Q: This month we have two good questions from one teacher, Keleen, who teaches in Milwuakee, Wisconsin:

1) How do you get a completely talkative group to stop talking all day long?

2) What do you do or how do you say things to make them hear a direction the first time and not have to repeat it 5 more times?



A: Your excellent responses:

Dena from Baytown, TX:
1) Occasionally I will have Whisper Wednesday where the kids whisper all day, unless I specifically call on them. I used to buy cheap prizes, but now I make a Whisper Wednesday Winner button at our media center and the winner(s) get to keep the buttons. They love them! 2) To get my students attention, I ring a bell and they have to put their hands on their shoulders. Once everyone's hands are on their shoulders, I give the directions.

Amanda Smith from Camden, SC:
Begin moving your lips without making a sound. As the noise level decreases, increase the sound of your voice. They will begin to listen when they SEE your lips moving and listen carefully to hear everything you say next time.

Kristi from Houston, TX:
When I want my students to really hear directions I always say it once and then repeat it. I always remind them before I say it the second time that I will not repeat myself again. For example, If I want them to open their Science book to page 124 I say, " Please open you Science book to page 124, I am going to say it only one more time, open your Science book to page 124." I then allow a reasonable amount of time. If I still have students who are not where they need to be I simply look down at my watch. My students know if I look at my watch I am timing seconds they will owe me during recess. As soon as I look down someone always says, "get your open,, it's on page 124 hurry." The max I have ever had to take away is 30 seconds.

C. Clark from Rosenberg, TX.:
Several teachers at our school use a phrase, to get the students' attention. We are the rockets so the teacher says, "Rockets" and the students respond "Ready". The teacher repeats this in a calm voice until she has the students' attention. Initially you can mention that if you have to say it more than 3, or a set number, of times those that keep talking will have their color changed, or whatever you use for your behavior mananagement system. Recently I tried this with a group of church youth and was pleased with its effectiveness. Another technique we use is to give the students a direction with an action involved, to which the students respond. "If you can hear the sound of my voice clap 3 times. If you can hear the sound of my voice, put your hands in your lap." etc. until the children are quiet.

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Angela Burns from Fort Worth, TX:
Playing "Simon Says" works well to get their attention and after giving directions to my students, if they didn't "hear" me, then I say, "Ask three before you ask me." This way their questions get answered without me having to repeat myself.

Norine Nagle from Hicksville, NY:
#2A group of us have decided to flash a big smile and say "asked and answered". The students have caught on and now join in the response when the frequent questioners ask once again.

Gerrie Wager from Lake Oswego, , OR:
At a classroom management meeting with a special educaton teacher, I was given a relly good strategy. You draw a T chart on the board and put a smile face on one side and a frown face on the other. Without a word stand at the board, face the class and put a tally make on the frown side if they are talking. If they as quiet put it on the smile side. You deliver an unspoken message. It is amazinf how quickly children respond. I have used this from K up to 6th grade. Eventually the class with you can negoiate a reward for all the smile tallys, or trade a frown for a smile. Make the classpart of the team of rewards it provides ownership in the activity.

Maureen Arroyo from Arlington, VA:
I have an old-fashion tap bell. When I ring it once, everyone stops, puts their hands on their head, gives me eye contact, and when I fold my arms they fold theirs. It works for both questions you posed. I can remind them about the noise level and the importance of quiet work time and have their attention when directions are given. Thank you! It has worked for 43 years!!!!

Mrs. Micki Kremer from Homer Glen, Illinois:
1) I have had moderate to excellant success(depends on the group) by simply reminding them to act like third graders. As they begin to respond, I make sure to give them praise and have had a few other teachers "notice" how well they are working or behaving. Kids llike to know they are doing well. 2) If you find out, please pass it on! I read, explain, repeat , and then have kids retell instructions and there are ALWAYS some who "don't get it".

Peggy from Imbler, Oregon:
2)If they know you WON'T repeat five more times, I think that's the first key. If they ask me for directions after I gave them, I tell them to "ask someone who was listening". Another idea is tell them to "ask three before you ask me". In other words, ask atleast three kids what to do before you come and ask me to repeat it.

Kim from Lunsford, Georgia:
My school just started a 'level' discipline system. We use 3, 2 and 1 and award levels based on the previous weeks behavior. We use a clipboard and the students receive a 'mark' if they forget their homework or forget to follow one of our schools 'core rules'...please feel free to contact me if you would like more information.klunsford.bat@catoosa.k12.ga.us

Nena from Roxboro, NC:
In answer to question 2, I believe I have finally found the answer in my own classroom. I found out that I was the one reenforcing their poor listening skills by repeating directions or instructions. I began the year (you can begin tomorrow with the same instructions) by telling the class that I would give directions one time. If they were not paying attention, they were on their own! I was (and am!) consistent with that rule. That doesn't mean I don't ask if there are any questions before they begin work. If they come to me in a few minutes with a question that was covered during my directions, I simply say, "I've already answered that question." I will NOT answer if it was given earlier. I really saw a MARKED improvememt during spelling tests and quizzes. Spelling words are given, a sentence, and the word one more time. I do not go back unless I see that a child had some difficulty and was unable to keep up (i.e. a broken pencil lead, misnumbered paper, etc.). During quizzes, I read a question twice. Period. There is no more repeating of questions. It didn't take long before students realized that teaching was my responsibility and listening was theirs. It took a few of them some bad scores to realize this, but now I have no problems with listening. I can't believe the difference it has made. I even shared this idea with a high school teacher. She used it. It worked like a charm with them, too!

Carol Young from Portage, Indiana:
I quiet the children by repeating a rhytmic activity and having the children repeat it. We continue until I have everyone's attention. I use snap, clap, mouth clacks, and other similar activities. This also serves as an attention getter before giving directions, except that before I give the directions, I ask them, "Are your brains ready to learn?" They respond with, "My brain is ready to learn!" They are now active participants in the learning activity.

Debbye Elledge from Siloam Springs, Arkansas:
1. Provide certain times for "social talking". Such as between subject area instruction; allow them 5ish minutes to visit. You will probably have to teach the procedures for how you would like this to be done. Many children many not have an opportunity to visit out side of school. Between after school activities, TV, computers and video games there isn't much just talking going on in families. 2. Make sure you have everyone's attention. Make sure you know that the group is focused on you. Say the directions, have the group repeat the directions; choose one or two that you know are good listeners to repeat the directions; then have the two or three repeat the directions that usually miss the directions. There are activities to help increase listening skills. Some groups need to be taught this skill.

Kathy from Wilmington, De:
1.I use marble jars, tally marks, sticker charts, ... to give recognition whenever I catch the whole class being quiet. I give a nice reward after they accumulate a certain number of positive marks. Food (ice cream, candy, pretzels, cupcakes...) and short movies are the favorite rewards. At the same time I spell one letter at a time in the word break if they are not cooperative about being quiet. If the class earns BREAK, they must work through their morning break. I usually let them eat their snack, but they may not talk or play. I make sure we are working on independent work. 2. After the first couple months of school, I continue with the lesson. When we are through, we discuss why some of us were not following directions and what we should do the next time. Most children do not like to be left behind so they become more attentive during directions. Of course there will always be those children that require separate or reworded directions.

Cathleen Dell from Killeen, Texas:
I don't make them stop talking. I just guide the talking to the specific topic I need them to focus on at the time. It took about 6 weeks to train my fifth graders to stay on topic and not to "chase a rabbit". I am consistant with the children earning the consequences of falling off topic. I also approach "talking" as a respect issue. I start the year teaching the children that it is disresptful to others when someone talks over someone else who has the floor. We all respect each other from day one and there are consequences for those of us who forget to be respectful all the time. Believe me, even when I make the mistake of talking over another student the rest of the class will let me know :)

Amy R. from Staten Island, NY:
Are you familiar with the workshop model? If you do a 5-10 minute mini-lesson, you can tell them, "This is my turn to talk and your turn to listen." After your 5-10 minutes, where they don't call out and you do not ask for their input, then you would tell them, "Okay, turn to your partner and tell them...(Choose something to do with your topic). You have 3 minutes." Allow 3 minutes for them to talk and then send them off to their desks with a clear task that they are responsible to accomplish. After a certain amount of time, they come back to the "workshop area" and sit next to their partner again. Allow another 3 minutes for them to talk to their partner and have 1-2 children share with the rest of the class. To make sure they are actually talking about the task, sometimes you can call on students to share with the class what their partner shared with them. It takes a lot of management lessons for them to learn their role and your role. It also takes time to build their stamina up for independent work. Maybe 10 minutes the first week, 15 the next, and so on until you reach your goal. Graph it each day so they see their accomplishment. We do this during the first month of school, but start it now if you need to! After they learn the routine, you will just have to remind them, "This is my turn to talk. You will have your chance." I also tell my students, "This is my turn to talk so I am going to keep talking. If you don't hear me, you will not know what to do." Make sure that if you tell them that you aren't going to repeat the directions that you stick to that. Otherwise they'll know that they don't have to listen to the first time because you'll just get annoyed and repeat it again! Hope this helps!

Kim Lassiter from Chesapeake, VA:
In order to make sure the whole class is listening, I will sometimes stand in front of the class and just start whispering. When they realize I am talking and they can't hear me, they will get very quiet in order to make out what I am saying. When I see that I have everyone's attention, I will raise my voice just above a whisper to give the directions. Then I will whisper once again and ask anyone who heard me to raise their hands, snap their fingers, wave at me, or an alternate quiet sign. It forces them to really focus in on what I am saying. Then I know they heard me whether they wanted to or not!

Marilyn Kitler from Bar Harbor, Maine:
I choose what times I want students to be completely silent and when they may talk quietly. I insist that every student must look at me quietly with their hands folded when I am giving directions or explaining a concept. I do not start talking to give directions until I have every eye on me. If a student starts talking at these times, I stop, stare at them, and say, "We are waiting," or "Do you have a question?" Sometimes this requires waiting a few minutes, but then I can give the directions without repeating. I do ask several students to repeat the directions when I am finished to see how well they have listened and to field questions. I allow talking breaks at certain times (while lining up, while papers are being passed out, or just as a break if they have had to be quiet for more than half an hour, for example) and I try to create projects that will allow for group-created responses that will permit positive conversation. In these situations I try to give specific rules about what the conversation needs to focus on. Each of four groups may have a reader, a questioner, an illustrator, a secretary, and a presenter to give a book report to the class, for example. I think the important thing is to pick the times when students must give you their undivided attention and then be understanding of their social needs. I don't make it through a whole day in complete silence, and I don't thnk it would be fair to expect my students to either.

Tracy Austin from Newton, New Jersey:
I give directions one time and ask if anyone has any questions. If a student later asks, "What are we supposed to do?", I tell that student to ask a friend. If I give a list of directions, (such as things to do when they finish), I will write them on the board.

Jan Alexander, Grade 2 from Lodi, CA:
A quick answer for question number 2 would be to have the children repeat the direction after you have stated it. From then on, if someone asks me what to do, I give a signal spreading my hand toward the class which indictes that they may ask someone in the class but not me. They often do not like to admit to their peers that they did not listen and would prefer to "get it" the first time.

Jen from Philadlephia, Pa:
I have what I call a noise man. It is just like hang man. When the class it to loud I hang up part of the noise man. If the whole man goes up they have silent lunch. Soon as you start hanging up the noise man they get it together. Hope this helps

Kim Metzger from Van Buren, Michigan:
Answer to #2: Give a signal- hand up, lights off, clapping, etc. when you are ready to give directions, once you have their attention- give the directions one step at a time while drawing or writing the directrions on the board in a list. Complete all the steps include simple illustratiosn too- "cut out your shapes"- draw a pair of scissors. Leave the directions on the board for them to re-read if they missed a step. You do not have to repeat directions again- just point to the borad if they need help. It also helps imporive their reading skills, to.

Lorri Lamm from Fort Pierce, Florida:
I don't think it is possible to get talkative children to stop talking for long periods of time. The key is to get them talking about what you want them to focus on. I teach kindergarten and they have about a 5-6 minute attention span. They are also very social and love to interact. I try to make my directions last less than 2 minutes and allow them to talk while they are working in whisper voices. It takes a little time and patience to get them to remember to use their whisper voices, but my class is much quieter now than when I used to try to make them be silent. As to the selective hearing of some children, I refuse to repeat directions more than two times. If a child did listen on the second time, they have to ask someone in their group to explain what is expected. I find this helps both the child that didn't listen and to one explaining to understand what is expected better. Sometimes, children are the best teachers of their peers.

Nadine Poper from Blandon, PA:
I teach 4th grade and yes, they are constantly talking the moment my voice stops and even when my voice is still going! I hold up my fist, and start putting up fingers. By the time I reach 5 fingers, they must be seated and quiet. If I hear a voice or any inappropriate noise I erase a letter off of RECESS which is written on the board. We had to stay in for recess several times this year. When we do, we practice being quiet and transitioning from one subject to another silently. It works.

Bethany from Muscadine, Alabama:
1.tell them to stop talking or send them to the offic or call there parents 2. i say it loud and clear STOP TALKING NOW!!!! and they be quite

Shannon from Salamanca, NY:
I use a stop watch. When I am giving instructions and students are talking, I start the timer. When they stop to listen, I stop the timer. At the end of the week they owe me the time on the stop watch. They lose time off of their free time on Friday.

Diane Hines from Hillsboro, NH:
When it gets time to give directions, sometimes I will start whispering and they will really focus in on what I'm saying. Other times I will randomly ask students to repeat the directions; sometimes asking several until they've heard them over and over, but I've only had to say them once!

Beth from Eveleth, MN:
I give the directions to the students. Then I have another student repeat the directions that I gave to the class. Then I have everyone in the class tell two people sitting next to them the directions. That way they are hearing the directions more than once.

Colleen Polglaze from Dodgeville, WI:
This is for question 2. I tell the students that I will only say the directions twice. I give them the first couple of weeks of school to get use to this. I then follow through. If the students didn't hear me, I tell them to read the directions to themselves. Whenever I modify an assignment and they didn't hear it,then I guess they end up doing more work than assigned.

Wendy from Waukesha, wi:
I use a gumball jar for whole class behavior management. When the whole group is working quietly, one or two gumballs goes in the jar. When the gumball jar is filled their is a class party that has been previously voted on. I use it more than just quiet working. But I also make sure there are plenty of times I allow for talking.

Kathy McVey from Newbury, Ohio:
I have the same scenerio in my 5th grade class. They are very intelligent, but have always been a talkative class which disrupts the classroom all day long. I've tried everything, but for my fifth graders, I give them three chances. If they are caught talking during classtime, I write their class # on the board. If they talk again, I put a check mark next to their name, and if they are caught a third time, they have to write a 300 word essay on whatever title I give them and havew their parents sign it.Even though I have received several essays,this has lessened the amount of talking in my class immensely!

Beverly Hernandez from Grover, Colorado:
You do not say what grade you teach. If it is any primary grade, I have put a list of names on the board and put up a tally mark when someone interrupts me or is "doing" something they shouldn't. I also allow some "Pair and Share" time where two can talk about ?? and allow this only when work is completed. This works well as whole group time as well.

Barbara Breisch from Linden, Pennsylvania:
I divide my class into 4 teams(seating arrangement). Throughout the day I reward tally marks on the chalkboard to the team working the quietest, or the team that enters the room nicest, the team who is ready to participate first, etc. At the end of the day, tally marks are counted (math practice) and the team with the most tally points receives a sticker to put on an individual or team sticker chart. As soon as a team working together have earned 10 or any number you prefer, I award that team a small treat or prize. In order to make it more effective, you may want to start out with a low number to let the students see the end results. A team can win as many times as they exhibit the good behaviors. I have used this technique for years and have had amazing results.

marge emmer from bethesda , md:
a. give them some dedicated "talking time" (when they can chat with a friend )with the stipulation that when "talking time" is over , they will do their best to listen & follow all directions. b. Keep a class checklist to monitor listening & following directions . Share the data with the class at the end of each day or week and allow the "best listener" of the day or week to be the teacher's assistant. c. Have visual reminders for students to remember to follow active listening procedures. Refer to this each day.

Ann from Bellevue, Washington:
I use a system that I read about on line from another teacher. It's called "mystery worker" and "mystery walker." I choose two names when we begin each 45 minute to hour period of the day but don't tell the kiddos who has been drawn. If those two make good choices, they get a "caught you being good" slip that they sign and put into a basket with all the other "good" slips. At the end of the week, I draw out 5 names and they go to the prize box. It works the same way for "mystery walker". Each time we need to walk down the hall to a specialist, from recess, etc. two names are drawn and they are rewarded with a slip if they are quiet. Another thing I have done if my class just can't stop talking is to put them into rows for a while. Then they earn back sitting in groups when they can handle it. Before I give directions, I pause for about 30 seconds, not saying anything. I wait until it is totally silent in the room, then give the directions. I ask for any questions, then have a student repeat the directions before the class begins. I also wait another 30-60 seconds after that before I leave and start walking around. The pausing and waiting has a terrific effect.

Deb from Flagstaff, AZ:
1. I go with it. I plan activities that involve collaboration between children and when reading stories I choose interactive books that the children can participate with. 2. When I give a direction, I ask someone to repeat it. If I am assigning a difficult task, I may ask more than one student to repeat the directions.

Tina Marsh from Newnan, Georgia:
Question 2: I have a section at the top of my dry erase board labeled "Directions:" As I give the direction orally, I write them on the board - page number, whether it should be in cursive or print, to turn in or keep to grade together, etc. Then if they can't recall the directions, they can look at the board. Now when a student begins to say "What page..." my others say, "Look at the board!"

Shelly Moses from San Diego, CA:
I have two VERY talkative classes, ones which did not score score very well on the auditory comprehension section of our standardized test. Every few weeks we have a talk about why it's important to listen, and how to listen. Many of my first graders don't really know HOW to listen so we have to go over the steps: no talking, look at the speaker, visualize what is being said, predict what is coming next. (Many of the same strategies we use whe a book is talking to us.) Give directions only once, write them on the board or have some sort of pictorial representation, and have the students repeat the directions to themselves (with whisper phones if you have them,) and then ABSOLUTELY, do not repeat yourself. If students ask me for the directions again I say, "I know you listened to the directions the first time." They'll either stop to think and remember the directions, or ask a friend since they won't want to prove you wrong. It's been helping in my classes.

Linda Cantrell from Ada, Oklahoma:
I use a noise gauge in my classroom. I teach 5th grade so it might not work for your age group. On a board I have 5 magnetic circles. Each day the class starts with 5 circles. Each time they are quiet I remove one of the circles. If they have all circle removed at the end of the day, I add 5 bonus points to a subject of their choice. However, if they are too noisey I add a minute. If they have 5 or more minutes by the end of the day, that is how many minutes of recess they owe me the next day. I also use a couple of codes to help them get quiet. I say "spaghetti", they respond, "meatballs". I also use a little clacker. If I get to 10 clicks, I usually add a minute. I've also spelled out "transition" which tells them that I want them to get quiet. I try to never raise my voice.

Peggy Chapman from Tomah, Wisconsin:
I begin handling the talking problems on the very first day of school when I introduce my class rules. I only have three of them and I am very firm about students following them. They provide an atmosphere of mutual respect. My rules are: 1. When someone is talking the rest of us are listening. 2. Please do what you are asked to do as soon as you are asked to do it. 3. Do your best work everyday. When we practice these rules I am very picky and specific about what it "looks and sounds" like when these rules are being followed. Children can refer to the poster on the wall at anytime for a reminder. Soon I ask students by number what rule they need to think about instead of reviewing all of it. As the year goes on we sometimes need to practice these simple rules of respect, but that is ok since everyone is very familiar with them. I have used these same rules in grades from elementary to high school level with the same success.

Lisa from Spring, Texas:
Count backwards from 5 to 1. This needs NO explaining beforehand, and the kids automatically know to get in their seats and be quiet, ready to listen. Try it!

Christel Pretorius from Paonia, Colorado:
2. Start by saying:"I have an important announcement, and I am only going to tell you this once." Then proceed with your instructions. For the first few days, ask the student who has a hard time listening the first time around to repeat the direction. When he struggles ask a friend to fill him in.Refuse to give the directions again when asked what to do, rather reply:"What do you think?"

Lorena from Tracy, CA:
When one of my third graders doesn't hear an instruction I point to a poster I have that says, "Ask three, then me", which I explained at the beginning of the year means-ask three students quietly and if you still don't understand, wait until I'm done talking to ask me. Also, for habitual talkers during instructions I make them write the instructions down 25 times if they missed it because of their talking. They tune in after that!

Mona Roche from Carriere, MS:
Question 1: A teacher friend of mine told me about Tally Marks. Put a sticky note on the childs desk, each time you have to ask them to sit down or quit talking, you ask them to place a tally mark on their sheet. Give them a goal. If no tally marks for 5 days, give them a chance to dig in the treat bucket. If they get 5 in that time, they have break detention. If you have younger children, you time limit may be 1 day. I only have my students for an hour. Hope this helps. Question 2: I give the directions once, and then I repeat them, then have the class repeat them. If the student has to ask then, they write the directions and all questions that go along with the work.

Rachelle Creel from Robertsdale, Alabama:
I use a music box to control talking in my first grade classroom. I wind up the music box on Monday morning. When students are too noisy or are talking/blurting out too much, I open the music box and the music plays until they are quiet and I close the box. On Friday, if there is still music left in the box, we get to go outside for 30 minutes of free time after lunch. They really look forward to this special free time (and so do I - if I see that the music is really running out on Thursday afternoons, I can sneak a little turn of the knob after the kids leave!)

Dawn from Elgin, Illinois:
Use their talking as a learning tool. When I've had classes like that we've done a lot with cooperative learning, debates, talk to a partner to discuss a concept and then report about your conversation. Read to a partner.

Amy from Hampton Cove, AL:
First of all be sure that you give your students plenty of time to talk throughout the day. Remember research shows that we learn 70% of what we discuss with others. I have "Turn and Talk" several times during the day. For example after DEAR time I might have the students "Turn and Talk." They talk about the favorite character; favorite part; beginning, middle and end, etc. from the book they were reading. During center time the students are allowed to use whisper voices. To make sure I have everyone's attention before giving directions I say "STOP, LOOK, LISTEN!" I have also used "Give Me 5" .... Eyes looking, Ears listening, Lips closed, hands folded, feet still. There have been times when the whole class seems extra talkative. At those times the whole class sits out for recess for how many minutes it took them to settle down. My class goes out with two other classes so having to watch the others play is punishment enough. It all goes back to setting the routine and expectations at the beginning of the year.

Kristy Thigpen from Middleton, TN:
1.)Although I don't know the grade level, I have found that allowing set times for socializing per day or week works well. For example, if the class goes through the day without more than one warning about "talking" when not appropriate they could be rewarded with a set amount of time at the end of the day or allow them to build it up like a bank by the week for a bigger reward (extra recess, no homework for a day, etc.) Also, you could take away from the bank of time earned when needed. 2.) The best way to give directions once is to make sure you have their attention. I have used the "Give me five" technique with grade levels up through 8th grade and it still works. You hold up one hand and slowly raise one finger to five. By the time you have counted in the air without saying a word to five, the students are to raise their hand and hold up all five signaling that they have eyes on you, mouth quiet, feet and hands still, seated, and ready for instruction. I got this method from Harry Wong. A lot of his class management techniques aren't just good in his book; they are practical and work.