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← How to Run a Room

How to Run a Room

Five short lessons for one grown-up and a room of children: one quiet signal, a job for every change, fair teams, two questions for a fight, and an ending they want more of.

Spark & Whetstone · sparkwhetstone.org/learn/how-to-run-a-room · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Answers are at the end, so you can try each question first.

Lesson 1. One quiet signal

Shouting over a loud room makes the room louder. Choose one quiet signal instead and teach it on day one: a raised hand, a clap pattern the children echo, a light you turn off and on.

Practise it while things are calm, like a fire drill. "When my hand goes up, your hand goes up and your voice goes off." Make it a game the first few times and thank the first table that gets there.

Use only one signal and use it the same way every time. A room learns a signal that never changes.

Question. Twenty children are chatting and you need them. What works best over a term?

  1. Raise your voice until they can hear you.
  2. Use the one quiet signal you practised when things were calm.
  3. Try a new trick each day so it stays surprising.

Say it back. In your own words: why practise a quiet signal when the room is already calm?

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Lesson 2. A job for every change

Most trouble in a room happens between things: tidying up, lining up, waiting for the next activity. Children with nothing to do find something to do.

Give every change a job. "Blue table stacks the chairs, red table collects the pencils, and everyone else counts down from twenty with me." A count, a song or a small task fills the gap.

Say what happens next before the change starts, so nobody has to ask.

Question. The room is changing from snack to games. What prevents the chaos?

  1. Ask everyone to wait quietly until you are ready.
  2. Give each table a small job and a count to finish by.
  3. Start the game early for the children who are ready.

Say it back. Say it back: why do changes between activities need a job?

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Lesson 3. Fair teams, quickly

Never let captains pick teams in front of everyone. The last child picked remembers it for years, and everyone watches the ranking happen.

Make teams by chance or by something that has nothing to do with skill: birthday months, the colour of your socks, numbered cards from a hat, counting off one-two-one-two down a line.

If the teams turn out lopsided, give the weaker team an announced head start rather than reshuffling. Everyone can see that it is fair.

Question. You need two teams for a game. Which way is fair?

  1. Two captains take turns picking players.
  2. Count off one-two down the line.
  3. Let the children sort themselves into teams.

Say it back. In your own words: what is wrong with captains picking teams?

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Lesson 4. Two questions for a fight

When two children argue over a game, the grown-up's job is not to be the judge. Ask two questions instead: "What happened?" and "What would make it fair now?"

Let each child answer the first question without being interrupted. Often hearing the other side is enough. The second question hands the problem back: children are surprisingly good at fixing a game when they are asked to.

If they cannot agree, offer a choice of two fair fixes and let them pick: replay the turn, or flip a coin.

Question. Two children are shouting that the other one cheated. What do you ask first?

  1. "Who started it?"
  2. "What happened?"
  3. "Do you want to stop playing?"

Say it back. Say it back: what are the two questions, and why do they work better than judging?

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Lesson 5. End while they want more

A room game that runs until it falls apart teaches children that games end badly. Stop while it is still fun, with a warning first: "Last round."

Then close it out loud. Name one thing the room did well, not one child: "That was the fairest game of tag I have seen." Point to tomorrow: "We will play it again on Thursday."

Children leave at different times in a room. Choose games where anyone can go without breaking the game for the others.

Question. The room is loving a game and pickup starts in five minutes. What do you do?

  1. Keep going, and let children drop out as their grown-ups arrive.
  2. Call "last round", finish it, and name one thing the room did well.
  3. Stop now so nobody misses the end.

Say it back. In your own words: why praise the whole room at the end, not one child?

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At the table: Teach the signal

Players: A room of children, any ages. You'll need: Nothing.

  1. While the room is calm, show your signal: hand up, voices off.
  2. Practise it three times as a game; thank the first table to get there.
  3. Count off one-two to make two teams, then play one short game.
  4. Call "last round", finish, and name one thing the whole room did well.

Answers

  1. Use the one quiet signal you practised when things were calm. — A practised signal works because it never changes. Shouting adds noise, and a new trick each day has to be learned again.
  2. Give each table a small job and a count to finish by. — A job and a count fill the gap where trouble starts. Waiting quietly is the hardest job of all for a child.
  3. Count off one-two down the line. — Counting off is quick and has nothing to do with skill, so nobody is ranked in public. Picking and self-sorting both leave someone out.
  4. "What happened?" — "What happened?" lets both children be heard before anyone decides. "Who started it?" asks you to find someone to blame.
  5. Call "last round", finish it, and name one thing the room did well. — A last round gives a clear finish, and praising the room rather than one child leaves everyone with a good last memory.