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• Staff should create a universal sign for “I need your attention”

  • “Hands up,” “lights out,” “1,2,3 eyes on me,” “5 second countdown,” etc.

  • An agreed upon sign allows staff to gain attention of all children more easily and will create more opportunities for children to follow directions, thus allowing for staff to reinforce positive behaviors.

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• Focus on positive redirection. If a child is not following directions, rather than repeatedly give the same direction, praise the children who are already following that direction.

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• Phrase things as statements instead of questions

  • “Should you be playing with that now?” à “It is not time to be playing with that toy right now please put it away.”

  • Don’t give options when there are none. Clearly state exactly what you want the child to do. “Please stand up.”

  • Instead of phrasing a redirection negatively as in: “Do not play stand over there,” try a statement like: “Please stand in line.” The former is a negative command that does not instruct the child as to what they should be doing while the latter informs the child directly what the expectation is.

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• However, posing a direction in the form of an “I wonder” question creates an opportunity for kids to check themselves without being simply told what to do. Ex. “I wonder where my class should be when they are ready to go home?”

  • While this may not work for all kids or in all situations, it is a useful tool for encouraging some kids to use their own brains to think about the right thing to do.

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• Addressing the group as a whole instead of focusing on individuals is sometimes more beneficial and less personal. Ex. “I would really like to see everyone standing with calm bodies in line right now so that we can head outside.”

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• Do not shout over a loud group.

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• Raising your voices to command attention promotes students to do the same

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• Use cross-talking with another teacher

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• Use some form of non-verbal communication to grab student’s attention (hand signal etc)