Miss Kindergarten

Classroom Managment Linky Party

Are you looking for a way to manage noise in your classroom or in your house?! Well then this is perfect for you!
Classroom Management: Volume Control
At the beginning of the school year, I had a student who was so loud. I’m not exaggerating when I say that she screamed in class…a.day.long. When she walked into class, she screamed! When she asked a question, she screamed! When she was in the computer lab, she screamed!
Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t trying to be mean, she just had no volume control! Well her behavior tutor finally gave me a visual chart for her so that I could remind her about what her volume should sound like while in school. I mounted the chart under my whiteboard and the magic began! It not only helped to control her volume, it completely transformed my class!
The volume chart has 5 levels:
5- Screaming & Shouting
4- Loud Voice
3- Speaking Voice
2- Whisper Voice
1- No Talking
The great thing about this chart is it very clear and you can use positive statements rather than negative. For example, instead of me saying “don’t shout” I would say, “Use your level 3 voice” and the girl would totally understand.
Well one day during our flag salute, my students were screaming and I was very upset because I had talked to them about this several times! I told them how upset I was when one little boy raised his hand. He said, “We shouldn’t use our level 5 voice huh?” And then it clicked! If this chart worked with the little girl, it can work with all of my students! So I replied, “No, we should not use our level 5 voice during the flag salute. We need to use our level 3 voice”. I reminded them for several days and eventually all I had to do was hold up 3 fingers and they immediately lowered their voices!
It also proved to work really well during our show and tell time. I have some really shy students who have a hard time speaking up in front of the class. But if I told them to use their level 4 voice, they would do so without any hesitation!
When we walk in the hall, we all have our level 1 voice on!
When we’re working with partners, we use our level 2 voice.
We ONLY use our level 5 voice when we’re outside at Recess or PE.
And let me tell you, the volume in my classroom is unbelievable!
 For your own copy of Volume Levels click the picture below.

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Comments

  1. My Favorite Classroom Management Strategy: "Freeze 1, 2, 3"

    Freeze 1 – students put their hands on their heads
    Freeze 2 – students put their hands on their shoulders
    Freeze 3 – students put their hands in the laps

    By "Freeze 3," all students have stopped whatever it was they were doing and are now listening. YAY!

  2. Wow – thanks!!! I'm going to share this with my faculty, then we're going to try your volume levels in our cafeteria – wish me luck!!!

    Barbara
    corneroncharacter.blogspot.com

  6. I do the same exact thing as you with the noise levels! My poster however has a hand holding one finger, two fingers, etc. I use the system the same way except I will ask the kids at any point to tell me what their noise level is. Then I remind them what noise level they should be at. I am all about putting the responsibility back on the kids so that they begin to monitor their own levels and I don't have to! =) Just a thought!

    I am big on management. I am new to blogging but have some great tips that are coming down the loop! Would love you to join me too! I some tips already posted that take the responsibility off you and put it back on the kids… so they self regulate!

    Empowering Kinders and Other Kids Too!

    Jennifer

  9. There are fantastic ideas on classroom management here. This blog is so inspiring!

    Apologies for re-linking – just changed my blog's URL so had to update my link.

    BT

  11. Some other ideas I thought of after posting my link:
    We team teach so we use the traveling clipboard that follows each homeroom and to activity so that we can keep track of behavior overall. It's easy to make up a class sheet to keep tally marks. This works well in all grades and gives a document for conferences if needed.

    I've used bracelets ( usually red, yellow, and green)for behavior in the cafeteria or hallway. The goal is for the class not to lose all three bracelets and to earn game time or recess ( The teacher just moves the bracelet from one wrist to the other as the visual). This works well for younger grades, too.

    Finally, in the upper grades- the timer does wonders. I set it for 15 minutes ( our recess), and if it's noisy I turn it on, and the class owes me that time. It works very well for positive peer pressure. Classes seldom lose more than a minute or two. It helps with transitions that sometimes waste time.
    Fran
    http://sophieandsadiesscholarlysite.blogspot.com/

  13. I use a ruler and have "inch" levels. It can be done with a decibel reader, etc. a 1 inch voice would be your quietest whisper and a 12 inch voice would be as loud as you can possibly yell. I let my kids agree on their volume levels together. It works pretty well, but isn't quite as measurable.

  14. This is such a great way to gain control of the sound level, something that can get out of hand quite easily.

    I'm the newest follower of your blog, a student teacher starting my very first practicum placement in a month! I've found so many amazing ideas from your blog! I would love it if you could follow me back at: http://www. crayonsglitterandsmellymarkers.blogspot.com Thanks!

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