6 exercises to help calm a noisy class

How to quickly discipline a class and set it up for work.

A noisy classroom is always another problem for a teacher! How to reassure students and shift their attention to learning? We offer 6 exercises that will be useful for every teacher!

Exercise "Easy prey"

If you are a very demanding teacher, who also needs to "sweat" in order to get a high grade, then this exercise will allow you to instantly switch the attention of your students and adjust them to work.

Principle of Execution:

Invite students to complete a few fairly easy tasks for which you can be guaranteed a high grade in the journal (tasks should be really easy and for the weakest students in the class!).

Note that only 5-6 notebooks will be checked, namely those students who will cope with the task the fastest.

Game exercise "Silence"

This exercise will help to establish discipline and turn the class from noisy to calm in just 1-2 minutes.

How it works:

Invite students to play a game. Its meaning is to show maximum endurance and be able to speak neither a word nor a sound for an agreed time (40-60 seconds).

Anyone who does not hold back until the test time expires and says at least one word will be responsible for the teacher's questions or perform a difficult assessment task.

Exercise "Casual story"

Due to the large amount of program material, teachers are rarely distracted from lessons in extraneous conversations. But how students love to listen to interesting stories of teachers that are not about the school program, but just life stories! So a casual story, which can be useful in these circumstances, will help to attract the attention of students and help calm a noisy class down faster.

How it works:

Notice why students are so noisy. Remember and tell them a similar story from your life that was interesting and memorable for you for a long time. After all, you have a lot of different interesting stories in your personal treasury! By capturing the attention of students with an interesting story, it will be easier for you to slowly translate the conversation into a discussion of educational material.

Conscious Breathing Exercise

This right helps to concentrate if students are noisy and hyperactive.

How it works:

Ask students to sit comfortably with their backs straight and close their eyes. Remind students that they should focus on their breathing, try to breathe evenly, deeply and calmly.

While inhaling, slowly squeeze your right hand into a fist. On the exhale, slowly spread your fingers one by one, mentally counting "1, 2, 3, 4, 5". Then repeat the exercise, squeezing the fingers of the left hand, and then repeat the right.

As a rule, to achieve the desired result, it is enough to repeat the exercise two or three times.

Quieter-Louder Exercise

Invite students to play a game in which they have to repeat certain phrases or words that you have said at different volumes.

Principle of performance: Agree with the students that they should repeat each phrase you say in chorus, first louder than you, and then barely audible. Systematic changes in the volume and intonation of speech allow you to focus and discipline effortlessly.

Countdown exercise

This extremely simple and at the same time effective psychological exercise allows students to instantly calm down in anticipation of unknown further actions of the teacher.

Principle of execution:

When you feel that the class is very noisy, start loudly and in a serious tone countdown "5,4,3 ...", while demonstratively unbending your fingers clenched into a fist. Usually children at this time begin to fall silent in anticipation of further action. As a rule, the case does not reach the unit - the students have already calmed down.

This exercise will be an effective tool when working with primary and secondary school students. The main thing is not to abuse this technique!