The class mumbles with whispering for a few moments. It grows to a murmur and before you know it, they are nearly shouting to the people next to them.
How do you get their attention? How do you snap them out of discussion mode and back to listening mode without raising your voice?
I’ve used a lot of different tactics over the years. Some work better than others. I will tell you that the thing that works the least is shouting.
Is this the way you get your students’ attention?
Raising your voice to try to get students’ attention is frustrating. By its very nature, your entire emotional state shifts from peacefulness to aggression. Your blood pressure will rise whether you realize it or not. It is not the kind of day and life you want to live is it?
Instead of shouting or raising your voice, try these techniques. I have used them all and each can be effective in their own way.
1. Countdown
Raise one hand in the air and countdown from five . . . four, three, two, one.
If the students are trained and if you count slow enough, they should begin to listen.
The problem with this method is that you will often find yourself saying, “two . . . one and a half . . . one and one quarter . . .” It isn’t the perfect system and you may still find yourself raising your voice.
2. Clap and Respond
“Clap once if you can hear me.” [Clap]
“Clap three times if you can hear my voice.” [Clap. Clap. Clap]
I like this method because you speak and they respond. It has kind of a viral component because the students closest to you clap first. They clap and the others in the room hear their clapping. A few more join in and before you know it, the whole class is clapping in unison.
You won’t need to raise your voice because the clapping will be loud enough. The other nice thing is that they have to put their pens or pencils down to clap. You won’t have to remind them to focus on you.
3. Chant
This method is my my favorite.
I first heard it during a youth conference from Fr. Dave Pivonka. During his homilies and talks he would always say,
“God is good!”
And the audience would respond:
“All the time!”
He would say: “All the time!”
And the audience would repeat back: “God is good!”
I love this.
It is perfect for religion classes and catechesis.
My favorite thing about this method, though, is the smiles it brings. I almost never get an eye roll, at least with the younger grades.
You can really have fun with it and mix it up too. Lower your voice and say it slowly.
Or, say “God is good!” in the voice of your favorite cartoon character. (Andy Donald Duck fans out there?)
Have Fun
It is fun. . . and that’s the point isn’t it?
Why be miserable? Why scream and yell and get frustrated with your students.
At some point in my second year of teaching, I started yelling all the time. I lost my cool. I lost my patience. I didn’t even try to use these techniques. I stopped enjoying myself and the work I was doing when I could have made even the little details of classroom management an enjoyable experience.
You have to loosen up and enjoy yourself a little bit. You have to teach with the joy of the Gospel!
These three ways to get students attention can be effective, but more importantly, they can be fun.
Don’t be unhappy. Enjoy yourself.
It’s the only way you are really going to reach those kids anyway.
One More Thing: Practice, Practice, Practice
No matter what method you choose, you will have to practice it.
Learning the methods and training the kids to respond comes only through practice. Repeat it early and often and help the kids learn the behavior by reinforcing positive responses and correcting the lack of responses.
The Video Version: How to Get Students’ Attention
This is an excerpt from the Classroom Engagement course available to members of The Religion Teacher. I model and explain each of these techniques and a few other tips in more detail:
If you are interested in the rest of this course, which is designed to help you get your students interested and engaged in class, consider becoming a member of The Religion Teacher.
(Image Credit: David Goerhring)
This year one of my aids was a retired teacher and taught me this technique (which worked wonderfully): You clap your hands 2x while saying “Class” “Class” — the children respond “Yes” “Yes” (also clapping on each word). The fun part is you varying how you say “Class” “Class”, using any kind of crazy voice or accent you can think of. And then they have to answer back in the same kid of crazy tone of voice. Or you can tweak the words. e.g., “Class-i-ty” “Class-i-ty” to which they answer “Yes-i-ty” “Yes-i-ty”.
I LOVE this Cindy! How fun! Thank you for sharing it.
It is exactly the kind of “fun” I hope people try when getting students’ attention!
Thanks, Jared! We have all experienced your “second year” frustrations at some point but often fell short on patience or joy. It’s good to be reminded of Fr. Dave’s “God is Good” strategy- it seems to have gone viral over the years! I love your other suggestions too. I guess the point is no matter the strategy we should approach the lessons with unshakable joy. Thank for sharing and reminding!!
My favorite thing to do with the “Clap and Respond” is to begin with the clapping but once I have their attention to continue with things like “Put your hand over your mouth if you can hear me” (if they’re still talking a little) or “If you can hear me, return to your seat and face forward” (if they’ve been out of their seats working on something). And they’d always enjoy the occasional “Put your hands on your head…” or “Lay your head down on your desk and close your eyes…”
I borrowed this quiet technique from Bishop Brungardt of Dodge City while he was the chaplain/teacher @ Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and that is to start singing and the class will quiet down. It is a great idea to get the class quiet before starting with a prayer. In physical education classes I use a “Che, che,” sound which I learned years ago from a public school physical education teacher and it works very well in a gym setting, and it beats yelling, because the students join in as well when they hear that sound. These excellent classroom management ideas have served me well in 28 years of teaching in the Lord’s vineyard.
I learned the clapping technique as a substitute teacher, and I have found it to be extremely effective.
Funny story, my husband has a large family (oldest of seven kids) and one year at Christmas dinner my mother-in-law was desperately trying to speak to the group at the table but everyone was talking too much to hear her. So I said, quietly, if you can hear me, clap once. A few people clapped. If you can hear me, clap three times. Most people clapped three times, and by then I had everyone’s attention. I turned to my mother-in-law and said – the table’s all yours! LOL
That’s the only time I’ve ever used that with grown-ups, but it really was funny to see all those adults jolted into silence. 🙂
That is hilarious! See, it works with everyone!
I love number 3. Nice article!
I am a retired special education teacher who has also done many hours of being the sub in all age group classes. The method that worked the best was just sitting very quietly on the front of my desk watching my wristwatch. Eventually someone got curious and asked me what I was doing and I would reply that I was timing them see how much time it took for them to be quiet and listen. I never raised my voice but would tell them how many more minutes it took for them to be quiet than the kindergarten class I had sub in. I did actually start this with a kindergarten group. The younger classes always took less time than older students the first time. The older groups responded very quickly once they knew I was timing them. And invariably, the most attentive student in the classroom would usually start the “shushing, she’s timing us. They did not like the fact that they were worse than the kindergarten children and would immediately come to attention. Hope this will work for someone else.