Transitions don’t have to feel chaotic. In this episode, we share simple classroom transition strategies to reduce chatter by intentionally designing what happens before, during, and after each shift in activity. From clear directions and action cues to managing movement and preventing bottlenecks, we walk through practical ways to keep things running smoothly. These small, thoughtful changes can have a big impact on keeping students engaged and your classroom calm.

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/classroom-transition-strategies/

Resources:

• Teacher Approved: Calming Piano Playlist
• Dehumidifier
• Straw Organizer
• Check out our book Structure and Spark
• Join The Teacher Approved Club
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow
• Shop our teacher-approved resources
• Join our Teacher Approved Facebook group
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts!
• Leave a comment or rating on Spotify

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 247. 4 Spring Classroom Management Headaches and How To Fix Them
• Episode 48. How to Make Classroom Transitions Simple With Clear Beginnings and Endings
• Episode 49. Rapid Classroom Transitions: How to Save 45 Hours a Year
• Episode 50. 3 Guidelines to Make Classroom Transitions Work Smarter No Harder

Mentioned in this episode:

Join the Teacher Approved Club, where members get seasonal morning work pages for grades K–5 this month to add fall and holiday fun without throwing off their routines: https://secondstorywindow.net/club

This is episode 254 of Teacher Approved.

You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping

educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story

Window, where we give research based and teacher approved

strategies that make teaching less stressful and more

effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from

each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to

the show.

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's

episode, we are sharing tips for how to tame the chatter before,

during, and after transitions, and we've got a teacher approved

tip that is perfect for spring fever.

But let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share

a quick win that you can try in your classroom right away.

Emily, what is our suggestion for this week?

This is one of those low-effort, high-impact moves

that can shift the whole feel of your classroom. So when

something goes sideways, like there's a conflict at recess, or

someone is very upset about whose pencil case is whose, you

start by validating the emotions before moving on to problem

solving. Something like, it sounds like that felt really

frustrating. Or, tell me what happened from your side. That

can do a ton for helping students be receptive to

solutions.

And that makes total sense. I know I am much more

interested in listening to someone when I feel like I have

been heard first. So that is your try it tomorrow. Lead with

feelings. And if you are finding that helpful, or anything else

we share here on the podcast, would you take a second to leave

us a five star rating and review? It means a lot, and it

helps other teachers find our show.

All right. The topic of today's episode came straight out of our

Quiet Your Chatty Class Challenge. We heard from a lot

of teachers during that challenge, and one of the things

that kept coming up over and over was talking during

transitions.

Which, on paper, seems like it shouldn't be that big of

a deal, right? You're just moving from point A to point B.

How hard can it be?

Oh, famous last words. That's because there is nothing

simple about shifting two dozen kids from one activity to the

next, while simultaneously managing behavior, time, and all

of their materials.

And even when you are paying your closest attention,

you cannot see everything that's happening. There's always

something going on that you're not quite catching, and students

know this. Whether they mean to or not, they will exploit those

gaps.

Bless their hearts. So think about coming in from

recess. You know how it goes. Some kids are putting away the

jump ropes and the basketballs. Someone is dumping wood chips

out of their shoe and onto the floor. There's an argument at

the drinking fountain. Three other kids are about to brawl

over how the game of tag ended. And you know, somehow you're

supposed to be ready to start math in three minutes.

Those darling children have flooded into the room like

a burst pipe. Their energy goes everywhere at once, and there's

no containing it once it's already in motion.

That is the core of today's episode. If you want to

tame the talking during transitions, you can't respond

to the chaos after it starts, you have to design the

transition so that the chaos doesn't even have room to get

going.

We have talked a lot about, it's an understatement, a

lot, but we have talked a lot about how to build a solid

transition from the ground up. So episodes 48, 49, and 50 are

our full deep dive on that. And I promise you, it is worth a

listen. We covered how to give clear directions, how to time

them, how to use signals and cues, how to make sure students

understand what's expected from start to finish, all of the

things that make a transition efficient.

Yeah, there is so much to cover. We had to do it in three

episodes. We didn't start out that way, but once we got in

there, oh no, we can't do this in one go. So if you want the

foundation, go back to those. But what we're doing today is

more specific. We're looking at what you can do before, during,

and after a transition to minimize those side

conversations that are giving you so many headaches.

So let's zoom back a little bit and look at the

bigger picture. The way you frame your transition determines

everything. If you as the teacher, are unclear in your

directions, you're basically inviting students to talk before

anyone has even stood up.

Yeah, uncertainty creates conversation. When the kids

don't know exactly what to do, obviously they're going to ask

each other.

Which is helpful, in theory, but when a few students

ask their neighbors to clarify what to do, it creates a buzz.

And humans are impressionable creatures. We go along with what

the rest of the group is doing. This is something called social

contagion. So when three or four kids ask a quiet question,

everyone else picks up the unconscious signal that this is

chatting time.

Yeah. There are probably, you know, a couple of legitimate

questions going on, but realistically, 80% of the

talking is probably not related to the task at hand. So the

first move to curb talking is just removing that uncertainty.

Go through your instructions step by step, and then add the

extra support of including a visual.

This could be a slide or a list on the board. Bonus

points if you add photos or icons to really make your

expectations clear, but the goal is just to provide something

students can reference as they move. If students can figure out

what to do by themselves, they don't need to consult their

neighbor.

If your transition requires getting out or putting

away materials, you can minimize the talking by having everything

set up beforehand.

Yeah. So just imagine yourself as a wedding

coordinator trying to get 300 guests through the buffet line

quickly but elegantly. If things are hard to reach or not clearly

labeled, that line is going to crawl. But if everything is laid

out where people can see it, grab it and move on, the whole

thing flows, and everyone stays happy and fed.

Yes. And that same idea works in your classroom. If

students need to grab a piece of paper, take the stack of papers

off the shelf before the transition starts, and set it on

the counter or out where it's easy to reach, so they don't

have to, like, reach their arms into a shelf or a cubby. And if

everyone has to return their Cuisenaire rods after math, have

the bin placed where everyone can just drop them in and keep

moving.

Okay, so now the steps are posted. The materials are

easy to access. Now you have to actually give your directions.

Now the problem here is when students start moving before

they've heard everything you said, oh, it just drives me

crazy when they do this.

You know, you start listing what you want them to

do, and before you finish the sentence, half the class is

already in motion based on what they think you're about to say.

And then you've got 18 kids asking what page you're supposed

to turn to, because they did not wait for the end.

Oh, so frustrating. But there is a fix, and that is to

use something called an action cue. And we did talk about this

in our transition episodes, but it's worth revisiting here,

because it is so vital. The idea is that you preface your

directions with the phrase that tells students exactly when to

stop listening and start moving.

So my action cue was always, when I say go. I'm

pretty sure that this is something I picked up during my

PE methods class, but I adopted it in my classroom because it's

so useful. Instead of saying, Get out your math book and turn

to page 86, you say, when I say go, I want you to get out your

math book and turn to page 86. And then you pause, make sure

everyone is paying attention. And then you say, go.

And this really does make such a difference. That cue

signals to students that they need to hold on and listen for

the whole thing before they do anything. And when kids aren't

trying to predict what you want, they actually listen, which

means they don't have to ask a neighbor what to do.

Now, your action cue is a place where you can add in a

little bit of fun. I used go as my standard, but you can use any

word you want. Try something seasonal or something silly,

like when I say gingerbread, or when I say touchdown.

Now, if you are a longtime listener, Hello, we're

glad you're here, you may remember that when we talk about

teacher attention signals, which is the prompt that you use to

get your class's attention, we specifically don't recommend

switching that up. The goal of an attention signal is to create

a reflexive response. So when students hear 123 eyes on me,

they respond, drop whatever is in their hands and turn to face

you. They don't even have to think about it.

And the structure of that signal is very important, but a

transition action cue does something a little different. We

want students brains to perk up a little bit and pay closer

attention. So that's where novelty can be your friend.

Yeah, when I say go is reliable, but if you really want

to make sure they're listening to every word, give them

something unexpected. If you say, when I bock like a chicken,

I want you to come to the carpet with your notebook, you can bet

that they will be very tuned into what you're saying.

I'm much more invested now.

I will not be demonstrating my chicken bocking

today. I'm sorry.

This is an easy way to add spark and boost engagement

at the same time. I used to do this thing where I would trick

them, so they would be waiting for me to say go, and I would

start a word that sounded like it, go-pher. And half the class

would start moving, and the other half would be like, Oh,

sit down. She said gopher she said, gopher, sit back down. So

then everyone sits back down. We go again. Ready? Ghost! And

they're laughing and I'm laughing, you know, but by this

point, every single student is hanging on every word.

Yeah, because now the routine feels like a game.

Exactly. And sometimes I would really drag this on. Goes,

goal, gold, goat, going, that was a good one. And then I would

finally whisper, go. And they thought that was the funniest.

And I know I sound like I'm belaboring this point, but that

20 seconds bought me a class that was completely on task and

enjoying themselves at the same time.

This is one of those things, though, that loses

impact if you do it every time, but every once in a while, it's

a really easy way to create a moment of shared fun right

before a transition. And also, I think it's a good thing to

deploy when you notice that the kids aren't paying attention. So

this is a good way to get them to pay attention.

Exactly. Okay, so now the materials are laid out. You've

listed the steps on the board, and the kids are waiting for

your go signal. Already, you are doing a lot to curb the side

talking. But one more thing you might want to add is a quick

pause.

Here's how you might layer it into your directions.

When I say go, I want you to put away your writing and walk

quickly and quietly to your first center. The steps are

listed on the board if you're not sure what to do, but let's

run through them again. Close your eyes and imagine yourself

putting your writing notebook inside your desk. Then you're

standing up quietly, tucking in your chair, walking to your

center, taking out your folder. Let's take two deep breaths, and

when you're ready, you can go.

We talked about this mental rehearsal back in episode

247 and it's a great way to ensure kids feel confident about

exactly what to do. Plus that little mindfulness pause makes

sure everyone is feeling more grounded and present. You have

channeled some of their excess energy, so hopefully there's

less of a drive to chat as they move.

And again, this is not something that you're going to

need to do every time that you transition, but if you have

fall apart, or something that's got multiple steps, or a

different transition than you usually do, that might be the

perfect time to deploy that strategy.

Okay, so you've set up the transition like a pro, and now

the kids are actually moving. Once students are up and going,

their nervous systems are more alert. If there's any friction

in the environment, that energy can escalate fast.

Yeah, I learned this the hard way, very early in my

teaching career. Gather around, folks. It's story time. I was

being observed by my college professor. It's one of those

formal student teaching observations. And I was wrapping

up my lesson by explaining the assignment, which was a

worksheet about the picture book Tops and Bottoms. So I explained

what to do, and I sent them to grab their papers off the

counter before going back to their seats.

Uh-oh.

Yeah. The chaos that followed is completely

predictable. You can imagine how it went. Kids pushing past each

other, arms snaking through the crowd to reach the papers on the

counter, the kids at the back pushing in the kids at the

front, so that when they had their papers, they couldn't get

And I could just picture your professor back there just

out of the way. And then everyone was worked up before

they could even start the assignment.

writing this all down on your evaluation.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, Dr. Bushman, I can still see him

back in the back of my room. And during the debrief afterward, he

asked me if I thought there was anything I could have done

differently with paper distribution. And I so clearly

remember thinking, huh, paper distribution? It had never even

encouraged me that that was a problem, let alone a solvable

one. I just thought that's how it worked.

Yeah, there are so many transition moments like that

where we've just accepted the chaos as unavoidable, rather

than realizing that we designed it to be chaotic.

Right. And there really are so many things I could have

done. I could have dismissed a few kids at a time to grab their

papers. I could have had the five table captains grabbed the

papers for their tables while everyone else went to their

seats. I could have set stacks of papers on each table while

the kids were moving to the carpet.

Once you recognize that the goal is to prevent

bottlenecks, there are so many possible solutions. If the

turn-in basket is sitting right next to the stack of notebooks

students need to pick up, you've just created a traffic jam at

that spot. Spread stuff out, move the notebooks to a

different table for that transition.

Yeah, even if you don't want to store them there

permanently, just move them when everyone needs them. And it

makes everything so much easier.

And in almost every situation, when the whole class

needs to move at once, you want to stagger it. Dismiss a row or

a table at a time, instead of everyone together.

And this is another place you can add some fun. Everyone

wearing blue can go, everyone who has a dog at home, everyone

who likes root beer, everyone with the letter L in their name.

Just be prepared to arbitrate decisions. Does this

bit of blue on my shoelace count? What if I have an L in my

last name?

Why? Why is it that they care so much about rules that

don't matter and they just, ugh. But staggering how many students

move at once limits the opportunities for side

conversations that turn into actual disruptions.

One place this might be especially helpful is at the

doorway when students are returning from recess or lunch

or specials, try meeting them at the door, and think of it as

providing an energetic roadblock.

Yeah, you're helping them center before they bring in all

of their excess energy into the room for your math lesson. So

stand at the door, smile, let them see that you are glad to

see them again.

Even if you could use an extra 10 minutes of peace and

quiet. And then you run through your expectations and send in a

few students at a time.

And I know it sounds like this would slow things down, but

really, it almost always speeds things up. Instead of the whole

class piling in at once and taking forever to settle, you

are sending in calm, smaller groups who actually can just

dive in and get started.

And if you really want to set up a transition for calm,

one of the easiest things you can do is to think about the

sensory environment. What students see, hear, and feel,

can either give their nervous system a cue to ramp up or to

stay regulated.

So one thing you might want to try is adjusting the

lighting. If you have control over that, you know, you could

lower some of the blinds or turn off one of the light panels,

just, you know, don't go full dark, or then they'll end up

screaming.

Yes. And add some music. It's so easy. Just go with

relaxing instrumentals, not fun pop songs, even if kids would

prefer the pop songs. Plus music fills the silence, so it seems

like there's less need for talking.

And we actually have a Spotify playlist specifically

for this. It's called Teacher Approved Calming Piano, and we

will put a link to it in the show notes so it is there

whenever you need it.

All right. Good news everyone, your students have

successfully moved quickly and quietly. Now comes the third

part.

I bet you thought your transition was done, but you've

still got one of the most important moments. After the

transition ends and before the next activity begins. This is

probably where most of the talking happens, and it's also

the most preventable.

So you had all that momentum of the students getting

where they needed to go, and then nothing They're waiting for

you to get started, or for the last few stragglers to arrive.

And as we all know, a student with nothing to do will always,

always find something to do.

And that something probably won't be the thing you

want them to be doing. So every transition needs a landing pad.

This is an independent activity that can start the moment the

transition ends without needing any help from you.

We actually have a whole section about landing pads in

our upcoming book, Structure and Spark, which is available for

pre order now.

Woo hoo.

Because it's one of those things that seems unimportant

but makes an enormous difference to how your whole day flows. The

landing pad fills the gap between transition is over and

instruction begins.

It's how you capture attention immediately, so you

never have the hassle of trying to compete with 25 little

different side adventures going on. You just get everyone

involved in the same task so it's easy to switch gears when

you're ready to go.

And it doesn't have to be academic. After recess, a

landing pad could absolutely be silent reading or free drawing.

When students rotate to a new center, maybe the expectation is

that they start a task card while the rest of the group gets

settled. The goal is just that every student has a purpose the

second they arrive.

Even if that purpose is just playing the quiet game.

When you're choosing landing pads, consider what comes next.

A landing pad that connects to the next activity is ideal, if

you can manage that. So if you're heading into math, use a

quick math warm up. Moving into writing, you can have your

students open their notebooks and start drafting story ideas.

And also take into account where the transition

ends. If students are at desks, written work makes sense. If

they'll be at the carpet, maybe it's a calm game or reading

aloud from a joke book.

Because you as the teacher usually have your own

tasks to do during a transition. You know, like setting up for

the next lesson, the best landing pad is always one that

students can run on their own. The last thing you need is to be

managing the landing pad at the same time you're trying to do

everything else.

And now you just let them finish this round of the quiet

game before stepping in and starting your read aloud.

Everyone is paying attention and ready to go without any extra

work from you.

And look at that. We did it. We got one activity cleaned

up, moved everyone quickly and quietly to a new location, and

now we're ready for the next thing.

Phew. Efficient transitions require a ton of

strategy, but we promise you have got this, and it gets so

easy the more you do it, you just do it naturally after you

have learned how to do this right.

Yes. So start by considering what happens before,

during and after each transition. Reduce uncertainty

by posting the steps, organizing materials, and using a centering

pause. During the transition. plan your traffic flow, stagger

movement, set a calm sensory environment, and reduce idle

time after. Have a landing pad ready and waiting before the

transition starts.

The idea running through all these strategies is the

same. We want to design our transitions so that talking

doesn't even have a place to start.

And if you would like some extra help for taming the

chattiness, we have a resource made exactly for this. It's

called the Quiet Class Quest. Some of you have tried it out

already, and it's a three day mini unit with everything you

need to get students genuinely invested in protecting quiet

focus time. And it's very cute, if I do say so myself.

It is cute, and it's fun. And it's free when you sign up

for a free trial of the Teacher Approved Club. And as a Club

member, you also get access to bonus audio trainings and

materials for other challenges that come up at this time in the

year, and there are a lot of them at this time of the year.

So you can sign up at the link in the show notes, or head to

secondstorywindow.net/trial.

Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where we share an

actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and

simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is to

review your expectations. So tell us about this, Heidi.

Well, this is perfect for spring, because by now your

expectations that felt crystal clear in September are getting a

bit blurry.

Yeah, or very, very blurry. It's like they've

forgotten, like, how to be in school. They're just already

checked out for summer.

Yes, there is definitely that. So let's counter it by

keeping your expectations front of mind. One way to do this is

with a class discussion. Ask students to rate themselves on a

scale from one to five about how well they think the class is

doing with a specific procedure. So it sounds like, how are we

doing with morning arrival? Give me a number, and then you have a

conversation. What's going well? What could we do better?

Students usually know exactly where the gaps are, and

when they name it themselves, they're much more motivated to

do something about it.

The second way you can approach this problem is through

pre-corrections, which we've talked about recently. Before a

routine or a transition post the expected behaviors and briefly

run through them. Here's what we're doing, here's how we do

it. That way, the expectations are fresh in everyone's mind

when it matters the most.

So we have two resources that make both of these really

easy. The first is our procedure review slides. You add the name

of a procedure to a slide, students rate the class, and you

click to show the rating. If most students say dismissal is

about a three, you click three times and three stars appear.

After you've gone through your procedures, you've got a clear

shared picture of what's working and what needs work.

And the second is this month's club resource. It's our

pre-correction slides to help you keep expectations alive all

the way to that final bell. We are calling it Ditching the

Glitch. So a glitch is when things don't happen the way

they're supposed to. And so the slides give you a quick visual

way to remind everyone of what's expected, so there's no room for

forgetting.

And both of these are in the Teacher Approved Club. So if

you're already a member, you can find the pre-correction Ditch

the Glitch resource in the member library, and you can get

the procedure rating slides with your monthly credits. So if you

are not yet a member, now is a great time, especially with that

Quiet Class Quest waiting for you.

Okay, to wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're

giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your

extra credit?

Okay, this is so dumb, but it's making me so happy. So

I am giving extra credit to my acrylic straw holder.

So wait, is the holder acrylic, or is the, are the

straws acrylic? Or are they both acrylic?

They're probably both acrylic, but the straw holder

itself is acrylic.

Okay.

So the reason I wanted this is the way, I had my

kitchen organized by professional organizers a few

years ago, and they made in my silverware drawer this, like

whole section where straws could go. But that means, like, every

kind of straw of every different size was in this spot, so every

time you needed a straw, you're digging through it to see which

one fits the specific water bottle that you want to use. And

the kids in the house, there's a lot of different straws going on

in there, like a lot of different sizes. So of course,

there's all my tall ones for all of my Stanley tumblers. But then

there's shorter ones that attach to the straw in my hydro jugs,

and then there's the ones that fit my kids' Owalas. And you

know what I mean, they're just all different. And so finding

the one you need was annoying. And so I saw these straw

holders. So all it is is like a long rectangle with divided

spots, so like five little dividers.

Like a silverware caddy?

No, no. It's like, this is one of those times that being

a podcast is hard to describe this. But let me tell you where

it goes, and then maybe you can picture the size better.

Okay.

It goes on the inside of a cabinet door, so it's not very

deep, and it's like, probably eight inches wide, but probably

only, like an inch, an inch and a half deep. And then it has

little dividers in it, and it's also only about, like, two

inches tall. And then there's another one, just like that,

that's completely open, that goes a little higher to keep

them all straight in each one. So instead of one, what am I

trying to say, like one, really tall, acrylic one, it's just two

small ones that are spaced out from each other. You can space

them however you want them.

Oh, okay.

Based on like, where, if your shelf inside the cupboard

might hit is where you might want to space those, or the the

height of your straws. And so it was so easy to install, I

organized all the straws in there by size, and I have been

absolutely delighted every time I go to get a straw, and it's

just like, whoop, found the one I needed immediately, did not

have to dig through my drawer. It's so dumb, but it's cheap,

and it really solved a pain point in my day. So I will link

to it in the show notes, if you are a household of many length

straws.

That definitely deserve extra credit.

What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

Well, I'm giving extra credit to my new dehumidifier,

which is hilarious, because I just got a big, fancy humidifier

for the room next to this. But so I have learned the hard way

that having raised ceilings in a bathroom is not ideal, because

all of the moisture gets trapped up there, and I am tired of

having to scrub moldy spots off my ceiling.

With a mop.

Yes, I did use a mop. Yeah, I hate it. So I went on

the hunt for a little dehumidifier, and so far, this

has been working great, and was only $30. I wasn't sure, so I

got the cheapest one, and it's been great. I have experimented

running it with the ceiling fan on and one day and then off the

next. And both times it managed to pull four teaspoons of water

out of the air. I was quite shocked.

I'm really impressed that you made this a scientific

experiment and you measure the moisture.

Such a teacher.

Well, you know, it's not helpful when people tell you

that something works if they can't compare it for you, so

you're just doing that real science work out here.

I was like, is my fan doing anything? Clearly, it's

not.

No, I don't think mine is either.

Yeah, and mine is cleaned recently, so, you'd think. But

anyway, this is a tiny, little workhorse. I don't think it

would work well in a big room, but if you also have a small

room, like the bathroom or a closet that gets humid, I would

definitely recommend this. I will put a link to it in the

Well, I'm definitely checking this out since I have

show notes.

the same problem, although I haven't had to go as far as

mopping my ceiling, because my ceilings are not as high as

yours. But I do have a problem with the fan not working because

it's inside the little toilet room instead of near the shower.

And so I do have a problem with moisture in my bathroom, so I'm

gonna check that out.

Well, there's a link in the show notes to do that for

you.

Thank you.

That is it for today's episode. Design your transitions

to tame the talking before it starts.

And if this episode was useful, share it with a teacher

friend who is feeling the stress right now, because we know there

are a lot of you out there.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow

or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an

episode.

You can connect with us and other teachers in the

Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.

Bye for now.

Bye.