Ryan Campeau

The Evergreen State College

Master in Teaching Spring 2017

South Bay Elementary School

Lacey, WA

Second Grade

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 Table of Contents

3 Philosophical Statement of Beliefs about Classroom Management

4-5 Diagrams of Classroom Arrangement

6-9 Classroom Rules

10 Classroom Rules Rationale

11-14 Classroom Procedures

15-16 Supporting Student Engagement

17 Works Cited

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 Philosophical Statement of Beliefs about Classroom Management

I believe that my classroom management choices should create a learning environment in which all

students feel confident in their right to learn, to make choices, to do important work, and to express their ideas and

opinions. They believe that they matter as individuals and as important contributors to a larger, meaningful

community. The students feel inspired by many things and empowered to set goals for themselves and to take steps

and use resources to get closer to those goals. Moreover, students feel safe to experiment, take risks, and fail,

knowing that the community supports them in this necessary endeavor to learn. I invite student voice into the

process of creating rules, procedures, and consequences; when problems arise with classroom systems, students

know how to bring concerns before the community for discussion and possible change through the democratic

process. Students have time every day to read, research, and explore topics that are valuable to them, and in the

process of learning, they are presented opportunities to risk, fail, and reflect on the value of those failures with the

support of their peers. Everyone’s voice will be valued through daily class meetings, the use of equity sticks to

promote equitable classroom talk, and by turning students to each other for meaningful discussion. I respond to

students by noticing, questioning, modeling, and sometimes commanding, knowing that every student is different

and that while rules must be fairly enforced, an equitable classroom culture necessitates that different students

receive the feedback and support that they need, which may differ between students.

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 Diagrams of Classroom Arrangement

I chose to arrange student seating in table groups to facilitate peer and

partner work. Additionally, at the center of each group of four student

desks will be communal supplies and folders for students to turn in

their completed work. This is an easy management structure to minimalize the amount that students must move around the

classroom to get supplies or turn in papers. Additionally, each person in a table group will be assigned a number, 1-4,

which will dictate their daily jobs for their table group. Jobs will include sharpening pencils at the beginning of the day,

cleaning the desks at the end of the day, gathering specific materials for group members, etc. This will help students to

take on responsibilities for the management of their space and materials, contributing to the classroom culture of helping
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one another and having responsibility for one’s body and space. The teacher desk needs to be in the corner next to the

whiteboard so that teaching materials can be stored and readily available during instruction time. The table and chairs for

small reading groups should be in the corner opposite from the library and whole-class meeting/instructional space,

because those serve as optional spaces where children can read and write while the teacher meets with other students. A

check-out system needs to be available in the library, and the bathroom and hallway passes available at the door with a

sign-out system so that I can know who is out of the room in case of emergency. Additionally, the system for marking

lunch choice and attendance are placed at the

door, so students can check in as they enter the

room on the way to their cubbies and desks.

Students have different seating arrangements for

the space by the whiteboard depending on the

purpose of the meeting. When instruction is

happening, students sit in semi-circular rows

facing the whiteboard, which facilitates focus on

the teacher but maintains the option of turn-and-

talk. When the purpose of a meeting is student voice, community, and debriefing/sharing, students sit in a circle so that

everyone can see each other and feel included in the community.

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 Classroom rules

Rule 1: Respect others’ bodies, property, and feelings. Think before you act and speak.

Topic: This lesson focuses on naming and practicing what respect looks and feels like.

Materials: poster paper with rule written at top and “looks like, sounds like” chart, leaving space on the sides large enough

for cardstock and at bottom for signatures; markers of different colors; sticky notes; small card stock (3x5 inch); colored

pencils and pencils (at student desks); glue stick

Connections: “Yesterday, we brainstormed a list of all the ways people act and talk in the classroom that make us feel

good, and ways that people sometimes act and talk that we don’t like. Today, we’ll go further and name the specific

norms for respect for our classroom – how do we expect people to act and talk to show respect to everyone in this

community.”

Direct Instruction: Display the poster paper with the rule, “Respect others’ bodies, property, and feelings. Think before

you act and speak.”

Read the rule to students and explain to them that if I am respecting others, I will always think about how my words and

actions might affect them. Model for them, involving one or two other students if appropriate to help me demonstrate

what it looks like when I respect them. Provide “think aloud” commentary as I model for students, including giving

examples of how I might be angry at the person I’m talking to for something that happened at recess, or annoyed at them

because I think I have a great idea and they want to do something else. HOWEVER, I can remind myself to show respect

to this person and think about how they will feel now if I disrespect them.

Active Engagement: Ask students to give you examples of what respect might look and sound like, and explain that we

will add these to the chart for continual reference throughout the year.

As students share examples, write/draw their ideas on sticky notes and add to the “looks like, sounds like” chart.

Add specific examples that students do not name that should be included. Give very clear examples for students.

Link: Summarize the most important points expressed about respect and explain to students that they will now work with

their table mates to create a mini-poster to express why this rule matters. “You can use words or pictures to show this.

You all have to agree on what you put on the poster, and you all have to contribute to writing and drawing. This is an

opportunity for you to practice the rule, showing respect to each other as you discuss and express why it matters to show

respect.”

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Independent work: Ask all the 4s to come and get one piece of card stock for their group as the other table mates return to

their desks. Circle as students brainstorm and begin to write/draw. Lean into groups to actively listen. Notice aloud to the

students who is doing most of the talking, writing, or drawing. Ask them how they think their group is doing at showing

respect to one another in the process. Point out specific, quality examples of respect.

Sharing: Ask students to return to the carpet and invite 3s to explain their groups’ poster. Ask 2s to comment on how well

their group showed each other respect. Add my own perspective on their group work, using this opportunity to review

important points about what respect looks and sounds like, and clarify if I am hearing or seeing anything off.

1s glue their mini-poster around the sides of the larger poster for a border.

To close, all students have the chance to come sign their name to the poster to affirm that they will respect everyone in

their classroom and school community. Communicate to students that they will be held accountable for their words and

actions. Students who are not signing the poster return to their desks and write in their journal a reflection about their

experience working with their table mates, what respect means to them, and if/how they might struggle to show respect to

others.

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Rule 2: We are a community of learners! Think about how you can help others learn.

Topic: This lesson focuses on the importance of community and helping one another learn.

Materials: In a cup, seven strips of paper with scenarios at school in which students have the opportunity to act as a

community that helps one another learn (e.g. “Everyone is working on their math worksheets, and the person sitting next

to you is sighing and looks frustrated,” or “Everyone is sitting at the carpet for the morning reading lesson. The teacher

asks for someone to identify the main idea of a science article we just read. You hear Bob’s answer, and you think it’s

something different. Then, the teacher asks if anyone can explain Bob’s idea and explain why you agree or disagree.”);

large banner with rule written and space for small individual photos (e.g. Polaroid photos); small individual photos taken

on the first day of school with students holding their name tags (written as they want to be called with their gender

pronouns); tape/glue stick

Connections: “Yesterday, we focused on what respect looks and sounds like, and we practiced respect while working with

our tablemates. Today, we want to add onto our ideas about respect by planning how we can actively help each other to

learn.”

Direct Instruction: Show the banner with the rule at the front of the classroom. Discuss with student input what it means to

be a community, and name some of the different communities they are a part of. The best part of being in a community is

doing things you can’t do on your own. In this community, we learn better because we help one another, acting as a

community of learners. Explain to students, “I have written examples of situations at school when students might have the

opportunity to help each other learn. I will give you an example of helping others learn in one situation.”

Pick a scenario out of the cup. Read it aloud. Invite another student to come up to act it out with me.

Active Engagement: After we act it out, invite students to turn to their neighbor and explain how we helped each other

learn, and how they might have acted differently to help the person learn. Invite students to share with the whole class

how they noticed we acted as a community that helps each other learn.

Role-play again, giving students a poor example of helping in that situation (e.g. just giving the struggling student the

answer). Ask students to comment on what words or actions weren’t helpful.

Link: review that we are focusing on helping each other LEARN, and still acting and speaking in ways that show

RESPECT for one another. Clarify any necessary points.

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Independent work: Explain that each table group will now have a chance to practice in a situation that they might be in at

school, and role-play in two ways: how they could help others learn in that situation, and how they could do a poor job of

helping each other learn. Everyone needs to participate with ideas, and everyone needs to agree on what is in the final

role-play that you will show to the class. As students practice, walk around the class and notice to student groups who is

doing most of the talking. Ask them how they think their group is doing at helping one another learn and participate in this

process, and if they are also practicing showing respect to one another.

Sharing: Student groups present their skits to the class, and peers provide one another feedback on what words and actions

helped someone learn in that situation, and what words and actions were unhelpful. Invite students to reflect on how it

would feel to be a part of a school and classroom community that helps each other learn. Have students return to their

desks and write about this in their journals. One by one, call students up to the board and ask if they want to be a part of a

learning community that helps each other, and have them glue/tape their photo from the first day onto the banner. Display

the banner above the whiteboard at the front of the room.

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 Classroom Rules Rationale and Enforcement

These two rules focus on the classroom as a site of respect and learning in community. Both rules focus on the

interconnectedness of the individual and the collective – how we treat others matters on both the individual and

community level. A democratic classroom needs to have this kind of support and emphasis on respect and community.

The examples that students explore in relation to these rules focus on helping each individual engage and feel validated. A

democratic classroom needs each person to feel respected, included, and important to the community, so that everyone

feels able to participate and express their joys, concerns, questions, and needs.

By asking students to sign their name to the respect poster and choose to put their photo on the learning

community banner, each student is making visible their commitment to the rules. I explain when students do this that they

will be held accountable for their words and actions in relation to these rules. Next steps following these lessons would be

working with students to identify fair consequences for not following these rules, and establishing a classroom system for

seeking help from one another and the teacher when individuals feel that they are not being respected or helped to learn.

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 Classroom procedures

Procedure 1: In line / walking in the hallway

Expectations: All students must have

their hands at their sides; students will

not be moving their hands, making noise

with their hands, touching their peers or

the wall, etc. All students will keep their

eyes facing forward, watching the

teacher, where they are walking, and

gauging the distance between themselves

and the next person. All students’ lips

will be closed, e.g. no talking,

whispering, whistling, singing, etc. All

students will walk at a reasonably low,

safe speed.

Teach Procedures: Show funny video of

bad and good hallway behavior (such as

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBSXVzgWOtw&t=67s but try to find better one.)

Invite students to discuss why we need rules for walking in the hallway. (If we are noisy, we could disturb other

classes. If we aren’t looking forward, we might accidentally bump into our peers are get hurt. If our hands aren’t at

our sides, we might knock other student’s art/work off the walls. If we move too quickly, we could fall and get

hurt.) Explain that if we get in trouble for bad behavior in the hallway, there are consequences from the school.

We’ll miss out on specialists in the future – no P.E.! No music!

Show students the visual and explain the acronym “HALL.”

Explain that I will always dismiss students to line up by their table groups. When you line up, you walk slowly and

safely. You immediately face toward the door, stop talking, and keep your hands to your side. Once all students are

lined up, everyone is silent, everyone is facing me, and I see that no hands are moving around, we can go into the

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hallway. We will move at the slow, safe pace that the line leader determines, and everyone will do their best to

match that pace. Keep your eyes up and scanning, your hands off anyone or anything else, and your voices off until

we get to our destination. When you arrive, you calmly and quietly follow directions.

Practice Procedures: You saw bad and good examples in that video. But it’s time to go to music, so I’m going to

need you to show me your best hallway behavior. What do we do with our hands? (Students chorus: by our sides!)

With our eyes? (Forward!) Lips? (Closed!) And how fast are we moving? (Low speed!)

Dismiss students by table groups. Ask the students still waiting at the carpet to watch their peers and note who is

doing a good job. Make a point of calling back any group or individual student that doesn’t walk slowly to line up

and immediately face forward, voices off etc.

Monitor & Assess: As students walk to music, vigilantly scan the group. When we get to the music room, ask

students to give me a thumb’s up, to the side, or down to self-assess how well they practiced HALL. If the students

did well, let them know, and explain that other classes are thankful to us, and the music teacher is thankful we got

here quickly and are ready to go for her class. Great job!

If students have any difficulty with hallway behavior, set up a system of consequences. For example, if a student is

noisy in the hallway, they must go back to those classrooms, apologize to the class, and do something to help in the

room. If students’ hands are active in the hallway, they need to do something to clean up the hallway.

Re-teach, reminders: Continue to review HALL with students before asking them to line up to walk through the

hallway. Continue to reinforce fair consequences.

Rationale: If students can travel calmly and efficiently in the hallway, then they are ready to enter the learning

space (either specialists’ rooms or to re-enter my classroom) and immediately prepare themselves again for

learning. Additionally, we respect the common spaces in our school, and show respect to other classrooms’

learning by not disrupting with our voices and bodies in the hallway.

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Procedure 2: Going to the bathroom

Expectations: If the teacher is giving a lesson, you will

stop and think before you ask to go to the bathroom. If

you think you can wait, then wait until the lesson

finishes and there is quiet work time or another break.

If you need to use the bathroom during the lesson, the

teacher will trust that you’ll be responsible and return

as quickly as you can. Signal to the teacher, wait for

her to see and signal back, then get a pass and sign out

by the door. Once you return, do your best to join back

in the work, and get a neighbor’s help if necessary.

Teach Procedures: Have all students gathered to the

carpet space. Explain that, “I understand that everyone

needs to use the bathroom, and you can’t always wait

until recess. Sometimes you may need to go to the

bathroom when I’m delivering a lesson. But, can we imagine why it would be a problem if lots of people started

getting up to come ask me to go to the bathroom WHILE I am teaching?” Ask three students to be your “bad

examples,” and tell them to one at a time come up and ask me to go to the bathroom while I’m teaching to the

whole class. Stop the lesson each time, listen to the student, explain the bathroom procedure to the student …

Students will see that this causes a huge disruption to the lesson!

Show students the visual. Explain that if students want to ask to go to the bathroom, they need to first stop and

THINK, “Is the teacher giving a lesson? If yes, can I wait until she finishes? Or can I wait until the next break?”

If it’s quiet work time, you can always go to the bathroom. Skip to the step, PASS. Take a pass and sign your

name.

BUT, if your teacher is giving a lesson and you think you can’t wait, SIGNAL with the bathroom sign, and wait

for a thumb’s up or other signal so she knows you’re going. (This helps me know what you miss and might need

help catching up on.) [Teach all students the bathroom sign and have them practice.]

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Grab the PASS and sign out by the door. Focus on RETURN-ing: doing your job and getting back to class as

quickly as you can. Once you return, pick up with your work. Ask a neighbor if you need help!

Practice Procedures: “Three students already helped us to see a poor example of the bathroom procedure. Let’s all practice

the bathroom sign again to make sure you’re ready if you ever need to signal during a lesson.” Model and see students

repeat sign. “Let’s have another student try out the correct bathroom procedure.” (Just ask them to stop at the door.)

Pretend to be teaching as you provide third-person commentary on what is happening in the classroom. (“Ms. C is

teaching about math, and __ student isn’t able to concentrate because she really needs to use the bathroom. She THINKS

first but decides she can’t wait. She SIGNALS to Ms. C. Ms. C signals back. She takes the PASS and signs out. What

does she do, everyone?” “She does her job and gets back to class, picks up with work, asks a neighbor if she needs help.”)

Monitor & Assess: Over the next few days, notice when students are signaling appropriately for the bathroom.

Notice when students are waiting until quiet work time or breaks to go to the bathroom. Provide positive

affirmation to students. Notice if any students are spending long periods in the bathroom, or if they go frequently.

Talk privately with those students, providing reminders about the importance of being responsible with their time

and choices.

Re-teach/Remind: Remind individual students the procedures as necessary.

Rationale: It’s important to communicate to students that I believe they can self-monitor and be responsible for

their bodies and time. When students are working independently, I want them to feel like they can go to the

bathroom, get water, and generally be responsible for their choices. However, when we’re in a whole-class

learning situation, it’s important that they think before they make the choice to leave, because it’s key that they are

present for instruction. Additionally, I want to know who misses instruction to help them successfully catch up.

Signaling with the bathroom sign is the least obtrusive way to let the teacher know who is leaving for the

bathroom, and the bathroom procedures visual generally helps students remember that the priority is on individual

responsibility, communication with the teacher, and getting back to class.

Supporting Student Engagement

I will support student engagement by holding all students accountable for their learning and participation.

By using equity sticks to call on students, practicing teacher with-it-ness by scanning the room and immediately

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addressing off-task behavior, and communicating high expectations for all students, I will cultivate a culture of

engagement. Additionally, I will craft a classroom community in which each individual matters, in which we

respect and support each other, and in which we especially help each other as learners. I will do this through the

classroom rules outlined in this plan, and through daily practices such as a morning meeting in which every student

is invited to share about their lives outside of school. Additionally, I will treat students with respect and give them

opportunities to be responsible, make choices, and develop pride in themselves and ownership of their space. The

bathroom procedure outlined in this plan communicated to students that I believe they can self-manage and make

responsible choices about when and how to leave the classroom to take care of their needs. I will establish other

classroom procedures that give students responsibility in managing the classroom, for example in distributing

materials, turning in completed work for their table group, making a lunch count, taking attendance, etc. For

students who have difficulty managing their own behavior in the classroom, I will help them to develop

responsibility for their own behavior by communicating respect for the student and helping them to see the purpose

and value in our work. Together, we will create a behavior plan to help the student develop responsibility for their

choices, become successful at school, and celebrate their progress toward becoming a better self-manager. Finally,

I will purposefully incorporate student interests into the curriculum by starting a year or unit with student surveys

and incorporating their interests into our learning opportunities, a technique that will maximize student

engagement in our learning experiences.

I imagine that to have a classroom of students who are fully engaged will look like an active place where

students are moving, talking, working, and learning without needing active assistance or support from the teacher.

Students manage the beginning and end of the day, taking care of basic classroom management tasks

independently. It is clear that students enjoy one another and their learning activities from the way that they

interact while working together. Student interactions communicate appreciation and respect for their peers and the

teacher. However, voices and bodies are always in control, and it is clear that the classroom is a safe space where

all individuals know their limits and don’t seek to test those limits. Because students have control over their space,

see themselves as agents who can make responsible decisions, and recognize their role as members of a community

that matters, they have a stake in the success of that community and the work that goes on there and are not

tempted to behave inappropriately. For students who make irresponsible choices, there are fair and equitable

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consequences agreed upon by the teacher and students earlier in the year, and so the implementation of

consequences are discussed only at appropriate junctures such as classroom meetings to review rules and

procedures.

My classroom management plan draws upon the research of Ginsberg (2015), Kounin (1970), and

Marzano (2003). Ginsberg’s framework explains that motivation is increased when students feel a sense of

inclusion, have positive relationships with their peers and the teacher, when opportunities exist to learn about one

another during learning experiences, and when their interests are incorporated into the curriculum. Kounin outlines

the practice of teacher with-it-ness, finding that when teachers actively scan the room and immediately respond to

student behavior, call on students randomly, and move about the room, students are more likely to stay aware,

engaged, and actively participate in the lessons. Marzano’s work suggests many of the practices that I used to

develop the rules and procedures outlined in this plan. Marzano’s classroom management techniques additionally

suggest developing student responsibility through behavior management plans created with the student, helping to

put in place supports for students who struggle to manage themselves in the classroom environment.

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 Works Cited

Ginsberg, M. B. (2015). Excited to learn: motivation and culturally responsive teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Corwin, a SAGE Company.

Kounin, J. S. (1970). Discipline and group management in classrooms. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Marzano, R., Marzano, J., & Pickering, D. (2003). Classroom management that works: Research-based strategies

for every teacher. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Alexandria, VA.

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