4 steps to effective classroom management in SRE

How to raise the bar in effectively managing your SRE classroom

Some weeks, the SRE lesson runs so smoothly. The students are all keen to participate, waiting respectfully with their hands up to be called on. Every activity flows into the next with seamless perfection. The key point of the lesson is so clearly communicated that every student walks away with one clear Biblical truth tucked away for future reference.

But then there are other lessons. There are students calling out and talking over one another and yourself. Every activity transition takes more time than expected and it takes a while before the students get re-settled. You end the lesson wondering if any learning has actually taken place.

Last week, one of my SRE lessons was more like the latter than the former. I had that moment halfway through, maybe you’ve had it too, when I stopped for a moment and thought “I have no idea how to fix this!” (as the kids loudly chatted to one another instead of quietly doing their bookwork).

So what will I do this week? What proactive steps can I make for a more effective SRE lesson?

Below I have four suggestions to help you (and me!) with classroom management. I’ll apply them all to the example of using “Hands up” in class, but you’ll see how these steps can apply to any routine you want to establish in your classroom.

1. Show and tell the behaviour you want to see

One of the first tips I ever received as a teacher was to preface every single question I ask in class with the phrase “Hands up”. For example “Hands up who can remember the name of the man who fought Midian?” or “Hands up if you can remember how many people Gideon took into battle?” 

Not only do I say “Hands up”, I raise my hand as I say it to model it to my students as well.

I do this every single time I ask a question. You’d think I’d sound like a broken record, but repeating this phrase reinforces the behaviour I want to see.

There are other behaviours you can show and tell to your students such as hands in laps (put your hands in your lap), lips shut (pop a finger on your lips), eyes to me (gesture to your eyes).

Showing and telling is a helpful way to reinforce the behaviours you want from your students.

2. Set the bar high

Quite often when I have had a class get out of hand, I can trace it back to a moment where I have allowed a student to call out and haven’t corrected their behaviour.

One student will call out, then another, and then another, and then all of a sudden, you’ve lost control.

But, if you set the bar high, students will stay there. For instance, whenever a student calls out, I take the moment to remind them that we use “Hands up” in class. It’s essential that you do this even when they’ve called out the right answer. In that instance, I’ll say “That’s a great answer, can you try it again with your hand up?”. I then call on them with their hand up and ask for their answer a second time.

You may feel like this takes away from what limited teaching time you have, but if you do this once or twice in a lesson it will actually save you the time you will lose when students start talking over one another and yourself.

3. Praise the majority who are doing the right thing.

Despite modelling behaviour and trying your best to keep the bar high, there will always be one or two students who push the boundaries in class. In these situations, we tend to focus on the outlier.

Like the phrase goes, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” The problem with this approach is that we end up dwelling on the negative rather than praising the positive.

Why not give this a try? Instead of focusing on the handful of students who are calling out, praise the majority of students who aren’t. For example, say something like “Most of you are doing a wonderful job remembering to put your hands up. Well done”. This not only re-states the expectation, it reinforces the correct behaviour.

4. Address ongoing issues with specific students at the end of the lesson

If you have a student who consistently ignores your expectations, take a few moments at the end of the lesson to have a quick chat with them. It might be as simple as asking “Are you happy with the choices you made in class today?”. They’ll probably say no. If they say yes, you can point out a few specific choices they made that impacted everyone’s learning, such as calling out when you were trying to speak.

Then you could ask them, “What are some different choices you can make next week in scripture class?”. By asking this question, you can guide them to the behaviour you’d like them to see in future, i.e. not calling out. 

End the conversation by saying something like “I’m going to help you make some better choices next week.”. A nice bookend is to greet that student warmly next lesson and affirm that you are going to have a good class with them this week.

These four steps aren’t the only answer and there will still be the those SRE lesson that still don’t go as planned.

But if you follow these strategies you are training your students and even yourself that nothing can get in the way of God’s word being communicated in your SRE class as you effectively manage your classroom.