Classroom Management Plan

Elementary Classroom Management Plan Greatest sign of success for a teacher Is to be able to say, The children are now working as if I did not exist. Maria Montessori
Effective classroom management is crucial to a successful school year & student achievement. My management plan is a work in progress as I gain experience and encounter new situations in the classroom. Its important that my approach is studentcentered because I want students to develop a sense of responsibility for their actions. My students will have a voice in deciding what appropriate behavior looks like. My responsibility as a teacher is to ensure that all students understand my expectations for the classroom. I will be firm, caring, and consistent when it comes to discipline, as I believe this attitude fosters a positive and appropriate learning environment for all students. These standards are catered to a lower elementary level class, but I will change my plan according to my students needs and grade level. Being proactive is an important part of classroom management and I will strive to anticipate and prevent any possible behavioral issues before they arise.

Preventative Techniques (90% focus)- The majority of my focus

lies in the preventative aspect of classroom management. I believe that it is crucial to set students up for success. I have found many of these techniques to be successful in apprehending and addressing common behavior issues before they arise.

Positive Praise: Positive Reinforcement plays a huge role in my classroom

management plan. I will praise students verbally with compliments like I love how you started your morning work right away! or John thank you for showing your friends how to be a good listener! I will also praise in writing with positive comments on student work, special notes in journals, and notes sent home for exceptionally great behavior or work.

Individual Rewards: Each individual student has the chance to be rewarded for
good behavior through the caught being good program I will implement. Paper slips will be given to a student if he/she is caught being good. Students cannot ask for a slip, or point out that other students are on their best behavior; I must catch the student being good on my own. When a student gets a slip, he/she can put it into the box and I will draw a slip at the end of the day. This student will receive a sticker to put on their I Can Manage Myself chart. This invites students to always be striving for self-regulation, and

accountability.

Team Building Experiences: Teambuilding is essential for building a

classroom community. The reason for implementing teambuilding activities is fourfold: building trust, easing conflict, increasing collaboration, and actively communicating to peers. Here are some examples of activities found in my class:

Three Things in a Bag. Ask each student to bring three things that they
are willing to share with the whole class that describes who they are. Give each student one minute to share with the whole group. As part of the reflection, ask what connections were made with one another. What do we have in common? What are things that are unique? All Aboard: Each team must try and fit inside a small area, everyone must be included in this challenge. Make an area with a rope or a tarp, ask the whole group to try and fit inside the small area. When the group succeeds, decrease the area by folding the tarp and challenge the group again. Continue shrinking the area until the group is no longer able to fit. When the group finds the task easy, try muting team members of the group that are leading the task. This will give others the opportunity to grow in confidence and challenge themselves.

Snowball Fight: Have students write their name and 1-3 unique or
interesting facts about themselves on a piece of paper. When everyone is finished have him or her crumple up his or her paper and stand in a circle around the rug. Explain the rules and your expectations to the children before having your snowball fight. As soon as they hear or see that signal they are to stop throwing and pick up a snowball nearest them. When everyone has a snowball call everyone over to sit in a circle at the rug. Go around the circle taking turns reading what is on their snowball (everything except the name.) As a class students have to guess whose snowball it could be.

Engaging Curriculum: As a teacher it is my mission to find creative ways to

infuse the curriculum that must be taught, and inspire my students to become life long learners. In my classroom I will stimulate and encourage critical thinking rather than providing answers and resolving problems. I will engage students by giving them choices, allowing collaborative work, learning through real-world interactions, and providing interesting materials. Often students are energetic and dont sit still for long periods of time, especially if theyre of the elementary-school age. Lessons need to be planned accordingly. It is my philosophy that when students are engaged in their learning, the behavior management takes care of itself. Students who are actively engaged in an activity are far less likely to disrupt a class. If students are engaged in interactive, handson activities that get them up out of their seats and moving around, deeper learning takes place.

Classroom Jobs: Giving students jobs in the classroom is a great way to let
students take responsibility and to keep the room running smoothly. Another reason I pick classroom helpers is because it will allow me to focus more time on teaching. I simply make sticks with the names of each job, and sticks with the names of each student. The student names have Velcro on the back, and are placed next to the job that the student has for the week. Examples of useful classroom jobs include the following:

Line Leader/ Caboose Paper Passer Lights Out Door Holder Materials Distributor

Class Rules: Its important to establish clear and consistent rules from the very
beginning of the school year. On the first day, I collaborate with students to decide on the appropriate classroom rules. Allowing students to have a say in these rules will hold them accountable for their actions. Students will create a poster with the classroom rules and will sign the poster like a contract. Its important that the poster is always visual to serve as a reminder. I will guide students to include the following:

Be Respectful Be Responsible Listen Carefully and Follow Directions Treat others, as you would like to be treated.

Teaching Procedures: In a perfect world, I would teach students daily

procedures on the first day of school, and would remember the procedures and follow them without fail until the very last day of school. However, it takes weeks sometimes even months to get procedures down pack. I strive to make learning the procedures a concrete, hands-on activity throughout the first weeks of school. Beginning with the most important procedures: entering the classroom, opening the class, transitions, and dismissal. Then I add other procedures later, such as putting the heading on papers, turning in homework, sharpening pencils, etc. In his book, The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, Dr. Harry K. Wong suggests a three-step process for teaching classroom procedures to students: Explain classroom procedures clearly. Rehearse classroom procedures until they become routines. Reinforce a correct procedure and reteach an incorrect one. I plan on spending a lot of time teaching classroom procedures, practicing them with

students, and reinforcing them throughout the school year. In addition to discussing procedures, I post procedures in a prominent place. An example of a procedure is as follows: When the tardy bell rings . . . Be in your seat ready to work quietly. Place your homework assignment in the appropriate box so it is ready to be collected. Begin the opening activity (directions are on the board each day). Wait quietly for the teacher's instruction. When the dismissal bell rings . . . 5-7 min before the bell rings we will clean up, pass out homework, and get backpacks. Stay in your seat until you hear the teacher dismiss you. Leave quietly and in an orderly manner.

Supportive Techniques (5% focus)- Through my experiences of

working with students in the classroom as well as my experience in working as a dance instructor, Ive acquired strategies that help curb negative behavior quickly and discretely. Examples of these strategies are as follows: Make eye contact directly with a child to let them know his/her behavior is unacceptable. Stay in close proximity or circulate the room. Walk towards or stand next to a student who is misbehaving. A touch on the shoulder can also help a student understand that you are aware of his/her behavior and that it needs to be changed. An effective classroom manager is always moving about the classroom to curb negative behavior and reinforce positive behavior. Use nonverbal signals to remind students to be on their best behavior. This could be a simple shaking of the head or thumbs up sign that all students will do back to you so you can see whos on task. Use verbal signals to remind students to behave appropriately. Saying something like Wow, Kaylas group looks ready to line up, will cause other students to check on their own behavior. Change a students location if he/she cannot behave appropriately next to certain peers or needs to be closer to you to stay engaged. Set timer to accomplish tasks. To remind students to stay on task, set a timer that students can see visually so they know how much time they have to complete a task.

Intervention Techniques (5% focus)- In my classroom I believe that

any intervention or consequence MUST mirror the action or misbehavior. For example: If John had hit another student purposefully at recess, I would not have him clean up trash

in the lunchroom as this has nothing to do with the action. Rather I would have him fill out a RPE (reflective Processing Essay).

Reflective Processing Essay: After Misbehavior The student who gets into a conflict must write and submit to me a brief process plan outlining how they will improve their behavior. The plan would state: (1) the role the student played in the conflict, (2) the part that other participants may have taken in the incident, (3) the students suggestions for finding the best resolution to the problem, and (4) how the student can act in the future to prevent the conflict from recurring. (Boynton & Boynton, 2005). Consequences:
As stated earlier in the rules subsection, I will also have the students create the consequences that they believe fit the misbehavior. When students take ownership of their classroom they respect the rules and agree to the consequences. Everyone must agree to the consequences before they are put into affect. A sequence of consequences might be: Verbal warning (remind student of the rule and the desired behavior use RPE form if neccesary) Time-out (quiet thinking time away from the situation causing conflict) Phone call home (students make the call first and then I will discuss events with parents) Separate seating for one day (choice of designated desks) Principal intervention In-school suspension Expulsion

ProceduresProcedures and Routines: Routines are important for young learners. I

will post a daily schedule to put students at ease and allow them to see what comes next in their day. This also curbs questions about whats happening next. I will establish and model explicitly procedures and routines that will be performed on a daily basis. I will also ask students to demonstrate these procedures to show me that they fully understand them. For example, upon walking into the classroom, students will be taught to do the following: Turn in homework to the appropriate box Sharpen Pencil

Listen for role call Begin morning work quietly

Having clear and consistent procedures will allow students to take responsibility for their actions. I will not have to collect homework from them because they will know when and where to turn it in. Students will also practice how to effectively move from one subject to another and from one space to another in the school. We will even practice lining up quietly and walking down the hallway. Its also important to practice rotating during center activities to avoid commotion. Taking the time to get these routines down is important in the beginning of the school year because it will save a lot of time in the long run.

Attention signal: To attain students attention quickly and effectively, a

consistent attention signal should be used. To gain the attention of my students, I will use a clapping technique. I will clap a rhythm and my students will clap it back to me. They will know that as soon as they are done clapping, their eyes should be on me. This is a simple signal, so its perfect for the elementary level. I also like that it appeals to, visual, audio, and kinesthetic learners. It is quick and effective and lets students get out an extra bit of energy before I begin instructions. I will also use short music clips to signal transitions, as well as many other signals to keep students on their toes.

Absent Students:

Students who are absent must check the Absent folder to find work that must be completed. Students will have three days to complete missing work upon coming back to school, unless otherwise discussed. These folders will be sorted by day of the week. If the student will be gone for more than a week (vacation) prior notice must be given so that all necessary missed work can be collected.

Restroom/Drinks: To keep distractions to a minimum I ask that no drinks or

restroom be used during direct teaching time. Students are free to use recess and lunchtime, and during appropriate down time for breaks. If students are abusing these privileges other agreements will be made. Students may bring personal water bottles to have on their desk as long as they are used appropriately.

Communication with Parents/Guardians- Cultivating teacherparent relationships are vital to students success. Here are some avenues I will be using this year to communicate with parents: Informal notes home If a student is showing concerning behavior, or is showing exceptionally great behavior I will send a short note with the student. School-to-home notebooks/ folders I will use communication books to share information with parents such as upcoming events, due dates, project instructions,

and student progress information. Books may be sent home twice weekly, more frequently if needed. Class Web Page I will keep a web page current for parents to see what exciting things are happening in our class. Pictures and information on daily activities.

SEP Conference During SEP conference we will discuss growth/concerns in regards to academic and cognitive development. Open Door Policy I will be available by email, phone, or until 3:30pm to answer questions, discuss bullying experiences, or to give information concerning student progress.

ReferencesBoynton, M. & Boynton, C. (2005). The educators guide to preventing and solving discipline problems. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Johnson, L. S. (2013, Nov). Information noted by K.L Wilkes []. Classroom management Mccandless, P. (2013, fall semester). Information noted by K.L Wilkes []. Wong, Harry K., and Rosemary T. Wong. The First Days Of School How To Be An Effective Teacher. Minneapolis: Harry K. Wong Publications, 2004. Print.