Mini Post: Classroom Sound Signals!

First of all let me apologize for my hiatus from this blog. I made a move from Guatemala City to Mexico City and from second grade to third grade and much of my focus this year was taken up by the transition.  Getting used to a grade and a new curriculum is exhausting! But now that I’ve completed a full year, I feel like I’ve got an idea of what I’m going to do differently in this upcoming year.

As a part of this, I’ve been setting up a few things over the course of this summer and wanted to share them with you all in a series of mini-posts!

Annnnnnd my first mini-post is about my classroom….

I loooove using sound signals in my class. First, it saves my voice (I talk enough throughout the day!) and second, the kids enjoy it.

It’s a special privilege if I lean over and whisper to one of my students “Go do the rainstick.” Or “Grab the shaker egg!”

I use my sound signals for two purposes. Some of them serve as call and response signal or attention-getters. And the others tell the students to move to a certain area in the classroom. You could set up your signals to be really anything! 

There are many, many different things you could use as sound signals in your classroom, but I have 5 that I use. I post these pictures up on my wall to remind students of what action goes with which sound. At the beginning of the school year I also explicitly teach the signals to the kids and routinely practice them. 

Below are the ones I use!

I’ve chosen these signals because they are the ones that I’ve been able to acquire and I like the sounds they make, but there are so many options out there!

Just about all of these can be easily bought online. My students love my sound signals and I’m sure your students will too!