A while back I made a class resource that was as much fun making as it is using. Many people use the Traffic Light model for noise level indication, with Red being “Silent”, Orange being “Quietly Working” and Green being “Talking”.
I decided it needed something extra, and so, using inspiration from Charles Dickens and Dr. Seuss, I created a few poems.
Why I’ve made an entry to my blog about it? Well, because every time I change it, I read the poems, and every time, without fail, it works. Especially Quietly Working. This is because it helps the students to understand the expectations, in a quirky and fun way.
The Poems are as follows:
Silent
It was just before playtime,
When all through the class
Not a sound was there stirring,
Not even a gasp.
The children were working
In their books with care
In the hope that the Teacher
Would soon be able to hear
The whispers of silence
That had magically appeared.
Quietly Working
After the hustle and bustle
Was gone
And the silence had spoken
And grimaced and shone
The children they worked and
They slaved
In hope that they might talk
Just once that day
The teacher said “Fine,
You’ve worked hard and tough”
And he let them whisper
And a whisper was enough.
Talking
For ages they worked and
Toiled away
Waiting for the chance of
Group work that day
For the students knew that in
Group work they could talk
As long as it was on task and
Not silly parrot squawk!
In their groups they said
It was so,
It’s okay for us to talk now
All systems are go!