The relationship of the hierarchy of teacher concerns to classroom verbal behavior was investigated. Participants were 66 elementary school teachers with 3 to 8 years teaching experience and 26 beginning teachers in two large public school systems in the southeast. The Teacher Concerns Statement (TCS) was administered to all 92 subjects. Four groups totaling 34 subjects were secured according to the distribution of scores on the TCS. Each of the 34 teachers was observed in live classroom teaching for 30 minutes on three different occasions. From the 102 observations and tape recordings, it was possible to obtain three different behavior ratings according to the Flanders System of Interaction Analysis and the Florida Taxonomy of Cognitive Behavior. Statistical comparisons were made to determine overall differences among the four groups. Results suggest a positive relationship between the concerns of teachers and subsequent verbal behaviors in the classroom. Teachers with more concern for pupil need were not only more indirect in their interactions but also made higher cognitive solicitations than teachers with more concern for self-adequacy, regardless of teaching experience. (A five-item bibliography is included.) (MJM)