Classroom Management Series #1: When Students Get Out of Their Seat without Permission

Hope you are enjoying learning new classroom management techniques!  We have been doing this for eight weeks so check out the Classroom Management tab to see the other topics we have covered if you are new to this blog. 

This week we are discussing the issue of students getting out of their seat without permission and how to handle that. 

Students get out of their seat for numerous reasons. 

• They have a question
• They cannot sit still for extended periods of time
• They have an emergency (bathroom, sick, missing or broken materials etc.)
• They want to talk to someone
• They don’t know why they are out of their seat
• They want to help you give out materials or with whatever you are doing

Whatever the reason there are different methods to dealing with this behavior.

Preventive Solutions

• Allow for stretch breaks
• For example: if you class is an hour allow for a 1 minute stretch break half way through or if you have them all day stretch every couple of hours for 5 minutes
• Make a special chart for those that are frequently getting out of their seat
• For example: if the student is in their seat for 5, 10, or however many minutes they get a sticker.  After so many stickers (you decide), the student can do an activity that allows them to move

Check out the idea at An Apple for the Teacher

• For students that are restless, put a large rubber band or string on the front legs of the chair so they can move without getting out of their seat 
  
• In your lesson planning, have an activity that allows students to get out of their seat

Responsive Solutions

• Allow students to stand behind their desk instead of sit in it 
•  move their desk to the back or side of the room
• If a student is frequently getting out of their seat to help, ask them to assist you  but only when you ask 
• can make this a reward for staying in their seat when you ask them to 

Next week's question: What do you do when students make disruptive noises (tapping pencils, clicking pens, talking to themselves, humming, etc.)? Please leave your tips in the comment section below.