Heidi: This is episode 254 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give research based and teacher approved
strategies that make teaching less stressful and more
effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from
each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily: Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we are sharing tips for how to tame the chatter before,
during, and after transitions, and we've got a teacher approved
tip that is perfect for spring fever.
Heidi: But let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share
a quick win that you can try in your classroom right away.
Emily, what is our suggestion for this week?
Emily: This is one of those low-effort, high-impact moves
that can shift the whole feel of your classroom. So when
something goes sideways, like there's a conflict at recess, or
someone is very upset about whose pencil case is whose, you
start by validating the emotions before moving on to problem
solving. Something like, it sounds like that felt really
frustrating. Or, tell me what happened from your side. That
can do a ton for helping students be receptive to
solutions.
Heidi: And that makes total sense. I know I am much more
interested in listening to someone when I feel like I have
been heard first. So that is your try it tomorrow. Lead with
feelings. And if you are finding that helpful, or anything else
we share here on the podcast, would you take a second to leave
us a five star rating and review? It means a lot, and it
helps other teachers find our show.
All right. The topic of today's episode came straight out of our
Quiet Your Chatty Class Challenge. We heard from a lot
of teachers during that challenge, and one of the things
that kept coming up over and over was talking during
transitions.
Emily: Which, on paper, seems like it shouldn't be that big of
a deal, right? You're just moving from point A to point B.
How hard can it be?
Heidi: Oh, famous last words. That's because there is nothing
simple about shifting two dozen kids from one activity to the
next, while simultaneously managing behavior, time, and all
of their materials.
Emily: And even when you are paying your closest attention,
you cannot see everything that's happening. There's always
something going on that you're not quite catching, and students
know this. Whether they mean to or not, they will exploit those
gaps.
Heidi: Bless their hearts. So think about coming in from
recess. You know how it goes. Some kids are putting away the
jump ropes and the basketballs. Someone is dumping wood chips
out of their shoe and onto the floor. There's an argument at
the drinking fountain. Three other kids are about to brawl
over how the game of tag ended. And you know, somehow you're
supposed to be ready to start math in three minutes.
Emily: Those darling children have flooded into the room like
a burst pipe. Their energy goes everywhere at once, and there's
no containing it once it's already in motion.
Heidi: That is the core of today's episode. If you want to
tame the talking during transitions, you can't respond
to the chaos after it starts, you have to design the
transition so that the chaos doesn't even have room to get
going.
Emily: We have talked a lot about, it's an understatement, a
lot, but we have talked a lot about how to build a solid
transition from the ground up. So episodes 48, 49, and 50 are
our full deep dive on that. And I promise you, it is worth a
listen. We covered how to give clear directions, how to time
them, how to use signals and cues, how to make sure students
understand what's expected from start to finish, all of the
things that make a transition efficient.
Heidi: Yeah, there is so much to cover. We had to do it in three
episodes. We didn't start out that way, but once we got in
there, oh no, we can't do this in one go. So if you want the
foundation, go back to those. But what we're doing today is
more specific. We're looking at what you can do before, during,
and after a transition to minimize those side
conversations that are giving you so many headaches.
Emily: So let's zoom back a little bit and look at the
bigger picture. The way you frame your transition determines
everything. If you as the teacher, are unclear in your
directions, you're basically inviting students to talk before
anyone has even stood up.
Heidi: Yeah, uncertainty creates conversation. When the kids
don't know exactly what to do, obviously they're going to ask
each other.
Emily: Which is helpful, in theory, but when a few students
ask their neighbors to clarify what to do, it creates a buzz.
And humans are impressionable creatures. We go along with what
the rest of the group is doing. This is something called social
contagion. So when three or four kids ask a quiet question,
everyone else picks up the unconscious signal that this is
chatting time.
Heidi: Yeah. There are probably, you know, a couple of legitimate
questions going on, but realistically, 80% of the
talking is probably not related to the task at hand. So the
first move to curb talking is just removing that uncertainty.
Go through your instructions step by step, and then add the
extra support of including a visual.
Emily: This could be a slide or a list on the board. Bonus
points if you add photos or icons to really make your
expectations clear, but the goal is just to provide something
students can reference as they move. If students can figure out
what to do by themselves, they don't need to consult their
neighbor.
Heidi: If your transition requires getting out or putting
away materials, you can minimize the talking by having everything
set up beforehand.
Emily: Yeah. So just imagine yourself as a wedding
coordinator trying to get 300 guests through the buffet line
quickly but elegantly. If things are hard to reach or not clearly
labeled, that line is going to crawl. But if everything is laid
out where people can see it, grab it and move on, the whole
thing flows, and everyone stays happy and fed.
Heidi: Yes. And that same idea works in your classroom. If
students need to grab a piece of paper, take the stack of papers
off the shelf before the transition starts, and set it on
the counter or out where it's easy to reach, so they don't
have to, like, reach their arms into a shelf or a cubby. And if
everyone has to return their Cuisenaire rods after math, have
the bin placed where everyone can just drop them in and keep
moving.
Emily: Okay, so now the steps are posted. The materials are
easy to access. Now you have to actually give your directions.
Now the problem here is when students start moving before
they've heard everything you said, oh, it just drives me
crazy when they do this.
Heidi: You know, you start listing what you want them to
do, and before you finish the sentence, half the class is
already in motion based on what they think you're about to say.
And then you've got 18 kids asking what page you're supposed
to turn to, because they did not wait for the end.
Emily: Oh, so frustrating. But there is a fix, and that is to
use something called an action cue. And we did talk about this
in our transition episodes, but it's worth revisiting here,
because it is so vital. The idea is that you preface your
directions with the phrase that tells students exactly when to
stop listening and start moving.
Heidi: So my action cue was always, when I say go. I'm
pretty sure that this is something I picked up during my
PE methods class, but I adopted it in my classroom because it's
so useful. Instead of saying, Get out your math book and turn
to page 86, you say, when I say go, I want you to get out your
math book and turn to page 86. And then you pause, make sure
everyone is paying attention. And then you say, go.
Emily: And this really does make such a difference. That cue
signals to students that they need to hold on and listen for
the whole thing before they do anything. And when kids aren't
trying to predict what you want, they actually listen, which
means they don't have to ask a neighbor what to do.
Heidi: Now, your action cue is a place where you can add in a
little bit of fun. I used go as my standard, but you can use any
word you want. Try something seasonal or something silly,
like when I say gingerbread, or when I say touchdown.
Emily: Now, if you are a longtime listener, Hello, we're
glad you're here, you may remember that when we talk about
teacher attention signals, which is the prompt that you use to
get your class's attention, we specifically don't recommend
switching that up. The goal of an attention signal is to create
a reflexive response. So when students hear 123 eyes on me,
they respond, drop whatever is in their hands and turn to face
you. They don't even have to think about it.
Heidi: And the structure of that signal is very important, but a
transition action cue does something a little different. We
want students brains to perk up a little bit and pay closer
attention. So that's where novelty can be your friend.
Emily: Yeah, when I say go is reliable, but if you really want
to make sure they're listening to every word, give them
something unexpected. If you say, when I bock like a chicken,
I want you to come to the carpet with your notebook, you can bet
that they will be very tuned into what you're saying.
Heidi: I'm much more invested now.
Emily: I will not be demonstrating my chicken bocking
today. I'm sorry.
Heidi: This is an easy way to add spark and boost engagement
at the same time. I used to do this thing where I would trick
them, so they would be waiting for me to say go, and I would
start a word that sounded like it, go-pher. And half the class
would start moving, and the other half would be like, Oh,
sit down. She said gopher she said, gopher, sit back down. So
then everyone sits back down. We go again. Ready? Ghost! And
they're laughing and I'm laughing, you know, but by this
point, every single student is hanging on every word.
Emily: Yeah, because now the routine feels like a game.
Heidi: Exactly. And sometimes I would really drag this on. Goes,
goal, gold, goat, going, that was a good one. And then I would
finally whisper, go. And they thought that was the funniest.
And I know I sound like I'm belaboring this point, but that
20 seconds bought me a class that was completely on task and
enjoying themselves at the same time.
Emily: This is one of those things, though, that loses
impact if you do it every time, but every once in a while, it's
a really easy way to create a moment of shared fun right
before a transition. And also, I think it's a good thing to
deploy when you notice that the kids aren't paying attention. So
this is a good way to get them to pay attention.
Heidi: Exactly. Okay, so now the materials are laid out. You've
listed the steps on the board, and the kids are waiting for
your go signal. Already, you are doing a lot to curb the side
talking. But one more thing you might want to add is a quick
pause.
Emily: Here's how you might layer it into your directions.
When I say go, I want you to put away your writing and walk
quickly and quietly to your first center. The steps are
listed on the board if you're not sure what to do, but let's
run through them again. Close your eyes and imagine yourself
putting your writing notebook inside your desk. Then you're
standing up quietly, tucking in your chair, walking to your
center, taking out your folder. Let's take two deep breaths, and
when you're ready, you can go.
Heidi: We talked about this mental rehearsal back in episode
247 and it's a great way to ensure kids feel confident about
exactly what to do. Plus that little mindfulness pause makes
sure everyone is feeling more grounded and present. You have
channeled some of their excess energy, so hopefully there's
less of a drive to chat as they move.
Emily: And again, this is not something that you're going to
need to do every time that you transition, but if you have
fall apart, or something that's got multiple steps, or a
different transition than you usually do, that might be the
perfect time to deploy that strategy.
Okay, so you've set up the transition like a pro, and now
the kids are actually moving. Once students are up and going,
their nervous systems are more alert. If there's any friction
in the environment, that energy can escalate fast.
Heidi: Yeah, I learned this the hard way, very early in my
teaching career. Gather around, folks. It's story time. I was
being observed by my college professor. It's one of those
formal student teaching observations. And I was wrapping
up my lesson by explaining the assignment, which was a
worksheet about the picture book Tops and Bottoms. So I explained
what to do, and I sent them to grab their papers off the
counter before going back to their seats.
Emily: Uh-oh.
Heidi: Yeah. The chaos that followed is completely
predictable. You can imagine how it went. Kids pushing past each
other, arms snaking through the crowd to reach the papers on the
counter, the kids at the back pushing in the kids at the
front, so that when they had their papers, they couldn't get
Emily: And I could just picture your professor back there just
out of the way. And then everyone was worked up before
they could even start the assignment.
writing this all down on your evaluation.
Heidi: Oh yeah, oh yeah, Dr. Bushman, I can still see him
back in the back of my room. And during the debrief afterward, he
asked me if I thought there was anything I could have done
differently with paper distribution. And I so clearly
remember thinking, huh, paper distribution? It had never even
encouraged me that that was a problem, let alone a solvable
one. I just thought that's how it worked.
Emily: Yeah, there are so many transition moments like that
where we've just accepted the chaos as unavoidable, rather
than realizing that we designed it to be chaotic.
Heidi: Right. And there really are so many things I could have
done. I could have dismissed a few kids at a time to grab their
papers. I could have had the five table captains grabbed the
papers for their tables while everyone else went to their
seats. I could have set stacks of papers on each table while
the kids were moving to the carpet.
Emily: Once you recognize that the goal is to prevent
bottlenecks, there are so many possible solutions. If the
turn-in basket is sitting right next to the stack of notebooks
students need to pick up, you've just created a traffic jam at
that spot. Spread stuff out, move the notebooks to a
different table for that transition.
Heidi: Yeah, even if you don't want to store them there
permanently, just move them when everyone needs them. And it
makes everything so much easier.
Emily: And in almost every situation, when the whole class
needs to move at once, you want to stagger it. Dismiss a row or
a table at a time, instead of everyone together.
Heidi: And this is another place you can add some fun. Everyone
wearing blue can go, everyone who has a dog at home, everyone
who likes root beer, everyone with the letter L in their name.
Emily: Just be prepared to arbitrate decisions. Does this
bit of blue on my shoelace count? What if I have an L in my
last name?
Heidi: Why? Why is it that they care so much about rules that
don't matter and they just, ugh. But staggering how many students
move at once limits the opportunities for side
conversations that turn into actual disruptions.
Emily: One place this might be especially helpful is at the
doorway when students are returning from recess or lunch
or specials, try meeting them at the door, and think of it as
providing an energetic roadblock.
Heidi: Yeah, you're helping them center before they bring in all
of their excess energy into the room for your math lesson. So
stand at the door, smile, let them see that you are glad to
see them again.
Emily: Even if you could use an extra 10 minutes of peace and
quiet. And then you run through your expectations and send in a
few students at a time.
Heidi: And I know it sounds like this would slow things down, but
really, it almost always speeds things up. Instead of the whole
class piling in at once and taking forever to settle, you
are sending in calm, smaller groups who actually can just
dive in and get started.
Emily: And if you really want to set up a transition for calm,
one of the easiest things you can do is to think about the
sensory environment. What students see, hear, and feel,
can either give their nervous system a cue to ramp up or to
stay regulated.
Heidi: So one thing you might want to try is adjusting the
lighting. If you have control over that, you know, you could
lower some of the blinds or turn off one of the light panels,
just, you know, don't go full dark, or then they'll end up
screaming.
Emily: Yes. And add some music. It's so easy. Just go with
relaxing instrumentals, not fun pop songs, even if kids would
prefer the pop songs. Plus music fills the silence, so it seems
like there's less need for talking.
Heidi: And we actually have a Spotify playlist specifically
for this. It's called Teacher Approved Calming Piano, and we
will put a link to it in the show notes so it is there
whenever you need it.
Emily: All right. Good news everyone, your students have
successfully moved quickly and quietly. Now comes the third
part.
Heidi: I bet you thought your transition was done, but you've
still got one of the most important moments. After the
transition ends and before the next activity begins. This is
probably where most of the talking happens, and it's also
the most preventable.
Emily: So you had all that momentum of the students getting
where they needed to go, and then nothing They're waiting for
you to get started, or for the last few stragglers to arrive.
And as we all know, a student with nothing to do will always,
always find something to do.
Heidi: And that something probably won't be the thing you
want them to be doing. So every transition needs a landing pad.
This is an independent activity that can start the moment the
transition ends without needing any help from you.
Emily: We actually have a whole section about landing pads in
our upcoming book, Structure and Spark, which is available for
pre order now.
Heidi: Woo hoo.
Emily: Because it's one of those things that seems unimportant
but makes an enormous difference to how your whole day flows. The
landing pad fills the gap between transition is over and
instruction begins.
Heidi: It's how you capture attention immediately, so you
never have the hassle of trying to compete with 25 little
different side adventures going on. You just get everyone
involved in the same task so it's easy to switch gears when
you're ready to go.
Emily: And it doesn't have to be academic. After recess, a
landing pad could absolutely be silent reading or free drawing.
When students rotate to a new center, maybe the expectation is
that they start a task card while the rest of the group gets
settled. The goal is just that every student has a purpose the
second they arrive.
Heidi: Even if that purpose is just playing the quiet game.
When you're choosing landing pads, consider what comes next.
A landing pad that connects to the next activity is ideal, if
you can manage that. So if you're heading into math, use a
quick math warm up. Moving into writing, you can have your
students open their notebooks and start drafting story ideas.
Emily: And also take into account where the transition
ends. If students are at desks, written work makes sense. If
they'll be at the carpet, maybe it's a calm game or reading
aloud from a joke book.
Heidi: Because you as the teacher usually have your own
tasks to do during a transition. You know, like setting up for
the next lesson, the best landing pad is always one that
students can run on their own. The last thing you need is to be
managing the landing pad at the same time you're trying to do
everything else.
Emily: And now you just let them finish this round of the quiet
game before stepping in and starting your read aloud.
Everyone is paying attention and ready to go without any extra
work from you.
Heidi: And look at that. We did it. We got one activity cleaned
up, moved everyone quickly and quietly to a new location, and
now we're ready for the next thing.
Emily: Phew. Efficient transitions require a ton of
strategy, but we promise you have got this, and it gets so
easy the more you do it, you just do it naturally after you
have learned how to do this right.
Heidi: Yes. So start by considering what happens before,
during and after each transition. Reduce uncertainty
by posting the steps, organizing materials, and using a centering
pause. During the transition. plan your traffic flow, stagger
movement, set a calm sensory environment, and reduce idle
time after. Have a landing pad ready and waiting before the
transition starts.
Emily: The idea running through all these strategies is the
same. We want to design our transitions so that talking
doesn't even have a place to start.
Heidi: And if you would like some extra help for taming the
chattiness, we have a resource made exactly for this. It's
called the Quiet Class Quest. Some of you have tried it out
already, and it's a three day mini unit with everything you
need to get students genuinely invested in protecting quiet
focus time. And it's very cute, if I do say so myself.
Emily: It is cute, and it's fun. And it's free when you sign up
for a free trial of the Teacher Approved Club. And as a Club
member, you also get access to bonus audio trainings and
materials for other challenges that come up at this time in the
year, and there are a lot of them at this time of the year.
So you can sign up at the link in the show notes, or head to
secondstorywindow.net/trial.
Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where we share an
actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and
simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is to
review your expectations. So tell us about this, Heidi.
Heidi: Well, this is perfect for spring, because by now your
expectations that felt crystal clear in September are getting a
bit blurry.
Emily: Yeah, or very, very blurry. It's like they've
forgotten, like, how to be in school. They're just already
checked out for summer.
Heidi: Yes, there is definitely that. So let's counter it by
keeping your expectations front of mind. One way to do this is
with a class discussion. Ask students to rate themselves on a
scale from one to five about how well they think the class is
doing with a specific procedure. So it sounds like, how are we
doing with morning arrival? Give me a number, and then you have a
conversation. What's going well? What could we do better?
Emily: Students usually know exactly where the gaps are, and
when they name it themselves, they're much more motivated to
do something about it.
Heidi: The second way you can approach this problem is through
pre-corrections, which we've talked about recently. Before a
routine or a transition post the expected behaviors and briefly
run through them. Here's what we're doing, here's how we do
it. That way, the expectations are fresh in everyone's mind
when it matters the most.
Emily: So we have two resources that make both of these really
easy. The first is our procedure review slides. You add the name
of a procedure to a slide, students rate the class, and you
click to show the rating. If most students say dismissal is
about a three, you click three times and three stars appear.
After you've gone through your procedures, you've got a clear
shared picture of what's working and what needs work.
Heidi: And the second is this month's club resource. It's our
pre-correction slides to help you keep expectations alive all
the way to that final bell. We are calling it Ditching the
Glitch. So a glitch is when things don't happen the way
they're supposed to. And so the slides give you a quick visual
way to remind everyone of what's expected, so there's no room for
forgetting.
Emily: And both of these are in the Teacher Approved Club. So if
you're already a member, you can find the pre-correction Ditch
the Glitch resource in the member library, and you can get
the procedure rating slides with your monthly credits. So if you
are not yet a member, now is a great time, especially with that
Quiet Class Quest waiting for you.
Heidi: Okay, to wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're
giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your
extra credit?
Emily: Okay, this is so dumb, but it's making me so happy. So
I am giving extra credit to my acrylic straw holder.
Heidi: So wait, is the holder acrylic, or is the, are the
straws acrylic? Or are they both acrylic?
Emily: They're probably both acrylic, but the straw holder
itself is acrylic.
Heidi: Okay.
Emily: So the reason I wanted this is the way, I had my
kitchen organized by professional organizers a few
years ago, and they made in my silverware drawer this, like
whole section where straws could go. But that means, like, every
kind of straw of every different size was in this spot, so every
time you needed a straw, you're digging through it to see which
one fits the specific water bottle that you want to use. And
the kids in the house, there's a lot of different straws going on
in there, like a lot of different sizes. So of course,
there's all my tall ones for all of my Stanley tumblers. But then
there's shorter ones that attach to the straw in my hydro jugs,
and then there's the ones that fit my kids' Owalas. And you
know what I mean, they're just all different. And so finding
the one you need was annoying. And so I saw these straw
holders. So all it is is like a long rectangle with divided
spots, so like five little dividers.
Heidi: Like a silverware caddy?
Emily: No, no. It's like, this is one of those times that being
a podcast is hard to describe this. But let me tell you where
it goes, and then maybe you can picture the size better.
Heidi: Okay.
Emily: It goes on the inside of a cabinet door, so it's not very
deep, and it's like, probably eight inches wide, but probably
only, like an inch, an inch and a half deep. And then it has
little dividers in it, and it's also only about, like, two
inches tall. And then there's another one, just like that,
that's completely open, that goes a little higher to keep
them all straight in each one. So instead of one, what am I
trying to say, like one, really tall, acrylic one, it's just two
small ones that are spaced out from each other. You can space
them however you want them.
Heidi: Oh, okay.
Emily: Based on like, where, if your shelf inside the cupboard
might hit is where you might want to space those, or the the
height of your straws. And so it was so easy to install, I
organized all the straws in there by size, and I have been
absolutely delighted every time I go to get a straw, and it's
just like, whoop, found the one I needed immediately, did not
have to dig through my drawer. It's so dumb, but it's cheap,
and it really solved a pain point in my day. So I will link
to it in the show notes, if you are a household of many length
straws.
Heidi: That definitely deserve extra credit.
Emily: What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
Heidi: Well, I'm giving extra credit to my new dehumidifier,
which is hilarious, because I just got a big, fancy humidifier
for the room next to this. But so I have learned the hard way
that having raised ceilings in a bathroom is not ideal, because
all of the moisture gets trapped up there, and I am tired of
having to scrub moldy spots off my ceiling.
Emily: With a mop.
Heidi: Yes, I did use a mop. Yeah, I hate it. So I went on
the hunt for a little dehumidifier, and so far, this
has been working great, and was only $30. I wasn't sure, so I
got the cheapest one, and it's been great. I have experimented
running it with the ceiling fan on and one day and then off the
next. And both times it managed to pull four teaspoons of water
out of the air. I was quite shocked.
Emily: I'm really impressed that you made this a scientific
experiment and you measure the moisture.
Heidi: Such a teacher.
Emily: Well, you know, it's not helpful when people tell you
that something works if they can't compare it for you, so
you're just doing that real science work out here.
Heidi: I was like, is my fan doing anything? Clearly, it's
not.
Emily: No, I don't think mine is either.
Heidi: Yeah, and mine is cleaned recently, so, you'd think. But
anyway, this is a tiny, little workhorse. I don't think it
would work well in a big room, but if you also have a small
room, like the bathroom or a closet that gets humid, I would
definitely recommend this. I will put a link to it in the
Emily: Well, I'm definitely checking this out since I have
show notes.
the same problem, although I haven't had to go as far as
mopping my ceiling, because my ceilings are not as high as
yours. But I do have a problem with the fan not working because
it's inside the little toilet room instead of near the shower.
And so I do have a problem with moisture in my bathroom, so I'm
gonna check that out.
Heidi: Well, there's a link in the show notes to do that for
you.
Emily: Thank you.
Heidi: That is it for today's episode. Design your transitions
to tame the talking before it starts.
Emily: And if this episode was useful, share it with a teacher
friend who is feeling the stress right now, because we know there
are a lot of you out there.
Heidi: We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm
Heidi.
Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
Bye for now.
Emily: Bye.