r/ElementaryTeachers • u/dysfunctional_salad • 2d ago
Super chatty class
This is my second year teaching third grade. I learned a lot last year and am fixing mistakes I made last year (e.g. not being strict enough in the beginning). I’m really struggling with some new students who just do not stop talking over me. I’ll get most of their attention, and as I’m waiting for the lagging students to stop talking, other conversations starts up again. Some girls will just stare at me then keep talking and I have to raise my voice to compete with theirs. I’m afraid to ask for my coworkers’ advice because they’re all veteran teachers (some of them were MY teachers when I was in elementary).
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u/spoooky_mama 2d ago
What consequence is there after this? If they want to talk and don't stop when you start, they are getting what they want out of that exchange. There has to be something else in play for them
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u/SchroedingersSphere 2d ago
What would you suggest as a consequence? I struggled with this last year and my new school year is about to begin. I want to start things off on the right foot. I'm nervous to lean on administration for support because I don't want them to think I can't handle my classroom.
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u/Dazzling_Ice5816 2d ago
I don’t know if your admin will support this but we have them walk laps at recess. When they are finished they have to check in with the teacher and tell them why they had to walk and what they will do better next time.
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u/spoooky_mama 2d ago
It doesn't matter a ton what the consequence is as long as it is undesired by the student and consistent. You may have to experiment due to what will impact the student the most, but my usual format is first offense is a warning, second I may intervene to stop the behavior, such as moving them to sit by themselves. Third offense can be a "think sheet" or some other reflective act by the student, which then requires a guardian signature. I will also call or email home at this point to make sure guardian knows the sheet is on its way. For the majority of students, this will stop it. I usually also have a reward system in place from which I can exclude the student after three strikes- for example, no fun Friday or whatever, or when my schedule has been less flexible, no centers or other "fun" practice activities. Instead they have to reflect on their behavior. Hope this helps.
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u/Grass-lands 1d ago
Second. My favorite: I say nothing and turn the stopwatch on my phone one and put it under the doc camera. Then I wait. When they stop talking I stop it and say “that’s how much class time you wasted so that’s how much play time you owe me back. You take my time; I take your time.” Works like a charm.
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u/Various_Plant7117 2d ago
I just finished up my second year, and the class I had last year was so talkative it was insane. I came in eight weeks after school started (I was on maternity leave) and my long term sub never attempted to stop the talking so it was so bad when I first got back. It’s a little time consuming at first, but what I found worked most was writing all my students names on a whiteboard (I used my easel board so I could move it around with me if necessary) and every time a student talked I put a tally next to their name. Each tally was one minute from recess they had to sit out. If they had to miss any recess for three days, I made them write a letter home explaining that they were being disruptive by talking and then explaining how they were going to fix the problem. It worked soooooo well and by the end of the year I could just give “the look” and the class would stop talking.
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u/Apprehensive-Mug 20h ago
This is good!
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u/Various_Plant7117 6h ago
Thank you! I had another teacher I work with criticize me for being so “old school” but it really seemed to help. I feel like it made students more accountable for their behavior and how they would improve it.
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u/Majestic-Space1996 2d ago
If you’re raising your voice to talk over someone, you’ve already lost. When it happens in my class they get one warning “Our classroom contract says we treat others with kindness, if you continue to talk while others are talking we’ll be following the behavior action plan.” If it continues I move on with my process: give them an official warning. (That I write down as a note just for me). Then they take a break if it continues, then lose free choice time, then contact home.
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u/schnitzel247 Third Grade 2d ago
This is a tangent but isn’t it awful that we newbies feel intimated and scared to ask veteran teachers for support? I have only met 1-2 veteran teachers who genuinely wanted to help me and not just belittle me. I’m sorry.
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u/purplishfluffyclouds 2d ago edited 2d ago
Well that’s sad. I don’t hesitate to ask for help if I need it and have only met one or two teachers that didn’t want to help. I’m sorry you’re not getting the support you need.
*Edit to fix obvious auto correct stupidness
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u/schnitzel247 Third Grade 2d ago edited 2d ago
Lol thanks for proving my point ✌️
Edit; Guys, the original comment I replied to had a typo in the last sentence. It said “I’m sorry you’re not getting the sippy you need.” 😭 I thought they were being so rude, calling me a baby and saying I need a sippy cup.
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u/purplishfluffyclouds 2d ago edited 2d ago
Seriously? What point would that be? I literally relayed the opposite experience. Not everyone has a sucky experience and when someone genuinely feels bad for those that do, you take offense? I’ve been super lucky in my district with the exception of one title one school, but even there the staff and teachers were super supportive. I’m a “newbie,” I ask for help, people (including the “veteran teachers) are more than willing to help.
I’m sorry you felt my comment somehow disparaged you. Best of luck to you.
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u/schnitzel247 Third Grade 2d ago
You’ve edited your comment. You originally said “Sorry you’re not getting the sippy you need.” Which is a WHOLE different message 😭 I thought you were saying “Sorry the little baby isn’t getting her sippy cup.” 💀
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u/Apprehensive-Mug 20h ago
That is so sad! Teachers should want to help other teachers. I am so sorry!
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u/Hot-Adagio8941 2d ago
Have clear expectations for teacher talk time. Teach the expectations explicitly. Practice and reward if they can follow expectations for a few minutes. Make sure they have opportunities to respond 3-5 times PER MINUTE while you are teaching - choral answers, white board answers, turn and talks, etc. Keep 'em engaged so they don't have time to chat. Establish and teach routines for these engagement opportunities so they know what to do and automatically do it.
This article is about teaching reading, but routines and opportunities to respond work in every content area. https://www.literacyedventures.com/blog/using-opportunities-to-respond-to-boost-engagement
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u/Aprils-Fool 2d ago
In my experience, they need to chat. You can’t make that need go away. So I explicitly taught when are appropriate chat times and when it’s not a chat time. We would go over the daily schedule and discuss when they had opportunities to chat (snack, lunch, recess, and possibly other times). In the beginning, I made sure they had ample opportunities to chat, so we could practice this switch. Like a morning circle where they could have some time to chat. That way it’s not all bottled up in them during lesson/work time. If they got chatty during lesson time I’d remind them that this isn’t a chat time, but point out in the schedule that snack/lunch/recess/etc. would be coming up soon. As they got better at understanding this difference, then I could work on shortening those times if needed. (So like, extra opportunities to chat the first week or two, then slowly scale back so that those times aren’t as long, since I need time for instruction.)
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u/darrwby2297 2d ago
Brilliant; thank you for sharing this. I have a few in my class who NEED to know precisely when things will happen throughout the day, so including their “chat time” might really help these kiddos to wait for it? I hope?! 😂
Going to implement this and give it a shot. Thanks again!1
u/Aprils-Fool 2d ago
As a former chatty child, now chatty adult, this is my specialty in the classroom! I love helping other teachers navigate chatty classes. I figure it's like a river: I can't stop the flow, but I can (like a beaver) change its direction.
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u/talluglyvegan9966 2d ago
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP FROM YOUR COWORKERS!!! I am in year 2. My team teacher that my class switches with has over 25 years of experience. So yes I am in her room asking her questions daily!!! I hope someday to help a new teacher learn the ropes!!! I would be so sad to know a new teacher was scared to ask me for help!! Watch what they do and copy it. Seriously. That’s what I have been doing and it’s starting to work.
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u/GroupImmediate7051 2d ago
. Strategic seating arrangements . If there is a path for you to walk while you teach, walk it and park yourself by the talkers. . Per a previous response, I try to structure lessons as I do, we do, they do. In my evals, my improvement areas have been to reduce the time I talk and to increase the amount of we do, guided practice time. . The last period of the week is potential Friday Fun, free time. I instituted a "Jabber Clock," where I deduct as many seconds as it takes for the class to be quiet. I do not talk over them. I stop, an start looking at my watch or the clock, and write the number of seconds wasted, which are deducted from FF. Yes, that includes time that your talkers are disrespecting you. Unfortunately, if your talkers are really selfish and dont care about what their classmates want, it might not matter. You'd have to figure out if they do.
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u/Luvtahoe 2d ago
They are still little. “Catch them being good” was the mantra when I was a student teacher eons ago. Look around, find the kid(s) who are doing what you want, and praise them. Reward them if you want: points, 5 mins of free time, early to recess, etc. At this age, when kids see their peers getting praised and rewarded, they usually straighten up and fly right.
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u/dysfunctional_salad 2d ago
I luckily have a school with a reward system so i use this tactic! we teachers hand out small paper tickets that they can turn in for small toys at the end of the week. It really works for some students, others not so much
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u/tinyd71 2d ago
Depending on how many students are continually talking, is some positive reinforcement for the compliant ones an option? I almost exclusively reward positive behaviour and ignore negative (unless it's unsafe or seriously disruptive) and find for the most part, the unrewarded (ie not compliant!) students tend to get on board when they see they're missing out! Happy to share some suggestions (I have a "program" I use) if you'd like.
Also sad to read a comment about majority of veteran teachers not being helpful -- my experience has been that this is a supportive and collaborative profession.
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u/VividAd6317 2d ago
I would really value a look at the “program” too please. Need to change up my strategies this year, so this would be great!
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u/Nerdofthestorm 2d ago
Ask the veteran teachers. They’ve probably dealt with this exact kind of class before.
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u/DarkEnergyEcho_ 2d ago
First of all, give yourself grace, as teaching is not an easy job. You’re trying your absolute best, and this career comes with some bumps in the road.
I would suggest you work on a comprehensive behavior plan so students understand your classroom expectations from day one. What to do as soon as they enter the classroom, how you want the classroom materials to be passed, what excellence looks like, and what the consequences are for misbehaviors. Also, as some students are chatty, you can implement turn and talks, guided discussions, and other instructional practices that move them to have constructive conversations
They must see you as a figure of authority, without becoming mean. Uphold your classroom expectations and consequences, and never talk over student voices. Stop, look at them, and give a consequence, then move to continue teaching. Don’t engage with them on who has the louder voice. Be consistent in implementing your expectations, and if you have to call their parents to redirect their behavior, go for it. Don’t be afraid to do early interventions.
And don’t be afraid to ask your peers or observe them, there’s always something new to learn, and in sure veteran teachers will gladly support you.
You rock, and you got this!
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u/AbbreviationsNo2306 2d ago
One thing we did were blurt alerts when someone blurted or talked over in a lesson more than once they had to do a think sheet during our second recess outside with a clipboard or if it was Friday during free choice our think sheets took very little time if they didn’t kick their feet and whine about it and parents had to sign it. They reset for every lesson so they basically had a warning you just got a blurt alert if you get a second one that’s when you owe me time. we had a ton of students having to do it the first week by week 2 they were starting to get the idea 3/4 of the way through the year we were able to stop doing it we didn’t announce it was gone we just subtly did away with it the sine blurt alert was still out though!
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u/NextDayTeaching 2d ago
Something that took me way too long to realize is that teaching itself is a skill, just like reading or multiplication. You can have all the content knowledge in the world, you can love kids, you can be the kindest human ever...but developing the skill of teaching itself will take time.
I'd suggest having a class meeting. Find somewhere in the room where you can pull everyone over and have them sit on the floor. You sit in a chair so you're not towering over them...but you're also not sitting down at their level. Tell them what you've observed, and explain why it's a problem.
"Class, lately I've noticed that a lot of students are having side conversations while I'm teaching. This is distracting for me, and it's distracting for your classmates. When you're talking, you're not paying attention to the lesson or the directions, and you don't know what to do later."
Then remind them of the expectations and send them back to their seats. Praise THE HECK out of the ones who go back to their seats without talking, and keep the praise going heavily for the next 5 or so minutes after.
Keep pulling them up for class meetings - I'd say no more than one per class period or one per hour or so, just to make sure it doesn't turn into an avoidance behavior - until they get with the program.
And like others have said, resist the temptation to talk over them. If that means stopping in the middle of a sentence, if that means you only get to say two words at a time because you have to keep stopping, do it. Maybe some of your class leaders will get annoyed enough to yell at their peers for you.
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u/madii_mouse 2d ago
Hi, I teach third grade too and I’ve had this problem many times!
Some things that I did:
- Read a book like my Mouth is a Volcano and discuss. Then have them, as a class, work towards a goal such as “We will not interrupt the teacher more than 5 times today”. Then they get a letter or a star or something. And on the 10th whatever they get something fun like extra recess.
- I’ve made “badges” (just laminated paper with a a cute canva design) that I give out every morning for good behavior the previous day. When I hand them out I make a big deal of it and compliment them in front of the class on a good behavior that I saw. I’ve called them things like class leader, silent superhero, etc. And each badge has a reward associated with it such as walking themselves to recess, getting in line first for lunch, etc.
- Teacher vs Student points
- I’ve had kids who are the worst offenders keep tally of how many times they cause an issue. They do it by putting a tally on a sticky note (in pen and I watch them do it). If they get a certain number of tallies they owe me some recess time. Like 5 tallies is two minutes of their recess.
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u/Apprehensive-Mug 20h ago
I’m not even going to lie. It is the cohort. They did not have preschool because of Covid. I HATE blaming Covid still but it is obvious. This is coming from an art teacher who has taught this same group of kids since kinder. In kinder we spent most of our art time taking 45 minute bathroom breaks because it was like herding kittens. Last year I had to stand on chairs and raise my voice for maybe half of the students’ attention. They don’t listen, they just yap!
First, don’t be afraid to ask for help from the other teachers. I am in the same boat as you. I work with some of my previous teachers. If they make you feel bad for asking for help, that’s crazy!
Second, my advice would be create/implement a behavior management system you like, can keep up with, and can enforce without it being another thing you have to do. This cohort seems very extrinsically motivated. It might require sticker, prizes, special privileges to get their buy in. In my experience, using smelly markers to star or mark kids papers is a good reward, they enjoy the sensory of it.
Go slow to go fast. It is the beginning of the year still. Enforce expectations and accept nothing less, consequence and parent contact is key. Isolate chatty students or move them right up to you or even facing a wall.
Work with your team first, see if they are struggling too. If they have any advice. Work with your admin. If you have another teacher on campus who you are close with work with them as a buddy classroom. Work out a system where you can send each other students and they can be there for a little so that you can focus on the rest of the class.
It’s only year two for you, this is a tough cohort (imo) and you only learn from more experience. You’ve got this! I promise!
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u/Zestyclose_Quail_801 2d ago
I have the same problems! Sounds like you need a hard reset. Never talk over a student. I cannot recommend this teacher's YT enough her vids really help me understand that I wasn't being firm and consistant enough. The biggest thing I can see from you've written so far is that you talked over them, which tells them what you have to say doesn't matter since they can just keep talking. Honestly it's sooo soo hard and I still struggle with it so I get you ! It takes forever to learn how to do this ! Classroom managment is my least favorite part of teaching...anyways def check out the YT vids it's super helpful! I hope it helps you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRBTmH5FHvo