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Classroom Management Plan

ECE 328: Guidance with Young Children

CeCelia L. Gorder

Spring 2015
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There are many things that come into practice when I become a teacher and I

need to manage my own classroom. Guidance is a very important to have in every

classroom. It is important for many different reasons; it provides opportunities for moral

autonomy, self-problem solving, determining right from wrong for themselves, and differ-

ent guidance strategies throughout the classroom. Moral autonomy is having the ability

to decide between right and wrong without the pressure of any rewards or punishments,

but also taking in the rights and needs of others. I think that it is very important to have

the children learn right from wrong and be able to determine what the difference is when

it comes to those types of situations. If a child is unable to determine right from wrong, it

will be very difficult for them to make decisions about things that are very important. It

could be a big impact on their future as students or individuals as a whole.

There are two guidance strategies that are significant throughout the classroom.

They are indirect and direct guidance strategies. Indirect guidance is used to prevent

behavior issues when developing the physical environment, class rules, and program

content. The second guidance strategy is direct. Direct guidance is used to respond to

childrens mistaken behavior as it occurs. As a teacher, I have to remember that an ef-

fective method may work on one child, but it may not work on another child. All situa-

tions are unique and all children are different, therefore, different techniques have to be

used for specific circumstances.

There are five main methods that are relied on for indirect guidance. The first

method is physical environment. Physical environment is used because it is important to

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have space for planning, set-up, and organization throughout the environment. It is also

important to have space for a great amount of materials and organization of materials

that will be used inside the classroom. It is very important to provide space for the chil-

dren to move freely around the classroom and not have to worry about someone getting

hurt due to lack of space or overcrowding. In my classroom, I want to use my physical

environment in ways that it will be beneficial to my students. One way I can do this is by

putting up a sheet with the number of children that are allowed at an area at one time.

At the beginning of the week, the children and I will go through the number at each play

area so they know how many are supposed to be there.

The second method for indirect guidance is the use of materials. It is important

that I find materials that challenge the children. I do not want to have materials that are

too difficult that they get frustrated, but I also do not want activities that are too easy for

them that they do get bored and use the materials inappropriately. I think that it will be

beneficial for my children to change up each area every week. By doing this, it will cre-

ate excitement for my children and it will also limit the boredom of my children. Another

important aspect to look into for materials would be considering all cultures in my class-

room. I think that it is important to make sure that all children are being included in my

classroom and finding materials that support the different cultures in my classroom. For

example, I would use puzzles that have different race colors on them or music that rep-

resents different cultures. I could also use books that have different races or cultures in

them and pictures that show that not all boys have to do a profession and not all girls
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have to do girl professions. I believe that it is very important to include all children and

their family backgrounds.

The third method to use for indirect guidance is emotional environment. Emo-

tional environment is impacted by relationships, respect, communication, and sense of

community. There are a variety of relationships that are formed in the classroom. For

example, between teachers and children, among children and peers, and between the

teacher and the childs family. They all play an important role in creating community and

an environment that supports childrens development. It is important to create teacher-

child relationships to influence their behavior and thought. I think that it is very important

to create teacher-child relationships because I need to show the children that I care

about them and I will make sure to keep them safe and do what I can to make sure that

they succeed. They are my priority. It is also important to create relationships for chil-

dren and their peers. They are the people they will be spending all day, everyday with

and it is important to get to know one another and build that strong connection with one

another. It is also important to create a relationship of the teacher and the childs family.

I believe it is important because I want my childs family to know how the child is doing

in my classroom. They need to know what their strengths are and their weaknesses to

ensure the best development for their child. It is also easier to create relationships with

the children and to help them learn if I build a relationship with their families because we

become a team or support system. I also think that it is important to know the family on

a personal level about their religious beliefs and cultural beliefs so I can make sure that

I plan my lessons around them and do not offend any children or their families.
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Respect is also a very important aspect of emotional environment. It is important

to gain respect from the children and the teacher. I believe that it all starts with the

teacher. It is important to have a teacher that is kind and respectful of the children and

their families. If I show respect in my classroom, there is a greater chance that the chil-

dren will show respect to me. If I model respect, it will encourage the children to show

respect throughout the classroom. Respect all begins with how I speak to my children. I

need to make sure that the tone of my voice is friendly and also accepting children for

who they are instead of somebody that I want them to be. It is also important that I re-

spect the childrens decisions with certain things in the classroom. There is a possibility

that not all children have the same family background and they have all been raised dif-

ferently. If a child does something that I believe is not right or if I question why they do

not know what I am talking about, it may be because of their background. It is my job to

learn how to adapt my teaching to help the child better their understanding. I need to

show respect to each child by getting to know them and developing a relationship with

each and every one of them.

Communication is the third aspect of emotional environment. It is important to

have communication with the children and also their families. I want to have communi-

cation with the children in my classroom about their work or progression in my class-

room. I believe that communication with the children is important because it shows them

that I truly do care about them. For example, if a child gets something wrong on an as-

signment, I want to sit down with that child and make sure they understand why they got

it wrong and what they can do better next time. I also want to have communication with
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the parents because they need to know how their child is doing in my classroom. If

there is something that I am concerned about, I need to be able to talk to the parents

about the concern and the same goes for them. If they have any questions about why I

am teaching their children the information I am teaching them, I want them to feel wel-

come to asking me why. Communication is a key holder to making a classroom suc-

cessful.

Sense of community is the last important aspect in an emotional environment. By

creating a sense of community, it is making the children feel welcome into my class-

room and making sure that they feel secure, nurtured and supported by the environ-

ment, each other and most importantly, by me. It is the one place where all children can

come and know that they are safe and welcome in my classroom. It is a big priority of

mine. I think it is very important to create a sense of community because like I said

above, I do not know where all of the children are coming from and if they have that

safe and nurturing background at home.

Curriculum is the next method to indirect guidance. It is very important to create

curriculum that is relevant to what I am teaching. It is interesting, active and it gives the

children choices. I believe that it is very important to create curriculum that is exciting for

the children because they will be more engaged in the learning process. It will take the

learning to a new level if the students are engaged in curriculum that I choose. I need a

curriculum that offers a variety of activities that are appealing to the childrens interests

and abilities. I also need to select activities that are age appropriate. If a child is able to

select the activities that they want to do, it creates self-control amongst the children. I
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will also need to plan and prepare for activities by having everything put together ahead

of time to prevent wait times for the children. In case of a child finishing early, I will also

need to have backup activities for the children to do.

Organization is the last method to indirect guidance. Organization revolves

around routines, schedules, transitions and group times. I will have consistent daily

schedules and routines to help children transition between activities and routines. The

schedule will be posted around the classroom so the children know what is coming next

and do not always have to ask. I will use different techniques to make transitioning eas-

ier for some of the children. For example, shutting the light off when it is time to clean up

or making sure that I give all children a five-minute warning to clean up. It prepares the

child for the transition that is about to happen so they can be ready for the transition

when it does come.

The next type of guidance is direct guidance. Direct guidance is influenced by

modeling, communication, natural, logical or relevant consequences, and problem solv-

ing. Modeling is teaching by example, expressing feelings, accepting feelings, taking

risks, and taking responsibility by helping and apologizing to others. Modeling is im-

portant because it shows the children what you would want them to do. Model the be-

haviors by explaining and showing children the appropriate behavior.

Communication is used through active and reflective listening, and I-messages.

Reflective listening consists of listening attentively and being nonjudgmental to an indi-

vidual, and then repeating back to him or her in your own words what you think was

said. Active listening is repeating what they heard by rewording or paraphrasing it in

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their own words. I messages are used when something has bothered them and tells the

other child how they feel. There are three components to complete an I-message. The

three components are first, a description of the unacceptable behavior, your feeling, and

lastly, the concrete effect of the behavior on you.

Natural consequences are where the child experiences the direct results of his or

her own behavior. For example, if a child is cold in their room, it is the result of breaking

his or her own window. Logical consequences are consequences that are directly tied to

a behavior. It is important to communicate with the child that through their actions, cer-

tain behaviors will not be tolerated. It is also important to help children learn why that

behavior is not acceptable and making sure to give them personal reason to change.

Exclusion is asked to find something else to do until he or she feels ready to behave ap-

propriately. An example of exclusion is if a child has hit another child, the teacher would

ask him or her to go do something else until they can play with the other child appropri-

ately. Deprivation is not having accessing to materials that have been abused or mis-

used until the child feels read to behave appropriately. An example of deprivation is if a

child is throwing a shovel around, the shovel will be taken away until the child decides

that they can use a shovel appropriately. Lastly, restitution is where the child pays for,

or replaces, what has been damaged or lost. The child assists a person injured through

that childs fault. An example of restitution would be if a child broke another childs toy,

he or she would have to fix the toy or have to buy another toy for the child.

Another thing that impacts guidance is problem solving. It is very important that

children learn problem solving at a young age and learn how to do problem solving on
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their own. There are five steps to the problem solving process. The first step is problem

clarification. Problem clarification is acknowledging the problem and defining the owner-

ship of the problem. It is very important to listen to both sides of the story. If you do not

listen to both sides of the story, one child may feel like you are favoring the other child

and will look at it that way, if it were to occur in the future. The second step to problem

solving is solution formation. Solution formation is brainstorm a list of possible solutions

to solve the problem. The third step of problem solving is solution selection. Once the

children have listed off a few solutions for the problem, the children will decide which so-

lution to go with. Next is implementation. Implementation is following through with who

will do what and when they will do it. If a child suggests that they will take turns for five

minutes, I as the teacher need to make sure that they switch at five minutes. The last

step to problem solving is evaluation. Evaluation is assessing the success of the solu-

tion and if it fails, try another solution. These are just a few things that make guidance a

very important aspect for my classroom. It will improve the way the children learn what I

am teaching them and it will also improve the way I teach the children.

It is very important for me to use problem solving in my classroom. The children

need to learn how to solve their problems on their own and not expect the teacher to al-

ways solve their problems for them. By teaching my students the proper steps to prob-

lem solving, they will be able to solve their problems on their own and faster than if they

were to ask a teacher to do it for them.

I would create classroom rules with the childrens assistance. I think that it would

be more beneficial to have the children help me create rules because there is a greater
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chance that they will follow through with the rules and they will also know what the rules

are if they help create them themselves. We would come up with them at the beginning

of the school year. We would all sit down and I would ask them what type of rules they

think we need in our classroom to make sure that every child stays safe and that none

of our friends get hurt, physically or emotionally. Like I said above, there would also be

limits at different stations in the classroom to make sure that the children are staying

safe and under-control at the stations. I would bring them up when things were getting

out of hand or if the children needed a reminder about the rules and limits in our class-

room. I would bring them up by saying do you remember how we made the rules at the

beginning of the school year and we all agreed to following the rules. If they do not re-

member, I would sit down with the whole class and go over them again. I would remind

them by posting a poster around the classroom where the children will see everyday. It

will give them a good reminder of what we had talked about. I will also use pictures to

display the rules that we created. Some examples that will be created for the limits or

rules would be using your walking feet, no pushing, helping hands, listening ears, quiet

voices, clean up after yourself, etc. These are all very important rules that can be used

in any classroom, but especially at a young age.

Remediation is when guidance is needed for an extended amount of time. In or-

der to use remediation, I think that it would vary with the child. It is a process of trying to

figure out what works best for a child and sticking with it when the best strategy is

found. It is best to stay calm and to stick with giving the child a choice. Once you have
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given the child a choice, give the child a few seconds to decide and if they do not de-

cide, decide for them. It is important to observe what works best for the child, document

where the child has struggled and ask questions about what could have been done dif-

ferently. It is also important to communicate with the childs family to see if there has

been something at home that has been a trigger to the childs actions.

All of these methods are very critical to having good guidance in my classroom.

They all have a special place when controlling my classroom and making sure that all

children are welcomed in my classroom and feel safe. Guidance is very important be-

cause it can either make my classroom a better place or a not so good place. It can af-

fect everything that I do in my classroom if I do not provide good guidance.