Always be moving around the classroom. This will give you the ability to see exactly what each student is doing, writing and thinking. You can easily correct misconceptions and privately address individual student questions. Your movement also helps manage poor behavior during a lesson; you'll be amazed how the behavior changes when you are standing next to the disruptor.
Use music and lighting to set the tone for the class. Playing the Rocky Theme song with a strobe light flashing is not going to encourage students to sit and respectfully listen/participate during your class time.
Have quiet relaxing music playing when students enter the classroom. Have as much natural light as possible or turn off a few of the tube lights (if possible). Create a warm & relaxing atmosphere. Help put your student into a "learning mode', without them realizing it.
Show your students that you are happy to see them
Identifying each student by name & talking with them as they enter your classroom makes the student feel welcome, seen & respected. They are less likely to misbehave in your class and more likely to be respectful toward you as the teacher.
A persons attention span is roughly equal to their age. However, the attention span "maxes out" at about 15-20 minutes. Without movement / interaction with others / a brain break, student will no longer be focused on the lesson; sometimes, this is when the misbehavior starts. Students have been sitting too long, have lost focus and are looking for something else to do.
Have students move around or talk with someone about some aspect of your lesson
Have an activity related to the topic about 15 minutes into class. Get everyone moving before the "loss of focus" behaviors start.
Have the class do a brain break (there is another page dedicated to these activities)
Propose a problem/questions to answer with a partner
Be creative - just DO NOT leave them sitting!
Sometimes, now matter how many strategies you have tried, the students just will not stop talking and being disruptive. Here are 2-strategies that have worked for me.
Everyone walks laps around the perimeter of the classroom. Everyone is required to talk to someone while walking, no cell phones/earbuds allowed, they have to actually talk. Once I noticed the conversations have stalled and the students are relatively quiet, I have them take their seats and go back to the lesson. Usually about 3 or 4 laps will do it.
Talk, talk, talk....and talk some more! I ask the student to talk, non stop, just talk, talk, talk. When they can't think of anything else to say, talk about favorite food. I remind them to stop talking to breath, but otherwise I need SOLID conversations. I give them 60 seconds to say anything (school appropriate). GO. While they are talking, I encourage them to talk more. Don't stop yet! Come-on, I know you have more to say....talk more! When the 60 seconds is up, I ask them to take their seats and listen. They will typically sit for the reminder of the lesson and behave properly.
Does it drive you crazy when the students pack up too early and then stand by the door? Given the opportunity students will pack up 5+ minutes before the bell rings.
To avoid this, I used alarms on my watch. I set an alarm for 2-minutes before the bell would ring. Once the class heard the alarm, they knew it was time to pack up, put materials away and get ready to leave. It also gave me a chance to wrap up the lesson and make any last minute announcements. Anyone who packed up early, had to stay about 15-seconds after class. I held them back enough to get my point across without causing them to be late for their next class.