- 1). Develop clear rules, explain these procedures and practice them often. Rules and regulations should be posted on the walls of the cafeteria and should have concise language. Appropriate rules include "No Running," "Keep Hands and Feet to Yourself," "Show Respect," and "Do Not Throw Food." Teachers should spend time with students explaining and discussing what these rules mean. Procedures are important as well. Students should know how to enter the cafeteria, how to wait in the food line, how and when to throw away food and how to line up after lunch. Practice these procedures in the first few days of school so students have no questions as to behavioral expectations.
- 2). Supervise students well. Teachers and staff should monitor students as they enter the cafeteria, wait in line, eat lunch, throw away lunch and line up to go back to class. Monitors should watch for students who do not follow rules and who are yelling, running, throwing food or creating a mess at their seat. Students should also be instructed to clean up after eating and be taught the appropriate noise level of the lunchroom. Teachers can practice this expectation with students during class.
- 3). Develop signals that can be used to acknowledge noise level in the cafeteria. As teachers are milling around, they can raise one hand if the noise level is too loud. Students should acknowledge the teacher by raising their hands as well. If the noise continues to rise after the warning, the teacher can raise two hands and students should respond by doing the same. If the students have not heeded both warnings, the teacher may walk over to the table and create a silent lunch for the rest of the period. William H. Bashaw Elementary School uses a traffic light to communicate noise level to the students. Students must be silent when the red light is on. Another option is to turn the traffic light to yellow, which would encourage soft talking.
- 4). Create rewards and consequences for students who follow or do not follow the rules. For schools who sit by class, create contests where groups of students can work toward prizes. For example, students who do not have silent lunch or who do not need to be warned can earn a sticker which can be placed on a reward chart. After five stickers, the table can earn a prize such as extra recess time or a trip to the treasure box. Or for older students, a large amount of stickers can earn participation in a special field trip.
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