Student Contributor: M.Kem
When the teacher or student says “Flat Tire” everyone says shhhhhhh and listens to whoever prompted the flat tire. This is a quick verbal interaction that is a fast and easy way to get students and everyone’s attention in the classroom.
I picked up this tool from my mentor teacher. They have one student have the classroom job of line leader each week. This student lines up and stands in the front of the line and says “Flat Tire”. This means students will respond by saying “SHHHHHHHH”. The line leader waits till everyone is quiet and ready to leave the classroom. The teacher also says “Flat Tire” when they need to get the student’s attention instantly. You can use this tool to be more teacher-based or student-based depending on a procedure you create with “Flat Tire.”
This tool can be teacher-based, student-based and, collaborative depending on what you want it to be. Having "Flat Tire" be used by the teacher and student is the shared power of having the class instantly quiet down and listen to whoever prompted it. This prevents students from not listening to directions and to help guide them to give their full attention to the speaker. You can have this more teacher-based due to having "Flat Tire" only be used by the teacher to gain control of the classroom instanlty. On the other hand, you can have it just be student-based and have only students say "Flat Tire" when they think it is too noisy in the classroom. This prevents students from becoming angry if they feel their needs are not met in the classroom.
More Information –
Tool Source: Mentor Teacher
