Matt Sanders

ASU West, Fall 2016

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
PLAN
TEL 311 Signature Assignment

Contents
Self-Introduction......................................................................................................... 2
Classroom Arrangement............................................................................................. 2
Procedures.................................................................................................................. 6
Beginning and Ending of Class................................................................................ 6
Transition between Activities and Managing Student Work.....................................6
Absences and Late Work......................................................................................... 7
Grading Student Work and Communicating With Parents.......................................7
Consideration of Diverse Learners...........................................................................7
Rules and Consequences............................................................................................ 8
Rules....................................................................................................................... 8
Consequences......................................................................................................... 8
Summary.................................................................................................................... 9

Self-Introduction
My name is Matt Sanders and as of the moment I am an undergraduate student at Arizona
State University. I am halfway through my 5th semester of study for my bachelors degree and my
major is Secondary Education with a focus in history. As such, I have begun my first semester in
the I-Teach AZ professional program.
I wanted to become a teacher because I wanted to be part of a profession that made me
happy. I have found that I am the most happy and fulfilled when I am making a positive
difference in the lives of others and teaching allows me to do that. There was also something
about the classroom and working with young students and helping to shape their lives for the
better that appealed to me. I also take my civic duty seriously and teaching allows me, through
the shaping and honing of critically thinking young minds, to ensure that this nation has a better
future.
Keeping in mind the research of Madeline Hunter, Dr. Fred Jones, and Dr. Harry Wong, I
believe that education is not a privilege but an inalienable right for all people. The American
classroom is a diverse place and as time goes on it is only going to become more and more
diverse, that is one of this nations strengths. That said, this poses a unique challenge to educators
but I believe that it is my duty to accommodate any student due to race, English proficiency,
disability, or giftedness. Teaching means empowering all students and giving all students the
tools to succeed.

Classroom Arrangement
My classroom can seat 32 students. I chose my layout based on research by Fred Jones
and his concept of the Interior Loop. This interior loop allows me to quickly reach any student in
the classroom and also allows me to gallivant during lessons as much as it pleases me. This
orientation will lead to the best learning outcomes for both students and myself. The students are
situated in pairs which will make it easier for the students to work together which will be
important in a cooperative learning environment.
The students sit at large tables, two students to a table, and the chairs are not attached to
the tables so if there is a student with special needs that needs to be accommodated a chair can be
pulled away from the table to accommodate them. Having the tables seat two at a time allows for

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students to get into pairs quickly and efficiently which will maximize class time on task. There is
a projector screen in the front of the room that all of the desks are pointing towards. This is
where the daily announcements will be played via the overhead projector and my computer and
this will also serve as center stage for my classroom. I was inspired by ancient Greek
amphitheaters when designing the room but I also have included a long and wide corridor in
between the two central columns in order to improve my mobility and to simulate a thrust stage.
This is so all the eyes of the students are focused on one area where I will be spending most of
my time and this area I have dubbed center stage.
My teachers desk is located in the back left corner of the room. I chose to put it here
because it gives me a view of all the students and it also keeps it out of the way of classroom
discussion and activities. My desk is also where I keep my computer located as well as my
telephone. This will allow me to make lesson plans and communicate with parents and staff from
the comfort of my desk. I also keep a small trash can right next to my desk so I do not have to get
up and walk over to the door every time I need to toss something out. I will also have my desk
outfitted with filing drawers so that way I do not need a separate filing cabinet to store
paperwork and other documents. Due to the sensitive nature of some of these documents and to
keep inquiring students away from my stash of tic-tacs and altoids that I will also keep here, the
drawers on my desk will have locks.
Behind my desk and a little to the left near the back left corner of the room is a locked
cabinet that I will keep certain supplies in for safe keeping. One such item is my document
camera which will be located on a rolling cart near the front of the room by the projector screen.
When I am not using the document camera it will go inside this locked cabinet for safe keeping.
When I am using it, I chose to put it on a rolling cart near the front of the classroom so I can still
be center stage of the classroom while highlighting and presenting paper documents in real time.
I will also keep a rolling chair near this same cart so I can sit down while I use the document
camera. Like I said, all of these will be on wheels so I can move them out of the way of the front
of the room when I am not using them.
Like I said earlier, there will be a projector screen in the front of the classroom so it can
be easily seen by all the students should I want to show them something on my computer like the
daily announcements or a presentation. These will be shown on the overhead projector which is

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mounted on the ceiling so it is out of the way. The projector screen will be able to roll up or
down so I can have access to more of my white board when I am not using the screen. I will have
three whiteboards in my room. One long board located in the front of the room, again located
near center stage, this is a natural focal point. I also have one on the left wall and one on the right
wall. These are areas where I will write the weekly agenda as well as leave room for student
announcements for extracurricular clubs, sports, and activities.
Near the door, at the bottom right corner of the classroom, is a bulletin board. This
bulletin board will be used to post school rules and policies as well as a few of my own
procedures like make up work and what to do when a student is absent. The bulletin board will
be used primarily to display more permanent aspects of the classroom and school whereas what
is on the whiteboards will be in flux. Right in between the bulletin board and the door will be a
large trash can and recycling bin for the students to use. I chose this area because it is out of the
way of center stage and out of the line of sight of the student so they are not distracted by
whatever student is tossing something out. I decided to put the bulletin board near the trash cans
so that way students can have access to important school policies easily and so they can look at
them when they throw things out. Students love getting out of their seats for any reason,
including going to the trash can, so I know they will see them there.
At the back of the classroom, and along the wall right as a student enters the room are
cubbies that the students will use to store their backpacks. Each cubby will be assigned to a
particular student every hour and this will make it so students are not distracted by having their
backpack at their desk with them. Placing it in the back of the room also keeps it out of sight and
mind of the students during class. Just beyond these cubbies will be a bin to turn in homework.
This is located by the cubbies so student can turn in their homework right as they walk in and are
putting their backpacks away and grabbing their materials for class. It is also located on the far
end of the cubbies so it is close to my desk and I can easily grab the turned in homework and
grade it at my desk.
At the far left side of the front of the room will be a couple of bookshelves. This will be
used to store books that may be useful for the curriculum and is placed in the front left so it is not
in the way of center stage, yet still accessible to the students. At the far right sides of the front of
the room are a couple of supply cabinets, similar to the one I keep in the back of the room by my

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desk. These will be used to store humbler materials like colorful construction paper, poster
boards, and anything else of that nature. Again, it is away from center stage but still accessible.
I have organized my classroom based on research conducted by Fred Jones. This
classroom allows for the teacher to move about freely and be close to all of the students at any
given time. It also creates a natural focal point for students to look at during lessons. This,
coupled with the students sitting in pairs, fosters an environment of discussion.

Docume
nt
Camera

Door

Procedures
Beginning and Ending of Class
I will utilize the research of Dr. Harry Wong and Dr. Fred Jones in formulating my
classroom procedures to maximize classroom stability and time spent on task. At the beginning
of class I will wait outside the door and greet the students as they walk inside the class. Waiting
for them inside the class will be their cubbies which they will store their backpacks and other
unnecessary materials in for the duration of the class. These cubbies will also house any
materials that they might need to grab for class that day that I will have placed there at the
beginning of the day and the students will know to grab these. Next to the cubbies will be my
homework station where they will put any homework that is due that day. After visiting their
cubbies and the homework station the student will sit at their desks. Written on the white board
will be the bell work for the students to work on while I come back inside the classroom and
round up all the turned in homework in the homework station. That way I avoid tricksters trying
to put their late homework in with the rest of the assignments. At the end of the lesson there will
be some kind of closure activity that requires the students to participate. Before the students can
leave the room they will have to become studious students this means they will be sitting in
their desks, eyes on me, smiling, and have their hands cupped together. I will say 1, 2, 3 and
then the students will say I do care, Mr. Sanders! and this will be their signal that they may
leave the room, not the bell.

Transition between Activities and Managing Student Work

Whenever I assign my students work to be completed in class I will time them to let them
know how much time they have to complete whatever stage of an assignment they are working
on. When they run out of time they will stop what they are doing and look to me for further
instruction. I will employ the auditory signal of Alright, Kiddos! to help manage this process.
As mentioned earlier, the homework will be collected in a bin located near my desk that the
students will put their work in as they enter the room. I will place any work that I am handing
back, that will be graded in a timely fashion, inside each students cubby so they may grab it as
they enter the room. This will also be where any materials that the students might need for that

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day will be placed as well. Unlike the materials for that day which I previously said I would put
enough of for all the students who use a given cubby at the beginning of the day, the graded work
I hand back will be placed inside the cubby before each class starts so students do not take
someone elses graded work on accident.

Absences and Late Work

Whenever a student is absent I will give them days equal to the number of days that they
were absent to make up whatever work they missed. In order to maximize time on task I will
place binder with pockets labeled with the days of the week near the homework bin that a student
who was absent can thumb through in order to find what was given out on the day that they were
absent. Any work a student turns in late will be worth only 50% of what they would have
normally have gotten, even if the work is a day late or turned in right before grades close at the
end of the quarter. By implementing this it is completely in the realm of possibility that as the
end of the quarter draws near I will be flooded with late work. Since I automatically take 50% off
of the grade it does not matter how closely I grade the papers since the student is automatically
guaranteed an F for turning the work in late. The main reason for this policy is that sometimes
when a student is on the cusp of getting a good grade as opposed to a bad grade changing a few
zeroes in the gradebook to fifties can be enough to push them past this threshold.

Grading Student Work and Communicating With Parents

When I grade student work I will balance the ability to grade the work quickly while still
providing high quality feedback that the students will need to know how they are doing and how
to improve. Homework assignments will be returned the day after they have been turned in as
will any multiple choice quizzes or assignments. Test that include short answers or any essay
tests and assignments will be returned within five school days. This way I can provide as much
quality feedback as I can. As I grade each assignment it will be entered into my digital gradebook
so I do not fall behind. When communicating with parents I will be polite and professional and
should a parent call I will make sure to call them back within 24 hours. Email will be my
preferred choice of contact with students and their parents.

Consideration of Diverse Learners

My procedures will be easy to follow and they will remain constant in order to avoid
confusion. All 504s and IEPs will be followed. My procedures will be taught as many as times
needed. I will not punish students for not following a procedure but will be retaught. At the
beginning of the year I will make sure to explain and practice these procedures with my students
and throughout the school year as needed. I will continuously reinforce these procedures so the
class can benefit from structure.

Rules and Consequences

Rules
I will have five rules in my classroom that will be posted for all the students throughout the year.
These rules will be based on the research of Dr. Harry Wong and Dr. Richard Lavoie and they
say that students need clear expectations of the rules and having these rules posted will benefit
the students and myself for the entire school year. These rules will be taught and modeled on the
very first day of school and this will ensure that my classroom is the best learning environment
that it can possibly be. These rules will be retaught as necessary and are designed to benefit
diverse students and to minimize the amount of unfair punishments for students. Keeping these
rules and their consequences posted will make sure that the students can easily find out what
kind of behaviors are tolerated in my classroom.
1. Cellphones are to be turned off and stored in your cubby before class starts.
2. Only one person talks at a time during discussion.
3. Opinions different from ones own will be respected and tolerated in the classroom.
4. Computers and other school electronics are to be treated with care.
5. Hands, feet, objects, will be kept to each individual.

Consequences
Consequences will be enforced justly and consistently for each students and will follow due
process for each student. The aforementioned rules will have consequences but the appropriate
state, district, and school rules will be enforced on top of these. Students with a 504 or IEP will
be given special consideration as deemed necessary. I reserve the right to skip steps based upon
the severity of the action.

First offense- warning/conference

Second offense- call home
Third offense detention
Fourth offense administrative referral

Summary
This plan will create a safe and optimal learning environment for all students, even diverse and
special needs students. Time spent on learning will be maximized because I will dedicate time to
teaching these policies on the first day of school. The students will know exactly what is
expected of them and I will reteach my rules and procedures as necessary, but taking the time to
do this will mean that I will not have to do that often. Overall this will create a welcoming
environment for students and they will have a positive relationship with me.