Pre-teaching sel skills and expectations
Whenever we have students who will be presenting something to the class, we always take a moment to create safe space for the presenter. Everyone has been a presenter at some point, so I ask, “What would you want from an audience, if you were presenting?”
When Eden says, “To be quiet and listen,” I notice a couple of students having a side conversation. Rather than reprimand them for this, I walk over to them to give a nonverbal message, and then say, “I think some friends may not have heard you. Can you say it again?” This signals the students who were having the side conversation to listen, as they didn’t hear the important reminder Eden was sharing. Not only does this show Eden that what she says is important, it also allows students to notice that they should listen, not because a teacher will punish them, but because otherwise, they will miss important things.
When Heather says, “Pay attention,” I use this as a teachable moment to elicit specific behaviors that communicate that someone is paying attention. I do not assume everyone knows what this means. Another student talks about eye contact, and leaning in, giving specific examples to students so they fully understand the expectations.
This activity only took about a minute, but it sets kids up for success in powerful ways. If we take the time to talk through expectations and the reasons for these expectations, students are able to meet them with more success. This one minute helped to save several minutes of talking about problems with audience behaviors during a presentation.
When Eden says, “To be quiet and listen,” I notice a couple of students having a side conversation. Rather than reprimand them for this, I walk over to them to give a nonverbal message, and then say, “I think some friends may not have heard you. Can you say it again?” This signals the students who were having the side conversation to listen, as they didn’t hear the important reminder Eden was sharing. Not only does this show Eden that what she says is important, it also allows students to notice that they should listen, not because a teacher will punish them, but because otherwise, they will miss important things.
When Heather says, “Pay attention,” I use this as a teachable moment to elicit specific behaviors that communicate that someone is paying attention. I do not assume everyone knows what this means. Another student talks about eye contact, and leaning in, giving specific examples to students so they fully understand the expectations.
This activity only took about a minute, but it sets kids up for success in powerful ways. If we take the time to talk through expectations and the reasons for these expectations, students are able to meet them with more success. This one minute helped to save several minutes of talking about problems with audience behaviors during a presentation.