It’s a powerful, non-verbal classroom management tool designed to curb off-task behavior without breaking the flow of learning. Here’s how to use it across grade levels.

Crystal Frommert has been using “the look” in her classroom for 20 years. She says the tactic—a skeptical glance and an arched eyebrow directed at a chronic whisperer, for example—is almost universal among teachers, despite recent debates about whether the practice has run its course.

Frommert, who has taught math at the middle and high school levels, explains why she thinks “the look” still works; how it fits in with other classroom management tools; and what she does to adapt it for students who may not pick up on non-verbal cues. Plus, we ask what’s on everyone’s mind: Can it actually work on teenagers?

Related resources:

• New Teachers: How to Develop ‘The Look’


• 8 Small But Impactful Classroom Management Shifts


• Research: A mobile eye-tracking study on teachers’ responses to students’ norm-violating behaviors


• 4 Subtle Shifts for Better Classroom Management


• 8 Proactive Classroom Management Tips


• 11 Research-Based Classroom Management Strategies