You rightly demand and require attention. Without it there can be little successful learning and no respect from pupils. However, simply walking into a room and shouting 'Be quiet!' doesn't always work.

Cause

In many schools it is no longer an automatic response to be quiet when the teacher comes into the room. The days when pupils stood up as the teacher entered the room are over. Respect now has to be earned. Obedience is not automatic.

Action

-Use what residual respect there may be for an adult and build on it.

-Stand firmly, chin up and with as much confidence as you can muster in a visible position.

-Clap your hands once or twice and engage eye contact.

-In a level voice loud enough to reach the back of the room say that you expect silence before you convey your message.

-Nod approvingly at those who stop talking; stare out any who continue to talk.

-Have something genuine and useful to say.

-Wait. Repeat if necessary.

-Thank those who were quiet.

If this is a class you will be meeting frequently, explain to them the need for attention. Do this at the beginning, before they have a chance to subvert you. Impose it regularly so their reaction becomes automatic.

Priorities

Absolute silence. No half measures.

Look serious; adopt 'the teacher's stare'.

Have something worth saying, say it concisely, then move on.

Alternatives

-With a biddable class, instead of a clap, click your fingers at two-second intervals. With luck a ripple of silence will flow from front to back of the classroom. Expect silence before you reach the fifth click and praise the class if they achieve silence before the fifth click.

-Draw a circle on the board. Add straight lines from 12 o'clock clockwise until the class is quiet. Explain that this is a clock recording how long they will stay behind after class if they continue to fail to listen to you. Say: 'You waste my time and I'll waste yours.' However, note that keeping back the whole class when another class is due in the room, or when there are buses waiting to take the pupils home, will cause serious problems.

-Have the class leave the room if they are already there and line up in silence in the corridor. Tell them that the noise is unacceptable. Have them file in past you in silence.

-During a lesson when you want silent work, say you will have silence for five minutes. Explain that anyone who breaks the silence will extend that time by a further five minutes. Count down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and if there is not silence add the extra five minutes immediately.

-Combine the clock and the five-minute-silence strategies.

Avoid

Backing down on the need for silent attention.

Raise your voice but do not scream (teachers with high-pitched voices beware!).

Never threaten anything you cannot carry out (but have faith you'll achieve silence).

For more information about attention getters for teachers, please go to http://teacher-methods.blogspot.com/ or http://www.sbarticle.com/