Classroom Management Plan EDE 4504 Natasha Weber

Table of Contents

Philosophy of Management Statement______________________________3

Classroom Profile_______________________________________________6

Beliefs (Letters to the Parents)____________________________________7

Physical Enviroment_____________________________________________8

Community Building____________________________________________13

Routines and Strategies for Classroom Management___________________19

References____________________________________________________22

Philosophy of Management Statement

I believe that a cooperative learning enviroment is the most effective setting in order for my students to reach their full potentional. Classroom management should be a collaborative effort in which students, parents, and myself work together promote a sense of unity and teamwork. The learning process needs everyones involvement in order for improvements to be made and ultimately for success to be achieved.

I believe that a cooperative learning enviroment is the most effective setting in order for my students to reach their full potentional. Classroom management should be a collaborative effort in which students, parents, and myself work together promote a sense of unity and teamwork. The learning process needs everyones involvement in order for improvements to be made and ultimately for success to be achieved. Throughout this semester, Ive learned that Im a big fan of Linda Alberts and my goal while teaching is to have my students reach the 3 Cs, which she developed. I want my students to see themselves as capable, be connected with others, and be contributing members of my class. In order to meet students needs, teachers need to make students feel apart of the class. To achieve the 3 Cs, I will start every morning off with a morning meeting, which will allow my students to become connected with one another and each will contribute during morning meetings. As a teacher, I want my students to want to come to my classroom and learn. Its important to me that they see themselves as capable human beings who can become

anything they want to be when they grow up. I agree with Linda Albert when she says, making mistakes is okay (72). I want my students to know that we all make mistakes and learning from them is how we become better students. Once the 3 Cs are achieved, students will be willing to work in groups and want to collaborate because they feel capable, connected, and want to contribute. I believe we learn best from each other and there will be a lot of group work in my classroom because I value collaborative learning. By working with others, students will be able to expand on their point of view because they are learning to see where other students are coming from with their thought process. Almost all of my beliefs that Ive accumulated over this semester are from Linda Alberts article on Cooperative Discipline. Albert suggests creating a classroom code of conduct that establishes how everyone shoud behave and interact, including the teacher. I love the idea that Albert has provided, because I believe the word rules gives students the impression that the teacher controls the students. My classroom will be a community and that means my students will be able to discuss with me what behaviors are appropriate and which are not. According to Albert, The purpose is to help students develop the judgement and understanding needed for evaluating their own behavior choices and for accepting responsibilitiy for all their behaviors all the time (77).

When misbehaviors occur, I would ask my student if that behavior is appropriate to our code of conduct and if a student disagrees, Albert says to either have a student-teacher conference or have an in class meeting. I disagree with these ways of problem-solving. I would simply give a nonverbal cue such as a look or a simple gesture. If the student still did not stop their behvior after the nonverbal cue, I would have the student write a reflective paper upon their misbehavior. My goal of having students self reflect is so that they self-evaluate and self-monitor themselves how their own behavior.

Classroom Profile

My 5th grade classroom consists of twenty students. Within these 20 students there are 12 males and 8 females. Throughout the year Ive lost a few students due to them attending another school, but I have also gained students from other schools as well. In my classroom there are 2 ELL students as well. When it comes to academic levels, I have have thirteen students that are on level in reading and writing and seven students who are below level in both subject areas. Of the students who are on level, five of them are high achievers and social leaders when it comes to discussions and participating in class. The other eight on level students have easy temperments and work well in school. When it comes to the students who are below level, 2 of them have ADD/ADHD and 3 other below level students just want to talk beand they would rather be socializing than learning. One student needs strong emotional support in order to do his work and the other below level students are English language learners. The class gets along well for the most part, but there is one boy and girl who clash because of dominating personalities and both feel the need to speak their mind in front of the class. In my classroom there are 8 hispanic students, 5 white students, and 7 african american students. They all respect each others cultural backgrounds and are aware of diverse cultures.

Beliefs (Letter to Parents)

This portion of the assignment is attached in a separate document in order to see the full sized newsletter.

Physical Enviroment

Most people dont critically think about the layout of a classroom when they step into one. A teachers physical environment actual has careful planning and meaning to where things are placed and why. The reason teachers diligently plan out their classrooms because research has shown that the set up of the physical environment influences how students and teachers think, feel, and behave. The planning process is part of good classroom management and a well designed physical environment allows a teacher to develop environmental competence, discussed in chapter two of the Weinstein textbook. Environmental competence means to have awareness of the physical environment and its impact and the ability to use that environment to meet your goals. In the picture above, Ive provided a picture of how I would layout my classroom. Through my research and careful planning, I believe this set up will allow my students to achieve success and great learning.

First, Ive set up my students desks in a U-shape. Most research suggests setting elementary desks up into groups, but through my experience of my internship, Ive seen that the U-shape has much more of a successful outcome for intermediate grades and thats the age I would love to teach. By setting my students desks in the U-shape they are still able to work together and socially interact, but their focus can be turned to the teacher quickly as well. By the intermediate grade levels, I believe by placing the students in a U-shape, they are still achieving the social aspect, but their academic focus is on the teacher during a lesson. Secondly, Ive placed my teachers desk at the front of the classroom. Its important to have my desk face toward my classroom and towards my students so that I can achieve environmental competence. As an elementary teacher, its crucial to always have a full awareness of what is going on in your classroom at all times. Im not the type of teacher who will spend a lot of time at my desk because I love to be moving around my classroom and being engaged with my students. In addition, in the back of my classroom, Ive placed my kidney shaped table, which will be used for guided reading lessons, assessments, and small group activities. By placing my guided reading table, Im able to have my seat face the classroom so I can have an eye on my students and my students seats will be facing away from the class. This is done purposely so that they are focused at the material being placed in front of them and not by the distractions of other students. With regards to the bathroom and sink area, I believe every classroom should be equipped with one. In elementary school, students constantly need to go to the

bathroom and by equipping my classroom with one; I would be able to monitor how long they are in the stall for and if they are behaving appropriately as well. Take a moment to think about how many accidents and bathroom emergencies elementary students have in their pants throughout the year. By having a bathroom in the classroom, this would prevent those accidents from happening. Next to my bathroom, I have placed the sink area because Im very strict when it comes to sanitation. I believe everyone should have to wash his or her hands after using the restroom and this will be my number one bathroom rule with my students because I feel so strongly about it. Providing a classroom with a sink area, this will also allow my students to wash up after the crafts they take part in. Inside the U-shaped desks, Ive placed a carpet. I will use this carpet to have my students come sit in front of the whiteboard to switch up the learning from their desks. In my opinion, it is important to switch up how my students learn so that they dont become bored and feel each day is a routine. When my students are on the carpet, I will have interactive lessons, in which my students will come up and write on the whiteboard or use the elmo. However, for lessons where students need to be in their desks, I will use the elmo. I will face my students so that Im able to ask them questions and this also allows me to make sure they understand the lesson. My classroom would definitely be equipped with an elmo because they are a great way to share examples, directions, or my written ideas with my whole class at one time.

Furthermore, I have surrounded my literacy area with bookshelves and placed it next to the students desks. Its important that the students can see the literacy area so they are always thinking about reading and what book they can get their hands on next. Its important to make my students feel like they are walking into another room in my classroom when they enter the literacy area. My goal by surrounding this part of my classroom with bookshelves is to make my students feel cozy and that they have their own fun space for reading. My literacy area will have a couple sofas and beanbag chairs, which will make my students want to come relax and read. I love colorful literacy area as well. All the colors make children feel like they can escape reality when they enter this portion of my classroom. The bookshelves that surround my literacy area will be filled with books because through my childrens literacy class, Ive learned the wider range of books the students have to choose from, the more motivated they will be to read. Next to the teachers desk, Ive placed my computer station. By putting the computer there, I can see make sure the students are on task and on the program they are suppose to be on. I put the computers up against the wall as well so my students have to face the wall and are away from any distractions. Im able to see in computer area from my desk, from the guided reading table, and can always make sure the students are doing what they are suppose to be doing. Having a computer station is important to me because technology is taking over the world and students are motivated to learn on computers. Computers are a fun way of learning for students and teach them necessary skills in reading, math, vocabulary, comprehension and more.

Through my observations and internship experience, Ive noticed that cabinets and storage is absolutely needed in a classroom. Ive placed all my storage space up against the back wall so its not distracting or in the way of my teaching or my students learning. I didnt show any of my cabinets in my layout because I didnt want my visual to be too cluttered. I also placed a storage area next to the teachers desk for all my resource books, files, and my personal storage that I dont want my students digging through. Storage is something that I must have in my classroom because Im a neat freak and everything must have a place. Students will find supplies, board games, toys, prizes, and anything else in the storage areas. These things cant be out in the open and thats why having ample amounts of storage is key. Lastly, Ive placed a couple windows in my classroom so my students can see outside throughout the school day, have natural light, and ultimately windows make a classroom seem less enclosed. The ultimate goal of my physical environment is to achieve environmental competence, which is having awareness of my classroom, its impact, and the ability to use that environment to meet my teaching goals. Through my careful planning, I believe Ive achieved security, social interaction, and symbolic identification, task instrumentality, pleasure, and growth. These are known as Steeles six functions and should be used when designing a classroom. Most people fail to realize how much preplanning and serious thought goes into designing a classroom layout. In the end, careful classroom planning is what achieves great classroom management.

Community Building When it comes to building a sense of community in my classroom, I want my students to be able to agree on these four statements by the end of the school year which are: 1. My class is like a family. 2. Students in my class help one another. 3. I can talk to my teacher about anything that is bothering me. 4. I feel comfortable sharing my ideas.

By having a sense of community in my classroom, my students will feel safer and it will give them the confidence they need to participate and make strides in their learning. With that being said, Ive created a community building plan for my classroom which includes beginning of the year activities, along with activities that will be on going all year.

Pre-school activities/ Beginning of the year activities During open house, I will send parents home with a welcome letter to kick off the school year. It will give a little bit of background information about myself as well goals for the upcoming school year, my expectations for my students, how parents can get involved, how to get a hold of me and our school schedule. This letter will allow parents to get a feel for

how the school year will work and what kinds of activities I plan on implementing in order for fun and academic learning to both be achieved.

I love to kick off the school year with a variety of fun activities with my students. These activities will allow them to get to know their classmates and start to establish a community within my classroom. Some beginning of the school activities will be: Create Me Bags Two truths and a dream Meet your classmates BINGO Create a what kind of teacher do you want poster Create time capsules

These beginning of the school year activities are all great ways to start community building in my classroom. On the first day of school, I will send each of my students home with a brown paper bag. This is their Me bag and I will have each student decorate their bag and put 3-5 items that describe themselves and what they like to do. During the first week of school I will also play a game with my students called two truths and one dream. This activity is fun for students because they get to learn interesting facts about each other and have to guess which fact is not true. Another activity I that would be a great community building activity is called meet your

classmates BINGO. To play this game, each student will be handed a bingo sheet and on each square are things such as, Has a brother, likes to draw, is left-handed, has brown hair, etc. The students will have to go around the classroom and meet students who fall under each category and write that persons name in the square that is true about them. When a student fills out a complete line they will yell BINGO and the game is over. In addition, each year I will sit my students down and up with a creative poster of qualities they look for in a teacher. I would display this poster in my classroom and make sure I follow the qualities they look for in a teacher. This activity will give my students an opportunity to share what kind of teacher they like and they will feel like they want to be heard. Hearing what my students have to say is important and will establish a strong community. The last beginning of the year activity Ive discussed is creating a time capsule with my students. In the beginning of the school year, I will have my students fill out a form of their favorite things and some goals they have for the school year. I will collect all their forms and put them into a time capsule (a decorated shoe box) and then return them to each other on the last week of school. Students love to see how they have changed or stayed the same and love to compare answers. This is a great community building activity in my opinion. During school year activities

 Each morning I will start the school day off with a morning meeting. Through my own experience, Ive learned that morning meetings are essential to establishing a community in the classroom. Everyday my students will gather in a circle and greet one another, which will enforce the use of each others names. The greeting will be unique each day in order to bring fun and laughter to the classroom. After the greeting each morning, a quick activity will take place. The goal of morning meetings are to become comfortable about classmates and ultimately to build a classroom community.

I will also change the students seats monthly. This gives students an opportunity to sit next to and become close to other classmates. Its important to me when building a community in the classroom to change up the seating arrangement so my students can experience working with different classmates throughout the year. I want to avoid cliques and by moving around the desks, everyone will get to know everyone.

In the beginning of the school year I will do a mini lesson on manners because being respectful and polite is crucial to building a community. My students will understand that in order to create a community within our classroom, respect is needed. I will respect them and they will respect me. I will enforce manners throughout the entire school year and let

students be aware of who is using good manners from time to time. Being kind, polite, and respectful to each other will make students feel a part of a family.

In chapter 2 of the Weinstein textbook, Fred Steele discusses symbolic identification, which means teachers should personalize their classroom space so that it communicates information about you and your students. By putting up student artwork and things that personalize my classroom, this will create a community within my class. One way I tend to creat symbolic identification is to have a birthday chart posted in my classroom. When a student has a birthday, I want my whole class to celebrate by singing happy birthday and make that student feel special. Students will love to see their birthday on the birthday chart and will be anxious for their big day. I plan to give my students a birthday badge or for girls, a birthday sash. I will also allow them to bring in cake or cupcakes and let them go into the classroom treasure box. Linda Albert (2009) says that recognizing birthdays is part of the Five As of helping students connect.

End of the School Year Activities At the end of the school year, I will have my students come up with a theme for a classroom book. For example, a theme for their book could

be, What I Want to be When I Grow Up, and with that theme, I would have each student create a page to the book and I would get the book published and give each student a book to remember their class and the school year. This activity would be great to build a community because the students would get to collectively think of what kind of book they would like to make and work together to see a finished product.

Another activity I would like to do with my students at the end of the year would be for each of them to bring in an empty tissue box. I would have each student write a compliment or a positive thing about that person and put the strip of paper in the persons tissue box. At the end of the activity, each student will have 20-30 positive things about themselves or things that make them special in their box. They will take their box home and read all the wonderful things their classmates thought about them. This activity builds community and builds self-esteem as well.

Routines and Strategies for Classroom Management

Routines are the backbone of daily classroom life. They facilitate teaching and learn Routines dont just make your life easier, they save valuable classroom time. And whats most important, efficient routines make it easier for students to learn and achieve more.
-Learning to Teachnot just for beginners by Linda Shalaway

Routines are truly the backbone of the classroom and what saves valuable classtime. As a teacher its important to teach, model, and establish classroom routines and procedures so children know what is expected of them and how to do certain things on their own. In order to have effective classroom management skills, I will carefully go over all my routines so these patterns are set in place which will allow me to have more time for meaningful instruction. One routine that I will use in my classroom is my morning routine. Each morning I will stand at the door and greet my students as they walk into class. Next my students will walk into my classroom and read the white board placed right next to the door, it will say something like: Good Morning Class, Please come in silently and get your reading and writing notebooks. Please have a sharpened pencil ready to go for the day. Today we will be reading an article about Martin Luther King Jr. and learning about character traits. For your morning work, please write what you think the

definition of character trait is and provide some examples as well. Lets have a great day! Smiles, Ms. Weber After the morning work is completed, students will be expected to read silently and once all students are finished with the morning work, I will call each group to come to the carpet to start our morning meeting.

Strategies Ive selected 2 strategies that I value in the classroom and they each address different aspects of the learning environment. The first strategy I feel is important to the learning environment of my classroom is having a classroom pet. I believe classroom pets enrich the classroom experience for children in so many ways. Classroom pets instills a sense of responsibility in students and a respect for life. One of my classroom jobs in my class will be the pet keeper and this job will allow one student a week to feed the classroom pet, give it water, and give that student the opportunity to take the pet home for the weekend. This gives a child responsibility and will increase sensitivity and awareness of feelings and the needs of others. By having a classroom pet, I believe my students will become responsible, sensitive, and they will learn that all living things need more than just food and water in order to survive. Im a huge animal lover and a strategy that

will take place in my classroom for my students to become responsible and nurturing will be to have a classroom pet. I believe taking care of a pet gives a child a sense of pride and accomplishment as well. The second strategy I will instill in my classroom will be to do monthly notebook and/or binder checks. I want my students to know that having an organized binder is important because they will be able to find homework and assignments easily, they will be well prepared for all subjects, and they wont lose any assignments. I want my students to know that binder checks are to benefit them and it should be an easy grade if they are doing their work. Binder checks will allow me to see if my students are completing their work, doing their homework, and staying organized. These checks will also make students want to stay organized because they know that binder checks are a grade. This strategy instills organization into my students and will make them conscious if they are doing their work or not.

References

Charles, C. M. (2002). Linda Alberts Cooperative Discipline. In Building classroom discipline. (pp. 67-84). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

(1990). Benefits of Classroom Animals. Pets in the Classroom. Retrieved November 20th, 2013, from www.petsintheclassroom.org/teachers /benefits-of-classroom-animals/ Weinsten, C. S. (2011) Elementary Classroom Management. Lessons From Research and Practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.