Are you aware that when your students enter your classroom they are already reading your body language? They are figuring out what type of day they will have with you. They will know if they will be able to push your buttons or not. Even if your students are young they will feel and read your body language. Your body language will advertise your actions and also your emotional state that will predicts your action.

Your body language has to shout to the students that you mean business. You as the teacher need to use your body language to convey that. This gives you the ability to be one step ahead of your students. By using your body language effectively you will also help your students succeed in class.

Body language is a new language for beginning teachers. They need to be aware of body language and learn to utilize it. Using body language will greatly help with small behavior problems that usually become big behavior problems.

We will discuss body language in reference to the number one problem that disrupts a class. When teachers were asked the number one problem that they had with classroom management, 80% of the time their response was student talking to their neighbor.

The teacher's body language must be read and spoke at a conscious level for teachers to be affective. When using body language the most difficult aspect of this strategy is that discipline always comes before instruction. This aspect of classroom management appears to be easy but it's not for beginning teachers. They are torn between continuing to help their student, who is close to getting the problem to contending with the discipline problem. When you are torn between the two you give your students mix messages about behavior.

Remember body language must clearly shout to the student that you mean business. The following steps are suggestion in how to deal with the disruption:

Remember to stay calm (no easy task) take a moment to center yourself

Excuse your self from the student that you are helping so he knows what is happening

Approach the disruptive student or students in a calm manner the slower the better, never quickly. Moving slowly signals to the disruptive student that they are the problem, utilizing this time and energy to the problem will help the student to take you seriously.

By following the suggestions, you have laid the first steps to meaning business. To the layman person it seems that you have done nothing but to a child it shows them that you have made a conscious decision to deal with the problem. In order to drive the point even further you need to do something physical.

The theory that we are talking about is "discrimination training". These are stimulus that your students will use to read if you mean business.

The physical response begins with a very basic turn of the body to face the disruptive student:

Always turn slowly, turn completely so you are facing the student. You should face the student with both feet pointing to the disruptive student.

Always make a full turn partial turns give mixed signals and will cause the undesirable behavior to reappear

The turn if done correctly will signal to the disruptive student that you have changed from an instructional mode to a mode of discipline. Calmness means strength for the teacher. Remember Discipline always comes before Instruction. Once your turn is perfected you need to learn the dreaded teacher look.

Learning to use this will help you build tension between the disruptive students and you. As the tension builds the student learns that you mean business and should return to his work.

Remember calm and slow:

don't clench your jaw

don't raise your hands, arms or play with your fingers put your hands across your back.

don't smile even if the disruptive student smiles, you need to have a poker face so they can't read your emotions.

Have patience with yourself this new way of dealing with disruptive students takes time to learn and master. For some it will come easy because they had parents who used the same strategies when dealing with them as children. For some teachers it will take longer. Remember meaning business equates discipline before instruction. Happy teaching.

Written by a veteran teacher of 32 years who hopes to give new teachers tried and true strategies that work. Come join me at http://www.squidoo.com/classroomanagement and look for the educationfairy.