Classroom Management Plan

By: Trish Weasel Fat

My classroom management philosophy
I believe classroom management is a very important component
in all-educational settings. I believe that learning happens best when
students are given clear, concise direction. I am confident that my
classroom will be a safe environment to encourage life-long learning.
Students need to feel safe and comfortable in order to learn effectively.
As an educator, I will manage my classroom in such a way that I will
create this sort of environment. My classroom management strategy is
to help get and maintain control of my classroom, as well as redirect
and deal with negative behaviors. Classroom management is
applicable in all grade levels and is expectations that need to be
addressed in thee beginning of a school year. My classroom
management will help me and I will know how to respond when faced
with disruptions to my learning environment.

Positive Reinforcement
I am a huge believer in positive reinforcement because students
love to be praised for their positive behavior. During instruction time I
noticed that when I acknowledge the good behaviors by stating aloud
what I am expecting, more students become aware of this and
immediately change their behavior. I do not focus on bad behavior as

much as I do the positive behavior. I have learned from previous

practicums that focusing on bad behavior is not effective to teach
students what is expected.

Classroom Set-up and Rules

Classroom Rules should be made up by the students in the
classroom because this creates a sense of responsibility on the entire
class. When students make up their own class rules they become
aware of what is acceptable and what is not. A classroom should have
many visuals for students to be mindful of what is expected.
Classroom set-up is also extremely important for students to
learn how they are expected to act in the classroom. The classroom I
teach in has various visuals for students to use as indicators of
expected behavior. The rug rules are posted in class by the rug are
rules that each student knows well. The rug rules are: no talking
while other people are speaking, crisscross apple sauce (legs crossed),
sitting face forward (toward the teacher), hands still in laps, raise hand
(to answer a question).

In the front of the class on the whiteboard (located next to the

Smartboard) is a voice level poster with a clip attached to where the
voice levels should be during instruction. The levels start at 4 with
outside voices, 3 strong speaker, 2 table talk, 1 whisper, and 0 quiet.

When I want students to be mindful of their voice level I clip the poster
where I want the students voices to be at. When this doesnt work I
raise my hand with a number indicating where their voice level should
be. During instruction time I raise my hand displaying the number 0.
The students know that I want everyone to be quiet while I am
speaking.

Rainbow rules are posted in front of the class where most

instruction takes place. The rainbow rules are for the rainbows in the
classroom. The rainbows are all the students in the classroom. The
name was a name given to the students to create a sense of
community with the students and teacher. Students that belong to a
group create a sense of pride in their classroom community.

To eliminate students calling out in class I will discuss

expectations with the class and we will formulate rules and
consequences at the very beginning of the school year. As a PS3 intern
starting in January, the rules have already been established with the
students by my teacher mentor, therefore I must learn all the rules of
the classroom and implement them as the teacher does on a daily
basis. I also added my own ideas on how to handle this issue of
students calling out in class. I decided that if a child calls out in class I
would praise the other students that are patiently waiting to be called

upon to answer a question or make a comment. I also dont

acknowledge the student that calls out and if the student say, I
already said that I would have to redirect the student back to what is
expected at carpet time or when the teacher is talking. The classroom
rules are posted all over the class so by pointing to the rule the student
will instantly remember what is expected. Consistency is key!

There is one student that fails to ask for help, does not speak
very much and is withdrawn from the rest of the students. For various
reasons, this student may not feel comfortable or confident about
asking questions in the classroom setting. I will have an individual
conference with the student to discuss the problem and work together
to develop possible solutions. Depending on the situation I would have
another student to buddy up with the withdrawn student because the
withdrawn student may feel more comfortable with another student.
I will also use other material to help with classroom
management. On the Teacher Pays Teacher website I will use Monster
Manners to establish expectations. This is a good way to get students
to understand what I am expecting beyond what the teacher mentor
expects. I plan to establish my own management plan as I venture
through the beginning of PS3.

T.E.A.C.H.

This is a model that was discussed in PS1 and PS2. I will follow
this model to maintain classroom management because its attainable
for the students and myself. The T.E.A.C.H model is a model that helps
teachers to understand classroom management. The model includes:

T Tailor for diversity. Make it a point to know as much as possible

about your students, including their diverse cultural, ethnic,
behavioral, and learning characteristics, along with stressors they may
experience outside of school.

E Encourage positive behavior. Aim for a 4:1 ratio of positive

comments to negative corrections for all the students.

A Arrange the environment for success. Teach your behavioral

expectations directly and immediately through collaboratively
established classroom rules and well designed classroom routines.

C Consult your peers. Seek collaboration with experienced teachers

and specialists before difficult problems start to become entrenched.

H Hug yourself. Prevent stress and burnout by focusing each day on

what you are accomplishing and not just on what is frustrating

Golden Tickets/ Treasure Chest

Students receive golden tickets if they are showing expected behaviors
while working. The teachers will go around the class when they see
students working hard. The names are put into a jar and names are
drawn at the end of the day about two times a week or more if student
are super good. Golden tickets are very good for students to redirect
their attention to what they should be doing if they see another
student receiving the ticket. If the student is super good and gets
golden tickets all the time they have more of a chance to win the draw.
S.tudents are willing to work harder when they see golden tickets being
passed out and this is a very effective classroom management strategy
because the consequence of not getting a ticket reduces their chance
of receiving a toy from the treasure chest
Monster Manners
Monster Manners is a classroom management strategy that I found on
Teacher Pays Teacher. This strategy teaches three different levels of
behaviors. The three levels of behaviors are above the line, below
the line and bottom line. Above the line behaviors are sharing,
raising hand, sitting criss-cross, listening, walking, working, helping
others participating and cleaning up. Below the line behaviors are
interrupting, blurting, breaking tools/toys, tattling, not keeping hands
to self, playing during carpet time, laying down during carpet time and
talking in the hallways. Below the line behaviors are hitting, kicking,

pushing, spitting and yelling. On the first day of teaching Monster

Manners I introduced the behaviors and the students sorted out the
behaviors according to the level and students took turns placing the
behavior to the appropriate level. I also used pictures depicting the
behaviors for further understanding and I also demonstrated to the
class how some of the behaviors look. The students did various
activities that show what is expected behaviors in the school and in the
classroom.

Super Students
A new strategy I started using is putting names on the board for
students showing expected behaviors. I decided that if I reinforce
expected behaviors transitions would become easier. My strategy, in
the beginning, was to start each class with three names. I explained to
the students what I am expecting and I would look for student not
talking, smiling, ready to learn, desk cleared and hands clear of
objects. The students understood my expectations upon the starting of
class and as soon as they see names being written on the white board
under the title Super Students they all begin to show expectations. I
did not write down the expectations, but as a class we go over what is
expected when behaviors are not being displayed. The students have
responded very well with this strategy. I am very happy with myself in
terms of how classroom management has been going for me.

Monster Manners and Supper Student are two strategies that

have worked best for my guiding question. How do most teachers
develop and use classroom rules and routines with consequences that
work? To answer this question I believe that what I have been enforcing
with the expected behaviors from Monster Manners and Supper
Students. The consequences that work are recess minutes lost, sitting
at their desk with head down, not gaining golden tickets, and not
seeing their names on the white board. I also have kids go over the
visual chart of Monster Manners if they need reinforcement. I told
the students that if they are not showing positive expectations we will
have to go do sorting of the Monster Manners to learn what is
expected. Most students do not want to sort the chart and they
instantly tell me what is expected. The first time we did the sorting
activity the students had fun, but as a consequence they have to sort
by themselves to understand what I am looking for in their behaviors.
Other consequences that worked well in the classroom is the treasure
chest of toys. If students are not showing positive or expected
behaviors they will not get a toy from the chest or they will not have
their name drawn from the golden ticket draw.

Classroom management is by far the most important aspect of

teaching. Classroom management happens before teaching subject

content is achieved. I believe building community within the classroom

is important to have a successful school year. The strategies I have
mentioned are strategies that I have started to implement and in
working progress. My teacher mentor has very good examples of what
I would use in my future classroom.