Classroom management is a delicate dance between teacher and students. One of the challenges can be communication between the two parties. Teachers need to accomplish things daily: lessons, checking in with students, grading, calls home, etc. Students have questions and concerns about their learning they want to tell the teacher. This is where hand signals can come in handy.
Why use hand signals in the classroom?
Hand signals are a great way to have students get their point across without interrupting the teacher or another student. They're a quick, discrete communication that helps a student note what they need without halting a lesson or talking over someone else.
When would you use hand signals?
As a former teacher, I used them all the time in the classroom! One of the best times I used them, though, would be during full class discussions where the students ran the show. If a student agreed or disagreed with what someone said, or they wanted to build on, they could show it with a hand signal in a respectful way. They then could have the chance to speak after the other student finished.
I also told students to use them when I was giving a lesson and they needed to use the bathroom or get a drink of water or meet another need. My lesson would keep flowing, and they would be able to accomplish whatever it is they needed.
What hand signals would you use?
There are so many you could use in the classroom! Even when I was teaching, my students would help me build on to the list of signals we had. This helped them to feel like they were a part of our classroom community and could contribute.
The hand signals I would start the year out with were:
1. Bathroom
2. Water
3. Nurse
4. Pencil
5. Sharpen
6. Throw away
7. Agree
8. Disagree
9. Tissue
The hand signals my students then added were:
1. Calm corner
2. Stand (at desk)
Free Classroom Hand Signals Posters
Here's a free download of the hand signals listed above! Classroom Hand Signals Posters
Happy teaching!
