4. Until you get a sense of what your class can accomplish in a given amount of time, over plan. Completing a lesson the next day is much preferred to finding yourself with dead air to fill. It's also a good idea to have a backup lesson such as a subject review prepared and immediately available (copies made, materials on hand, etc.). This can come in very handy when the original lesson cannot be taught due to an unexpected event such as a fire drill or major class disruption Keep in mind, however, that although an effective, well-planned lesson can help to decrease behavioral problems in the classroom, any downtime during instruction can quickly reduce the class to chaos. To minimize this, have all materials prepared and in place prior to instruction. Also, take the cue from your students to determine when it's time to move on. When talking escalates, volume grows, or movement increases, it’s time to transition to the next activity.