I am in my 33rd year of teaching, and I have fourth grade. First Grade teacher  Miss May has a great attention getter. When she says, "Flat tire!", her students respond with "Shhhhh", and the students are quiet. You could also make a list called Quick and Quiet where you list the activities that require little or no noise to do. I would move that lone desk in the middle of your classroom to one of the groups.  Some of your students are at Third Grade Light while others are at Second Grade Extra at the moment. They don't become true third grade students until December or January. Take care.

Counting down from 5 works SO well for my third graders! They love to talk, so I think giving them a few seconds to wrap it up helps!

I teach third grade. Former 5th grade teacher as well. I have found to get their attention I say third grade …. They say Mrs..(my name)  I say tracking they say I got you.. It takes practice up it has worked so wonderfully.

i do "class class" with 1st grade and it works just fine, you just need to practice it with them

I teach third as well and I had to miss the third day too!  I dropped my daughter off at college out of state, really hard for many reasons.  I use class-yes and doorbell. It didn’t work great the first couple of days, but it’s getting better.  I had to bring out the you vs me points.  If everyone doesn’t stop, get quiet and look at me, I get a point.  When they do, they get point. It’s worked well with them lining up after recess too.  Can’t imagine having to move out and having a sick child all the first week!  I’m still recovering from mine;). I think you’re really going to like third grade:)

Praying for health and wellness for you guys and that things will work out with your housing situation quickly. 🙏🏻

Tomorrow it’s my first day of 3rd grade

My favorite attention getter is calling “sharkbait” and they go “ooh ha ha” from finding Nemo - super easy to introduce holding a bubble in your mouth after that too if you frame it as pretending to be fish!!

I have taught third grade for 3 tears but this time I got 2nd grade

I miss my old teacher because she said that she’s gonna stay for third grade, but her mom is very sick so I have and then I have a teacher, but I don’t know how she looks like I don’t know and I’m really scared because I miss my other teacher, but I’m gonna have fun. You have fun too.😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😊😊😊

Praying for you Kathy! God is in control. He has a better plan for y’all ❤️ keep your head up!

attention getter ideas:
teacher says: squad up!!! students say: yup yup!
teacher says: all eyes on me! students say: all eyes on you
you can have a bell or some sort of sound that means voices off!
I hope this helps you got this girly!!!☺

I’ve used a classroom doorbell with 4th and 5th and it works so well. Students can’t miss the sound of the bell and it grabs their attention immediately! They’re inexpensive on Amazon too

Sending hugs and good thoughts during this stressful time to you and your family...bad timing since it's the beginning of the school year but just take it one hour at a time.  Third graders are basically second graders right now and they need lots of structure and guidance.  They are not independent like fifth graders but week after week they will mature more and more and you will see so much growth both academically and in their maturity and that will be the best feeling with them but they do take a lot of work to get there.  I have taught grades PreK through Third Grade :)  There's a Freebie on TPT that has many attention getters/call backs that I used.

"All about pendants" are cute! Where did they come from?

I wish you the best with the house. Stay calm ❤❤

I'm teaching fifth grade and I don't use attention getters anymore.

I taught first grade (now retired nearly eleven years) so to me, third graders ARE the mature ones.  😄 Fifth graders would be way above my preferred group.   One attention getter I've seen work is  what Mrs. Call on Mrs. Call's Campers uses.  When she wants the kids to listen, she says "MY turn" and the students answer, "YOUR turn"  and stop talking.   You could also use "Voices off in five" and start counting down from five, when you say one, they're all to be still, quiet, and eyes on you. I'm new to your channel as I just found it.  Congratulations on the coming baby.   Is your husband deployed?  Thank him for his service, please.  🙂

Does your day end up early for the first week of school?

I hope your students don't give you hard times