Ashley Miller EDE 200

First Grade Classroom- Old

Bridge, NJ
Teaching SubjectsReading, Writing, Math,
Science, Social Studies
Suburban Community
Diverse Population of
Students- (Caucasian,
African American, Asian,
Indian, etc.)

I chose to organize my classroom in this way for a

myriad of reasons. With this setup, children have
the opportunity to interact with their peers
academically and socially in different
environments. There is also ample amount of
space for me to be able to work my way through
the tables to scaffold student learning. (Social
Contact)
The room is also organized by content areas. The
classroom library is near reading and writing
materials, while the math manipulatives are kept
all together. Materials are all accessible (Task
Instrumentality)
Everything in the room has an appropriate spot.
My goal is to have my students become familiar
with where these things go.
Lastly, the room is filled with a variety of colors,
textures, different bulletin board displays, etc. It
is visually welcoming to the students. (Pleasure)

Steeles Framework:
-

Social Contact : designed with student

interaction in mind
- Pleasure: Bright, colorful welcoming
design
- Task Instrumentality: Things placed in
specific area. Organized by content.

 Combination of teacher and student

generated rules. Students will feel more
responsible for the rules if they help create
them. They will also sign their name to the
rules we created in order to have them feel
involved.
We will discuss the rules on the carpet as I
create a teacher-generated rule chart.
We will develop these rules in a positive
language and post them in a prominent spot
of the room where the students can easily
access it.
To prevent confusion, we will develop 4-6
class rules for the students to become
familiar with.

1. Arriving to class in the morning (Movement): When

students arrive to class, they will know exactly what to do by
reviewing routines. They will enter the room calmly,
immediately unpack their things and take out their notebooks
to copy down their homework for the night. After completing
this task, they will take attendance and get started on
independent reading.
2. Exiting the class as a whole (Movement): Students will
line up at the door when told to do so quietly and respectfully.
The line leader will take the front of the line and the caboose
will take the end. The students will move through stopping
points in the hall as I direct them to do so.
3. Getting & Returning Supplies (Movement): After
becoming comfortable with this routine from practice,
students will know that they can get up when needed to
receive supplies. Everything will have a labeled place and
students will know where to return them when they have
finished using them.
4. Distributing Papers/Materials (General): As part of our
class jobs, there will be a paper collector and distributor.
Students will know where materials belong and how to use
them after I model this routine for them.

5. Bathroom (General): Students will sign their name on the

bathroom clipboard before using the rest room. They can go to the
bathroom when they please, as long as they take themselves away from
the lesson quietly and respectfully. They will flip the sign on the
bathroom door to STOP, so students know they are in there.
6. Attendance (General): As a class, students will know that taking
attendance is one of the first things they do during the day. Their job is to
move their labeled popsicle stick to the Present section of the board so
the attendance helper can clearly tell who is absent and present for the
day.
7. What to do when an assignment is completed (LessonRunning): Unless they are told otherwise, students will use the time
they have after a completed assignment to read independently at their
desks. This will keep them focused, on task, and engaged in quality
literature.
8. What to bring to different lessons (Lesson-Running): As a
class, we will review the routine for bringing materials to lessons. For
each subject, students will have their own packet of materials they may
need. For example, for language arts their packet may include their
reading books, a pencil, post it notes, a book mark, highlighter, etc. Since
they are young, I will remind students of what to bring to the rug with
them for lessons.

1. I will demonstrate a willingness to help with school

work. I plan to let my students know that they can
come to me for academic support whenever they
need it. I will explain policies for meeting with me
after school, at lunch, or during recess for extra
help. By demonstrating my willingness to help them
succeed, I will be helping to model how much I
care.
2. I also plan to provide personal support to students.
I want them to know that they can come to me to
talk about anything and I will do whatever I can to
help them solve a situation. I will have a slip that
they can fill out and place in a bin on my desk to
make an appointment to chat with me.
3. My main goal will be to treat all students fairly. I
will be modeling respect and care while teaching
and in general discussions with students. I will
smile, greet all students at the door, and be fair to
all.

1. I plan to use community building activities in my

classroom to help students get to know one
another and feel comfortable in our environment. I
believe it is important to connect with my students
in this way before jumping into academics. I will
use Get To Know You (class chips, M&M activity)
and Team Building (Human Knot, Birthday Line
Up) activities all year long.
2. I also want to develop positive interactions among
my students. I will give students the chance to
work in different groups with different students
weekly in order to have them become more
comfortable with their classmates.
3. Lastly, I will have students take on different class
jobs. These tasks will help students feel a part of
the class community and will leave them with a
sense of responsibility. These jobs will rotate
weekly so the students can continuously try new
things.

1. As a teacher, I will make all interactions (especially

the first one) positive with my students parents.
Whether it be a phone call, email or conference, I
will be using positive language and discussing a
positive trait about the child with the parent to let
them know I truly care about their child.
2. I will also send home a welcome letter at the
beginning of the school year to parents. In this
letter, I will introduce myself and explain how
excited I am to meet the parents and children in my
class. This will let the parents know that I am
enthusiastic and will reassure them about sending
their child off to a new class.
3. Lastly, I plan on inviting parents to join in on class
events and activities. Whether it be a class party,
talent show, book club or something else- I will let
parents know that they are always welcome to join
us!

My plan is to deal with minor misbehavior

appropriately in my classroom. I will work to prevent
misbehavior by implementing and becoming
successful in classroom management. I will work to
become withit and aware of what is going on in my
class at all times. I will also try my best to multitask
and use overlapping.

When situations of minor misbehavior arise, I will

deal with them with both verbal and non verbal cues.
For non verbal cues, I will use proximity when my
students are working to help them stay on track. For
verbal cues, I will use positive teacher language and
say the students name to help draw them back in to
the lesson taking place.

To deal with more serious misbehavior, I will

plan consequences that are related to the
misbehavior taking place. Since consequences
dont need to be severe to be effective for
children, I will make sure that my
consequences are respectful, appropriate, and
related to what the child did to earn this
consequence.
For example, if a child chooses to not focus or
complete their class work because they were
talking with a peer, they can make up this work
during their recess time.

To deal with chronic or persistent misbehavior, I will use

the Ecosystem Approach in my classroom. This plan of
action will help challenge my thinking and make something
negative a little more positive.

I will
1. Recognize my interpretation of the misbehavior.
2. Develop an alternate positive interpretation of it.
3. Act in a way that is relevant to the positive view.
Example:
If a student in my class is chronically calling out during my
lessons instead of raising his/her hand, I may view this as
him/her constantly trying to seek attention (negative). With
my new interpretation, I can view this action as him/her
being so excited to participate that they cant hold in their
answer and must call it out.