Molly's Management Plan

Classroom Management Plan

4th GradeClassroom

Management Plan

By Molly Rockefeller

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Table of Contents

Classroom

Physical Classroom OrganizationBasic FeaturesStudent Learning

Classroom OperationsStudent RecordsDisplaying Student Art WorkNew StudentsSubstitute TeachersAn Orderly Classroom

Disciplinary Policies Disciplinary Procedures

InfractionsStudent DisrespectBullyingPlayground ConflictsLack of Motivation Cheating Principal Involvement

Routines & Procedures Routines/ProceduresDifferentiation

Equal vs Equity Parental Involvement Compliment JarFieldtrips Leaving the Classroom Free Time

Professional Ethics Professional/EthicalDisagreements With ColleaguesFavorites

References

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Physical Classroom Organization

Basic FeaturesWhen I began designing my classroom I thought back to how my favorite classrooms in Elementary School were designed and tried to incorporate them and make it my own. After entering the room there is a recycling bin and a trash-bin next to the door. I chose to have both because I don’t want paper going to waste and it’s a convenient place for students to have the ability to throw things away on their way out the door (no one wants a cluttered classroom). I chose to place another trashcan next to my, the teacher’s, desk at my convenience so I wouldn’t have to walk to the front of the room each time I needed to throw something away.

While thinking about how I wanted to set up various storage throughout the room I decided to separate the student’s storage from my own storage. The student’s storage space will be either cubbie holes or lockers depending on school (I’m personally fine with either option). My storage space is located behind my desk so I won’t have to worry about student’s getting in to it. Storage includes two filing cabinets, a closet, and some shelves. On my desk is the phone and computer.

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Classroom


In the front of the room there is a small desk by the projector/ smart board. This desk will have a pencil sharpener and extra pens/pencils for the students to use. This desk will also have a nicely organized bin for students to turn in their work. Student’s will be expected

to keep this desk organized and clean to ensure that no one’s work goes missing. Underneath the desk will be a box for lost and found. In 5th grade students often leave things behind.

Student LearningIn the front corner there will be a nice big rug and a large chair. This area will be known as the “reading corner” and will be used for various reading opportunities;

such as, individual reading time, class reading time, quiet time, etc. It will also be used as an area where students can work in small groups and sit on the rug. I have also put a large square rug in front of the projector/ smart board so that students can sit on the rug during various activities and give them a chance to get out of their desks.

As we head to the back of the room you can see that there are two desks with computers on them. This will allow students the opportunity to work on the computer during class time. For many activities or units there will be a cycle system set up where students are at different locations working on different things so that everyone will have the chance to work on the computer. Students need to master various skill levels in technology, which is why I wanted to include computers in the classroom.

There is a large desk/table in the back of the classroom next to the teacher’s desk. This desk will be used for small group activities, to get individual help from the teacher, or for various activities or models where students will need more space to work. I think it is great to have an extra table somewhere in the classroom so that students can work on different work or get more individual help from the teacher.

The walls will not be dull and white in my classroom. There will be a bulletin board that is a calendar so that students will always know what day it is and when various assignments/projects are due. With the calendar there will also be a place where students can pick up work from the time they were gone in class. There will also be places around the room where student’s work will

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be hung up to show appreciation. By the reading corner their will be a continuous word wall where vocab words will be added.

Classroom Operations Record KeepingIt is my personal goal to stay as organized as possible while keeping students grades/materials organized. I will follow whatever record keeping or databases my school district requires of me. Since technology is becoming more and more advanced I will do the majority of my grading on excel. This will allow me to stay more organized. I can format the excel sheet to be color-coded. This means that I will have scores that are below average in red so that I can be immediately alerted and group those students together.

I will have a different working excel document for each subject to stay more organized. At the end of each week I will print off/back up my computer to ensure that I have my grades with me at all times. The one bad thing about technology is sometimes it crashes, so I will prevent this from hurting me by printing it off and keeping it in a binder. The binder will be in my desk so that it stays confidential and students cannot look at one another’s grades.

Record keeping is not just about grades. I will also need to keep a separate binder full of my student’s information. This will be information/documents such as:

Student IEP goals (if applicable) Running Records Clipboard Cruise spreadsheet Differentiated work for TAG students Anything else that needs to be added after the year starts

Displaying Student Art WorkI’m a firm believer in displaying student’s work around the room and in the hallways (if the school allows it in the halls). I believe that this allows the students to show off their work and be proud of their product. I will be displaying their work

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around the room using bulletin boards and even hanging 3-D models from the ceiling. This truly brightens up the room and shows the students that the teacher cares for what they have made and allows their peers to see others work of art.

New StudentsIf a new student were to join my class during the course of the year, I would make sure to explain to current students what is happening. This is important because new students might be uncomfortable and scared by coming in to a new class and school and it is vital to explain these possible feelings to current students. I was a new student to a new school in fourth grade and was very nervous. It was amazing how easy it was to slide into place when the students and teacher are welcoming and make you feel apart of something.Once the student comes in and joins the class I will reinforce what the class rules are and explain them to the new student. This will be a good time for the rest of the class to be reinforced of the class rules that they themselves made up. During the student’s first week of school I will sit them by a classmate who is a great helper. My practicum teacher had a new student come in this past year and she sat the new student next to a girl who loved to help/explain things to her peers. This allowed the new student to be easily caught up on what the class was working on.

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Substitute Teachers I will have a binder prepared for any substitute teacher that comes to my classroom. I feel it is necessary for substitute teachers to have all the rules, classroom procedures, and emergency information in one place so there is no burden on the substitute. The binder will contain:

Emergency Information: This section is extremely important since the substitute may not be familiar with our school and might need this information. It will include the phone numbers to the front office, nurse, and a list of teachers’ numbers that can be used as a resource. Along with his information will be the procedures for tornado, fire, intruder, or any other disaster plan.

Welcome to Ms. Rockefeller’s Classroom: In this section there will be a description of the classroom and where necessary items can be found in the class.

Classroom Schedule: In this section there will be a general layout of what time everything occurs at and includes when/where specials are/take place at.

Classroom Expectations: This will outline the class rules and what the expectations of students is for bathroom breaks, leaving the classroom, and discipline.

Students: This will have a roaster of the students with a picture of their face next to the name. This will allow the substitute to easily take attendance and learn names faster.

List of Jobs- This section will have a brief description of class jobs and who has the current jobs to better hold the students accountable.

An Orderly Classroom I will ensure my class runs smoothly in an orderly way by following Wong’s three tips on how to teach students to follow classroom procedures. These three things include 1) to teach, 2) to rehearse, and lastly 3) to reinforce. This means that I will first teach my students what the rules are in our classroom. Then we will practice following the rules together. And finally I will reinforce the rules that are in place by following through with the consequence.

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On the first day of school I will introduce the classroom rules to the class. These “rules” will be stated to the class as guidelines in creating their own 3-5 rules/procedures for the classroom. I believe that it is important for the students to be involved in this process so that they will hold themselves more accountable, especially by the time they are in fourth grade. The rules I introduce will be the rules found in Setting Limits in the Classroom; “Cooperate with your teacher and classmates, respect the rights and property of others, and carry out your basic student responsibilities” (2010). After students have created the rules for the classroom, we will hang it up on the wall to show its importance. The picture shows an example of the rules students create and how it will look in the classroom.

InfractionsWhile handling students misbehaving in class I will use the democratic approach as seen in Setting Limits in the Classroom. This means that I will be both firm and respectful with the student to show that I do mean what I’m saying and will be carrying through with what I’m saying. My focus in the class will be to learn and teach, which means that I do not want my students sent to the office or miss the majority of the lesson. I will explain to the student what they have done wrong and then will follow through with the consequence I have given.

I know that I will come to a situation where students push the limits to far and I will implement the “time-out” system. This means that after I have explained to the student what they have done wrong and asked them to stop and they continue that bad behavior I will sit them away from their classmates in the back of the room. This way the student will still be able to listen to the instruction that is going on and if

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“Actions, not words, define our rules.”-Robert J Mackenzie

Disciplinary Policies


after enough time of them behaving they can rejoin the class. But in the rare cases that the student continues to act out, that student will be removed from the situation and placed in a trusted colleagues classroom. This will show the student that you meant what you had said and will allow you to continue teaching the class with no disruption from that particular student.

Once the student has completed their time in “time-out” zone I will treat them as if they have a clean slate. This means that I will not hold a grudge or act disappointed by that child. It is important to show the student, especially the next day that you still care for them and respect them.

Student Respect: Put-Downs vs. Boost-Ups My seventh grade teacher had a system that helped manage our respect towards our peers. I really liked how she carried through with this because it kept our classroom environment friendly and made us all show respect towards each other. A put-down is where one student would say something mean to another student, hurt someone else’s feelings, or ‘put down’ someone’s opinion. Anytime someone would do one of those things, the teacher or a classmate would call that student out on it and say “no putdowns in class” then the student would have to turn around and say two boost-ups to whoever they put-down. A boost-up is any form of compliment or apology.

I believe that in the upper elementary grades and in middle school, this type of system would work to keep students respectful of one-another. Because students are allowed to call each other out on being mean there is more student accountability. Students learn how to better interact with one another and it showed that there is a zero tolerance for bullying or negativity.

BullyingThere will be a zero tolerance for bullying in my classroom. Any type of bullying, verbal, physical, emotional, or cyber will not be tolerated and will be addressed immediately. I will follow any rules that my school/district has on bullying and put those into action. I believe that bullying needs to be stopped and if I see any student bullying another student I will talk with that

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“Instead they maintained a respectful attitude, held their ground firmly, stated their rules and expectation clearly, and followed through with

instructive consequences when students did not chose to cooperate.”


specific student in a one-on-one setting to take action to ensure the safety of my students.

Playground ConflictsI strongly believe that playground rules/conflicts need to follow a protocol that puts student’s safety first. If students are not following the rules and behaving in an unsafe manor they will need to have a punishment to show how seriously the school takes playground safety. If students are misbehaving they will have to sit by the teacher (by the fence or wall) for a certain amount of time. I know that when I was in school this method worked because no one wanted to miss recess time.

Lack of Motivation Many students will go through a phase of not wanting to complete their work and not feeling motivated by anything in the classroom. Keeping every single student motivated in the classroom will be one of my toughest jobs, but it is important. This is a very circumstantial type of obstacle that will be different for every student. If I notice a student who is unmotivated by their independent reading I will offer a list of books or try to find something in that interests them. The key to fighting unmotivated students is to learn about their interests and what drives them to want to learn more.

CheatingCheating will not be allowed nor tolerated in my classroom. With all the information on the web there will be numerous opportunities for students to plagiarize their work or even copy from their peers. Student’s will know my expectation of them and know that I do not tolerate this type of behavior. One of my past elementary school teachers had a system of “1, 2, 3.” In this system if you were caught cheating once you would be warned and had to do the test/quiz/paper again. If you were caught cheating twice you would have a note sent home to your parents explaining the situation. And if you were caught cheating three times you would have to have a conference with your parents, teacher, and possibly the principal if his/her schedule

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“The best teachers don’t give you the answers. They just point the way and let you make your own choices, your own mistakes. That way you get all the glory. And

you deserve it.” –Mr. Schwester


allowed it. This rule will be in-place so students know how serious it is when you do not do your own work. Principal InvolvementI believe that principals should only be used for disciplinary if it is an absolute must. Principals do so much for the school and are usually busy throughout the day carrying out their duties/responsibilities. I will only use office referrals if the student has not been following the rules and pushing the boundaries repeatedly for a long period of time and the principal must be involved.

Routines/ProceduresThe most effective classroom is a classroom that has procedures. These procedures will become routines for the students, thus making the classroom predictable, which ensures students will feel safe. My classroom will follow a very similar day-to-day plan, which means that we will have subject areas taught around the same time each day. This will help students know what is coming next and they won’t feel surprised or intimidated throughout the day. This is key to making students feel comfortable. During the first week of school I will teach my students “classroom management skills” so that they can get into the swing of my expectations of them (Wong).

Students will be assigned/given jobs throughout the year. These ‘jobs’ are more so a list of classroom helpers. Students will be rotated to different ‘jobs’ each week so that each student can have a chance at every position. The list of jobs and whom they belong to each week will be posted on the bulletin board or white board in the front of the room. It will be posted there so that the students are held accountable and if any sub were to come into the class they will know which student has which job. Jobs and descriptions are as follows:

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“A rule is a dare to be broken, whereas a procedure is not.”

-Wong

Routines & Procedures


Line Leader: This is a very important job and will be given to a student who has been following the class procedures and being exceptional. Students will know that it is a privilege to lead the lines out in the hallway, going to lunch, and recess.

Office Messenger: This student will have the privilege of going to the office when needed to pick up things for the teacher such as copies, attendance sheets, etc.

Papergirl/boy: Two students will hold this job/position each week. These students will be in charge of passing back papers to their classmates and picking up papers when needed.

Plants: Whichever student has this job for the week will get to water all of the plants in the room. It will teach students to take care of the things in the class.

Pick-Up (trash) Duty: Before we leave the classroom for the day and go home, the student who is on Pick-up duty or trash duty will look around the room and make sure that everything is neat and tidy so the custodians do not have to work especially hard in our classroom.

Door Holder/ Caboose: The student who is the door holder/caboose will be in charge of holding doors for the class to exit the room and then will follow at the end of the class line.

DifferentiationAs a teacher, I know the importance of differentiation and will be extremely proactive in this area. I will have numerous student centers for activities in all of my subject areas. These will be used as frequently as possible. Student centers allow a blend of whole-class, group, and individual instruction, which will allow me to better differentiate for my student. This will allow me to continually assess students so that I’m always aware of where they stand in my class.

Another word for teacher is coach and that’s exactly what I will be towards my students. I will constantly and continually raise the ceilings for all of my students. It’s important to do this often to ensure that talented and gifted students (TAG) are being motivated to learn. On the other end, struggling learners need to be pushed as well in a different way. Make sure that you are praising students often for their successes; this will further motivate them to push themselves and gain deeper comprehension. Equal Teaching Vs. Equitable Teaching This category can also be placed under differentiation because it emphasizes that teachers be equitable rather than equal. Many people believe that equal education means that teachers will give each student the exact same

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tools and assistance as each of their peers in the classroom. I truly believe that is not the correct path to go while teaching. I believe that you must give students what is needed in order to give him or her the opportunity to have the same learning experience as their peers. This means that if a child is gifted you give them a more advanced worksheet than their peers, thus pushing them at their level of learning. A metaphor that one of my professors gave in one of my classes is that if two children are watching a game (one student is much taller than the other) you wouldn’t just leave the shorter student on the ground (aka giving them the same tools). Instead, you would grab a bench or chair for the smaller student so they too can watch the game. Teachers must use individualized teaching strategies to keep each student engaged in class.

Parental Involvement I will keep the parents involved starting on the first day. I know that this will be a difficult task since every parent is different and plays a different role in their child’s life. For this reason, I will keep this relationship as positive as possible. Depending on the district I will meet individually with the parents so that I can better understand the background of the student (Sue Jones). During this meeting I will show the parent that they are the expert on their child and that this will help me build a bridge between classroom life and home life.

During the school year I will have a website posted for the class that gives parents the ability to see what is happening in the classroom on a week-to-week basis. This will have a list of upcoming tests, homework assignments, and any projects that are coming up. It’s extremely important that the parents have no surprises about what is going on in the classroom.

Compliment JarWorking in a school is an extremely collaborative effort. In many instances teachers, staff/faculty, parent helpers, and other adults are in and out of the classroom and will have the opportunity to observe/help out with our class. It’s extremely important to me that the class is on their best behavior and be respectful to the adults around the building. So, I will have a compliment jar in our class. Anytime one of my students or the class receives a compliment from another adult on their behavior they will get to put a scoop of raw corn into the jar. When the jar becomes full the students will be able to get a special treat of their choice; cookies, cupcakes, popcorn, brownies, etc. the next day.

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Field TripsField trips are a great way to better engage students in what they are learning about and allows them the opportunity to truly experience the unit and possibly use hands on materials. Yet, field trips can cause a teacher a lot of stress because they will always be worried about their students behaving and everything going smoothly. There will be stricter of rules for the students while going on a fieldtrip. Students must follow these rules to ensure their safety and to respect the facility they are in. If students do not follow the rules below they will lose their opportunity to attend the next field trip and may have further consequences depending on the behavior.

Listen to the teachers, parent chaperones, and the facilitators Stay with the group you were assigned to Be on time Use your quiet voices

Leaving the Classroom

Whenever students leave the classroom the teacher needs to know where that student is going and approximately how long they will be gone. This is to ensure the safety of that student is coming first and allows the teacher to uphold their classroom responsibility of the students. I will have a bathroom pass that my students will use when they need to use the restroom. The students will remove the pass from where it is placed in the room and put it on their desk. The pass will be brightly colored so it stands out. Now, when the teacher glances around the room they will be able to easily see who is gone because the bright bathroom pass is on their desk. This also avoids any germs that are in the bathroom, since the pass never leaves the room.

Free TimeI realize that every student works at a different pace and will be finishing various class work at different times, which means there will be free time for students throughout the day. Being someone who loves productivity, I want my students to use this time wisely and continue/deepen their learning. At the beginning of the school year I will explain to my class

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Professional Ethics


what they can be doing during this time and will have a chart hanging around the room to remind students of their free time expectations. This is a working chart so students can continue adding productive things to it throughout the year.

Professionalism Each day is a new day in my mind. This means I will go into class wearing professional attire and bring a positive attitude. This positive attitude will show the students that I am ready to learn and will create a safe/positive learning environment. Part of being a professional is timeliness. I will show my respect towards my principal and school by being on time each and everyday and stay the whole day and longer if my students need it. My students come first.

Disagreements with Colleagues There is bound to be drama and disagreements while working with colleagues in such a collaborative setting. As easy as it is to get sucked up in this ‘drama’ I will have to be consciously aware that speaking about particular students in teacher lounges/cafeteria is going against student/teacher confidentiality. If I ever find myself in a position where one of my colleagues is being disrespectful or negative towards another staff member, teacher, or student I will politely excuse myself from the conversation. If I cannot “escape” the conversation, I will politely and respectful let my colleagues know that I do not want to engage in this type of activity. I know that this will be difficult, but I want to be a positive role model to not just my students, but also my colleagues.

FavoritesI know that “not” having favorites will be one of my biggest struggles as an educator. After listening to Sue speak to our class about teachers being equitable to their students, I know that this means to treat students how they need to be treated to better their successes in the classroom. This means that I won’t have “favorite” students and treat them extra special because I enjoy their personality, instead I will treat the students in a manner that betters their learning environment.

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Mackenzie, R. J., & Stanzione, L. (2010). Setting Limits in the Classroom: A Complete Guide to Effective Classroom Management with a School-Wide Discipline Plan (3rd Ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press.

Rogers, K. B. (2006). A menu of Options for Grouping Gifted Students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press, Inc.

Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.

Sue Jones

http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2011/07/job-charts-setting-up-classroom-series.html

http://mrsshannonsclass.weebly.com/classroom-management.html

http://candicercox.wordpress.com/tag/study/

http://teachers.saschina.org/evoge/2012/08/21/we-love-learning-centers/

http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/for-job-seekers/careerconnect-virtual-worksites/classroom-for-blind-teacher/1234

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References

http://teachers.saschina.org/evoge/2012/08/21/we-love-learning-centers/

http://mrsshannonsclass.weebly.com/classroom-management.html



Molly's Management Plan

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