Ms.

Englands Classroom Management Plan 1st of many editions December 2013

My Classroom Management Plan is organized in the following sections: Preventative Techniques Supportive Techniques Intervention Techniques Procedures Communication with Parents/Guardians

Preventative Techniques
Preventative classroom management is proactive. It stops the problems before they even have a chance to start. Classroom management difficulties will be minimized if preventative strategies are put in place immediately. Procedures o Consistent procedures are our number one preventative technique. (see page 8) Building Community o MORNING MEETING: Morning meeting is a communitybuilding activity that we do every morning after self-start. The purpose of Morning Meeting is to build community, reestablish a safe environment, encourage inclusion, unify us

as a class, and insure students know what to expect from that day. Lead by that days line leader, the outline of a typical morning meeting will include variations of the following: Choosing of Line Leader Pledge of Allegiance Schedule and Announcements (such as birthdays, assemblies, schedule) Warm-up Exercises (the brain dance, yoga, Pilates, stretching and moving, etc.) Musical Beginnings (meditation to soft music, singing together with the guitar, dancing to a certain song or theme, playing with chimes, or creating our own quiet beat on our desks) o CLASS JOBS: Class jobs will be a regular thing in my classroom. Sharing responsibility will give students ownership and involvement in the classroom. Additionally, it spreads out the work. The jobs in my classroom will be titled: Line Leader, Paper Passer, Zoo Keeper, Secretary, Energy Monitor, Historian, and Inspector. The Line Leader will be chosen at the beginning of the day by pulling sticks. Yesterdays Line Leader will choose the leader for that day. This is the only job that rotates daily. The rest are chosen on a weekly basis. The Line Leader is responsible for leading the line, choosing people to be called on (if the need arise), beginning Morning Meeting, and take any other responsibilities that may arise in a particular day. The Paper Passer will be responsible to passing out papers.

The Zoo Keeper will have the responsibility of taking care of the class pet. I hope to have one if possible. This may be a turtle, fish, hamster, snake, hermit crab, or Bonsai Tree - something small and easy to care for.

The Secretary will be in charge of taking attendance (if that is possible at my particular school) and recording if students are prepared with their homework in the mornings.

The Energy Monitor will be responsible for turning of the lights when we leave the room. The Historian is will be in charge of recording one memorable moment from that day. This can be something they learned, something funny that happened, a memorable classroom or recess moment something memorable to them. They will also be able to take ONE picture of class activities with the classroom camera. At the end of the year we will have a book of memories!

The Inspector will be in charge of making sure the room is spotless before we are excused for the day. The inspector does not do the cleaning himself, but does the final check as we are standing by our desks. No one leaves until the floor, desks, library, and workspaces are clean from the day. (Spending hours cleaning after the kids leave isnt my job.)

o COMMUNITY COUNCIL: Community Council will be held every Friday for approximately 40 minutes. It will be a time to discuss the week and any conflicts that may have risen in the classroom or on the playground. It will also be a specific time set aside for team building. I will lead Community Council for the first half of the year. After

the first half of the year and as the class is capable, students will take turns leading Community Council and taking down minutes in the Community Council Binder. The first 20 minutes will be dedicated to discussion, and the last 20 minutes to a team building activity. o TEAM BUILDING: As we have reviewed repeatedly throughout our practicum semester, team building = safe environment = taking risks = learning! Team building activities will play a big part in my classroom. I want to see a team building activity, even very simple, done each Friday during Community Council. I will draw my ideas from media resources, the internet, and the Theories of Classroom Management class page. Eventually, I would like to have a file drawer of teambuilding activities in gallon-Ziplock bags that the students can pick from, so that there is minimal prep work on my part and more ownership for the kids. Three of examples are listed here to start off the year: Balloon Pop: On a small piece of paper, each student writes one thing they did during the summer (or any other question or answer). They then insert that little paper into a balloon, blow up the balloon, and tie it shut. In a circle, the class has a balloon toss. The students grab a balloon other than theirs, pop them, and share the contents. We can then guess who wrote it! Or use questions as a stem for discussion. Spider Web: The task is to toss the yarn back and forth to each class member as we are seated in a circle. When thrown the ball of yarn, the student

must answer a certain question or choose someone to compliment. They then throw the ball of yarn to them, holding on to a piece before they let it go. As the yarn is passed around, it will form a spiders web. The class can get to know each other and feel more connected and tied together with the yarn. Paper chain: Each student is given two paper strips. On those strips they write their name, something about them, or even an opinion on a given issue. The class shares these things and staples them together to make a paper chain displayed in the room. Reflection: What can the paper chain represent? Engagement Principles o ENGAGEMENT IS KEY WHEN TEACHING: There must be a way to draw in your students or you will not see the results you want. Some of the engagement principles that will be used in my classroom management and teaching are listed below. Choice: Giving students choice will elevate their engagement as they feel they chose their own activity. Collaboration: Working together socially is not only engaging but also a very important skill to learn at an early age. Interesting Texts: In order to help students engage with what they are reading and use reading as a way to learn, interesting and relevant texts must be available. These texts can be narrative or informational, and can be kept in the classroom or found in the school library. I hope to gather my own library of interesting texts as my teaching career progresses.

Multiple Intelligences: In order to best teach my class, the various teaching strategies I use are geared toward different learning modalities. Visual and hands-on, kinesthetic, auditory and discussion, oral presentation, musical, as well as extrovert- and introvert-based activities are all used in my classroom.

Involvement and responsibility: Classroom jobs help students to feel important, needed, and responsible for something outside themselves.

Family Engagement: I included family engagement because as students see the involvement of their families, school becomes a more integral part of their lives. Also, parental awareness of school activities and goals adds a very need platform in student success. I will engage families through literacy bags (developed gradually as my teaching experience increases), class newsletters (written by students), requiring signatures on planners and reading logs, and bringing parents in to help and teach in the classroom.

o From my experience as a student, learner, and teacher, I have learned that engagement is absolutely KEY! Without engagement, there is little motivation and learning declines. I hope to help my students become active and engaged learners through the above techniques, as well as building strong relationships with them, fostering a mindset of growth, reinforcing and encouraging students efforts to motivate themselves, share learning goals, and encouraging students to self-evaluate their work. (Wilson, 2013) Classroom Rules o There are various structures for classroom rules, and each teacher has their own plan. I know of two sets of posted rules that I could see myself implementing in my future classroom.

I think choosing either of them would depend on the specific environment. The two possibilities are listed here: 1. Am I doing my best? Am I helping and including everyone? Is it safe? These three questions can be applied to all situations and decisions a student makes. Am I doing my best when I follow my teachers directions? Am I helping and including everyone while working at this literacy center? Is this activity safe for me and for my friends? 2. Be Responsible. This covers all bases. Responsible people do their work. Responsible people consider the feelings of others. Responsible people take care of themselves. Responsible people know that following directions is respectful to yourself and your teacher. Classroom Arrangement o STUDENT DESKS: Student desks will be arranged in small clusters of 4-5 desks. All desk clusters will be located on the outside of the room, allowing for a large circle in the middle of the room. This circle will be where the majority of instruction will take place. The center circle can be formed by bringing in individual chairs or by sitting on the floor in a circular formation. o THEATER SEATING: Theater seating will be used when instruction warrants it. In the center of the room where the circle is typically, students will arrange their chairs into rows facing the board, with one isle in the middle. o MY DESK: My desk will be located wherever appropriate for the floor plan, but preferably will be near the front of the

room with the overhead camera, projector remotes, and media speakers. I hope to make my desk something of small consequence in the room. o CLASS LIBRARY AND READING AREA: There will be a class library and reading area in one of the corners of the room, preferably near the window. If an alcove of any kind is available, our Library will go there. This will be a comfortable space with rugs, pillows, occasional stuffed animals, and many books (as soon as I have gathered enough to call my own). It is important to me that this be a welcoming and desirable area of the room. Getting To Know My Students o MONTHLY FEEDBACK INTERVIEWS (or FIs): Each of my students will be required to have a monthly FI with me. A clipboard will be hung at the beginning of each month with available times (all will be during morning or afternoon recesses) and students can choose when they would like to attend their 10-minute FI. The purpose of this interview is to give both the student and myself a chance to stay accountable, and bring up any concerns, successes, desires, etc. We will go over some work they have done within the last month, give suggestions, and provide feedback. My primary goals will be to get a sense for how they are feeling in the class, take a moment to get to know them better, create a safe and accountable environment, and give feedback on their work. Perhaps I will share a quote or story with each student. The formality of the interviews will vary month to month. FIs do not replace other interactions I will have with students on an as-needed basis, but will keep kids accountable, as well as aware that I have a personal investment in their education. For older grades, I will

conduct the first meeting with each student, but they will be expected to be in charge in future meetings. o GETTING-TO-KNOW-MY-STUDENTS RECORD: I will keep ongoing notes about my students. This will be done on the computer under a file-system. Notes taken in my small classroom notebook will be recorded after excusal each day.

Supportive Techniques
Supportive classroom management techniques support the strength that has already been built by preventative strategies. These techniques may involve addressing, resolving, and correcting inappropriate behavior, but does to interfere too much with regular classroom procedures. ROOM CIRCULATION o As needed, I will circulate the room as students are working on individual and partner work. The particulars of the assignment dictate the level of attention each student, partnership, or group needs. TIMER o A timer will often be displayed while students are working so they know how much time they have to work. I will need to keep in mind that some students are paralyzed when under the pressure of a timer. It is my hope that I will take note of those students and practice with them as appropriate. Ms. England! Im done! TASKS FOR EARLY FINISHERS o I will make it a routine that when students are done with an assignment or activity they work on homework or have silent reading time. Their chosen activity must be a quiet one. o I will consider the idea of an Early Finisher Station as the need arises. I do choose to implement this station, it will

house quiet activities such as puzzles, crosswords, word searches, observations, etc. CHORAL SPEAKING o In an effort to avoid repeating myself over and over and over, I will use choral speaking as a technique to help students mentally solidify directions. After I have explained the instructions for an assignment, I will either call on a student at random to tell me what we are doing next, or I will ask the class to repeat together the directions for an assignment. COMMUNITY COUNCIL (see Building Community section under Preventative Techniques) o Community Council is also a supportive technique. It not only preventatively helps establish a safe environment and teach conflict-management skills, but supports the class efforts to maintain that safety, peace, and order. BODY LANGUAGE (Charles, 2014) o As a teacher, my body language will show my students that I am serious about learning and that I mean business. Students need to believe what I say. The body language I use will help my students stay on task and respect the environment I have established. o Fred Jones empathetically reminds us that we cannot discipline with our mouths - that if we could, nagging would have fixed every kid a million years ago. (Charles, 2014) o In my class, I want to use my eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, and physical proximity to communicate and nonverbally reinforce my expectations.

Intervention Techniques

Intervention classroom management techniques are put in place if a behavior or action is still a problem after preventative and supportive methods have been used. Conflict Resolution o ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS: Teachers often have one-on-one conversations with students when those students are having difficulty keeping the class rules or behaving appropriately. I am an advocate for those personal discussions. These should be done preventatively and supportively as well, but are recorded here as an intervention strategy. When having a conversation with a student about their behavior, and when arranging consequences, it is important to keep in mind the students motivation for the behavior (attention, escape, boredom, etc). If we are aware of the motivation, we can more informatively dictate our response. o LIFE-SKILLS LEARNING FORM: If a student has been asked repeatedly to perform a task, has been consistently inconsiderate to other students, habitually behaved in an inappropriate way, or if a stiff argument has taken place, they will be asked to complete a Life-Skills Learning form. This form will address: What happened? How did I respond? What could I have changed? What will I change for next time? What life skills did I learn from this activity? )Life skills will be listed and continually reviewed.) o COMMUNITY COUNCILS AS NEEDED: Emergency Community Councils can be held when it is necessary to intervene after

or during significant disagreements or inappropriate behavior in class. Consequences o Consequences must be consistent and immediate. Often they must also be personal. o TIME AWAY (similar to the typical time-out) Time Away will be assigned when student have consistently violated class rules or directions. Time Away can include exclusion from a current desired class activity or short-term removal from a lesson. Students must understand that I have a right to teach and they have a right to learn. If actions disrupt that, they may be asked to leave or not participate. When assigning time away in response to a behavior, I will keep in mind student motivation for the behavior. If they are acting up because they are seeking escape or pressure release, then I must reconsider removing them from the activity. Doing so would simply give them what they wanted to get out of it. o PHONE CALLS HOME: It is very important to keep a flow of communication with parents. I will do this mainly through email and phone calls. It is extremely important to keep parents on your side so that you can work together on a plan if one needs to put into place. (see Communication with Parents/Guardians heading) If a student continues to be a disruption or continues to defy any authority after consistent reminders, the student themselves will make a phone call home to their parents. In this call, students will address the issue and explain what they will do to fix their own problem (that may include what they have agreed upon with me).

I will be sure to let parents know of my plans so they can support and follow through as appropriate. Parents and I can develop a plan together if applicable.

Contracts o If certain behaviors continue after consistent reminders, Time Away, and phone calls have been made to parents, contracts will be written up between the student, me, and their parents. These contracts will include the behavior, the reasoning behind it, the students plan to change, and how parents and teacher will support it. These contracts can be made for simply a week, or designed for several weeks at time. At the end of the contract, results and change will be evaluated.

Procedures
Effective teachers have invisible procedures. Observers in the classroom dont see them, but they know they exist. That is why effective teachers classrooms run so smoothly. Wong and Wong (2009) We will spend the first week of school working on our procedures! We will go over every procedure, every day, during the first week of school. Without procedures, students will misbehave simply because there is not enough structure for them to follow. Procedures are the track the teaching train! Teaching Procedures o CALLING ON STUDENTS Drawing Sticks On the first day of school, students will write their name on a craft stick. Each craft stick will

placed in a mug and I will often use these sticks as a way to assign partners, to choose students in the Popcorn reading technique, and call on students are random. SmartBoard Applications There are many SmartBoard applications designed to mix up and randomly select students names. o ASSIGNING GROUPS: Our classwork will be done in varying levels of collaboration: independent, partner, group, and whole class work. To assign groups into partner ships, we will pull sticks, choose elbow partners, assign premade groups, and use our table groups. When partner and group assignments are made, each student must say Yes! when they find out who their partner is. This emphasizes inclusion. o STATING OBJECTIVES: Stating objectives for a lesson will be done verbally and on a small individual white board located on the right side of the main whiteboard. Writing the objectives will sometimes be done by me and sometimes be done by the Secretary. o MODELING: Modeling is a must-do in good teaching. I want I Do We Do You Do to become a theme and a template for all of my lessons. o RUBRICS AND GUIDELINES I will use printed rubrics for large-scale assignments so that students can have the highest amounts of guidance and security as possible. In most cases, general assignment requirements will be written on the board or pictured on the SmartBoard to insure that students have enough support to complete the assignment.

o MONITORING PROGRESS: Daily and yearly progress monitoring will be done through assessment techniques and Treasure Books. I will assess formally and informally throughout the day. This will be done by walking the classroom, using whiteboards as a fast assessment tool, looking over individual work, and talking with students, as well as traditional tests and projects. Treasure Books Each student will have a binder kept on a shelf in the classroom. I will occasionally put into the binder student work of which I am especially please and proud. Students will be encouraged to add art paintings, excellent tests, fitness goals from PE, writing samples, etc. We will pull these out at SEPs, as well as at the end of the year. Looking through their Treasure Book will give students an idea of how far they have come and how much potential they really do have! Classroom Procedures o TURNING IN HOMEWORK: Typically, completed and on-time homework will be turned into student mailboxes at the beginning of the day. The Secretary will be in charge of looking at student desks and identifying which students have their completed their homework that day. Recording will be done on a month-long chart. If a student has not turned in their homework, the Secretary will write put a where they would have put a . o TURNING IN CLASSWORK: Baskets designated by subject will be placed along a wall in which students will place their classwork. The Paper Passer will often collect the work and

then place it in the correct subject basket. When papers are placed in the basket, they will align the name and date with a triangle taped to the top right hand corner of the basket. o LATE WORK: Students are expected to turn their work in on time. If a student is turning in homework or classwork late, I will have specific basket for late work. Next to the basket will be a quarter-piece of paper that asks for the following: name, the date the assignment was turned in, the date it was due, and the reason why it was late. No late work will be accepted without this paper attached, even if the student had previously spoken with me. Reasons may range from I forgot to turn it in, to I was sick on Monday. Unless a student was absent or other arrangements were made with me, late assignments will loose 10% per school day they are late. (The loss of 10% will only be applicable to older grades.) o NO NAME BASKET There will not be one. That is something I dont want to deal with. Writing our names and the date on our papers will be practiced over and over on the first month of school (for I know it will take that long). o TRANSITIONS Transitions are a very important part of classroom management. We will spend much of our first weeks of school practicing transitions. Transitions occur when students are entering the school in the morning, changing tasks, going to recess or lunch, changing classrooms, leaving the school in the afternoon, etc. My class will have various ways to transition. I will always begin a transition by explaining what will happen next. Then, students may transition to silence,

a timer, my beautiful singing voice, their beautiful singing voices, doing an action, counting down, ABC names, making funny noises, etc. Our goal will always be to transition smoothly, calmly, and quickly. o TUCK IN CHAIRS We will practice tucking in our chairs when we get up out of our desks. This will be expected of all students. o NAME AND DATE As I said before, students will be held to a high standard in this department. It is very important that they include their name and date in the top right corner paper. We will practice with blank papers, with art projects, by writing our names several times whatever needs to be done. Then students will gradually get the hang of including both their names and the date. o MORNING ROUTINE I will stand at the door to welcome students as the come in for the day. I want my students to know they are individually needed. I want my students to echo what was said by another student. It made me feel like it really mattered that I came. (Kriete, 2002) There will be five minutes of prep-time between the ringing of the first and the final bells to sharpen pencils, use the bathroom, get a drink, and retrieve things from lockers. A self-start will always be on the board. This will typically be a journal entry, math problem, responce to yesterdays activities, worksheet, or other directions for what to work on. I want to be able to change it every day.

The schedule of the day will always be written on the board. This is just as much for me as it is for them. After self-start, we will always have our Morning Meeting. (For details in of Morning Meeting, see Preventative Techniques)

o DISMISSAL ROUTINE Ten minutes before excusal, we will go over our planners. In our planners, we will write down what we did in each subject and what homework we have that night. Students are expected to have their planners signed by a parent each evening. Students will put their chairs upside down on their desks, clean up any papers on the floor around them, tidy their personal space, and clean and work areas they were using. Students will stand in a line with their materials to be taken home and the Inspector will do his/her final sweep of the room. When the Inspector and I have cleared the room for excusal, students can exit with a high-five! o ATTENDANCE Attendance will not be a big deal in my classroom. I will quietly take it during Self-Start. Younger grades will sign in as they enter the room. If a student needs to use the restroom, get a drink, or grab a tissue during a lesson or at an inopportune time, they can look at me a show a Secret Sign. These will be agreed upon at the beginning of the year, but will typically be Sign Language. A variation of this idea is presented by Wong and Wong, (2009), on page 187 of their book, First Days of o SECRET SIGNS

School. In their example, students and teacher have a series of hand signals to give back and forth. Students enjoy this kind of code and are motivated to use secret signs simply by their subtly. o LINING UP Students will walk in one single-file line. We will never exit the classroom until all students are in the line and looking at me, showing that they are ready to leave. o WALKING DOWN THE HALLWAY Walking down the hallway will be a procedure that takes practice! Students will walk in their single file line, close to the person in from of them, their hands behind their backs, without talking. I have seen this work effectively and believe it is the best way for students to travel in the halls. Professional Procedures o DRESS I will do my best to dress in professional and comfortable clothes: skirts, slacks, blouses, and sweaters. It is important for students to see that dressing well prepares you for the day. Wong and Wong (2009) point out that effective teachers know that the clothes they wear and the smile that dresses their face are the first things students see when they are greeted at the door. I have sore feet and so will wear whatever shoes will allow me to be the best teacher I can be that day. I have learned that the more athletic or supportive the shoes, the more energized and true to myself I feel! This may result in professional skirts with tennis shoes, but thats okay. o ME TIME

I will set a goal to be out of the building at 5:00 pm. In order to give 100% while I am at work, I need to leave!

o RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRINCIPAL A clear relationship with the principal is very important. I want him/her to trust my teaching style and me. I will keep the principal up to date with my major classroom decisions, specifically field trip ideas, school suggestions, behavior issues, special parental involvement, etc. I do not wish to involve my principal too quickly with the discipline in my classroom. I want him/her to be aware of my techniques, but sending a student to the principals office for behavior will not happen often. The buck stops with me, not the principal. Quick Outline of a Day in Our Classroom Morning Routine and Morning Meeting Class Time Recess Class Time Lunch Read-Alouds or Silent Reading (DIRT) Class Time Recess Class Time Dismissal Routine

Communications with Parents/Guardians

Working with parents correctly not only makes your job easier, but also is so important in the education of our students.

The more the school and the family are joined as partners in educating young people, the greater the childrens chances for success. Wong and Wong (2009) REMEMBER THEIR NAMES! I need a personal relationship with each parent in order to better meet the needs of that student and family. LETTER TO PARENTS: o I will send out a letter to parents at the beginning of the year. In this letter, I will help the family get to know me, and I will outline my professional philosophy, enthusiasm for teaching, and what they can expect from this year. I will also include additional 2-sheets with that letter. 1) A Getting-To-Know-Your-Child sheet for the parent to complete 2) A Getting-To-Know-Me sheet for the student to fill out POSITIVE COMMUNICATION o I will email or call the parents of four students every Friday. I will specifically highlight something positive about their childs behavior, performance, work, personality, attitude, contribution, etc. If I cannot come up with something positive to say, I will dig deeper! o It is important to keep track of who I have emailed and what I have said! I dont want to say the same thing twice. PARENT EMAILS o Parent emails as a group message will be send out as necessary. These may include class announcements, details about up-coming activities,, reminders for the next day/week, requests for help, or sign-ups for special volunteer opportunities. MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

o I do not want to write a monthly newsletter to the parents, but what a wonderful opportunity for my students! Part of their writing assignments will be to design and send out a 1page, monthly class newsletter to their families. One weeks writing assignment will be dedicated to writing for the newsletter, instead of the typical weekly writing assignment. o Responsibilities will be delegated and sections will be arranged depending on the week. Included will be: a headline story, advertisements for upcoming events, photos of the past months class activities, school and class announcements, and continually posted will be the class rules. SEP CONFERENCES o SEP Conferences are a great time for students to see that their teacher and parents are both involved and invested in their education. In SEP conferences, we will discuss student behavior, academic progress, new goals, progress of previous goals, and review the contents of students Treasure Book.

References
Charles, C. M. (2014). Building classroom discipline. (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Kriete, R. (2002). The morning meeting book. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. Wang, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc. Wilson, M. B. (2013). Teasing, tattling, defiance and more. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.