Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 227. 5 Smart Ways to Respond to Student Work Refusal

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227. 5 Smart Ways to Respond to Student Work Refusal · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

• 0:00
  Heidi: This is episode 227 of Teacher Approved.
• 0:06
  You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
• 0:09
  educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
• 0:12
  Heidi.
• 0:13
  Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
• 0:16
  Window, where we give research based and teacher approved
• 0:19
  strategies that make teaching less stressful and more
• 0:22
  effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from
• 0:25
  each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
• 0:28
  Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
• 0:31
  the show.
• 0:36
  Emily: Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
• 0:39
  episode, we are sharing practical strategies for
• 0:41
  handling student work refusal, and we have a teacher approved
• 0:45
  tip for creating a simple prevention checklist you can use
• 0:49
  during lesson planning.
• 0:50
  Heidi: Let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick
• 0:53
  win that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily,
• 0:55
  what's our suggestion for this week?
• 0:57
  Emily: This week try the Choice to Skip strategy. So when you're
• 1:00
  giving an assignment with multiple problems or questions,
• 1:03
  tell your students that they can choose one to skip. You might
• 1:07
  say something like, everyone needs to do problems five and
• 1:09
  eight, but you can choose one of the other problems to skip.
• 1:12
  Heidi: We know that this sounds counterintuitive, but giving
• 1:15
  kids permission to skip something often makes them way
• 1:18
  more willing to tackle the rest.
• 1:20
  Emily: I know, it's such a good strategy. So if you like this
• 1:23
  idea or anything else we share here on the podcast, we would
• 1:25
  appreciate it so much if you would take a second and give us
• 1:28
  a five star rating and review in your podcast app.
• 1:31
  Heidi: Alright, let's talk about one of those classroom moments
• 1:35
  that can make or break your day. That is when a student just will
• 1:39
  not work.
• 1:41
  Emily: Yeah, we all know how it goes. You've taught a great
• 1:44
  lesson, given clear directions, and most kids are happily
• 1:47
  working away. But there's that one student, or, you know, maybe
• 1:51
  a few, that are sitting there with their arms crossed,
• 1:53
  scribbling on their paper or finding every possible way to
• 1:57
  avoid the task.
• 1:59
  Heidi: As a teacher, this is so triggering, it feels personal
• 2:03
  like they are provoking us on purpose. And I'm not fully
• 2:07
  convinced that they're not.
• 2:09
  Emily: Right. But if you only remember one thing from today's
• 2:12
  episode, we want you to remember this, work refusal is
• 2:15
  communication.
• 2:17
  Heidi: And even if it feels like what they're communicating is
• 2:21
  defiance, I promise that it is much more than that. These kids
• 2:25
  are telling us something, and it's our job, as the grown up,
• 2:29
  unfortunately, to figure out what that something is.
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  Emily: And that does not mean that it is not frustrating, but
• 2:35
  that does mean there's a lot we can do about it. And let's start
• 2:38
  with the single most effective way to deal with work refusal,
• 2:41
  and that is to prevent it from starting in the first place.
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  That is basically our behavior management mantra. What can we
• 2:47
  do to stop it before it starts?
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  Heidi: And with work refusal, that really comes down to this.
• 2:52
  Are your lessons clear, engaging, and broken down in a
• 2:56
  way that supports student success?
• 2:58
  Emily: And we promise this can be much simpler than it may
• 3:01
  sound. It just means asking yourself, am I giving students
• 3:04
  enough opportunities to do the work with me before I expect
• 3:07
  them to do it on their own? The more you build that in, the less
• 3:11
  likely you are to hit a wall of refusal when it's time for
• 3:13
  independent practice.
• 3:15
  Heidi: Now this doesn't mean that you have to hand out a
• 3:17
  worksheet mid lesson for your students to work on. There are
• 3:21
  lots of quick and easy ways to get students thinking and doing
• 3:24
  while you're teaching, without having to get out paper and
• 3:27
  pencil.
• 3:28
  Emily: If you want lots of examples, go back and check out
• 3:30
  episode 161 where we talked about how to add active
• 3:34
  responses to any lesson using choral response, signals, signs,
• 3:39
  writing, and technology.
• 3:41
  Heidi: Now, hopefully this single step of preparing
• 3:44
  engaging lessons magically solves all of your work refusal
• 3:47
  problems before they start.
• 3:49
  Emily: Yeah, please, fingers crossed.
• 3:51
  Heidi: And to help you with that task, at the end of this
• 3:54
  episode, we have a quick checklist that we'll share that
• 3:58
  you can use to evaluate any lesson before you teach it.
• 4:01
  Emily: Okay, but let's be honest, even the best, most
• 4:03
  engaging lesson isn't going to prevent every instance of work
• 4:07
  refusal. Sometimes what worked great yesterday may totally flop
• 4:10
  today.
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  Heidi: So let's get you set up with a toolbox for what to do
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  when, despite your best efforts, work refusal shows up anyway.
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  The first tool is to understand what not to do.
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  Emily: Yeah, we want to avoid the "don'ts" that can take a
• 4:25
  rough moment and turn it into a full scale disaster.
• 4:30
  Heidi: But if you see yourself in any of these, please be
• 4:33
  gentle with yourself, because it is so easy for this to happen.
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  When kids refuse to work, it triggers some pretty strong
• 4:39
  emotions, and our first instinct might be to double down or to
• 4:43
  start threatening consequences, but don't get caught in a power
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  struggle.
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  Emily: Right. A power struggle is the absolute least helpful
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  solution to this problem. We are after cooperation, not
• 4:54
  compliance. The moment it becomes a battle of wills,
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  everybody loses.
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  Heidi: Our second "don't" is don't punish, especially by
• 5:03
  taking away recess. Kids need that movement, and the break
• 5:06
  time, and taking it away will likely cause more problems later
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  in the day, not fewer.
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  Emily: And don't assume students are being lazy or difficult on
• 5:14
  purpose, even if it seems like 100% that is what is happening.
• 5:19
  There is usually something else going on.
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  Heidi: Now, in desperate moments, we know it can be so
• 5:24
  tempting to resort to bribes, something like, if you just do
• 5:28
  this page, you can have extra computer time, but don't do
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  this. Bribes will work in the moment, but they're not solving
• 5:36
  the underlying issue, and they can actually make work refusal
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  worse over time.
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  Emily: The last "don't" might be the most important. Don't react
• 5:44
  out of frustration. When you feel that emotional reaction
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  rising up, you know, the irritation, the anger, pause and
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  take a breath before you respond. Regulate yourself
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  first, because whatever you do next will either help the
• 5:56
  situation or make it a whole lot harder.
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  Heidi: And really, we know it is so easy to feel triggered in
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  this moment. So please, if you have experienced any of these
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  "don'ts" in the past, be kind to yourself, because we have all
• 6:09
  done it. Probably we've all done a whole combination of those.
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  Emily: Yeah, in tough moments, we don't always respond as the
• 6:15
  best version of ourselves. And I can, like, just feel my blood
• 6:18
  pressure rising just talking about this and remembering what
• 6:21
  it feels like in these moments where you want to just get into
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  it, like, no, no, you are going to do it, because I said so. But
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  now that you have got some clarity about how work refusal
• 6:31
  might trigger you, remind yourself to pause and breathe
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  before reacting in the future.
• 6:36
  Heidi: And then once you have avoided that minefield of
• 6:39
  don'ts, you're in a much better place for the next step in
• 6:42
  managing work refusal, which is to get curious.
• 6:46
  Emily: Remember, work refusal is communication, like we said.
• 6:49
  Every time a student refuses, they're telling you something,
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  even if it's coming out sideways through crossed arms and
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  dramatic size. Our job isn't to win the battle. It's to figure
• 7:00
  out what's going on underneath.
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  Heidi: When you are 10 minutes into writing time and one kid
• 7:05
  still hasn't picked up a dang pencil, shift your focus. Try
• 7:09
  pretending you're a doctor, and challenge yourself to evaluate
• 7:12
  this patient. Start by asking yourself, what might this
• 7:16
  behavior be trying to say, and what does the student need right
• 7:19
  now?
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  Emily: If one student is refusing to write their
• 7:22
  persuasive essay because they had a fight at recess, and
• 7:25
  another is refusing because they don't understand the assignment,
• 7:28
  they need completely different responses from you.
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  Heidi: So try running through a list of diagnostic questions.
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  Does the student have the academic skills to complete this
• 7:37
  task? Maybe the directions don't click, or maybe they're missing
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  background knowledge. What looks like defiance might actually be
• 7:43
  a quiet panic.
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  Emily: And sometimes the issue is attention, not ability. Look
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  around the environment. Is it too noisy or distracting? Is the
• 7:52
  student dealing with something outside of school that makes
• 7:55
  focusing nearly impossible in the moment? Maybe their little
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  world is crumbling, and the last thing they have the bandwidth
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  for is writing a persuasive essay.
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  Heidi: Also consider if the student actually knows how to
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  get started. This is an executive functioning challenge.
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  The student might have the right understanding, but planning out
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  the steps feels overwhelming, so they just shut down instead.
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  Emily: And don't forget basic needs. Are they hungry, tired,
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  uncomfortable? Nobody can do their best work if their body is
• 8:22
  struggling.
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  Heidi: Now, if you can't diagnose the problem from the
• 8:25
  outside, just try asking the student what they need in order
• 8:28
  to get started. When you approach with curiosity instead
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  of judgment, the student feels seen instead of shamed, and that
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  really changes everything.
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  Emily: And curiosity also gives you options. If it's a skill
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  issue, you can scaffold. If it's planning, you can break down the
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  task into smaller steps. If it's focus, you can offer a quick
• 8:47
  regulation break.
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  Heidi: So instead of asking, why won't they just do this work,
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  flip it to what's getting in their way right now, and how can
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  I help clear that path?
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  Emily: Of course, kids can't always articulate what's wrong,
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  and you'll likely get a response like nothing, or, I don't know.
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  Heidi: And when that happens, use your past history with the
• 9:08
  student to make your best guess about whether the problem is
• 9:11
  academic, emotional, or environmental. Then once you
• 9:14
  have a theory about what's going on, you can respond in a way
• 9:17
  that actually addresses the root issue.
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  Emily: Once you've managed any outside issues that might be
• 9:22
  impacting the student, you're ready for the next step,
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  offering support that helps students re engage.
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  Heidi: Now let's imagine that you have just wrapped up your
• 9:31
  top notch, super engaging geometry lesson. Next is time
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  for independent practice. You explain the assignment and you
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  turn the kids loose. It seems like everyone is getting to
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  work, but then you take a closer look, and you notice one kid is
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  drawing Pokemon on his paper, one is playing with the Gibbets
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  on her crocs, and another hasn't even noticed there's a paper on
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  his desk.
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  Emily: Ugh, those Croc Gibbets. You can feel your blood pressure
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  rising by the second. Why did these kids have to make
• 9:59
  everything so hard? So the first thing is to remember the don'ts,
• 10:03
  don't react, don't get into a power struggle. Take some deep
• 10:06
  breaths and let your brain reset.
• 10:07
  Heidi: And then while you're breathing, get curious. What
• 10:11
  does each situation need? Use what you know about your past
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  interactions with these kids to diagnose the problem. Are there
• 10:17
  any deeper, academic, emotional, or environmental problems at
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  play?
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  Emily: Then address the issues you can and provide the support
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  students need to get started. Maybe the girl with the crocs
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  just needs a reminder to leave her shoes alone. But if students
• 10:31
  need more support, we're going to use a tool from Fred Jones'
• 10:34
  book Tools for Teaching, called praise, prompt, and leave.
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  Heidi: Now I swear by this technique, it can absolutely
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  save you in a tough moment, and it has saved me in plenty of
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  them. So let's talk about how this works in action. You walk
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  over to the desk nearest you, maybe it's the kid drawing the
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  Pokemon pictures, and you find something to praise about what
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  they have done right so far. Now this might be tricky if all he's
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  done is draw Pokemon pictures.
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  Emily: Yes, but even if all you can say is, I'm glad you've got
• 11:04
  your pencil ready to go, starting with connection will
• 11:07
  help keep the situation positive.
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  Heidi: The type of praise you use in this moment really does
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  matter. Try to focus on effort, not ability. Something like,
• 11:15
  "look how quickly you got started on that first problem"
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  is more useful than "you're so smart."
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  Emily: After praising whatever action they've taken, give them
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  one simple prompt about the very next step they should take.
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  Don't go over the whole assignment, just the next step.
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  Say something like, "the next thing you need to do is circle
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  all the angles."
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  Heidi: And then you leave. Don't hover or wait for them to
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  complete that step. You will circle back in a few minutes to
• 11:40
  check on progress, but don't wait for them to get started
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  before you move on. The goal is to scaffold their independence,
• 11:46
  not make them dependent on you, walking them through every step.
• 11:51
  Emily: Now let's say you've calmed your emotions, you've
• 11:53
  gotten curious about what's going on, and you've tried to
• 11:55
  praise, prompt, and leave, but the work still isn't getting
• 11:58
  done. We have all been in those situations, it can leave you
• 12:01
  feeling really stuck.
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  Heidi: But we promise you are not stuck, because you have got
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  some more tools to try. When you find yourself in this moment,
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  the next step is to make the work feel more manageable. A lot
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  of the time, work refusal comes down to the task being too big
• 12:16
  or too out of the student's control.
• 12:19
  Emily: Yeah, think about how you feel when someone hands you a 10
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  page form to fill out. Oh, the worst. Large assignments can be
• 12:25
  daunting, even to adults, so let's do what we can to limit
• 12:28
  that overwhelm for our kids.
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  Heidi: So how do we shrink that mountain down into a hill that a
• 12:33
  student can actually climb? Two of the best tools we have for
• 12:37
  this are chunking and offering agency. Emily, can you tell us
• 12:41
  more about chunking?
• 12:42
  Emily: Yeah, well, when we say chunk an assignment, isn't it
• 12:45
  such an elegant word to describe it? This means we're breaking
• 12:49
  the work down into smaller, bite sized steps. So instead of
• 12:51
  expecting students to face a whole page of math problems,
• 12:54
  cover all but the first one or two and say, work these, then
• 12:58
  we'll check in.
• 12:59
  Heidi: This also works with other assignments, like writing.
• 13:02
  Instead of "write a paragraph about your favorite animal," you
• 13:05
  can try chunking your directions. "First choose the
• 13:07
  animal you're going to write about, and then write one
• 13:10
  sentence about what it looks like."
• 13:12
  Emily: You can also try chunking the time. Use timers to create
• 13:15
  mini deadlines, like, "Work for three minutes, then let's see
• 13:18
  how far you get." Each small win builds momentum, and before you
• 13:22
  know it, the student who couldn't even start five minutes
• 13:23
  ago is suddenly halfway done.
• 13:25
  Heidi: Besides chunking, you can make work more manageable by
• 13:28
  offering agency. Kids are much more likely to engage when they
• 13:32
  feel that they have some say in what happens.
• 13:34
  Emily: Now before you have a heart attack, that absolutely
• 13:37
  does not mean turning your class into a free for all. Think of it
• 13:40
  more like choices within structure.
• 13:43
  Heidi: Yeah, you're likely to find students much more engaged
• 13:47
  in their work if they have some say in how it gets done. So try
• 13:51
  offering limited options and see how quickly it changes the mood
• 13:54
  in your room. Just make sure that you can live with whatever
• 13:57
  they choose.
• 13:59
  Emily: Yeah, don't offer students the choice to either do
• 14:01
  their work independently or with a buddy if you don't want to
• 14:04
  manage partner work at that moment. It's fine, there are
• 14:07
  lots of simple ways to give students options that don't make
• 14:09
  your job harder.
• 14:11
  Heidi: An easy one, for example, is to try offering students the
• 14:14
  choice of where to work. "You can stay at your desk or take
• 14:17
  your paper to the carpet," or, "You could work at the top of
• 14:20
  your desk, or you could turn around and use your chair as a
• 14:23
  desk." You know, little tweaks make a big difference.
• 14:25
  Emily: You can also give students the choice of how they
• 14:28
  work. Can they use pen, pencil or crayon to complete the
• 14:31
  assignment? Or maybe give options about the format of
• 14:33
  their response. "You can write this out, type it, or draw your
• 14:37
  response."
• 14:38
  Heidi: One of my favorite options for students, and one of
• 14:41
  the easiest was to let them choose the order they do the
• 14:43
  problems. If it doesn't really affect the outcome, just let
• 14:46
  them pick. "You can start with the first three problems or the
• 14:49
  last three problems. It's up to you."
• 14:51
  Emily: And that choice to skip strategy from our try it
• 14:54
  tomorrow fits perfectly in this category.
• 14:57
  Heidi: Kids love that one. Honestly, it will make you their
• 15:00
  favorite teacher.
• 15:02
  Emily: Another way to offer choice is to invite the student
• 15:04
  into helping solve the situation. Ask them, "what part
• 15:08
  feels hardest," or "what would make this feel doable?"
• 15:10
  Empowering students to solve their own problems can be just
• 15:13
  the nudge they need to turn things around.
• 15:16
  Heidi: As helpful and powerful and useful as these tools are,
• 15:19
  sometimes the wisest decision you can make is just to do
• 15:23
  nothing.
• 15:24
  Emily: Yeah, as a teacher, you need to learn to recognize when
• 15:27
  the battle isn't worth it. If anything you try is just going
• 15:31
  to escalate the situation, just leave it alone. Assuming the
• 15:34
  child isn't in any danger, a short reset or coming back to it
• 15:37
  later can be more effective than forcing compliance right now.
• 15:40
  Heidi: Maybe they need a few minutes to cool down, or maybe
• 15:42
  the timing just isn't right. You can always circle back when
• 15:45
  they're in a better headspace.
• 15:47
  Emily: When things have calmed down and it's time to have that
• 15:49
  conversation, the most important thing is to listen. Don't jump
• 15:52
  in with your thoughts about what's happening. Let them talk
• 15:54
  first. You really might be surprised what you learn.
• 15:58
  Heidi: And if work refusal becomes a persistent pattern,
• 16:00
  that's when you might need to involve other support, school
• 16:03
  counselors, administrators or parents. You don't have to solve
• 16:06
  everything by yourself.
• 16:08
  Emily: Okay, let's do a quick recap of our strategies for
• 16:11
  handling work refusal. First, prevent it when you can with
• 16:14
  engaging, well-scaffolded instruction that sets students
• 16:18
  up for success. When it does happen anyway, avoid power
• 16:22
  struggles, punishment or bribes. Regulate yourself first, get
• 16:26
  curious about what the behavior is communicating, like, is there
• 16:29
  an academic, emotional or environmental issue at play?
• 16:33
  Heidi: Next, provide support with praise, prompt, and leave.
• 16:36
  Make the work feel manageable by breaking it down and offering
• 16:39
  choice within structure. Involve students in collaborative
• 16:42
  problem solving, and know when it's better just to let it go
• 16:45
  and come back later.
• 16:46
  Emily: Remember, work refusal is communication, not defiance. You
• 16:50
  have tools to respond without burning yourself out. These kids
• 16:53
  aren't trying to make your life difficult. They're trying to
• 16:55
  tell you something, and now you know how to listen.
• 16:57
  Heidi: We would love to hear how these strategies work in your
• 17:01
  classroom. Come join the conversation in our Teacher
• 17:03
  Approved Facebook group.
• 17:05
  Emily: Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
• 17:07
  we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters
• 17:10
  and simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is
• 17:13
  to create a simple prevention checklist for lesson planning.
• 17:16
  So tell us about this, Heidi.
• 17:18
  Heidi: Well, we mentioned earlier in the episode that
• 17:20
  prevention is your best strategy for avoiding work refusal. So we
• 17:24
  want to give you some specific questions that you can ask
• 17:26
  yourself during lesson planning. These literally take one minute
• 17:30
  to run through, but they can save you 20 minutes of
• 17:32
  redirecting and re-teaching during work time.
• 17:35
  Emily: Here are the questions. First, academic readiness. Can
• 17:38
  most of your students do this independently after your guided
• 17:41
  practice? Is there a clear model or example they can refer to?
• 17:44
  What's the hardest part of this task, and have you taught that
• 17:47
  piece well enough?
• 17:49
  Heidi: Next, engagement and motivation. Why would a student
• 17:52
  care about this assignment? Is there any choice, movement or
• 17:55
  novelty built in? Can you explain the why behind this work
• 17:59
  in kid friendly terms?
• 18:00
  Emily: Then overwhelm prevention. Does this look
• 18:03
  doable at first glance, or does it look like a lot? Can you
• 18:07
  break this into smaller chunks or steps? How long will this
• 18:10
  realistically take your slowest worker?
• 18:12
  Heidi: Also consider environment and logistics. Do students have
• 18:16
  everything they need to complete this? Are there too many
• 18:18
  distractions happening during this work time? Is this the
• 18:21
  right time of day for this type of task?
• 18:24
  Emily: And finally, differentiation reality check.
• 18:26
  What will your struggling learners do when they get stuck?
• 18:29
  What will your fast finishers do so they don't become
• 18:31
  distractions? Do students understand what being done with
• 18:35
  this assignment looks like?
• 18:37
  Heidi: And here is my favorite question of all. If you were
• 18:40
  tired and this assignment landed on your desk right now, would
• 18:43
  you want to do it? If the answer is no, your students probably
• 18:46
  won't want to do it either.
• 18:48
  Emily: These questions help you catch potential work refusal
• 18:51
  before it happens, and honestly, they make your teaching more
• 18:54
  engaging for everyone, not just the kids who might refuse to
• 18:57
  work.
• 18:57
  Heidi: We will put the full checklist in the show notes so
• 19:00
  that you can reference it easily during planning time.
• 19:02
  To wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're giving extra
• 19:08
  Emily: I'm giving extra credit to Noco cookie cakes on
• 19:08
  credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?
• 19:11
  Instagram. She's also on Tiktok. I randomly stumbled on her
• 19:16
  account like a month ago, and I got sucked in watching these
• 19:20
  videos. So it's this woman who, last year, I believe, lost her
• 19:25
  job, and I don't really understand why, but she got this
• 19:29
  idea of making cookie cake. So she's making just like a big
• 19:34
  chocolate chip cookie, and then using frosting to decorate it.
• 19:38
  But the best part is she does a voiceover of the recording of
• 19:39
  But she is not a decorator. She's not really good at writing
• 19:43
  or drawing anything. So already like the outcome is hilarious.
• 19:53
  her, the sped up, you know, clip, edited version of her
• 19:56
  making this cake. And it just delights me. She's hilarious. I
• 20:01
  saw on her Instagram, she described herself as a cookie
• 20:03
  cake comedian. And I was like, yeah, that's accurate. I wish I
• 20:07
  lived in Colorado. I'd get myself a cookie cake so that she
• 20:10
  could make fun of me while she makes it. Because she always
• 20:13
  makes fun of like, what people request on their cake, or
• 20:16
  laments, why do people keep making me write things, and
• 20:19
  anyway. And the other funny thing is, she says all the time
• 20:22
  that she doesn't like frosting, like she would not want to eat
• 20:25
  one of these cakes, which makes it even funnier. It's so good.
• 20:28
  If you need a laugh, I will link to it in the show notes. Noco
• 20:31
  cookie cakes.
• 20:32
  Heidi: Highly recommend. I did see though today, I don't know
• 20:34
  if you saw this, she hurt her hand.
• 20:36
  Emily: Oh no.
• 20:36
  Heidi: She hasn't been able to decorate her case.
• 20:39
  Emily: No, I haven't seen that. What a tragedy.
• 20:41
  Heidi: I know. So everyone's a bit concerned. Hopefully Noco
• 20:45
  can continue.
• 20:46
  Emily: Yes, please. I'll have to check in on that. What are you
• 20:49
  giving extra credit to, Heidi?
• 20:51
  Heidi: Well, I'm giving extra credit to the picture book A
• 20:53
  Fall Day for Bear by Bonnie Becker. I love these bear books
• 20:58
  so much. It's about like a grumpy, surly just want to be on
• 21:03
  his own, introvert, bear and a peppy, extroverted mouse who
• 21:08
  adopts him as his best friend.
• 21:10
  Emily: Against as well.
• 21:11
  Heidi: Yeah, so they have all kinds of hijinks together. Yeah,
• 21:16
  a fall picture book is always a win. And then this is just so
• 21:19
  cute. And this one, though, it's a bit of a role reversal,
• 21:22
  because mouse is having a really bad day, and so bear has to step
• 21:25
  up to cheer him up. So it's very sweet. It's a perfect book for
• 21:29
  fall. I know we did some vocabulary for Christmas for
• 21:33
  Bear and Mouse. I think we have a vocabulary resource.
• 21:36
  Emily: Yes.
• 21:37
  Heidi: So if you have not met bear and mouse, this is the
• 21:40
  moment you need to jump on that.
• 21:41
  Emily: Yeah, and I did not know about this new book, so I'm
• 21:43
  excited to check it out.
• 21:44
  Heidi: It's very cute.
• 21:46
  That is it for today's episode. Remember, work refusal is
• 21:49
  communication. Your job isn't to force compliance. It's to figure
• 21:53
  out what your students need and to help them get there.
• 21:56
  Emily: Try our strategies for handling work refusal with
• 21:58
  curiosity instead of frustration. And don't forget
• 22:01
  our Teacher Approved tip for creating a prevention checklist
• 22:04
  during lesson planning.
• 22:07
  Heidi: We hope you enjoyed this episode of teacher approved. I'm
• 22:10
  Heidi.
• 22:11
  Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
• 22:14
  or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
• 22:17
  episode.
• 22:18
  Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
• 22:20
  Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
• 22:23
  Bye for now.
• 22:24
  Emily: Bye.