ms. Lee's goal was learning, not just rule-following. She imparted this knowledge to students who hadn't grasped it on their own. Rather than force compliance, she designed an activity to increase students' desire to cooperate. Orderly procedures and rule-following emerged, not from compulsion but from a new understanding.

The inspired teacher creates procedures that promote mastery and learning

Inspired teachers know that their goal is not to prevent misbehavior but to increase learning. Boosting learning for a daydreamer, a frustrated student who gives up, or a quick study who gets bored are separate concerns. Skilled teachers understand this. The procedures and expectations they establish are designed to address each student.

Knowing that everyone learns differently, a skilled teacher may adopt the habit of presenting each new concept at least two ways: a lecture and an experiment, a video clip coupled with a hands-on activity, movement or drama followed by a worksheet, a reading assignment plus a discussion, definitions accompanied by three-dimensional objects. Content and management are linked by teachers who use such procedures for their planning. Variety keeps the dreamer focused and gives the frustrated learner multiple entry points for understanding while stimulating the quick learner.

Interaction among students can solve management problems. The quick learner may function well in a group with the daydreamer and the frustrated student. Asking questions and teaching one another change the dynamic for all three. Some protest that the fast learner should not be burdened with helping others, but quick learners benefit by learning to state ideas clearly, understand different viewpoints, and practice team skills.

In many classrooms, procedures are in place to allow students to get extra help when they're stuck or to pursue personal projects if they finish early. Pre-tests, practice sessions, reteaching and retesting, and extra credit or special assignments help students reach their full potential. The skilled teacher creates routines to accommodate all students. Some teachers say "Ask three before me" to encourage students to help one another. Simply teaching students how to access and return reference materials allows them to meet their own needs when the teacher is busy with others. Such practices are designed to keep students learning for more minutes and in more depth.

The inspired teacher uses prevention to promote engagement

The opposite of engagement is inattention and distraction. A wise teacher tries to promote student engagement by making lessons interesting from beginning to end as often as possible. With prior planning, a teacher can prepare lesson openings that grab the attention of students. This effort pays off. Once a teacher gains the attention of an audience, he has a chance to keep students' attention for the entire lesson.

Look closely at students who are not paying attention to the material being presented and you will notice that they are paying attention to something. A comic book? A commotion in the hall? A classmate making funny faces? Whispered conversations? Good observers can sometimes spontaneously tie distractions into the lesson or assign a report or project that connects students' personal interests with the curriculum. Linking student interests to the subject matter at hand helps to keep students involved.

If Jerry is reading a comic book inside his textbook, the teacher can use that observation.

"If we made President Truman a superhero, what would we name him? Budget Man for his cost-cutting during World War II or Atomic Guy for deciding to drop the bomb? What's your opinion, Jerry?"

Preventive strategies are as varied as the circumstances. Teachers who notice students staring at people in the hall often tape a poster over the pane of glass in the classroom door as a basic prevention technique. Also, teachers carefully plan to have the right supplies for a project and consider in advance how to distribute and recover them with minimum confusion. Streamlining instructions, giving guidelines for checking off a series of tasks, showing a model to illustrate the desired result before students begin a construction job—all prevent problems by helping students use their time effectively. When students know what they are supposed to be doing, they can do just that.

Teachers quickly find out whether a class is doing well in self-chosen groups. If successful, engagement is high without teacher intervention. If not, teachers preplan by grouping students with those they cooperate with successfully to be sure time is used productively.

Creating preventive strategies takes imagination. Guesswork is required to predict some or all of the potential distractions or frustrations that students may have with any given task. The wise teacher sets about creating a procedure that will minimize or eliminate as many stumbling blocks as possible. Such guidance helps students climb higher than those without guiding procedures.

The inspired teacher consistently addresses and redirects disruptive students

There are many ways to say "Get back to work." Inspired teachers can walk into a roomful of buzzing students they don't even know and get everyone on task in minutes. They move around, looking at papers to see how much has been written, rotating papers slightly to make them more accessible, or tapping gently at the place to resume work. They start conversations: "Which question are you on? Does it make sense so far? Do you have any questions? Have your read over the directions? Where's your book? Are you having trouble? Do you think you'll be able to finish before the bell rings?" They also make statements and give simple commands: "Here's a pencil. Find chapter 2. Get out some paper. Open your book. The glossary is in the back. You're almost right. Get a dictionary. Check the board for instructions. Time to begin. Try again. Start writing." Each statement redirects a student who is not on task.

By paying attention to each student's level of involvement, the teacher eliminates most serious disruptions—bullying, name calling, fighting. The skilled teacher usually doesn't allow students enough down time to engage in disruptive behavior. The organized classroom makes learning seem attainable to easily frustrated students, so they have less anger to act out. When they do misbehave, more redirecting is in order.

Actions to grow by

• Examine procedures and rules that apply to all your students. Ask yourself whether they fall more heavily on some individuals than others. Consider how they might be adapted.
• Read books about effective classroom management. Steal good ideas and try them out in your room.
• Periodically observe in other classrooms. Don't limit yourself to your own school, your own subject matter, or your own grade level. Watching teachers in assignments different from yours may reveal universal principles that you might otherwise overlook.

For Information and Inspiration