A typical time-out consists of 5 to 10 minutes of sitting at a desk separated from classmates. But for many students, this isn’t a strong enough consequence.
For time-out to be most effective, your students need to feel the full weight of accountability. They need to feel excluded from the class they like being part of.
In other words, time-out needs to be about as much fun as dropping a dumbbell on your toes.
Follow the steps below to give time-out the strength it needs to dissuade even the most difficult students from misbehaving.
1. Teach it.
Your students must know exactly how to go to time-out, what they’re required to do once they’re there, and what they must do to rejoin their classmates. These should be taught and modeled thoroughly during the first few days of school.
2. Make it public.
When a student breaks a rule that calls for time-out—according to your classroom management plan—stop what you’re doing and pause before sending the student to time-out. It’s important that the rest of your students see you following through and enforcing rules.
3. Tell them why.
Every student you send to time-out should understand why. Briefly tell them what rule they broke and exactly why they’re going to time-out. This awareness is the first step to taking responsibility for their behavior.
4. Hide your displeasure.
Let time-out be your consequence. Don’t add to it by lecturing, scolding, or showing displeasure. These methods weaken time-out by lifting the weight of accountability off of your students’ shoulders and replacing it with dislike and resentment toward you.
5. Be matter-of-fact.
Enforce your rules as if you don’t have a care in the world. Student breaks rule, teacher enforces consequence. Make it as simple as that. This helps ensure that the responsibility for being in time-out lies with the student, and no one else.
6. Ignore them.
A student in time-out is responsible to listen and do the same work as everyone else, but is not allowed to participate. Therefore, you and the rest of your students should ignore them. This cements the realization that misbehavior results in being excluded from the class.
Note: This does not mean ignoring the need for legitimate academic help.
7. Let them reflect.
Most teachers remove students from time-out too soon. For most students, five or ten minutes won’t have the desired effect. How long they remain in time-out is up to them (see below), but 20 to 30 minutes or more is not out of the question.
8. They decide when they’re ready.
When a student decides they’ve learned their lesson, they must raise their hand and tell you they’re ready to rejoin their classmates. (You’ll teach them how to do this during those first few days of school.) It’s a good idea to wait 20 minutes before even looking in the student’s direction.
9. Let Them Do The Talking.
When a student says they’re ready to leave time-out, let them do the talking. If you’re satisfied with their level of contrition, smile and invite them back. If not, tell them so. Tell them you don’t think they’re ready and then walk away.
10. Don’t hold a grudge.
After completing time-out, allow the student to return to being a regular member of your classroom—in good standing. Don’t hold a grudge. Don’t treat them any differently. Give them an opportunity to make a fresh start. Trust that they’ve learned their lesson and won’t repeat their mistake.
11. Make it a physical and emotional separation.
Finally, and most important, time-out is at its most effective when students feel like they’re missing something. If you have enough leverage, your students will always feel this way. But there is nothing wrong with reminding them how lucky they are to be in your class.
So when you send a student to time-out, and it’s convenient for you, break out a learning game, laugh a little more, tell some stories. For time-out to be a strong consequence, it must be an emotional, as well as physical, separation.
Note: I wrote an article this week for a website called LearnBoost. They offer teachers an online gradebook for managing and creating lesson plans, tracking attendance, maintaining schedules, and more. The article is called The Real Secret To Effective Teaching. I hope you’ll check it out.
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