Transitions do not always come easy for students. However, getting from point A to point B doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Here are three quick tips to help improve hallway behavior.
The most important thing you need to do is set your expectations. I love using acronyms with my students, so I played with the word LINE and came up with these expectations:
Once you have the expectations set, you need to practice, practice, practice! For the first few weeks of school, take some mini tours of your building. Not only will this help your students know where everything is, it gives them an authentic reason to practice their voice levels and behaviors.
During this practice time, I like to focus on individual students, so I implement Secret Star. I have a jar of sticks with all of my student names on them. I draw two sticks before we enter the hallway and keep these names a secret. As we transition, I focus on watching these two students. If they are on task and following expectations, they can earn a Starburst candy or classroom money when we return to the classroom. If the student doesn’t follow the hallway expectations, I make an announcement like, “Unfortunately, my secret star didn’t stay in their space and was touching the walls while we were walking. I hope my friend makes better choices next time.” I never point out which student it was, instead I use the opportunity to remind the whole class about our hallway expectations.
While focusing on the individual is important, you should also remember your ultimate goal – to get the whole class on board with hallway behavior. At the beginning of the year, we set a classroom goal to earn compliments from other staff members for our behavior. I find that students are much more motivated when they can visually track their progress towards earning a reward, so we put our goals on display.
Finally, I want to leave you with a little teacher humor:
Happy Teaching!
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