At the beginning of every school year, I quickly talk about grades. Since writing counts weighs the most, the class participation grade is the speaking grade, intended for those students that can better articulate their ideas verbally than on paper. I usually don’t mention phones when I show them my class participation rubric, but this year I decided to mention it. I think it’s common sense for most people that students shouldn’t be on their phone during class and that we want students to self-regulate when it comes to their phones. Most people also want kids to have a childhood filled with social interactions and real experiences. Maybe kids just can’t handle it until a certain age, and we need to treat phones like alcohol or driving, I don’t know.
This year, I will try keeping track of class participation with marks on a class roster. I use a class participation rubric so students know my expectations about participating in class. I know some teachers that love their phone jails. I think of phone use like I think about classroom culture in general: it's not the rules, it’s the activities. Meaning, you don’t need a bunch of rules if you have engaging activities. Here are a few blogs related to classroom management that should help you reduce phone use in your classroom:
Teacher's Workshop, professional development for secondary ELA teachers
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