4TH

GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

Ellie Jansen
EDUC 370 Classroom Management
Dr. Hawk

4th Grade Classroom Management Model

Classroom management is an essential skill to becoming an effective teacher. When

a teacher properly manages their classroom they are allowing for a positive environment
focused on learning. It is important for the teacher to govern student behavior so that they
can provide a safe, comfortable classroom environment and maximize the opportunities for
student learning. There are many theories and ideas that have proven to be valuable about
how to become a positive and encouraging classroom manager. The way that I plan to
maintain and establish a well-managed classroom has a piece from many different
theorists, as well as my personal opinion.

Behavior management attempts to guide and motivate individuals to change their

actions or interactions in certain settings (Ward, 2013, n.d.). Schools, classroom, and
teachers would be chaotic without behavior management it is a necessity. The seven
hours that children are in the school during the day is not meant to be all about rules and
discipline. As Harry Wong would say, you either win or lose your students in the first days
of school (Jansen, 2014, n.p.). This is the time that teachers should spend on laying down
the rules for behavior and what is expected from them for the rest of the year. Behavior
management is so important because if the teacher can correctly communicate to the
students what they expect, then there is more time for successful, uninterrupted, positive
learning in the classroom. If the students are all focused on what is being taught and now

4TH GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

on a student that is goofing off and not following the rules, they are more likely to
understand the information and need less re-explaining later. Also, if the teacher doesnt
have to keep interrupting the students and get them back on track from a behavioral
problem, there is more time for successful learning. Lastly, if there are no behavioral
problems for the teacher to worry about then it gives them the opportunity to be cheerful
and happy to their class about learning and in turn gives the students a positive experience.
If the students are misbehaving and being yelled at or punished in the school, they may
begin to associate school with the negative experiences they have.

It must be a combined effort from the school system, parents, and teachers for

classroom and behavior management to be successful. The school should be providing a

safe and positive environment for its students and create a place where the student wants
to be and are not just forced to go. Friendly staff, decorative hallways, school bonding
activities and many other things can contribute to a student feeling happy and safe in a
school. The families of the students also play a large role in classroom and behavior
management. Caregivers and teachers need to work together to get the best out of the
student academically and behaviorally. Caregivers should have to sign off on their students
grades and behavior that a teacher sends home so that they are aware of what is happening
at school. The hope is that if the caregiver sees that the student is misbehaving or getting
bad grades, they become proactive and try to help the student be and do better by working
on things at home. Lastly, the teacher is an obvious influence on how the student acts in the
classroom. The teacher is there to educate students not discipline them, although
unfortunately there will always be students that need to be disciplined. Preventing these

4TH GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

behavioral problems through classroom management is key for the educator. If the school
system, families, and teacher all work together, the students are likely to have a successful
and positive school experience.

As a future teacher, I would love to be able to work with the school I am working at

as well as the students families because of the positive effect I believe it will have, although
I do realize this wont always happen. If I were able to create the perfect classroom and
group of students I would prefer them to be more active because then they have more
energy to put toward their work, they are more engaged, willing to participate, and have
more personality. I would rather have to be assertive the first week to establish how the
classroom will be run for the year to more active students then have to always try and
engage and wake up students that have no desire to do anything. I also believe that when
students have more energy they generate more thoughts about what is going on.

As well have having students that are active I would also prefer them to be a little

farther behind in learning. I have found that students who are the slower learners in the
grade tend to know that they are behind and are more willing to accept it and seek help. I
have also found that they want to learn the information where students that are ahead
know it and can get too confident in their work and move through it faster and therefore
make small mistakes. Even though this is just what I have experienced so far doesnt mean
it is necessarily true, but I do like the challenge of working with students that need help
and not teaching students who will understand instantly and need no further attention

4TH GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

from the teacher. I can also relate to these students who need extra help because that is
how I was when I was in elementary school.

Working with the school and families, and having students that are active and

struggling are only things that I prefer in a classroom, but there are some things that I need
as a teacher in order to stay sane and be as successful as I can. One thing I will need is a
classroom that shows respect for myself, my belongings, and one another. Respect is such
an important trait to learn and practice and I cannot imagine functioning around students
that dont have any sense of respect. I will also need to have a class that gets quiet when I
give them a certain signal. I understand students get rowdy and loud sometimes but I need
to be able to have control to get them quiet again so that I can speak. This also is part of
respect for the teacher.

In order to have successful classroom management there need to be rules or

guidelines that the class is expected to follow. For my future classroom I will make up the
procedures with the students on the first day of school. In order to make sure that the
students not only dont forget them but also implement them, we will practice them
through skits during the first week or two. If I see that the students are starting to forget
some procedures during the year we will start reviewing and practicing them again. As
Fred Jones suggests in his theory of Positive Discipline, the teacher should also model the
ideal behavior (Hughes, 2014, n.p.). In order to have a smooth running classroom there
will be procedures that the students follow for lining up, getting materials, leaving the
room, asking questions, and being quiet to get their attention. As far as rules go, possible

4TH GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

ideas that I would suggest to my students to see if they agree with would be show respect,
have a positive attitude, raise your hand to speak, listen when others are talking, come
prepared, and to always give 100% effort.

An essential part of good classroom and behavioral management is being able to

prevent misbehavior, promote positive behavior choices, and create a caring climate. A
strategy to prevent misbehavior is to plan an interesting lesson that includes everyone so
that students are not bored. When there is a continuous flow of activities with no
unexpected free time, the students are more likely to stay on task and not misbehave.
Another way to prevent misbehavior is to have many class games and activities in the
beginning of the year so that students learn about one another and are more likely to
become and stay friends through the year. Also, students should be made aware of the
procedures and the class assignments so that they have no excuse if they disobey them.
When there are fewer behavioral issues in the classroom there is more room for
meaningful instruction time.

In order to promote positive behavior choices in the classroom I plan on having a

behavior chart that will be posted on a bulletin board in the classroom. The chart will be
vertical with these labels from top to bottom: outstanding, great job, good day, ready to
learn, think about it, teachers choice, parent contact. All students will start at ready to
learn each day and their names can either move up or down depending on their actions
throughout the day. If students make it to outstanding, they can choose out of a prize box.
Another idea is to group tables and do a behavior incentive through their group. If all the

4TH GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

students have good behavior at a certain table one day, the whole table can get a point and
work up to picking from a prize box. In this situation, the students are encouraging one
another to behave positively. Scott and Kyle Kagan believe that working in teams is helpful
in building relationships among the students in the classroom (Pence, 2014, n.p.).

To create a caring peaceable climate, I will let the students know the very first day

and many days after that I believe in them. I am also going to continuously remind them
that I have high standards for them and expect them to succeed. During the first day of
school I will take them on a tour around the classroom so that they are familiar with where
everything is so set a sense of security in them. I will also give the students their own hook,
cubby, or basket where all their things can go so that they feel like they have a part of the
classroom that is their own. I also think it would be a good idea to have a Good Grades
bulletin board where students that get As or Bs can hang up their work for others to see.
Students should feel proud of what they do. I also plan to put up students artwork in and
out of the classroom to let them know that I am too proud of them and what they do.

Despite my best efforts above, this is how I will react when things dont go as

planned and there is misbehavior in the classroom. Students will forget the rules, their
impulses will win over their self-control, or they will just need to test where the limits are. I
will begin by giving the student a visual cue. Body language is very effective with students
because it gets the point across and doesnt disrupt class. If this doesnt work and they
continue to misbehave, they will move their name down on the behavior chart. Lastly I will
result to verbal cues where I get close to them, tell them what they are doing wrong and

4TH GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

what they should be doing instead. If anything gets out of control there will be a parent
conference or the principal will get involved.

In conclusion, there are many things that contribute to behavior and classroom

management. Although there are many different theories about management, I have my
own beliefs about how I want to manage my classroom one day. I do realize that my
classroom probably will not be the way I prefer but I am willing to be adjustable and plan
for things as they arise. I feel very passionate about being an educator and I am equally
passionate about creating a cohesive, respectful, and positive learning environment for my
students. I believe that by using classroom management techniques that I have researched
and observed as well as following my classroom beliefs, I will be able to teach my students
to be the best that they can be academically as well as personably.

4TH GRADE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT MODEL

References

Hughes, K. (April 2014). Fred Jones: Positive Classroom Discipline. Poster presented to

EDUC 370: Classroom Management, Bridgewater College.

Jansen, C.E. (April 2014). Harry Wong: First Days of School. Visual presented to EDUC 370:

Classroom Management, Bridgewater College.

Pence, E. (April 2014). Kyle and Scott Kagan: Cooperative Learning. Poster presented to

EDUC 370: Classroom Management, Bridgewater College.

Ward, S. (2013) What is Behavior Management? Livestrong. Web.