The Behaviour Strategy I Use Before I Even Teach Anything

Settle the class. Set the tone. Shape positive behaviours for learning, all before the lesson begins.

You walk into the classroom, ready to teach.

But before you’ve even introduced the first piece of content, you’re already managing behaviour.

You’re redirecting, calming, trying to get everyone on the same page and sometimes it feels like the actual teaching is the last thing that happens.

And even once the lesson gets going, you’re still chasing focus, repeating instructions, and redirecting students back in.

It’s not that they’re incapable. It’s that we’ve skipped the step that sets them up to engage well. We’re don’t have the strategies that communicates the energy, tone, and expectations we’ll carry through the rest of the lesson.

There’s one strategy I now use at the beginning of every structured lesson that changes everything. It’s simple, fast, and uses content students already know. And yet, it’s one of the most powerful tools I have for behaviour not just to settle the class before the lesson, but to shape the way they engage throughout.

It communicates:

✔️ This is how we listen, engage, respond

✔️ This is the positive energy we transfer to the lessons

✔️ This is what success feels like in this room

In today’s voice training within the Structured Teaching Portal, I’m breaking down exactly how I use this strategy, how it impacts behaviour both at the start and during the lesson, and how to implement it with intention even if your class is currently unsettled or inconsistent.