The Unteachables Podcast
Welcome to 'The Unteachables Podcast', your go-to resource for practical classroom management strategies and teacher support. I’m your host, Claire English, a passionate secondary teacher and leader turned teacher mentor and author of 'It's Never Just About the Behaviour: A Holistic Approach to Classroom Behaviour Management.' I'm on a mission to help educators like you transform your classrooms, build confidence, and feel empowered.
Why am I here? Not too long ago, I was overwhelmed by low-level classroom disruptions and challenging behaviors. After thousands of hours honing my skills in real classrooms and navigating ups and downs, I’ve become a confident, capable teacher ready to reach every student—even those with the most challenging behaviors. My journey inspired me to support teachers like you in mastering effective classroom strategies that promote compassion, confidence, and calm.
On The Unteachables Podcast, we’ll dive into simple, actionable strategies that you can use to handle classroom disruptions, boost student engagement, and create a positive learning environment.
You'll hear from renowned experts such as:
Bobby Morgan of the Liberation Lab
Marie Gentles, behavior expert behind BBC's 'Don't Exclude Me' and author of 'Gentles Guidance'
Robyn Gobbel, author of 'Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviours'
Dr. Lori Desautels, assistant professor and published author
And many more behaviour experts and mentors.
Angela Watson from the Truth for Teachers Podcast.
Whether you’re an early career teacher, a seasoned educator, or a teaching assistant navigating classroom challenges, this podcast is here to help you feel happier, empowered, and ready to make an impact with every student.
Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode packed with classroom tips and inspiring conversations that make a real difference!
The Unteachables Podcast
#97: Do your classroom celebrations turn to CHAOS?! Here's what to do to get festive without the fear of mayhem.
Ever had a class party or more relaxed and unstructured activities spiral into mayhem??? That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, it just means you need to do it right!
In today's bite I take you through how adding structure to your festive plans can keep things fun, calm, and enjoyable for everyone (yourself included!).
IN THIS EPISODE, I DISCUSS:
- Why end-of-year celebrations can feel overwhelming: Understanding what makes this time of year tricky.
- How to pair fun with predictability: Simple strategies to create structure while still enjoying the moment.
- Practical engagement tips: Ideas to keep students focused and reduce chaos during activities.
Celebrate away, but remember: Pair the party with predictability 🎄
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
Resources and links:
- Take the "What's Your Teacher Type" Quiz
- Join The Behaviour Club
- My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
- The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
- Browse all resources on TPT
- Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
- Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
- Check out my website
Welcome to Behaviour Bites. One quick tip per week that you can put into action immediately to help you crush your classroom management. This is your host, Claire English, and this is your Bite of the Week. Hello, wonderful teacher.
Speaker 1:Today's bite is in line with what I spoke about last week, which is getting to the end of the year in one piece. Naturally, as we getting to the end of the year in one piece, naturally, as we head to the end of the year, we're going to want to do things that celebrate with our classes, and that is totally fair enough. However, I get plenty of messages from teachers that I mentor, either A expressing anxiety about this time of year and how the end of year party might play out or the fun activity they had planned, and B talking about how they've decided to do a movie lesson or a party or any type of unstructured lesson, and it divulged into utter chaos. So your bite for today is this have the party, do the thing, but make sure you pair this with a bit of predictability. A quick caveat, of course, is that if this is a done thing at your school, great. If you're allowed to have a party, if you're allowed to watch a movie, if you're allowed to have a bit of a chilled end to the year, that's fantastic. But if you're going to get in trouble for it, please don't take my advice. Every single school is different. This is just about if you're able to do anything like that. So what I mean by pairing up with a bit of predictability. So if you're planning a lesson that's going to be super fun and a little bit looser which is totally fine just start with the same predictable entry routine that you always have.
Speaker 1:If you don't do something at the start of that lesson to transform that really high energy as the students are walking in, if you're not able to sit down and have a chat with them about the boundaries or the expectations or just the outline of what's going to happen, things can very quickly turn into a free-for-all, with students running in and out of the room and throwing things at each other and you know all of the rest of those things. So If you have a specific entry routine, do that. Do a five-minute starter, even if that starter is about the party itself. Maybe the starter is for everybody to quietly write a shout-out on a poster note to pop up on the wall during the party. Maybe it's to write something they're grateful for or a memory they had throughout the year that they loved. This is going to help you still create that calm at the start that you need for you to positively influence the energy, and then for you to positively influence the energy, and then you can get started with the fun. It also then makes it so much easier to bring them back to chat with them if you need to, because you've set that expectation at the start.
Speaker 1:Now a couple of other things to think about. If they're watching a movie or a performance or doing something along those lines, what can your students have in front of them to be doing? Maybe it's a resource where they write down their favorite quotes or jokes from the movie. Maybe they need to write down different parts of the movie or a review for the movie. Or maybe it's like a ticker box where they go through the scenes and they tick them off and they rate them, as you know, a something out of 10.
Speaker 1:I don't know, I'm just thinking off the top of my head, but something that is in front of them that they have to do to be able to kind of keep them on track with the movie. It keeps them engaged. It keeps them in their seats and communicates to them which is always the most important thing communicates to them that this is still a lesson, there are still expectations, you're still prepared for it. You're not just chucking on a movie and letting them watch it, because that can very quickly turn into we're just watching a movie anyway. So I'm going to go out and chat to my friend. We're just watching a movie anyways. I'm going to sit here on my phone. We're just watching a movie anyway. So it's not a problem if I'm getting out of my seat, heading to the back of the room, plugging my hair straightener in and starting to do my hair with my friends which I've seen happen many times.
Speaker 1:So something like that is really beneficial, just to keep things contained If you are doing something a little bit looser and a little bit more fun. If that's not your vibe, that's fine. But that is my suggestion, because I have been in enough lessons and heard of enough stories about those particular lessons being incredibly challenging for behavior and you don't want to put yourself in a position, if you don't need to, where things are really challenging. Also, what I do find this is just a behavior bite session, so I don't want to go into too much detail, but I have had principals and head teachers bring students back to my class who run around and they have gone to leaders and said we're not doing anything in Miss English's classes anyway, we're just watching a movie. That is not what you want for your students to be saying when they run out of the room to go to a leader in the. I don't know if anyone's experienced that, but this mitigates that because all of a sudden, you do have something there for them to be doing, that there is direction, there is something that's prepared.
Speaker 1:Okay, as I said, I'm going to stop there, because these behavior bite episodes are turning into fully fledged episodes, because I can't help myself but chat away. You get the picture, have the fun. Just pair it with some predictability, some clarity, a bit of structure, a bit of preparation. This way, you can still lean into the things that you want to do, lean into the things that you know your students are going to love, lean into the things that are a little bit easier for you at the end of the year as well, but do so in a way that will help you feel so much more in control of what you can control. I hope that was super helpful.
Speaker 1:Teachers, and you're nearly there only a couple of weeks left Bye. For now, this behavior bite was brought to you by the Behavior Club, my wonderful membership for teachers, where every single month I'm releasing training around a focus area. Quality resources to lighten the load in every sense of the word, a brilliant community that I'm in daily answering questions and giving personalized support, and just so much more. So consider this my personal invite to come on in, take a look around, and I absolutely can't wait to see you there. Help you feel confident, help you feel capable and just crush classroom management. Head to the-unteachablescom forward, slash TBC or find the link in the show notes. Me and my behavior clubbers are popping on a cuppa and pulling up a seat as we speak.
