All Things CLASS

I need real-life frank advice. We have several SPED students and students with ADHD symptoms (babies that were born from mothers on drugs). It is very difficult to be productive at times. 
Can you say "no please" or "stop please" during a class observation when children are being very disruptive and distracting the others when redirection, praising others,and engaging them is not working? 
I feel like I need real advice. 

I teach a regular ed PreK 4 class, with one diagnosed student on the spectrum and I believe 1 undiagnosed.  I have 13 students in my class. 

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Anne Liscum
Sulphur, LA
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Hello. I have 20 in my room. One has an IEP for speech, two others are awaiting assessments through Child Find for possible spectrum disorders and approximately 3 others I suspect have ADHD. My go to is "No thank you" when a child is not meeting classroom expectations. I then give them a choice between two options. For example, if they are not sitting safely in their chair for an activity I would say, "Would you like to sit bottom-to-bottom and back-to-back in your chair and finish this or would you like to go to the quiet spot and read a book?" 

I will also modify lessons to try and keep them interested. I will try to give to options to do something and incorporate a sensory base to one option. An example would be if we are counting one-to-one correspondence, I will use blocks and fuzzy art balls. they will usually choose the fuzzy balls, and I understand they will usually play with them for a moment or two and I wait patiently before reminding them of the task. I will then let them keep one as a reward for completing the task.

I hope this helps.

Hello @Anne Liscum

Thank you so much for being open about this - what you're describing is something many educators experience, especially when working with children with diverse needs. Managing behaviors while trying to support every child's learning can be incredibly challenging, and you're not alone.

Yes, it's absolutely okay to use calm and respectful phrases like "Stop, please" or "No, thank you" when needed - even during a CLASS observation. The key is to keep your tone warm and your intention clear. CLASS looks at how teachers maintain emotional support, set expectations, and guide behavior. Setting gentle limits while modeling self-regulation is very appropriate and, in fact, important for children's social-emotional growth.

You might find this past community discussion helpful - several Teachstone staff members and educators shared great insights about responding to challenging behaviors in a CLASS-aligned way. You can read that HERE

I also recommend reviewing the report "Recommendations for Using the CLASS in Inclusive Early Childhood Programs, Birth–Age 8." It specifically addresses strategies for working with nonverbal students and children with limited verbal communication, and it includes valuable guidance that could apply in your classroom.

Let me know if you'd like help finding those links again! And I hope others here in the community will also share their real-life experiences - we can all learn so much from one another.

Best,

Anna\

We're talking about this in our Spanish-language community too! You're welcome to join us:
👉 https://community.teachstone.com/communities/comunidaddeaprendizajeclass