3 Tips for Transforming a Chatty Class into an Engaged Class

Children are social creatures at any age. That’s why recess, lunch, and group work has always been a favorite for students.

Don’t fret over a chatty class. You can use that to your advantage!

I have 3 simple hacks for transforming your chatty class into an engaged class!

One of my favorite quotes I have seen on Pinterest over the years talks about not joining in the chaos when a kid is overwhelmed by emotions and has a meltdown.

That’s why I love finding ways to get student attention without hollering over them. Plus, that really hurts my throat after a long day lol.

Callbacks and Doorbells are great signals that grab student attention while saving your voice and sanity.

My students LOVE our doorbell for cleanup. And, I use a short tone for the attention grabber signal.

Mystery student is a great incentive for students to focus on respectful behaviors such as not interrupting others.

I’m always looking for great leaders in my classroom who can set an example for how to be kind and respectful to others. Drawing attention to great examples help students recognize and imitate these behaviors.

This is my absolute favorite trick to harnessing student social power into an engaged lesson.

When you clearly have a social group. Use that to your advantage and make activities where they pair and share, research and teach the class, or work in partners/groups.