Part I: Classroom Management Classroom Management Plan I will promote an atmosphere of respect and tolerance. I believe when teachers show respect for their students, it creates an atmosphere of respect that transitions to how students treat each other and themselves. I aim to not just teach, but to support, to guide, to promote learning, and to develop personal relationships with my students. Developing such relationships is one of the most important reasons for why I am an educator. I aim to be a friendly teacher. I want my students to know I like them and my intent is for them to succeed. When students identify that I have respect for them, the classroom is much more manageable. When they understand they have a supportive relationship with me they will learn to respect me and the rules we create together in the classroom. I believe students should be a part of the rule-making process. When students are a part of this process, they hold themselves accountable by these rules. I believe students learn best from each other and from themselves. I don t want to tell students what is right and what is wrong, but help them to understand how to make their mathematics and physics skills better in a way that encourages them to learn. Students become aware of the best way to do things for themselves in this way. Furthermore, I stress that group work is important because students not only learn about the subject we study from each other, but they learn about respect, cooperation, management, and teamwork. My classroom environment will be one of motivation and encouragement. I plan to encourage my students by rewarding their positive behavior. I will also punish negative behavior, but only after discussing it with the student. Students will have the opportunity to turn in late work. Points will be taken off, but I would rather have my students do the work and learn from it, then not do it and have their grade suffer. I will regularly survey my students and inquire about what they like about class, what they don t like, and any other suggestions or issues they may have. I believe it is extremely important to understand what a student s life is like outside the classroom. When we understand their real-life experiences, we better understand what they bring to the classroom. In order to better understand this, I intend to create and continue an open dialogue with parents throughout the school year. One of the ways I ll establish this open line of communication from the first day of school is calling parents to let them know who well their child is doing. Students in my classroom will be held responsible for their own behavior. When students misbehave or act inappropriately they will be called on it. There is no room for disrespect in my classroom. My hope is for students to realize that while in my classroom there is no need to act inappropriately to receive attention. My students will always have my full attention when they act in positive ways and contribute productively to the overall learning environment.
Part II: Rules and Positive/Negative Consequences Class Rules Respect yourself, your peers, your teacher, and your school. Arrive on time. Raise your hand before speaking. Listen to others and participate in class discussions. One student talks at a time. If the teacher is talking, students shouldn t be talking. Cooperate with your group or partner during group work. Pick up after yourself. Do not interrupt other students' learning. No hall pass use during the first and last ten minutes of each class. No cell phones in class. No food or drink in class. Only water is allowed. No vandalism. Don't write or carve on your desk or school property. Positive Consequences Students who arrive on time everyday each month will be rewarded by dropping their lowest homework score from their grade average. Students who raise their hand before speaking will be allowed to speak. Students who participate in class discussions will be tallied during class and this will be taken into consideration for grading. Negative Consequences Students who do not raise their hand before speaking will be reminded to do so before speaking. Continual speaking out of turn will result in a one-on-one discussion after class. Students who do not participate in class discussions will be tallied during class and this will be taken into consideration for grading. Classroom participation counts toward their final grade! Students who do not stay on task will have a one-on-one meeting with me in the hall if their behavior is persistent. Students who do not treat classroom objects, (i.e. computers, desks), with care or students who vandalize school property will receive detention. There is no leniency on this rule. *At the beginning of each school year or semester, I will go over these rules with students. That presentation will be followed by a group discussion in which the class and I together create any additional rules we feel are appropriate for the class. Students will be required to sign a contract committing to these rules. This complete list of school rules will then be printed and sent home with students to collect parent signatures.
Part III: Task Analysis Research shows the most effective teachers work with students to develop classroom rules; however, it is also important to teach students about specific procedures for classroom activities (Charles, 2002). Task analysis for classroom procedures take rules a step farther and clarify exactly what is expected of students when, in this case, they enter the classroom. The following task procedure promotes student responsibility, awareness, and respect for fellow students and the teacher. Warm-up Activity at Beginning of Class (1 st 5 to 10 minutes of class): 1. When students enter the room the warm-up activity will be on the board. 2. Students are to be seated immediately and sit quietly, without talking, until the bell rings and then throughout the duration of the warm-up activity. 3. The warm-up activity is an individual assignment to be completed during the first 5 minutes of class. It will be relevant to the daily lesson and will be different each day. 4. Students need to remain quiet while they work on their warm-up activity. This will usually be one or two math problems that refresh students memories on what we learned the previous day. 5. When students are finished with their warm-up activity they will turn their sheet of paper over on the desk and look up. 6. Students will pass their assignments forward. Some participation points for the day will be based on whether or not this activity is completed and collected by the teacher. Part IV: Substitute Teacher Plan for Expectations and Routines In any case that a substitute fills in, that substitute will have access to a file that includes the following items: Picture file: This includes a picture of each student in each class along with their names and any medical concerns each student might have. This will help the substitute identify students. Daily schedule: This layout specifies the time and location for each period, which classes take place when, lunch and break times, and what time the school day is over. Emergency plan: This plan highlights emergency procedures with descriptions on how to handle drills or the real thing in case of a fire, flooding, etc. or school lockdown situation. Procedures folder: This outlines the various procedures students must use when leaving the classroom to do things like getting a drink of water, using the restroom or going to the clinic. This section also includes a list of class rules, (as stated earlier in this management plan), and positive and negative consequences. Daily forms: In the file, the substitute teacher will find attendance sheets, hall passes, and other daily forms I typically use throughout the day.
Enrichment activities: This part of the substitute file will contain at least three days of activities. When I know in advance which days I may be absent, I will have specific lesson plans prepared; however, these enrichment activities are created for days I am unexpectedly absent. These activities are not relevant to specific lessons the class and I are working on at the time I am gone. Instead, they correlate to any number of lessons we have or will learn about in class. Additional information: I will provide the substitute with information on my peer teachers and classroom neighbors, including a map of the school. I ll also describe the location for the air conditioner or heater controls, light switches, and information about using technology in the classroom, (i.e. overhead projector or teacher computer log-in information). Feedback form: I will leave the substitute a form to fill me in on how the day went during my absence. The form will include the following questions: Where did you have difficulties? Were there any contacts from parents or administrators that I should be aware of? On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the behavior of the class? What additional information could have been included in the substitute file that you needed? Is there anything else I should be aware of? Part V: Classroom Management Implementation Plan There are a number of steps I can take to implement my classroom management plan successfully. One of the most important things I can do is to keep my lesson plans and daily activities on a routine so that I provide my students with consistency. When students are given a routine in class, they more likely will follow the rules. Furthermore, it is important to stay consistent with the implementation of my discipline plan. That way, students can observe that procedures and consequences are enacted fairly. I also feel it is extremely important to involve parents in the discipline plan so that I receive support from home. I am someone who best functions when I am organized, so to stay organized as I implement my classroom management plan I have created the following implementation plan checklist: Go over rules with students and create new rules together. Ask students to sign a contract based on these rules then send home to parents requesting a signature. Be consistent in enforcing these rules. Remember both positive and negative consequences. Create regular check-in days with parents of all students. Write letters and call home about positive and negative behavior and how it is being rewarded. This shows parents consistency in the classroom. Ask for student feedback. Create regular feedback days, (i.e. once a month), in which students write a letter to the teacher or fill out a survey explaining how they feel things are going in class, (both academically and behaviorally), which areas they feel they are succeeding in, and which areas need more work.
Also, in order to keep my students in line, it is important to keep myself in line as a teacher. I will, therefore, provide myself with a checklist to ensure that I am doing my best, most consistent job at managing my classroom. That checklist is something I can review on a daily or at least weekly basis, and includes the following items: Model behavior in interactions with students that displays patience and maturity. Develop a proactive attitude that takes responsibility for student behavior and avoids habits of blaming students for classroom management difficulties. Respond to student behaviors positively, honestly, and with sincerity. Closely monitor lesson planning to ensure there is enough activity for classes to keep inactivity to a minimum and to ensure smooth transitions between activities and classes.
Part IV: Beginning of the Year Letter to Parents Dear Parents, September 9, 2012 Welcome to the school year at. My name is Kristin Scott, and I am so excited to have your student in my classroom! I look forward to a great year at as we all learn and grow together. I am sending this letter to explain my classroom rules and consequences, which I have already reviewed with students. The following is a list of classroom rules I use from year to year, which includes additional to rules created as the result of a group discussion with students. The students signed a contract with me committing to these rules. Respect yourself, your peers, your teacher, and your school. Arrive on time. Raise your hand before speaking. Listen to others and participate in class discussions. Only one student talks at a time. Cooperate with your group or partner during group work. Pick up after yourself. Do not interrupt other students' learning. No vandalism. Don't write or carve on your desk or school property. It is my belief that positive behavior in the classroom should not only be expected but also rewarded. Therefore, I have created positive consequences including a prize box and other ways students may improve their grades based on positive behavior. On the other hand, negative consequences include after-school detention for tardiness, and one-on-one meetings with me to discuss poor behavior. I aim to solve problems in the classroom with your support. I hope to get to know all of you this year, as I will be calling home periodically to inform you of your student s status. You can also check on what we re doing in class at our classroom blog:. If you have any questions about my discipline plan or my classroom procedures, please feel free to call me at or email me at. Sincerely, Kristin Scott
Part VII: Strategy for Assessing Classroom Management Plan I am a proponent of using self-reflection to monitor one s success. That is a philosophy that may be translated to classroom management. As such, I intend to maintain an online journal in which I record reflections on how I feel my classroom management is being implemented. This self-reflection will help me identify strengths and weaknesses and will remind me of what areas I need to focus on in order to make my classroom run more smoothly. I also believe it is important to receive support from a community of educators when it comes to classroom management. This support will be even more important when I am a new teacher. Therefore, I plan to join an online community of teachers where I can receive tips and advice on how to most effectively implement my classroom management strategy. One particularly helpful community I found to gain this kind of support is access through the following web site: http://newteachersupport.suite101.com/blogs.cfm This web site contains information about implementing classroom management, advice from teacher mentors, lesson plan help for new teachers, blogs and chat rooms for online support, and a plethora of articles that aim to help new teachers become more comfortable and in control of their classrooms. Furthermore, I believe it is important to maintain a relationship with my students parents as a way of assessing my classroom management plan. Letting parents know about their children s success in school shows them that I also care about their students well-being. This promotes an environment in which student success is a priority and parents and teachers are working towards the same goal. I believe the combination of self-reflection, utilizing teacher and administrator support both in my district and on the internet, and regularly connecting with parents will help me much more successfully implement my classroom management plan. Resource: Charles, C.M. (2002). Maintaining an Effective Learning Climate. Prentice Hall Inc., A Pearson Education Company.