Running Head: CLASSROOMMANAGEMENTPLAN 1. Philosophical Statement a.

Classroom management is an essential part about having a successful learning environment for students. I believe classroom management is everything. If a teacher does not have an effective classroom management plan, students will not learn. The teacher needs to be able to get the attention of all students at any given time. The students need to know what is expected of them at all times. The way a classroom is arranged has an impact on the students. Is there enough space for students to move around without bumping into something? Does the classroom fit the needs of all learners? These are just a few of the questions a teacher needs to ask herself as s/he is making her classroom management plan.

b. I believe my teaching style includes multiple visuals and hands-on activities. I believe that in order for students to learn, they need to be engaged in the lesson. Hands on activities, as well as cooperative learning strategies, are ways to help get students to be engaged in a lesson.

2. Instructional Content

a. To make instruction more interesting and engaging for students the teacher should include student interests, strengths, and hobbies into as many lessons throughout the day as possible. Relating instruction to student preferences and learner profiles falls into the same category of finding and using student strengths and interests as most likely the students strengths are also the profiles and smarts the student has. One of the most important roles of a teacher in the classroom is to be flexible, not only with incorporating student strengths, but also to understand and accommodate during tasks for difficulty and length. Another component in the classroom teachers can manipulate for student difficulty is sponge activities to take extra time

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for students that are more independent while the teacher assists students that are less independent academically.

b. Cooperative learning allows teachers to ensure that all students are participating and completing assigned tasks, as well as allowing the teacher to pair higher students with lower students to create masters of that task or assignment within the classroom. To ensure student involvement a teacher can create classroom jobs, such as: paper passer, mail carrier, teacher assistant, line leader, caboose, and board eraser. Students get involved in the classroom in more than just the textbooks and suddenly the student becomes more interested and excited about school all together.

c. Incorporating choice within the classroom gives students a way to build confidence, power, and self-advocacy. Choice is major for students as in almost all other areas of their day everything is decided for them. During centers in the classroom, the teacher can give the power of choice to which center a student wants to begin on or complete for that time rather than dictating the rotation for the students. Simply allowing students to choose the book s/he would like to read that week during DEAR time is a major choice as the student is more inclined to read it if it was their choice. Also, for the type of ending or final project a student would like to do to present work s/he has learned allows the student to pick the option that s/he are most comfortable with and demonstrates their learner profile.

d. Using different classroom management techniques, such as a red, yellow, green card system at the students seat based on understanding, not on behavior. The card system can demonstrate when a student gets it, is having some difficulty, or completely struggling with the

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task at hand. A teacher, with this system, is able to observe in a larger way what students are showing difficulties and narrow in what areas the difficulty begins.

3. Classroom Arrangement a. Student bags will be placed on the floor underneath the window. Student jackets will be hung up on the All Stars rack in the classroom. This way, they are out of the way and not a distraction to the student. b. Furniture will be arranged based upon the number of students in the class. If there are only 4 students (or fewer) in my class I will use two rectangular tables pushed up against each other. If there are more than 4 students in my class I will need to use desks because my classroom is fairly small. I chose the arrangement for my room below because it provides student with the maximum space available so they may work on the floor in pairs or independently.

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Map Key (assuming there are 4 or fewer students in class): Purple: Rectangular Tables Orange: Filing Cabinet Light blue: teacher desk Gray: Closet Yellow: Door Green: whiteboard on wall Red: Windows

c. The classroom arrangement may be changed for group work because myself and the other teacher (to be) in the class can split the students up. We would each take one of the rectangular tables and divide the students up based on levels. d. In my classroom, it will be difficult to keep things on the walls because it gets so cold that things easily fall of the walls. But, I will try to have an All Stars rack hanging on the wall for the students to hang up their jackets. I will also have some posters up so the room is a little more colorful. e. The students have available a full case of books (including a dictionary) as well as a laptop or an iPad (as long as I can schedule to have those resources on that day). This way, the students will be able to look up anything that they wish to. Students will also have manipulatives available to them for math instruction.

In order to monitor all parts of the classroom at all times, I will need to try to keep my back to the wall so that while I am working with my student, I can still see the other students in my classroom.

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4. Classroom Environment

a. Having a theme within the classroom can be beneficial, in some arrangements. My classroom in the Thomas Reynolds Center will have a sports theme. I will use the acronym TEAM, which means Together Everyone Achieves More. I will have my students call me Coach Auge. The students will be my All Stars. I will have a coat rack in the classroom that says All Stars. On one of the first days I have my students in my class, I will have them color their very own jerseys, in which I will hang on the door to my classroom. The two tables in my room will be where we huddle for instruction. On the wall where the students put their backpacks, I will have it labeled the bleachers. The daily schedule will be posted on the white board. This will be referred to as the daily line-up. If I have behavior problems, I will need to put in a policy. I will most likely refer to this one as three strikes and youre out. So far, these are all the ideas I have had. I am sure I will be adding to it as more ideas pop into my head.

b. A universal technique to manage classroom noise is the power of a whisper. When you have a radio in the classroom and the noise is getting to loud, turning the volume down and playing the students favorite song or a teacher beginning to whisper forces students to listen as they do want to know what is going on around them.

c. Visual distractions in classrooms are all around. Posters on walls, the light blinking on a phone can all be distractions. Major distractions are windows, whether they see to the outside or the hallway just out the door, mirrors, clocks (the ticking noise or watching it for time), and anything that moves without a person touching (things hanging on display and the air or heat is on). Other distractions in a classroom can come from the brightness of the lights or the

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combination of outside light and the lights on or off in the room, bulletin boards, the fire alarm (red) or pull stations nearby, and any teacher decorations.

d. Accommodating student preferences is very difficult because every student in the room will have a different preference on all things including lights, temperature, visual, auditory, etc. The best for lighting is turning one switch on while the second switch is off, only keeping on half the lights in the room. If the room is just too bright for a student, to the point it is hindering their learning or ability to focus, the teacher can allow the student to wear sunglasses with obvious expectations and understandings if the student uses the sunglasses improperly the privilege would be taken away. In regards to temperature, it is slightly more difficult to adapt to or for the teacher to have a quick fix. In that respect, it is usually that the student is cold and the teacher can send a note home or communicate with the parents asking if the child has a jacket or light sweater s/he can keep at school to put on whenever it is too cold. Auditory distractions can be handled with the larger, sound muffling headphones. Allowing all students to have a pair of headphones, making it a universal accommodation, to put on or take off whenever the student feels they are needed. Some visual distractions are just impossible to correct or fix for all students to be satisfied; although, a teacher can provide mini offices or scholastics privacy shields to allow students to create a small space around them feeling more comfortable to work. Being mindful of major distractions or over stimulating objects can be removed if necessary by the teacher. Observation of your students shows the teacher what is grabbing their attention more than you are most often. For student posture, during whole group instructional time sitting at the table or desks together is more beneficial for the students learning. At that table or desk a teacher may allow a student to use large physioballs or small seat cushion to aid posture.

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Concurrently, during independent work time or DEAR reading time or choice time students have the choice of their workspace. Giving students the choice to lay on the floor and having clipboards for them to work on, or sitting at the table to complete their work, or even sitting in a more comfortable beanbag chair would be acceptable. Incorporating movement into each day helps students hold focus, engagement, and get the wiggles out before instructional time. Using exercises, brain gym, body smarts, and music smarts students can refocus during transition times. In larger classrooms teachers can incorporate movement by holding some instructional lessons at the students desk while other lessons can partake on the carpet in the classroom. Something that happens much less than every day, but during appropriate lessons taking the students outdoors into nature and fresh air can do all of the above as well.

5. Classroom Schedule a. My schedule for the day will be that the students will arrive from school and eat snack. They then will start working on their homework. If homework is already completed, they will work on various activities in the classroom that promotes learning. After the hour block of homework is up, the students will have an hour of either ELA/Math instruction. Once this period of time is over, it is time for dismissal.

b. The schedule will be displayed at the front of the room so the students know what to expect.

c. To ensure that each activity begins when it is scheduled, I will be sure to be mindful of the clock in the classroom. Effective time management is key when in the teaching profession. I will also let my students know when there is 10 minutes left of homework time.

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d. In order to signal that a transition to another activity is about to occur, I will give my students a verbal prompt 5-10 minutes before it is time to transition. A verbal prompt will help students know that they only have a certain amount of time to finish up what they are doing before we move on to the next part of our daily routine.

e. As far as the schedule goes, for the first half of the after school program we will be concentrating on ELA instruction. For the second half of the after school program (JanuaryApril), we will be focusing on math instruction to help student gain a better understanding of materials that they can use in the classroom at their schools. f. I will collaborate with my fellow GAs to see if we want to do a monthly theme as a whole. If not, I will keep my sports theme for at least the first half of the after school program.

6. Classroom Rules

a. Creating classroom rules should be something that is done as a whole with students and teachers. Rules should be teacher directed and a teacher should have most of the rules that she wants outlined for the class, but when students partake or believe they are partaking in creation of the classroom rules they are more inclined to follow them.

b. Rules should be all positive, simple, commands with picture visuals. Including rules such as, speak positively about yourself and others, move without disturbing, use a quiet voice, hands to yourself, etc. When rules are simple and positive you are modeling and telling students what they should do and setting a good example, rather than constantly telling students what is inappropriate without demonstrating or stating the appropriate behavior you expect.

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c. Keeping rules simple, discussing them as a class, and including visuals are easy ways to ensure student understanding. Also, if the rules are more student-oriented and created by them, the students will understand them because it is the students voice and style. A teacher can write the rules in the classroom based on what the students said, they do not have to be written verbatim to what the teacher was thinking.

d. For the first couple weeks, rules should be reviewed every day multiple times a day. Once the school year gets into motion the teacher will have to make an informed decision based on the classes behavior how often rules must be reviewed. More specifically, for students with disabilities, rules are reviewed more often as students need more repetition than others. Reviewing rules before almost every instructional time is not uncommon.

e. Rules to students should be visual and posted on the wall or any location in the classroom readily available to the teacher and students. Administrators will be able to access and view a teachers classroom rules when walking into their classroom because the rules are posted in an open area. Parents can receive teachers expectations and rules for their student through a contract sent home with the student and/or a letter sent home informing parents. Creating a contract that the parents and student must sign holds an extra accountability piece to not only student understanding and involvement, but parent involvement and understanding as well.

7. Classroom Procedures a. In order to get the attention of my students, I can use one of two different ways. In reality, there are multiple ways that I can use, but I will start out with two different ones, to determine how effective they are. One way is to whisper. When a person hears someone whisper, it is natural that they will quiet down in order to hear what they are saying. A second

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way is a rhythmic clap in which I start the routine, and the students add the final two claps. Once I see that all the students are clapping, I will know that everyone is paying attention and I can move into what I needed to tell my students. b. Students can get my attention by raising their hand. In my opinion, this is one of the most effective ways to get a teachers attention. Something I could try to put into place in my classroom is a green, yellow, red card system. When students are working well, a green card will be the top card on their desk or table. When students need help, but can still work on other parts of an assignment, a yellow card will be the top card. If a student is stuck and cannot go any further without help, then the red card will be the top card on their desk. Throughout the after school program, I think it would be a good time to try this system, just to see how effective it is before I put it to use in the classroom in a school.

c. Lessons will start with an anticipatory set that will engage the students. Lessons will end with a ticket out the door. This way, the teacher can get immediate feedback about some part of her lesson.

d. Students will be grouped during group work either randomly, or by their level of ability. It will depend on the students in my classroom, and it will depend on the task itself.

e. Learning will be assessed in both formal and informal ways in the classroom. I will informally ask students to give me a thumbs up/down about whether or not they understand a certain part of the lesson that we had just covered. I could also used white boards during instruction. This would give me a great idea about what students know, and where students need to improve. Formally, I can grade students work in class, as well as give them some kind of

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assessment in which I am able to see how they are understanding different parts of lessons throughout the after school program.

f. The procedures for:

i. Arrival/greeting: The students will enter the room, place their belongings in the appropriate places. They can choose to get their homework out and start it, or wait patiently for snack time.

ii. Attendance: Students will place their Popsicle stick into their choice of three different cups. The three cups will portray different moods. This will tell me two things. One, that they are present on that day, and two what kind of day they have had prior to coming to the after school program.

iii. Absences: When students are absent I will put the work that they missed into a folder with their name on it. When students have free time, they will check their folders to see if there is anything in them to complete.

iv. Goal-setting: I believe it is important for both the teacher in the room, as well as the students to establish a goal every single day to strive for.

v. Bathrooms/drinks: If students need to use the bathroom, or want to get a drink, they will need to ask permission to leave the room.

vi. Sharpening Pencils: There are two separate cups in the classroom. One of them says sharpened pencils, and the other says unsharpened pencils. If a students

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pencil needs to be sharpened, they will exchange their dull pencil (by putting it into the unsharpened cup) with a sharpened one from the cup of sharpened pencils.

vii. Getting Supplies: If students need supplies, if they are not out on the desk in the classroom, they will raise their hand to ask for whatever they need. If they are out on the desk in the classroom, they may get up and quietly help themselves.

viii. Classroom Jobs: Classroom jobs will be posted in the classroom, and will switch on a daily basis.

ix: Homework Help: Students will come right into the classroom and begin their homework. If they need help, they can raise their hand and I will assist them.

x. Peer tutoring: Students can help each other with an assignment if they have a simple question about the process of how to complete a problem. If the peer is unable to help with the question, the student will raise their hand to ask the teacher.

xi. Sponge activities: Each student will have a folder with their names on it. These folders will have activities students may work on if they finish something early. This way, I can put work in these folders based on each students level of performance.

xii. Snack: Students will have snack when they first get to the after school program. They will be allowed to work on homework while they have their snack.

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xiii. Brain breaks: In between homework help and the lesson for the day, as a class we will do various brain gym activities to rejuvenate ourselves and gives our brains a quick break.

xiv. Ticket out the Door: Each day, students will be given a ticket out the door. This will be a question in which the students will write about something they learned that day, or something really good that happened that day. Students will need to write their name and date on the TOD.

xv. Departure: Students will need to make sure the area around them is clean, and their chair is pushed in before they leave the classroom for the day. Supplies will need to be back in place just as they were when they arrived to the classroom that day.

xvi. Parent Communication: One of the first days of the after school program, I will send a letter of introduction home to the parents. This way, I am hoping to establish a good rapports with the parents of my students in the after school program. In the letter, I will include an email address in which the parents could reach me if they have any questions. If I need to get a note to a parent, I will attach it to the students agenda.

xvii. Teacher Communication: In order to establish a good rapport with my students teachers, I will not hesitate to ask any questions, and I will try to keep a consistent flow of communication between us.

8. Behavior Management

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a. Encouraging and responding to positive students within your classroom using verbal praise can nonchalantly direct other students, not acting as appropriately, to strive for the same recognition and praise; ultimately changing behavior of the students off task to mock your students currently on task. b. As the saying goes, nipping it in the bud applies to negative behavior and what the teachers reaction should be. With students acting inappropriately the teacher needs to stop that behavior as quickly as possible or else it can snowball within the classroom affecting the students who were acting appropriately previously.

9. Empowerment

a. Employing involvement and choice in the classroom will naturally empower students to take risks and be confident within themselves. Another technique the teacher can implement is student/classroom jobs for students to feel important and needed by the teacher. As students feel needed and important in any situation, they begin to become more involved and serious about their learning.

b. To foster students empowering other students within the classroom, the teacher can implement cooperative learning, expert opportunities, jigsaws, and leadership opportunities to help build students confidence and self-esteem; indirectly affecting other students in the classroom to do the same.

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10. Reflection

a. The only way to determine the effectiveness of the classroom management plan, or anything the teacher uses within the classroom, is by implementing and then evaluating how well the strategy or plan is working with your current students.

b. About a month after beginning the classroom management plan, the teacher should step back and evaluate to ensure that it is working for all students within the classroom. During that first month, completing a tracking data collection can help the teacher determine effectiveness. An example of the tracking could be if the management plan using a color system, the teacher can take note of the ending color for each student every day; ultimately, having some chart in front of them showing if a particular student or group of students show a pattern in behavior. This can all help the teacher reflect on if s/he needs to change the management plan.