Lauren Sammon

3/4/14
Rules and Procedures
1st Grade
The importance of time set aside to establish classroom rules and routines has been
emphasized continually during my classes. Mainly, the time set aside is important in order to
manage an effective-running class system for the rest of the year. In my future classroom, I will
dedicate time and effort to clearly establish the classroom rules and routines at the start of the
year. Establishing classroom rules and routines is crucial, so students can focus on academics
and learning and not face distractions caused by a disorganized classroom.
I will expect my students to be respectful, responsible members of our class. One of my
main goals will be to always show my students respect, as I believe in order to gain respect, one
must first give respect. For this reason, I will share a moderate degree of control with my
students, equivalent to the model of Logical Consequences. My philosophical views align with
Rudolf Dreikurs Logical Consequences model as I believe students should be involved in the
management of the classroom. I also agree with Dreikurs that the most important aspects of
classroom management are establishing a caring classroom community and diminishing
unwanted behaviors before they occur. Dreikurs' model states that unwanted behaviors occur
when students needs arent being met. Therefore a top priority in my future classroom will be to
make sure the diverse needs of my students are addressed.
I will have a class meeting and discussion in order to determine the classroom rules.
Children will provide input on what rules they believe we should have in order to maintain a
functioning classroom. Though the students will provide the rules, I will lead the discussion. I
will bring up possible situations the students might face and discuss what rules we should have in
order to prevent those situations. One example would be Can we concentrate if everyone is

talking at the same time? Then lead to How can we prevent this from happening? I will
include the rules important to the students, but will subtly make sure a few of my own rules
make it to the list through discussion. The rules I will make sure are included to our final list are
Listen when the teacher and others are talking, Follow directions, and Be Kind. I believe
these three rules are the most important in establishing a well-functioning classroom.
We will decide the rules as a class, and I will transfer these rules to a poster to hang in the
room. All of my students, along with me, will sign the poster at the bottom. This was something
I observed in my practicum teachers classroom, and she explained that it helps the students take
ownership of the community rules. I will make copies of the classroom rules to send home with
the students. The students will then have their parent/guardian read the list together, sign a
separate sheet that states they read the rules, and return the signed sheet. The students will have
a copy of the rules at home, and the families will have an option to enforce the same rules in
their own household. I will also provide copies of our classroom rules to share with members of
administration, and other teachers of the same grade, so that everyone is aware of my
expectations. These rules will be clearly displayed and available for any substitute teachers that
work in my classroom.
In our textbook Elementary Classroom Management, the authors assert that effective
classroom routines are clearly stated, demonstrated, frequently practiced, and the students are
provided teacher feedback. These steps are necessary to help convert those procedures into
second nature. When the routines become second nature, the routines help the daily class
activities run smoother and help diminish interruptions that distract student learning. I believe
taking these steps is necessary in order to become an effective classroom manager. I am
fortunate to have my first practicum experience with a teacher who has proven to be an

extremely effective classroom manager. Mrs. Campbells daily class runs smoothly, without
interruptions, throughout the day, and this is because of the routines she established at the years
beginning. I have been taking notes of her procedures and plan to use many of them in my future
classroom.
Mrs. Campbell established many nonverbal cues in her classroom, which help diminish
interruptions. One I am particularly impressed with, and plan to use in my future classroom, is
the nonverbal cue that students use when they need to use the restroom. Instead of raising their
hands, and asking the teacher, they simply show the teacher a hand symbol: two crossed fingers.
Instead of stopping what shes doing and answering yes or no, she simply nods her head and the
student proceeds to the restroom. Ive seen this procedure done several times and it is seamless
and effective.
The sharpening of pencils is another classroom routine of Mrs. Campbells that I plan to
use in the future. I have heard from several different teachers, and in books, that the classroom
becomes disruptive when young students are freely allowed to sharpen their pencils whenever
they like. Students may pretend they need to sharpen a pencil when in reality they
dont. Students want to because it is perceived to be a fun job. To prevent these disruptions, I
will have two containers in my classroom located against one wall. One container will be
labeled pencils that need to be sharpened, and the other will be labeled pencils to borrow. If
a students pencil needs sharpening, he or she will quietly walk to the containers, drop the pencil
in the first bin and pick up a new pencil from the second. I will have classroom jobs assigned to
different students throughout the year, and one of those jobs will be the pencil sharpener. At
each days end, the student assigned as pencil sharpener will sharpen all of the pencils in the first
bin.

One of the lesson-running routines I plan to use relates to the pencil sharpening
routine. This procedure will be established for any classroom activities that require students to
work individually on paper assignments. I will set up a bin on the same table as the pencil bins
and label it assignments to turn in. When a student finishes a paper assignment, he or she will
bring the paper and drop it in the assignments bin. If students finish early, and I havent given
prior instructions of what to do next, they will have the choice of reading from their book bin or
writing in their journal. Ive seen this procedure used in my practicum classroom effectively.
I will incorporate the distribution of materials into my classroom jobs. Each week, one
student from each cluster of desks will be assigned as the table leader. The table leaders will be
in charge of distributing materials to each student at their table. Before each assignment, I will
address the table leaders and direct them where to go to retrieve the materials: either to me or to
a designated area in the room.
I will have a chart of classroom voices, labeled level zero to level three. Level zero will
be designated silent, (no talking). They will rank up to slightly higher levels one and two. Level
three will be designated playground voices, and this volume will be used only on the
playground. When I am providing small-group instruction, I will have the other students
working at level zero in different centers. The centers will be labeled on a pocket chart in the
room, and designated an amount of time. For the first section of centers, the students will place
their names in the pocket of the activity they choose to work on. When a certain amount of time
has passed, I will ring a bell to designate it is time for students to move to a new center. I will
make sure the students know the reason we do centers at level zero is to respect the students
working in small-group instruction, so they are able to hear the teacher.

When the students are working in small groups together, I will instruct them to be at a
level one. Level one will be talking quietly. I will be sure to model the different levels to the
students repeatedly to make sure they are aware of what each level sounds like. During their
small group work, I will explain we are working at level one so that each group is able to hear
their small group members without disturbing the other groups. I will walk around the room and
monitor the students to keep them on task. If students in a group are getting too loud, I will stand
near them and redirect; and if the whole class begins to get too loud, I will flicker the lights and
make sure they know this means they are too loud.
Classroom rules and routines are necessary to maintain order in the classroom. I want my
students to be a part of the management process in as many ways as possible. In order to make
sure the class routines run smoothly, I plan to explicitly explain each routine, and then
demonstrate, practice and reinforce the routine. I believe spending the extra time to make sure
rules and routines are clearly understood by all students will reduce interruptions and contribute
immensely to an effective learning environment.