Establish expectations for classroom behavior early in the school year. Develop rules and consequences with the class, and keep them posted in an obvious location in your classroom. Include each student in the writing of these expectations. This not only gives your class ownership in the rules, but also makes it more likely they will follow them.
Role-play appropriate behavior you wish to see in your classroom. For a younger child, use puppets or stuffed animals to act out scenes or short stories modeling good classroom behavior free of back talking. Ask an older student to write and perform his own short skit modeling how to handle a situation without talking back.
Reward appropriate classroom behavior when you see it occur. Make this your focus, rather than concentrating on the times when a student talks back to you. Point out and praise a student who raises his hand before speaking or one who takes suggestions or criticism the first time, without responding to you in an inappropriate manner. Praising a student for his good behavior encourages others to behave in a way that will gain your attention in a positive manner.
Redirect the student who is back talking to you. Redirection involves giving the children an appropriate form of behavior to replace the undesired one. For example, if a young child begins to back talk while you are reading to him, ask him to engage in the reading process himself. This behavior strategy stops the back talking but allows you to avoid punishing the child.
Use children's literature you read within your classroom to point out instances of good and bad behavior. If a child in a story handles himself in a way where he could have talked back yet chose a different action, bring this to the class's attention. Integrating this method into daily teaching affords you the opportunity to reinforce your desired rules and expectations in an unassuming way.