Effective Behavior Tool for Teachers
Part 1 of this Behavior Mastery series shows HOW a teacher can get the attention of all their children no matter the circumstance. Typical classroom management programs teach the mindset teachers need to have to manage their classrooms BUT fail to give them real tools to get control of their classroom EVERY time. Behavior Mastery is based on how the human brain actually works. How do you get the attention of any brain? By tapping into more primal responses, you can guarantee the response will take place because it’s automatic! So how does this apply to screaming or distracted kids?
(There is a video at the bottom of this page if you are a more visual person like me!)
How do Pattern Interrupts Work?
The human brain is wired to react. You react every day to the world around you in automatic ways that your conscious mind is not aware. Reactions can be physical (when someone throws something at you and you reach out to grab it automatically) or they can be psychological (when someone says something that triggers an emotion). How does this apply to the wild children in a classroom, you ask? We can tap into the magic of automatic reactions by using them to get the attention of ALL the children in a classroom.
A pattern interrupt is designed to get the attention of all the kids immediately whether it's two kids at home, whether it's 25 kids in the classroom, whether it's 150 Kids in an assembly program.
Now the olden days of saying a child's name over and over doesn't really work for what the response you're looking for. Sometimes your staff want to get these kids’ attention immediately and Pattern Interrupts are the solution. How many of your teacher have ever repeated a child’s name over and over and expect them to one day pay attention. Then they’ll say something like, “He's not listening!” and choose to give up. We really know they're always listening; they're just choosing not to follow their directions because it doesn't benefit that child. Some of these kids are brilliant and love to be seen and one way is to have their names shouted out like they are on the red carpet.
We're going to go through a five-part proven system AND get ready, because some of these are going to be silly. And remember, this is not a Behavior Mastery system for adults. This is a Behavior Mastery system for kids. It aligns with what kids are going to respond to. Now, the sillier the pattern interrupt is, the more the voice in your head might say, “I'm not going to try that.” I offer you to stay in a Win-Win mindset and try them anyway. I know that if you try these techniques out, they will work magically. They do for thousands of educators who learned it as well.
This part is designed to get the attention for 1-2 seconds. Part 2 will teach you how to keep their attention for longer and get them to do what you want.
Pattern Interrupt 1: Singing Songs
If I want to get any kid’s attention, all of a sudden start singing “Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…” all of a sudden, every kid sings back, “Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily…”, and they just start singing. Nursery rhymes work the best as kids are used to them.
Pattern Interrupt 2: Accents
The next pattern interrupt I do is change accents. I do voices and they aren’t wonderful. And I know I’m not auditioning for a Saturday Night Live. The reason this works is because the hairs inside your ears perk up when you hear changes of tone, inflection and dialects. Do whatever works for you! Try some with your friends!
Pattern Interrupt 3: Animal Noises
One of my favorite pattern interrupts that I use are animal noises. You can bark, meow or any other creative animal you can think of. These are my favorite because they are just so easy and fast to do and bring their focus back to you instantly.
If you have a break, and we all know you need many, watch the video below and watch the magic of Pattern Interrupts on the most adorable baby towards the end of the video. Enjoy!