I've never had a seating arrangement that I really like. I like to have my students in groups for various cooperative learning activities, and because it's easier to move around the room. The problem is that my classroom is much longer, which drives me crazy because some of the students are just so far away. It didn't matter if I constantly circulated the room because no matter where I was standing I was too far away from at least one student who needed redirection or help. I didn't know it at the time, but I wasn't working the crowd.
Fast forward a few months, and I see a class pop up about classroom and behavior management. I always am trying to up my game when it comes to classroom and behavior management, so I signed up right away. The class is all about "Tools for Teaching".
According to Dr. Fred Jones, you need to work the crowd, or the crowd works you. We all want classroom management that is cheap, meaning that it requires very little of our time and effort. That's just what we all need.. am I right??
Each child is constantly asking himself or herself the question, "Is the coast clear?" Well, it depends on their proximity to the teacher, and we all know that we need to circulate around the roomwhich is why our feet always hurt so stinkin' bad. The child may answer the question with one of the following responses:
1. No, the teacher is right next to me. THE COAST IS NOT CLEAR! (red)
2. Eh, well the teacher isn't too close, but they're facing me. The coast is probably not clear. (yellow)
3. The teacher isn't too close, and they're facing away from me. The coast is probably clear. (yellow)
4. The teacher is on the opposite side of the classroom. GO CRAZY THE COAST IS CLEAR! (green)
It all comes down to working the different zones in your classroom. Each classroom has 3 zones: red, yellow, and green.
The red zone is directly around the teacher. Students in this zone know the coast is NOT clear and that they won't be able to get away with anything since you are near them. The yellow zone is just outside of the red zone, and the coast may or not be clear depending on which direction the teacher is facing. The green zone is on the opposite side of the room, and anything goes in the green zone since you're so far away from those students.
Ideally, you'll move around the room during guided practice and constantly change the zones. With the zones changing quickly, the students won't have enough time to register that they're in the green zone, since in a few steps and they'll be back in the yellow and then red zone. It's the cheapest form of classroom management.
Now here's the question that I am constantly asking myself:
How can I constantly change the zones without killing my feet?
The answer is.. an interior loop!
You want an interior loop that you can walk around your classroom to monitor behavior and "check in" with your students. This allows you to "work the crowd" with the smallest possible amount of walking to save our feet. After a fewhours tries, I finally came up with an arrangement for my interior loop!
This loop is maybe 10 feet. I hope it'll save my feet AND work out for my students!
I hope you can find ways to make this work for you. I'd love to hear how you work the crowd and manage your zones!
Fast forward a few months, and I see a class pop up about classroom and behavior management. I always am trying to up my game when it comes to classroom and behavior management, so I signed up right away. The class is all about "Tools for Teaching".
According to Dr. Fred Jones, you need to work the crowd, or the crowd works you. We all want classroom management that is cheap, meaning that it requires very little of our time and effort. That's just what we all need.. am I right??Each child is constantly asking himself or herself the question, "Is the coast clear?" Well, it depends on their proximity to the teacher, and we all know that we need to circulate around the room
1. No, the teacher is right next to me. THE COAST IS NOT CLEAR! (red)
2. Eh, well the teacher isn't too close, but they're facing me. The coast is probably not clear. (yellow)
3. The teacher isn't too close, and they're facing away from me. The coast is probably clear. (yellow)
4. The teacher is on the opposite side of the classroom. GO CRAZY THE COAST IS CLEAR! (green)
It all comes down to working the different zones in your classroom. Each classroom has 3 zones: red, yellow, and green.
The red zone is directly around the teacher. Students in this zone know the coast is NOT clear and that they won't be able to get away with anything since you are near them. The yellow zone is just outside of the red zone, and the coast may or not be clear depending on which direction the teacher is facing. The green zone is on the opposite side of the room, and anything goes in the green zone since you're so far away from those students.
Ideally, you'll move around the room during guided practice and constantly change the zones. With the zones changing quickly, the students won't have enough time to register that they're in the green zone, since in a few steps and they'll be back in the yellow and then red zone. It's the cheapest form of classroom management.
Now here's the question that I am constantly asking myself:
How can I constantly change the zones without killing my feet?
The answer is.. an interior loop!
You want an interior loop that you can walk around your classroom to monitor behavior and "check in" with your students. This allows you to "work the crowd" with the smallest possible amount of walking to save our feet. After a few
This loop is maybe 10 feet. I hope it'll save my feet AND work out for my students!
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