Classroom strategies. Discipline and bilingual teaching.

Diana Afanador.

2009-06-09

ART DEPARTMENT

1. The stoplight.

The stoplight usually has 5 lights, the first

one says stop, the second silence, the third
one says whisper the fourth talking level
and the last one says too laud.
The level in which they should be at any
given time in class, usually you start with
arrows in stop and silence, and then you
move them to whisper or talking level. It’s a
good idea to move them from time to time
so that the students are constantly aware of
the volume level.

2. The Points Chart

The point chart is used when the class is

Group
organized in groups.
Each Group has a number and can get
good points and bad points.
Points are awarded for:
1. Being silent when the teacher is
explaining.
2. Helping other groups.
3. Answering a question
4. Answering in English
3. Knocking on the board.

To get the students to be silent, and get good points on the

chart, the teacher stands in front of the class, and knocks the
board 3 times and says 1, then knocks, says two, then knocks
and says 3. Then, the teacher points to the name on the chart
of the first Group, and gives them a good point if they are in
silence, or a bad point if they are not paying attention, same
with the other groups, until the class is silent. This is a
strategy that works when the teacher has divided the class, it
usually doesn’t work very well if it’s used to handle to class as
a whole.

4. Thinking space.

Thinking space is a place in the classroom that is selected for

students who are misbehaving to go, sit down and think about
their behavior for a limited amount of time.

5. Vocabulary of the day.

When students ask for the words they want to say or write,
the teacher writes them on the board, and next to it the name
of the student who asks. This helps student understand
remember how the word looks and how it sounds. When
another student asks the same word, the one that asked it
first has to explain it to his classmate.

6. Pacman and the cookies.

This is a strategy used to get the whole class to be silent.

The teacher uses the knocking on the board strategy, and
then, pacman eats one part of the first cookie if the class is
 not silent, and so on. If pacman eats all the cookies, then
the children won’t have recess, or will have to pick garbage,
or some other task.

This is a good strategy if the teacher wants to work with the

whole class at the same time, or if the group strategy isn’t
working, it also helps to change the dynamics of the class.

7. English certificates.

To encourage speaking skills, especially in first graders, there

are two types of certificates. English Expert, and English
Monitor. The first one requires the kids to say hello and good-
bye inside and outside of the class, and to try to talk in English
during the class. (ask for things, permission to go to the
bathroom or to drink a glass of water) The second one if for
the kids that already speak in English, or that have a higher
level than the rest of the class, they not only have to do what
the experts do, but also to help others understand
instructions.

8. Bathroom and Water passes.

MAY I GO MAY I GO

TO THE DRINK
SOME
BATHROO WATER
M
PLEASE?
PLEASE?
 This passes are made to
encourage autonomy in the
children. If the want to go to
the bathroom they must use
the pass, take it with them
and bring them back.

They can only go if they have

the pass.

This activity also helps the

kids to know when they can
go, but sometimes they end
up doing lines, waiting for the
pass.

9. Group captain.

Every class, each group may select one captain, who is in

charge of getting the materials for the group, organizing
them, and giving the work at the end of the class to the
teacher. Also, if the group didn’t understand the instructions
very well, the teacher may call the captains, then explain
everything to them again, so that the group has someone to
ask and that can clarify before asking the teacher.

10. 3 before me.

When a kid has a question, he has to ask 3 classmates before

asking the teacher. This strategy encourages students to help
each other and it helps them understand, since it’s easier to
understand what a peer is saying than what the teacher is
explaining.

11. POPCORNPARTY.

This is a strategy used to teach them self-discipline. The word

is divided into two letter groups, PO PC OR NP AR TY. They can
acquire, or cross two letters each class, as long as they think
that they deserve it according to their behavior in class. At the
end of class everyone takes a vote and decides whether they
deserve it or not. If they have crossed the whole phrase by the
end of every two months, then they get the last class to see a
 movie, they can also bring food or beverages for themselves.

12. Role play

Each bimester has a different emphasis, that according to the

school plan. To get the students to engage with the subject
they must see, then role-play can be used. For example, if the
kids have to learn about positive and negative space, visual
rhythm and color contrast, then the teacher an tell them that
they are graphic designers that must create a poster to
encourage tourism in the country by showing of indigenous
objects that must have all of these principles and elements of
design.

13. Explaining what your actions mean.

This strategy is used to help kids understand what teachers

mean when they are someplace in the classroom, or the body
language that they usually use in class. This information must
be explicit and the teacher must explain the consequences of
the actions that he or she takes during the class. For example,
if the teacher is in front of the board, that means that the
class should be silent in order to hear the information, or if the
teacher walks to a particular part of the classroom, it means
that he or she is getting annoyed because of the class’s
behavior. If he or she crosses his arms, it means that he or
she is really mad about the behavior and that the class will
not continue unless they change their attitude.

14. The whistle.

A whistle may be used in some classes, for example when

there’s an outdoor activity, so that a certain order may be
heard through the whistle and so the teacher doesn’t need to
shout. Or in activities that are out of the routine, like exams,
to tell the children that their time is up or that they have 5
more minutes to finish their task.

15. Brain Gym.

This is a strategy that is used to help children concentrate or
focus either at the beginning of the class or at any given time,
if their tired or bored with what they are doing. According to a
particular exercise the teacher can help them either
concentrate, or relax or just to be quiet.