The Trick
Here is a supersimple handy dandy trick that teachers and parents will love. I know we all have our own methods for getting the whole class’s attention– ring a bell, xylophone, Marco-Polo, “If you can hear my voice, clap once…” and so on. That’s cool. If you don’t use any of these, you should try it! It’s great for quickly getting your students’ attention so you can give the next instructions or just move on.
Sometimes, however, we don’t necessarily need to make the kids stop what they’re doing or make an announcement. Sometimes, the class is just antsy or fidgety or chatty or SOMETHING and you just feel this crazy vibe in the room. Maybe it’s the day after Halloween, or maybe it’s nearing the holidays and the air is just bursting with too much excitement and they have trouble concentrating. Or maybe it’s just a normal afternoon, when the students’ focus is off and we’re all ready for an afternoon nap.
Or maybe it’s Friday. Oh, Fridays.
So far, I’ve shared with you ideas on how to get an individual student’s behavior in line using graduated consequences. What I’m about to share is an idea for the times when it’s not one or two or five students, but your whole class that seems to be driving you nuts. It’s simple. Just say these two magical words: Check yourselves!
Check Yourselves: How it Works
I reme
mber one of my elementary school teachers who used to get upset and say, “I’M UP TO HERE WITH YOU GUYS!” When she held her hand up to her forehead or something, we knew we were really in trouble. It was enough to get me to shape up, but I don’t think it was that effective for the class as a whole. She’d say it again and again, getting more and more upset, but… if she needed to say it so many times, it must not have been stopping whatever behavior it was that was annoying her so much. We felt bad, she was increasingly upset, but nothing was getting better.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could say two magic words, and your whole class would immediately straighten up and focus? Imagine it’s a hot afternoon, and you’re reading a book to your class at the carpet. Some kids are fanning themselves, others are spreading their legs out and poking the people around them. A couple girls are braiding their hair, and you spy a boy in the back putting pieces of grass on the back of the kid in front of him. Everywhere you look there seems to be this unfocused haze. None of the kids are being bad, but it just feels off.
You ask a question about the story, and only a couple hands go up to answer. It’s an easy question, so you know it’s not too hard for the rest of the class. They’re just not tuned in. It’s possible that it’s time to try a different activity, and it’s possible your book is boring. But historically, this has been a class favorite, and your students usually LOVE read-alouds at the carpet… so it’s probably just a matter of helping to snap the kids back into focus. Luckily, you have just the tool for this.
You clear your throat then firmly say, “Check yourselves!”
Vwoop! All of a sudden, 33 little heads pop up, eyes wide and alert, faces smiling. Backs are ruler-straight, legs fling into criss-cross position, and hands are folded in the middle.
MAGIC, I TELL YOU! MAGIC!
It never ceases to amaze me, and I know the kids get a big kick out of this, too! They are pretty in awe of themselves whenever they pull this off (which is every time), and I know part of its success is how delighted they are with themselves. That’s cool. Whatever works.
Sometimes, all they need is a quick reminder and voila! Ready to go!
How to Teach it
At the beginning of each year, I teach this to my class.
“Okay. Today, I’m going to teach you two magic words: Check yourselves. It’s AMAZING. Seriously, guys. It’s like MAGIC. Here’s how it works. When I say ‘Check yourselves!’ then I want you to check THREE THINGS on your body: Your eyes– focused on me. Your shoulders– turned to me. Your hands– quiet.”
Of course, at the end of this first part, they’re all focused– eyes on me, shoulders turned, and hands quiet.
“Basically, I want you to look perfect– mouths quiet, listening, legs crossed if we’re at the carpet, and so on. But if you check these three things– eyes, shoulders, hands– the other things will probably fall in place. So no matter WHAT we’re doing– reading, writing, playing, talking, walking– if I call out, ‘Check yourselves!’ I should see the whole class immediately SNAP to attention and be ready for anything! Got it?”
Vigorous silent nods all around the room. They are ready!
“Okay, let’s give it a try. Go ahead and make a bunch of noise, sprawl your limbs out, have at it!”
The kids test it out, chatting, waving their arms around.
“Oh c’mon, you can get crazier than that!”
The noise level escalates, legs go on tables, some kids even dare to jump on their chairs. Which never happens, but hey, I said go crazy, right?
And then I say it: “CHECK YOURSELVES!”
Vwoop! In less than a second, the room is still. They’re sitting, beaming, quiet, and alert.
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW,” I say, in exaggerated shock, “that was AMAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZING!!!”
The kids start to giggle, and then pull themselves back into what they imagine straight-backed, proper students should look like. It’s so cute, really.
“WOOOOOOOOOOOOW,” I continue, “That was just… I think… wow… well, I think I’m just going to have to award five points for that!!!”
They half-break into cheers before they pull themselves back together again. They are pleased as punch! And seriously, I think this is pretty fun, too.
“Hmm, I wonder if this will work at the carpet. Calmly walk to the carpet and find your spots. Okay. So let’s pretend it’s after lunch, and everyone is a distracted for some reason.” I watch as the kids let their bodies go lax and start oozing all over the people around them. “Check yourselves!”
Vwooop! Superstraight, quiet, and alert.
“I’m loooovin’ it!” I sing out, “Nice job, guys! Isn’t that amazing?!”
They nod vigorously.
I award points.
“Now, it’d be awesome if I could drop this on you anywhere– during assemblies, on field trips, during readers workshop, in the middle of a game we’re playing. It’s basically a quick and easy way for me to remind you to check yourself and make sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing. Cool?”
“Cool!”
And that’s it! If you want, you can use other body parts. I chose eyes, shoulders, and hands because that works well for me.
Eyes: If they’re looking at me, they can’t be looking at their friend or their book or whatever might be distracting them.
Shoulders: If their shoulders are turned to me, they turn away from distractions and their backs naturally straighten up. I think this straightening unconsciously makes them feel more proper and therefore more focused, too. Nice side-effect.
Hands: When their hands are quiet, they can’t be writing or drawing or braiding or poking.
Basically, these three help rein in the distract-able parts of their body to focus on me.
Keep in mind that once you’ve taught it, you should not overuse this trick, or it will lose it’s novelty and the kids may not respond as well. Only use it as needed.
Who to Use this Trick With
I use this trick whenever I find myself with a new group of kids– tutoring after school, covering someone else’s class, coaching a volleyball team. I invest three minutes teaching it when I first meet them, and then I have an effective “reset” button anytime the kids go on the fritz. You can use this with just about any group of kids. It’s a handy tool whether you coach a kid’s sports team, teach Sunday school, are hosting a birthday party, or just have a child of your own.
The contrast between a class abuzz with activity and the sudden stillness from “Check yourselves” is awe-inspiring to anyone– even the kids. When it feels more like a game to them than me forcing them to pay attention, then it’s a win-win for everyone. I get their focus, they get points, they get to learn better… we’re all happy.
So when your kids are super fidgety and you need them to be still and focus, just teach them these two magic words: Check yourselves.
It’s magic. Seriously.
10 responses to ““Check Yourselves!””
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You have so many good tips and ideas! Thanks for sharing! I’m just curious, though, didn’t any of the kids ever just ignore your “Check Yourself”? What would you do if one or more of them didn’t listen because they were just bored of listening, or else were willfully disobedient? Or did that never happen?
Thanks for following, Sarah! 🙂 Part of the deal for getting the class points is that EVERYONE has to do it. If one person doesn’t, I won’t point out who it is, but I’ll say something like, “Ohhh nooooo, I had allllmost everyone, but not quite the entire class. Hopefully next time!”
The peer-pressure aspect is pretty powerful, and the incentive for class points is also pretty powerful. I didn’t mention it, but I pepper in class points throughout the year whenever I notice that kids are losing motivation to do this well. I always remind them that it’s just extra, and they should be doing this well without class points, so they don’t feel entitled to getting points. But it helps keep ’em on their toes.
This is great! I love these little tips where everything else falls into place!
My son’s preschool uses one of those meditation bowls to get everyone’s attention. I happened to be around the first time they rang it, and oh my, it does grab your attention! The respite lasted just long enough for the teacher to be able to give some directions, although I expect the kids will get used to the process as they go through the year.
Yeah, after the kids learn the routines things get more and more smooth :). I can see that working really well for younger kids!
Hi, again a great post on behaviors… One question, though: what do you do with the points? Or really, what does the class get from the points?
Hi Florence! The students earn class points towards “choice time,” which is a 30-minute block of time when they can choose activities to do, such as board games, drawing, origami, card games, etc. I could write a whole post about using class points and choice time strategically… hmm… I probably will sometime :).
I have a blog for teachers and principals, patriciadorsey.wordpress.com. May I re-blog this article in my blog? Of course, I’ll give my source! I was referred to your blog by one of your followers. Thank you.
Go for it! 🙂 Thanks for citing your sources :). I hope you find other useful tidbits here!
Thanks also to the person who referred you here!
Not in a million years did I think this would work, but it did and they LOVE it! Thank you. Quite impressive to admin. when they walk in.
Riiiiiiiiiiightttt!!!! Isn’t it great?! Thanks for giving it a shot– so glad it worked for you and your kids!