When planning an Interactive Read Aloud (IRA), are you often figuring out ways to keep students from misbehaving? Or, while exploring an IRA, are you thinking, “There’s no way my class can handle that. I have to stay at the front of the room!” I completely understand these feelings! However, there are some preventive steps to take beforehand to ensure an IRA runs successfully. Since this is new to students, they need to understand what behavior should look like. Thankfully, these IRA classroom management tips are quick to put into place with powerful results!
Teaching Expectations
When building IRA classroom management, setting expectations from day one is key! The year progresses much smoother when reviewing expectations versus jumping into content from day one. It is crucial to remember that students of all ages need this instruction.
Since every teacher is different, students need explicit instruction of expected behavior. This involves showing them, practicing, and acting out behavior expectations. To add a bit of fun, I love to practice examples. So, we practice what behavior should and should not look like. They get a kick out of this, and this practice sticks with them!
Strategic Seating
Honestly, it is easy just to call students to the rug and have them sit wherever. However, teachers know this is now always best for students. One student sitting in the wrong spot can ruin the IRA for everyone. So, when working on IRA classroom management, give students specific spots. This eliminates the thinking they need to do when picking a seat. Secretly, this also lets you choose the turn and talk partner! So, this is a great way to have strategies in place to make each student successful! Teachers can even change these spots once a month to switch up partners.
While practicing expected behaviors, addressing what a partner should do if their turn and talk partner is absent is essential. Since this can cause a huge disruption while reading, it is crucial to practice this in advance. So, it helps to come up with a plan and have students practice it. While they may need a reminder when it happens, this is much quicker than dealing with it at the moment.
Also, be sure to keep in mind the modifications students need. For example, do you have a student who needs to sit in a chair? If so, having a chair on the outside of the rug will be helpful.
Handling Interruptions
Honestly, when dealing with IRA classroom management, interruptions will happen. For example, the intercom may go off with announcements, or the phone keeps ringing. These often make it feel impossible to get through the lesson. However, this does not need to stop you from teaching amazing IRA lessons!
Students just need to know and practice your expectations. So, practice what they should do if another teacher comes into the room to talk to you. Likewise, show the expected behavior if you need to step away from the rug for a quick conversation with someone. They need to know if they can start talking to each other and a signal to bring everyone back together.
Similarly, there will be interruptions by students. A student may be exclaiming, “I’ve read that book already! I already know what happens.” So, you need to develop some go-to responses for when that occurs. It may be a signal for the teacher to say that it’s okay if they’ve read it before. Or, it may be a quick message on how wonderful a reread is.
Similarly, you may have students interrupt in the middle of an IRA. This may be when they hear a familiar name or similar experience to something they went through. Again, come up with a go-to response ahead of time to let students know that while it’s exciting, there are better times to share it. Having these conversations will be a fantastic strategy for IRA classroom management.
Student Materials
A great way to keep students engaged is through student materials. This may be an opportunity to stop and jot in response to a question. Students can also write down their responses based on preference. They may use a Post-it note, pencil, or whiteboard and marker. Then, students can hold up their work to share with the class. It will be important for students to bring these materials to the rug with them. This ensures they are not getting up, searching for materials, and interrupting the flow of the lesson.
Importantly, students must practice what to do with the materials when they are not in use. Are they sitting next to the student? Are students playing with them? Are we hitting people with the markers? Students need to practice what to do. Additionally, practice what students should do when they pick up their materials. This prevents students from picking them up early and missing a question. So, create a signal for students to know the appropriate time to pick up their supplies.
Being Prepared
No amount of practice will help if the teacher is not ready. So, when working on IRA classroom management, you must have everything prepared. This involves having the book ready and questions written out in the book to know where to stop. If you need an anchor chart, it should be ready. If you stop for materials or go to a missed question, students will see interrupting is okay.
I know this is a lot to take in! It is why the Colorful Apple Book Club is here for you! There are tons of IRA lessons ready to go! All you need to do is print and teach. As you gain confidence with IRA classroom management, you can start making units from your favorite books. Students will love IRA lessons!
If you do not want to miss any of the upcoming lessons, join my email list to be notified of all the interactive lessons coming up! By joining the email list, you will receive a FREE Checklist for Classroom Management for blog exclusive subscribers!
Save these tips!
Be sure to save this pin to your favorite read alouds board on Pinterest! You’ll be able to come back to these tips when you are ready to use interactive read alouds with your students.
