Classroom Management Plan

WELCOME TO MISS BRIGHTWELLS

7TH GRADE CLASS

Part
One:
Classroom

Organization
Physical
For

my classroom

design, I

chose to begin

by thinking about how I would like to set up the students seating. I chose
tables because I think it makes the room the most conducive for group work

Classroom Management Plan

and collective thinking. The tables, or groups of desks, would be towards the
front of the room so that student can have a good view of the white board
which will be in the front of the classroom. Additionally, I would change
seating arrangements at least monthly or depending on classroom
management necessities.
In the classroom, I would also have several shelves dedicated to books
around the classroom to encourage literacy. There would be a specific
literacy nook that would be a privilege for the students to use. You could earn
time in the nook and some students could use it during our free reading or
structured reading time. Furthermore, I would have a kidney desk set up in
the back of the room for group meetings and reading group. I can store
materials behind this desk for activities and lessons.
Additionally, there would be several bulletin boards in the classroom
dedicated to different subjects. These would be interactive and engaging
bulletin boards for the students to learn from. Some would display classroom
management practices such as positive reinforcement encouragers while
others would be concerned with specific topics relating to coursework.
Overall, my classroom set up is designed to encourage group thinking
and a welcome and understanding classroom environment. The goal of my
classroom will be encouraging positive and reflective learning through a
variety of instruction and management practices.
Operational

Classroom Management Plan

One important aspect of record keeping that I would like to employ in
my future classroom is system of student grade books. In addition to the
online and paper grade book that I will be keeping as a teacher, I would also
require students to keep a grade book of their own progress. We would take
one day a week to record papers that were handed back. In these books,
they will have a graph to visually represent their progress on a certain
learning goal. The grade book would be organized by standard so that
students measure their progress in the same way that I will assess if they are
meeting the targets of the class.
The goal of this is to begin to hold students more accountable for their
own learning. They will have concrete evidence of their progress. We will
have monthly meetings over their progress where they will have to discuss
strengths and weaknesses that they see in their grade book. I would make
sure that students know this is for their own benefit and the meetings are for
me to see how I can best help them in areas that they are struggling and
provide additional challenges for areas they are excelling in. Students would
have this time to tell me what they need. In this way, they are in charge of
the meeting and gain even more responsibility over their learning.
Furthermore, students will design their own portfolio in which they
display their favorite work. This will be used in parent teacher meetings, but
student will also have an area in the room where they can choose to display
work they are exceptionally proud of. In this area will be authors of the week
and other works that will always be highlighted. This will hopefully allow

Classroom Management Plan

students to see themselves as authors and artists. This is meant to be a
space that students feel comfortable sharing, so I will heavily monitor it for
respectful behavior to keep students feeling safe.
The overall goal is to get students to use the classroom as a space for
their own learning. They should feel in control of their learning, which should
assist in the classroom management as students are continually pushed to
monitor themselves.
Part II: Disciplinary Policies and Professional Ethics
Before school even begins, I want to call each parent as a get to know
you and gauge the level of involvement I can expect during the school year.
This should also demonstrate to the students and parents that I expect open
communication throughout the year. My goal would be to keep parents
updated on both the good and bad in my classroom.
The first several days of my classroom will be heavily dedicated to
teaching students my expectations and procedures for the classroom. Even
though they are seventh graders, I cannot expect that they know my
expectations, so I will spend specific time dedicated to teaching them what I
expect. We will practice coming into my classroom, grabbing their work and
beginning the classroom in a respectful manner. I will make it clear that I do
not expect them to come in completely silent, but for the first several weeks,
I will have a quote or prompt up on the board that they will have to discuss
as they come in. Once class begins, they will have to share out what one
other person said about the prompt. This holds them accountable and gives

Classroom Management Plan

them time to continue chatting while getting their brains ready for the task
at hand.
Group work will be a large tenant of my lessons for several reasons.
The first being that it encourages open mindedness and communication
skills. It also encourages the type of classroom environment in which
students are expected to be respectful of each other despite differences.
Additionally, as students are not just accountable to me for their ideas, but
rather are also accountable to the rest of their group, inattentiveness to the
subject at hand should diminish. Jigsaw activities will be heavily employed,
as students will be expected to teach others the content they just learned.
This will challenge the high students and help the lower students, as there is
an additional scaffold for their learning if they do not understand.
By clearly setting up these procedures and expectations, I hope to
diminish the classroom management problems occurring in the classroom. I
will also use proximity, student involvement in instruction, and a positive
behavior model to further my classroom management plan. I am not a
teacher that likes to stay at the board and lecture. I am constantly moving
around the room to monitor students progress as well as deal with
classroom disruptions. I will use a tap on the desk to get students to focus as
well as asking them to be involved in the lesson through passing out papers
or writing on the board. I have found that even with my most reluctant
students, redirecting their behaviors to positive and helpful actions will get
them back on task.

Classroom Management Plan

Furthermore, I will never redirect or reprimand students without telling
them why they need to change their behavior. I cannot expect that students
are aware of why they need redirection so the explanation for why must
always be part of my plan.
For larger issues, student conferences and parent involvement will be
implemented. Students will always have a say in their behavior management
plan and will be tasked with how they believe they should be reprimanded if
they cannot follow their behavioral plan. These meetings should take place
with other teachers from their instructional team and ideally involve parents
and administrators. This is not to say that individual meetings between
teacher and student cannot occur, but they should occur with others present.
Contact home will be frequent and usually occur in the form of an
email, but can also be in letterform to highlight outstanding behavior. I will
send home both positive emails and emails that contain the challenges I saw
from the student that day or week. While I do believe students should
become responsible for their own learning, at this age parent involvement is
key in the implementation of a successful behavioral plan. If parent
involvement is unattainable, I will try to find other adults present in the
students life to show that 1) he/she is accountable to others and 2) others
care about his/her success. Open communication between the student,
parent, and instructional team is key.

Classroom Management Plan

My main goal is to always encourage is positive and reflective
environment whenever and wherever I am. I will always try to uphold this
goal in whatever I choose to be involved in.
Part III: Classroom Procedures and Routines (see attached power
point for overview)
One of the main things I will want to instill in my students is personal
responsibility. With this being said, I will give students opportunities to set up
some of their own classroom procedures. They can have the choice to decide
how to pick up papers and begin work as well as cues we will use to
transition.
Some ground rules that I will employ is that students may not ask to go
to the bathroom during direct instruction time. They must be in the
classroom for the first fifteen minutes of class to hear agenda. After that, if
we are having independent work, they may request to go to the bathroom or
other needs. They must sign out and take a pass and only one student may
be out of the classroom at one time. Additionally, all electronics need to be
placed in my electronic daycare bucket before they leave. This will ensure
that students are not leaving to text or just walk around.
In the first few days of school, I will require students to check out a free
read book. They will have complete freedom to choose their book, but they
will have to record what book. Students are required to have a book
everyday in class. I want to make sure students are given time for free read
so that they are able to see reading as more than just a chore. Twice a week,

Classroom Management Plan

we will have time for free read. This time will be sacred and not time for
additional work to be done. I think encouraging literacy values is just as
important as direct instruction of content.
One aspect of classroom procedures that is very important in our 21st
century classrooms in technology. From the very first day in class, I want to
teach students the purpose of technology in my classroom. We will often get
time to use technology for educational purposes. Students will also be able
to listen to music during free time. By setting up clear expectations for
technology use and giving students and outlet to use their technology, I hope
to eliminate some of the issues with technology.
Conclusion
The overall goal of my classroom is to encourage an environment that
celebrates difference in a positive way to encourage culturally relevant
learners. The overall classroom design and classroom set up employs
strategies to make students accountable to themselves and their peers.
Students should feel very safe in this environment and that will be one of my
main goals.