✨3 Classroom Management Strategies All Teachers Need to Know
Classroom Solutions to Start the School Year off Right
When you’re a new teacher, nothing truly prepares you for a class of your own. After 30 years in urban classrooms, I’ve learned a few powerful lessons that calm nerves, prevent disruptions, and boost engagement from day one.
1. Use the Breath to Clear the Mind
The problem: Students walk in carrying stress, distractions, or high energy, they are not ready to learn.
The fix: Begin class with a short, 3–5 minute breathing practice. After a month, invite students to suggest other proven ways to prepare their minds for learning.
How to:
Explain that calm brains focus better.
Share a short guided video for practice.
Transition to leading Box Breathing yourself: inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4.
Brain Nugget: Slow breathing activates the Blue Zone, calming attention networks and opening space for focus.
Before you dive in on your own, you might want to start with a short guided video so you and your students can practice together without pressure. This one is just under two minutes, includes soft background music, and gives clear prompts:
Once students get the hang of it, you can lead Box Breathing yourself or have a student volunteer guide the class. Over time, you’ll find it becomes a predictable reset everyone relies on.
Box breathing, also known as four-square breathing, activates the body’s relaxation response, helping stabilize heart rate and reduce stress. Research highlights its role in emotional regulation and cognitive performance.
2. Pause the Power Struggle
The problem: A student resists directions and pulls you into a win-or-lose battle.
The fix: Step back before the struggle begins.
How to:
Hold up a finger. Glance at the clock.
Jot the time on the board, say: “I’ll get back to you on that.”
Keep teaching, then circle back privately.
Brain Nugget: Pausing resets both teacher and student from fight-or-flight and back into the Yellow Zone, where reasoning and reflection are possible.
3. Make Movement Your Mantra
The problem: New teachers often fear that movement equals chaos—so kids sit too long.
The fix: Build structured movement into lessons to boost engagement and prevent disruptions.
How to:
Spread content answers around the room
Let students peruse them. Provide questions in a jar
Students pull a question and run to the correct answer
Brain Nugget: Movement shifts students into the Green Zone for collaboration and briefly into the Orange Zone, where challenge energizes memory and recall.
Related Reads:
Rules That Stick: The Brain-Based Way to End Repeat Reminders
Proactive Classroom Management Strategies That Prevent Problems and Boost Engagement
Share Prompt
🔄 If this post gave you a fresh idea, share it with a teacher friend who might need it this week.
These three proactive strategies can transform your classroom: calm the mind, avoid power struggles, and build movement into learning.
👉 Which one will you test first? Reply and share your plan—I’ll feature top ideas in a future BrainZones post.
P.S. Have a go-to move that works? Hit reply and share it—I’d love to include teacher voices in future posts.