Running head: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN 1

Classroom Management Plan

Shannon M. Campis

Cal State University Dominguez Hills

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Signature assignment

Engagement, experience, and routine are three words that would describe my classroom

management plan. To create my own classroom management plan, I would first start it off as an

organized, warm area where all students feel comfortable to learn. When I become a teacher, a

management plan needs to take place in order to ensure that all my lessons run smoothly. In the

Kindergarten classroom I observed in at Kelso Elementary, there were so many different

learners, all twenty- eight students were on their own level. Some were able to keep up with the

curriculum while others not so much. I identified three children in the classroom whom were a

little different than the others. Student A fell under English proficiency, student B was on a 504

plan, and student C struggles in reading as well as math. In my classroom management plan, I

will identify ways in which structure, routines, and student autonomy will positively impact

learning for all of my students.

Where I would place myself on the classroom management spectrum would be the

reward and routine focus. Reward and routines because like the reading, I will “try to understand

the reasons behind a student’s misbehavior” (Pinto, 2013, p. 45). There is always a reason behind

a child’s behavior it could either be something going on at home they are dealing with or

personal issues that a teacher needs to address. Giving students praise for their great work and

positive behavior is contagious to the other students around which makes them more likely to

work hard to get a praise as well. Routines are good for a classroom because it gives it a flow

that a classroom needs. When I become a teacher, these routines will be in the classroom as well

as arrival and dismissal. Every day it will be the same so all students get acquainted and know

what is to come. When I become a teacher, I want to be knowledgeable in all cultures so I can

fulfill all my student’s cultural needs. In order to do that I need value all the different types of
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cultures my students bring into the classroom. Pinto (2013) states that looking into your own

cultural beliefs will serve as a basis for making sense of other cultures that come into the class

(p. 22). Another way to portray cultural proficiency would be to observe the community around

the school in which I will be teacher at. Taking time to learn about the community helps you

better understand your students and things they face outside of school.

Routines and procedures: Routines I would follow in my own classroom would be is

making sure everything is in order so there is no chaos. Smooth transitions from one activity to

the next will help follow that order. Even though they are kids and still developing the way they

think, I will ask my kindergarten class to help me create procedures that we can follow

throughout the year. This gives students a sense of ownership and creates a positive community

where everyone is involved. Routines and procedures I would follow to create that smooth

transitioning classroom would be to have arrival, returning from recess, and dismissal routines.

When students enter the classroom each morning they should expect to go right to their carpet

squares and be ready to hear the certain tasks I will assign them. For the first couple of months

this may take some getting used to. Hopefully throughout the year the routines and procedures

will automatically follow them right when they get in the classroom. To prevent chaos when

students have arrived, I will line everyone up outside and call in about five students in the class

at a time to go to their carpet squares. In the meantime, I will engage with those who are outside,

possibly ask how they are doing personally or talk about the weather, something to get them

intrigued and ready to learn. Once all students are in the class and seated on their squares, I will

start with my classroom job helpers then get started on the lessons for the day.

When students arrive from snack or lunch recess, they are often full of energy. Once

everyone is inside, I will play a song so everyone can get their wiggles out. Once this song stops,
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I will expect everyone to know what the routine would be next since we established these

routines together as a class at the beginning of the school year. As the year goes on, I will train

students to go straight to the carpet and nowhere else to wait quietly for my directions. This

routine of coming in after recess and waiting for me will be an everyday thing so students will

know exactly what is expected of them because I will model, explain, and reinforce these

routines and procedures.

For the end of the day routine, since this is the time of day where all kids are antsy

because they are ready to go home, this is when routines and procedures need to be implemented

the most. To make the last transition of the day smoothly I want to have a structured routine so

things don’t end on a crazy note. If I have papers I need to pass out to go home with students, I

will do this at group time so I am not rushing at the end of the day to give everyone their papers.

This is a perfect time because all students will see me in their group at some point during group

time so they can neatly put them away in their backpack when it is time to transition. In the last

ten to fifteen minutes of class, I will categorize how certain students will go home then place

them in groups so our dismissal is organized. It is important to be organized at this point of the

day because being on- time is critical to meet busses, parents, or daycare providers. As a teacher,

you never want to keep the people who are there to pick up your students waiting. According to

Pinto (2013), having order leads to greater on task behavior (p. 46). If the teacher is organized

the students are more likely to follow.

Discipline and Rules: At the beginning of the school year, I will make these rules with

the students. Rules and discipline is what usually sets the tone for a classroom. It provides young

students with guidelines of what should and should not happen in the classroom. How I will set

up my classroom rules is by asking the students for ideas. Since they are young, I will need to
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establish a foundation first so they have an idea of what I am looking for. I don’t necessarily

want rules in a sense, but goals the children to accomplish. Instead of having do’s and don’ts I

will have goals around the classroom for my students. I will demonstrate these goals that the

students make up so the students can follow them throughout the year. Since this is a

kindergarten class, I will need to break down these rules/ goals because if we say, “respect your

peers”, some students may not know what the word respect or peer means. How I will manage

these rules is something that will take time but it will be possible if we, as a class keep making

these goals our routines. They rules have to be simple so students are able to follow them.

Reinforcement is what children need the most when learning how to follow rules in the

classroom. I also want to use the method of restorative justice in a way that children can take

responsibility for their own faults and find ways to fix it with their peers. Furthermore, praising

students for doing a good job helps other students keep on track because they as well want that

praise. How I will monitor these classroom rules/ goals is guiding my students into appropriate

classroom behavior. Although I want my students to take responsibility of their actions,

according to Pinto (2013), if I constantly provide stimulus feedback for good behavior there may

not be any need for discipline. Continually reinforcing good behavior and having my students

accomplish their classroom goals is the key to a successful class.

Student Autonomy: As I become a teacher, I believe an effective way for students to

take responsibility would be to allow choice. During my observation in the kindergarten class,

the teacher created opportunities for the students to pursue their own interests. When they had

extra time in the class the teacher usually allowed free play. On a section of the whiteboard, there

are different categories of where the students can go to do choice time. In those categories, the

teacher asks each student individually what section they will be going to. All choice options are
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something literate, math building, or using imagination. All these choices are ways for students

to increase their learning. Having students tell the teacher where they want to spend their time

“helps to create a more humanist classroom environment…” (Pinto, 2013, p. 86). If at the end of

choice time I see all students behaved well in their choice area, then I will use my reward system

to reward not only on one student, but for the whole class.

Use of time: In the classroom, time is either your friend or the enemy. Sometimes it just

creeps past you and you weren’t able to complete a task or it goes slow and now the teacher is

left with extra time, or the time is evened out perfectly with instruction. If there is ever extra

time, that means as a teacher you are not planning enough for the students to do. I will describe

three strategies I will use so time will be my friend in the classroom. First, I believe most

important would be to plan and prepare ahead of time. Practicing what I will teach and preparing

what students will do is effective so there is not extra time. Secondly, planning put my lesson

plan according to time with be helpful in my time management. Having a set time for every

single activity will keep my classroom orderly and routine like. Third, based off my lesson plan,

I need to provide my students with clear and prompt directions. If my lessons and activities are

not clear to my students, that will disturb the time so I need to be short, clear and sweet with

directions.

Accommodation: Accommodating for all my students individually will be a hard task

when I become a teacher but it will be the most rewarding when I find ways of teaching that will

suit all my student’s needs. From my observation, I witnessed ways to set up and manage small

groups. Ways to set them up is by organizing the students into colorful or animal groups. In this

way when it is time for groups, the teacher will say, “blue group is going to the computers, red

group is going to math building, and yellow group is going to writing building”. The students
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will already know their group color so it is instructed that they go straight to where they are

assigned. This will be a routine in the class so students will know exactly where to go. To create

and manage individual instruction for student A, B, and C, I will provide guidance to their

learning skills in order for them to reach their full potential. During my observation hours, I liked

how the teacher changed up the way she taught for these learners. For example, she taught a

lesson on butterflies. She read the class a book but that wasn’t it. She played a video so students

would have a visual and be able to understand what they were learning about better. Another

strategy I saw the teacher use was physically taking the students outside to try and identify if

they saw any butterflies and to show them that there are many different kinds. She stated to me

that this method she uses is good for all her learners because it gives them multiple ways of

taking in information while making sense of it. I will also use the method of bringing a child up

to the front if they need my assistance more.

Peer interaction: The first strategy I would use to promote peer interaction would be to

mix students up. In group time and when they are on their carpet squares is when students are

together. During this time, I will rearrange my students so English learners are with those who

speak English and those who are a little behind I will place them near students who are at grade

level or ahead. Doing this will help students to interact with each other and also, they will learn

from each other. The second strategy I would use would be when choosing groups pull names

out of a hat. This method is good because it is all random choice which mixes all my students

together in any activity that they do as a group. Third, a method I learned from my observation

hours was giving students jobs in the classroom. This gives students a sense of entitlement and

all students get a chance at it throughout the year. During this method of peer interaction, I

witnessed all students working together to get a certain job done. Some jobs had two people
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while other jobs didn’t. I saw student B, who is on a 504 plan help out another student with their

job because it looked like the other student needed assistance. Student jobs are good for peer

interaction because it helps students work together and creates a sense of a community within the

classroom. This is what I strive for when I become a teacher. I want all my students to be able to

respect each other and create a community where we can all work together.

Fairness, Equity, and Respect: Ways in which I can provide fairness in my classroom

would be to constantly encourage positive behavior and praise it. Typically, students get angry

when you call them out on something so to create fairness I will only focus on the good behavior

I see. Even that student who may not be acting respectfully, I will praise them on something they

are doing to continue the positive environment I have created in the class. In my classroom, “the

culture and organization… will be transformed in ways that enable student from diverse groups

to experience equality and equal status” (Pinto, 2013, p. 21). I also want to use the method of

having student jobs and rotate when necessary so all students get an equal chance to do all jobs.

As for respect, If I have a helper in the classroom I will always explain to my students, “when

you see an adult in here, other than me, you will need to portray the same respect you give me, to

them”. Hopefully by this time they have respect for me because respect is mutual. I will instill in

their brains that they need to treat people the way they would want to be treated.

Parent Communication and Involvement: Involving parents in their children’s

education is the number one thing a teacher can do. As discussed in my liberal studies 302 class,

when parents are involved in their child’s education, the better that students is in their academics.

One way to communicate with parents is through technology. For my first strategy, during my

observation hours, the teacher showed me an app that she and some of the parents have. This app

shows your child’s progress, gives reminders of anything happening in the class, and provides
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parents with any upcoming information. For the parents who don’t use technology, the second

strategy I would use is sending home newsletters often and having the parent sign to make sure

they saw it. The newsletter will have different languages to suit that child’s native language so

the parent can read and understand. With these newsletters, I can send home homework that

involves the parent. A third strategy I will use in my classroom is inviting parents into the class

to help out as well as learn with us. Pinto (2013) states that, bringing parents into the classroom

“is helpful in encouraging positive student behavior and higher levels of engagement” (p. 125).

From my experience, I have seen parents come in and teach something to their child’s class

which is a great strategy for the parent as well as the students. A fourth strategy I would use is

from Discipline To Culturally Responsive Engagement, using sunshine calls. When parents get a

phone call home, usually it is to tell the parent something the child did wrong. In this case I am

calling home to tell the parents something their child did that was positive. It is good for parents

to hear what their child is doing right. “By building relationships with parents through positive,

informal communication, you can encourage parental involvement and ensure that parents are

aware of student’s success” (Pinot, 2013, p. 129). The last strategy I would take into place to

involve parents would be open house. Once a year parents can come and see their child’s hard

work. Why not make that time all throughout the year? Pinto (2013) states that “Inviting parents

into the classroom offers an opportunity for teachers to have face- to- face communication” (p.

132). When parents come I will have all their work out from the whole year to show the parent

their child’s progress.

Being able to implement all these strategies I discussed will mean I met my goals as a

teacher. I will always find new ways to strive for better but as I become a new teacher, these

strategies will help me to create the positive environment and positive classroom management
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that I will hope to achieve in my class. Having structured routines in place, discipline and rules,

student autonomy, using my time wisely, providing accommodations, enforcing peer interaction,

fairness, and parents involved are all ways that will help me accomplish my goals for when I

become a teacher.
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Resources

Pinto, L. E. (2017). From Discipline To Culturally Responsive Engagement: 45 classroom

management strategies. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.