Tim Wasem

Classroom Management Plan (Take 2)

9/1/2012

Environment
The ideal desk arrangement for my classroom would be three rows of students side by side. This
is ideal because all of the students are facing the front of the classroom, ruling out distractions,
and they have a partner to work with whenever I plan for buddy work. Later in the year, once
the students were more comfortable with me and the procedures of my class, I would consider
grouping the students permanently. This is very functional for a Language Arts classroom because
many of the strategies used in todays classroom, such as lit circles, use a lot of group activities.
Walls
Educational posters: These should be posted throughout the year as the subject depicted is
studied. I dont want to overwhelm them at the beginning of the year with too much
information.
Book/Movie posters: I want the students to be aware of books that were so good they made
them into a movie. The main goal of this is to immerse the students in the idea that
books/stories are important and they play a huge role in our cultural identity.
Standards: In the back of my room I will have posted all of the Common Core standards for
8th grade ELA. I want to be able to refer my students to them often so that the students are
comfortable with their presence and our daily utilization of them. On the white board each
day, Ill have a the current days standard written across the top of the board. The students will
write this in the notes each day.

Grading and Assessments

I plan to follow this grading scale:
93-100 A
90-92 B+
83-89 B
80-82 C+
73-79 C
70-72 D+
0-69 F

Classroom rules, rewards, and consequences

Rules
Rule #1: Respect yourself, others, and classroom property.
Rule #2: Be on time, organized, and prepared to learn.
Rule #3: Listen to others and all directions.
Rule #4: Learn to cooperate with a positive attitude.
Strike system and rewards
I use a three strike system. If a class receives three strikes in a class period, they lose the next
day's break between the two periods they are with me. For the rest of the week, they only have
two strikes to work with. If they use up those two strikes on a given day, then they lose any
social time built into the week's lessons. For the rest of the week after that, they have one
strike to work with. If the receive that strike, then they lose breaks for the following week.
Rewards: All classes have the same offer. If they can complete a nine-week period without
receiving three strikes, we'll watch a movie at the end of the nine weeks. My students are all
very enthusiastic and understanding of this deal.

Starting school--first few days, learning names, teaching rules, etc.

Learning names: The students create a name card to keep on their desk for the first few weeks. On
the card, they also give me two goals for the year, three strengths, a timeline of 8 major events in
their life, and a few drawings that represent their iterests and personality.
Teaching rules: We spend the first 2-3 days going over the rules and procedures listed in my
Rules & Procedures packet that I send home. I use the I do, we do, you do model to teach
these procedures.

Daily schedule--times, procedures

Bell ringer 10 minutes
These bell ringers can be writing prompts, grammar exercises, pop quizzes, or quotes/poems
that I want them to respond to.
Housekeeping/homework collecting and attendance: Ill take care of this while the students
work on their bell ringer.
Daily vocabulary word 5 minutes

 I use the American Heritage Dictionarys 100 Words Every High Schooler Should Know to
choose their daily vocabulary words.
Daily Grammar Practice 15 minutes
This will be accompanied by grammar notes, focusing on Monday for the first week, Tuesday
for the second, etc.
Poem/Story of the day 5 minutes
The day's lesson 40 minutes
Ticket out the door 5 minutes

Consequences
The first two weeks of class is a grace period. After that time, consequences for breaking rules
and misbehaving will be strictly followed.
Students who cant handle class discussion will be prevented from answering questions in class
until they can prove to me that they are able. They will write their answers on a blank sheet of
paper and submit it to me at the end of each class until I decide that they are ready to participate
appropriately.
Students who come to class unprepared and are loaned materials will have to provide an item as
collateral until the item is returned.
Students who repetitively violate classroom policy will have other appropriate measures used,
such as notes to parents, or restriction of activities, and after school activity with teacher.
Students will be held to school and county standards and will accept responsibility for their
actions and consequences as a member of these communities.

Incentives
Students will receive verbal praise from the teacher.
If a class makes it to the end of the nine weeks without receiving three strikes then the class
will watch a movie at the end of the nine weeks to celebrate. Ill select three-four appropriate
films and the class will vote.

Special Activities
Once a week, we will have a library day.

 Books can only be checked out before class, during the break, or after class. All classroom books
must be checked out via our class librarian. This person knows how to use the class' forms.

Make-up work
On a table near my desk, I have a container with five hanging folders in it. At the end of each day,
I put homework for the students who missed that given day in the corresponding folder. When
they come in the next day, it is their responsibility to retrieve and complete their missed work.

Tardies
The school's policy is that three tardies equal one absence.

Returning papers
Near my desk, I have three containers full of hanging folder. There is a folder for each student and
a container for each class. On the way into class, students have to retrieve their own homework.
There will usually not be time for them to do this during class. They can check it at the mid-way
break as well.

Structuring Instruction
Instruction centers around an I do, we do, you do model. Usually my students have the
opportunity to quietly work with their buddy but some classes can't handle too much of this
interaction so I have to spread it throughout the period.

Notebooks
Each student is expected to bring a binder to class everyday. In their binder, there are four
sections: LA Concepts (notes), DGP (this is where their Daily Grammar Practice workbook is
kept), Vocab (I give them copies of Doug Buehl's Vocabulary Overview Guides to record our
daily vocab on), and Journal (this contains writer's workshop entries, daily journal entries, free
writes).

Filler Activities
If students finish an activity early, they have two options. They can either read their Independent
Reading book (each student has to complete 1000 pages per nine weeks) or they can work on an
active writing project or their own writing projects. They cannot do work from other classes, sit
idly, or disturb other classmates that are still working to finish their work.

Dealing with discipline problems in the classroom

Ticket system: I have a ticket to hand out to students who are misbehaving. The ticket says their
name, their infraction (the classroom rule they broke), and the consequence. This prevents class

time from being disturb by confrontation.

Notes/calls home: If necessary, I'll call their home number to talk to their parents. If there are
major/chronic issues, the students will be sent to the Mr. Little's (principal) office. A trip to his
office is one of the options on the behavior ticket I made.
I also want to make an effort to call home and write notes when students do good things as well!

Parent communication
Website: I've created a classroom website (misterwasem.weebly.com) that gives teacher a place to
contact me, keep up with class via our blog, and check in on what we're accomplishing. They can
also call me after school hours.

Preventive discipline strategies:

I want my classroom to be a place where students feel safe to express their opinions and where
everyone has a chance to participate. I dont want my students to be afraid of getting a question
wrong. Our class mantra could be wrong answers are just another step toward the right one.
Students who are having trouble following or understanding what were doing in class will get
extra attention from me. If I need to reteach topics, then I will. I dont want any students to fall so
far behind that they cant catch up by the end of a unit.
I will give students the opportunity to re-complete assignments and reorganize their binder and
folder.

Dealing with moods, changes in weather, illness, etc.

I make a point to tell students that I trust them (when I do) so if a student needs to use the
restroom, is sick, or doesn't want to participate I give them the space they need or allow them to
do what they need to do to feel better.

Preparation and procedures for substitute teachers

Each week, I complete a week at a glance which outlines the activities each class will be doing
and the page numbers of where they can be found. I make a point to make this sub friendly
even though things may go much differently when I'm teaching the class. I know my students
better so I'm able to improvise and change the course of things if necessary.

Management of various instructional formats

Group work: On the board, I give students a visual representation of how loud they can be during
this work. I'm always circulating and interacting so I police this as I go. If they get a strike, I
encourage them to police themselves more.

 Coming to attention during group work: To get their attention, I raise my hand and count down
from three. When they hear me, they join in and we all say And we're back. This helps us focus
back to the front of the classroom for instruction.

Student opportunity to impact grades

Student will be able to correct homework assignments or project grades by staying after school
with teacher to work on the corrections and these must be completed within 2 weeks of receiving
the grade.
If students have a parent sign a low grade, they will get a 10% increase on their grade.

Homework Policy
Homework will be due at the beginning of the class period and will require 50% completion or
will be required to be re-submitted.
Homework that receives poor grades can be corrected by working afterschool with the teacher on
it.

Progress Reports
I will give grades to student whenever they are requested.
Student will also be encouraged to keep track of their own grades on a grade grid that the teacher
provides at the beginning of each grading period
Parents will also be notified if the students grade drops below a C or if it drops a letter grade
within 2 weeks of end of progress report period.

Student opportunity to impact grades:

Student will be able to correct homework assignments or project grades by staying after school
with teacher to work on the corrections and these must be completed within 2 weeks of receiving the
grade.