Classroom Management Plan Classroom Management Philosophy I believe a proactive approach to classroom management is critical.

By planning and preparing ahead and making intentional decisions based on the developmental level of my students, I will be able to consistently gain and maintain student attention while effectively using time and resources. My classroom will be designed with a focus on engaging and challenging lessons, developing a sense of security and belonging, and fostering an intense curiosity and motivation to learn within each of my students. My students will always feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of being embarrassed, and will know without a doubt that I care about their success. Every child can learn and succeed when they have a caring adult who believes in them and encourages them to persevere. Managing Student Behavior Managing student behavior is a critical part of an effective classroom management plan. When students are bored or the work is beyond their current understanding they will likely exhibit challenging behaviors. It is imperative to create a rich and engaging learning environment that is interesting as well as relevant. When designing and implementing my lessons, I will take into account my students interests, needs, level of development, and learning styles. Using this information will allow me to create challenging yet engaging learning experiences. I will utilize a positive behavior management system that focuses on and rewards students when they show the expected behavior. I will use a variety of ways to reward students including individually, as a group, and as a class. For example: a student who has been having a hard time may earn a cheer from the class when following rules; a

group who has consistently followed directions may design a cheer to show the class; and the entire class may earn a few minutes of additional recess. Another critical component of effectively managing student behavior is my attitude towards each of my students. I firmly believe that every child wants to be successful and feel important and valued. To help my students be successful each day I must search for the cause of any challenging behavior they exhibit. When I can identify that cause I can plan and implement strategies to help my students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally in my classroom and the other realms of their lives. I will always look at myself first and reflect on whether my lesson is appropriately challenging, relevant to the students lives, and engaging. I believe most challenging behaviors will stem from inadequacies in these areas. Once those have been remedied and there has been no change in the childs behavior I can look more closely at the child and other reasons they may be acting this way. It may be that they need attention or recognition. I will have very few classroom rules and they will be broad but measureable: Be respectful, be responsible, and follow directions quickly. This will allow us to discuss what each rule means, its purpose and the relevance of the rule in their own lives. We will then develop a list of exactly what following the rules looks and sounds like as well as the consequences for not following the rules. I wholeheartedly believe that focusing on the positive is much more effective and will therefore only use these consequences when positive and proactive strategies have been ineffective. I will have a private discussion with the student who breaks a rule to jointly develop a plan and I will follow up with the student to determine the effectiveness of the plan. If it has not been working, we will discuss and brainstorm another course of action.

If the student consistently acts out after these plans have been implemented, they will lose a privilege. The third time the same behavior happens, a parent will be contacted and we will meet to jointly develop a new plan of action. I will also consistently look for the positive changes and efforts they make and recognize them for these efforts in a variety of ways such as giving them a positive note home or a certificate of improvement. Finally, I will use cues and other strategies to gain and maintain the attention of my students. For instance, if a few of the students are off task, I will recognize the students who are showing the behavior I expect at that time. It is also critical that I move around the classroom to prevent challenging behavior while I check on each students understanding of the content. If a student is off task I will never embarrass them, I will simply touch their shoulder or look at them to remind and refocus them. Managing Classroom Time To manage time effectively it is crucial that students know and are consistently expected to follow classroom procedures and routines. Rules and routines are an essential component in creating an environment that is conducive to learning. It is also important to note that time management can be facilitated through my own careful and thoughtful planning. Additionally, I will always be prepared for the day before my students arrive and utilize my time effectively. Each person in my classroom will share responsibility for taking care of the environment and resources. Therefore, I will have a rotating schedule in which each student is chosen to pass out and collect papers or other materials and lead us in routines. This will help build a sense of shared responsibility and pride in our classroom as well as helping manage time effectively.

I will have specific routines for each time of the day. When students enter the classroom in the morning they will be expected to have all of their homework turned into a bin and have the materials they need for the day ready. When we are lining up for PE, music, lunch, or recess I will excuse groups of students who have consistently followed the rules through the day. These routines and procedures will create a more peaceful and predictable atmosphere for my students and will give us more instructional time.

I will use simple ways to gain my students attention throughout the day. For example, when I say, Hokus Pokus, they respond Everybody focus, or Tootsie roll, lollipop and the students respond with Weve been talking, now lets stop. These chants are fun for the students and are important cues that allow me to regain the entire class attention quickly. There are multiple strategies such as these that I will use daily to help manage time.

I will have my daily lesson materials placed in labelled bins. These vertical bins will be labelled with the names of the week. Within these bins I will have files for each week. This will allow me to prepare at least one week in advance, and if for some reason I have to have a substitute, my materials will already be prepared and ready for them. This quick and easy planning tool will allow me to effectively manage my lesson plan materials and prevent me from wasting precious instructional time.

I will always make sure that I give my students time limits when they are working as well as setting expectations for being prepared. For example I would say, You have 15 seconds to have your desks cleared off and your math books out, 15, 14, 13, 12,. This will give students concrete expectations that will prevent instructional time from being wasted.

Managing Classroom Space Classrooms that are organized and have clear pathways and specific areas devoted to specific tasks are more conducive to learning. Clean and organized classrooms also save time as well as help students to feel secure and safe while minimizing distractions. Furthermore, it makes an immense difference in how parents and other individuals view the teacher. I will always strive to keep my classroom organized and have specific learning areas in the learning environment designed so that high traffic areas are away from places of learning or quiet learning areas. This can be accomplished by placing furniture in such a way that only allows students to move slowly in these quiet learning areas. I will use storage bins or cubbies for student work. These will be numbered and the first student (in alphabetical order) will be given the first cubby. This will allow students to keep many of their belongings, and items to take home or return to school at a later date in these cubbies if they do not have desks. Using and placing bulletin boards, white boards and Smart Boards or other available technology effectively so that students can see and engage with the content will be critical. These items will need to be relevant to content and meaningful and applicable to their lives. I will use concepts such as environmental print, math and money concepts, and word walls that are designed for student interaction. I will separate high traffic areas such as where students come in and leave the class, from low traffic areas such as the library or reading center. This will minimize distractions and allow students to continue working without being interrupted. It will be important that I create specific areas for students to hand in homework, language arts, math, and other content area work. This is critical because students rarely

complete work at the same time. It will save time and allow me to quickly give the direction that they are to hand the work into the science bin. I will not lose or misplace student work and it will be much more organized when I am grading. I will create a space within the classroom for small group as well as whole group instruction. The majority of whole group instruction when teaching in the upper grades will be at their table or desk while small group work for Tier 2 reading or math can be done at a small round or bean shaped table away from the rest of the class. This will allow me to give whole group instruction and meet with students with more specific needs while the rest of the class works independently. Managing Classroom Materials Ensuring that appropriate teaching and learning materials are available and readily accessible is critical and will ultimately result in more learning time. I will always have my lessons planned in advance and have all learning materials ready and organized for the day before my students come in the morning. If materials are difficult to find or mixed with other papers it wastes valuable instruction and learning time. It may also cause students to begin to lose motivation and interest and start to exhibit misbehavior. I will have a specific area for all teaching and learning materials as well as procedures students will be expected to follow to access and put away these materials. All manipulatives, papers, pencils, crayons, and markers and any other materials students may need will have a home. Students will be expected to return the materials back to their home when they have finished using them. Students will have specified areas where they are to put their finished work and unfinished work. I will have either bins or cubbies in which students can put their

finished work and subject folders where they can put works in progress. This will give students responsibility for their own learning as well as helping them stay organized. So that I can plan in advance as well as keep previously used lessons organized, I will use a filing system. Each file drawer will be devoted to a subject. Within these, I will organize according to units I will teach. I can easily put materials into each of these files for quick and easy access. When organizing my classroom library I will utilize the Dewey Decimal System for nonfiction and organize fiction work by author. So that students know which books are in their reading level I will mark them with a colored dot which will represent the congruence of A-Z reading scores and Lexile measures. These will be posted on a small board by the library if a student forgets which color level they need to look for. So that my classroom remains organized and clutter free and my files remain up to date, I will regularly check to see if there are materials that are out of date or no longer needed and I will either donate these or throw them away. As often as possible, I will keep a digital copy of lesson plans and supplemental materials. This will also eliminate clutter and allow me to easily file materials on my computer.