Blog 7

Christina Mendez 10-20-08

Topic Headings

This list serve is classroom management and the discussions take pace from October 15, 2008 until October 19, 2008. The issue that was being discussed was the noise level in the classroom.

A. Include descriptions of classroom activities, resources and issues that were discussed.

One woman started the discussion be saying that she has 18 4-5 year old children and during center time the noise level gets increasingly louder. She asked for any suggestions.

B: Explain areas of agreement, disagreement, concerns, advice, etc.

One woman said to go back and reteach the appropriate behavior for each center and center time. She also said to evaluate your centers to see if they are too noisy. I agree with her. 4-5 year old children need to be reminded constantly of their behaviors. Another woman agreed with her by saying sometimes you need to keep teaching them the difference between outdoor and indoor voices. She told her to try teaching them the 1, 2, 3 sound level by using your voice or music to demonstrate the difference. 1: indoor voice, 2: talking with your friends, 3: playground voice. I thought that was a fabulous idea, the 1, 2, 3 method. I had never thought of that. Another woman said she has a class of 17 4/5 year olds and she understands the situation about noise escalating during work time. She explains that there is going to be noise whenever a large group of preschoolers are talking at the same time, but they tend to get louder and louder as center time goes on. She uses the "Give Me 5 method" for getting the children's attention. If it gets too noisy, she stands in the middle of the room where she is visible to all of the children. She puts her hand in the air and says "Give Me Five". She explains that the children have been taught what to do when this happens early in the year. The children are to immediately stop whatever they are doing, put their hands in the air like the teacher, look at the teacher and listen to the teacher. She then tells them that the noise is too high and they need to talk quieter. She only gives them 2 chances during center time. If it gets noisy a third time, they have to clean up. She then has them sit at the tables and with the remaining time, does a table toy with no talking. During that time she reminds them of the classroom rules and why we have to talk in a softer voice when we are inside the building. She goes over the difference between outdoor and indoor voices. Another woman had just been at a conference for reading and writing proficiency. At the meeting they were talking about ways to get students to read better. They have a device which looks like a handless phone set: earphone with a wraparound microphone. The benefit beyond helping the child to hear what he or she is saying is that they cannot talk loudly as it will hurt their ears. The teachers that have used them in the room allow the kids to have center time with them. She says it reportedly has kept the noise levels lower. One woman asked how many at a center at one time. She suggested that maybe there are too many. She agreed with the other posters to review and practice the rules for center time. After 1-2 warnings, time to clean up letting them know that they can try again tomorrow.

Rsponses to Others Questions

A. Why did you choose to answer that particular question or make a particular comment?

I answered this woman’s post by saying that she should stop the center time after 3 warnings and have them clean up. Then they should go back to their seats and have a class discussion of the rules during center time.