But you can work it to your advantage ...
1. Use a THINK - PAIR - SHARE strategy.
2. Have a CHAT TIME agreement. I used this strategy with senior high school students and a younger but just as chatty primary group. The agreement was every 20 minutes, I would give them a 3 minute CHAT TIME. When the chat time was over, the timer started for another 20 minutes. It worked well.
3. Seat the students in single desks facing the board or teacher and then move them around the room to talk. When you call them back to their chairs, ensure they know that it is a NO-TALK time.
4. Balance passive tasks with group work. Students often get chatty after prolonged periods of passive activity. Balance these passive periods with active periods.
5. Vary everything about the lesson - talk softer, talk faster, speed the activity up, slow it down. Sometimes this can refocus a group.
6. Use a conch (or similar). Remember Lord of the Flies? Have a discussion time where only the CONCH holder can talk. This activity is best completed in a circle but can be achieved while students are seated. Instead of a conch, use a foam ball that can be passed by throwing.
7. A chatty group can sometimes benefit by a physical game. I always carry a set of tennis balls so I don't have to rely on getting sporting equipment. There are hundreds of games you can play with a tennis ball, including just throwing and catching with a partner.
8. Try an investigation LIKE THIS ONE, where talking is an essential part of the activity.
9. Some groups just like a bit of noise to fill the vacant space left by a silent activity. Try playing non-invasive music if you want the students to do a silent activity.
10. Honestly, just stand back and see whether the noise if ACTUALLY working noise. Perhaps the talking you hear is really discussion about the activity you are doing. If it is not interfering with the learning, then go with it. Maybe even join in.
