Classroom Management Plan

Table of Contents

Classroom Management Philosophy

“Culturally Responsive Classroom Management”

Plan to be Culturally Responsive

Rules & Consequences

Problem Solving Form

Procedures

Room Arrangement

Communication with Parents/Caregivers

Classroom Management Philosophy

In my classroom I will be using mostly assertive discipline, but integrating bits and pieces from other behavioral models.  The things that I really like about the assertive discipline model are that students are well informed of the rules and consequences, and are given a certain sense of independence and choice.  Misbehavior is viewed as a choice, and since they chose to misbehave, then they also chose to accept the consequences of that behavior.  Some of the criticism for assertive discipline says that it doesn’t give students the opportunity to explore moral and ethical ideas, but I think that by including a discussion of the rules and consequences when I explain, this will be the time that students can consider the rules and consequences in this manner.  I think it’s important for students to learn that they are accountable for their behavior and to be responsible in the choices they make regarding their own behavior.

I pull in a bit of the Reality Therapy model here by continually referring to the “choice” that students make in their behavior.  I think it’s important for students to realize that they are making a choice.  I also think it’s important for them to consider how their behavior is affecting the world around them, and if it is getting them what they want.  By having one of my consequences be making a plan, this allows both the student and myself to focus on the behavior at hand and to evaluate the behavior in a more analytical way.  My hope is that this method will allow the student to figure out why they behaved the way they did, and to figure out a better way to behave in order to get what they want.

I think it’s going to be very important to develop a good student-teacher relationship.  If there is a relationship built on trust and mutual respect, then the student is more likely to behave and accept responsibility for their behavior.  One of the ways I will initially e getting to know my students is through their journals that they write at the beginning of the period.  This basic knowledge will allow me to engage students in a conversation about themselves, and I’ll be able to show interest in what they like to do.

Something else that I think is very important to build a good relationship with the assertive discipline model is to focus especially hard on the idea of the clean slate.  I want to make sure students understand that if they misbehave, that once they have gone through the consequence of their action, then the offense is forgiven.  I think too often students feel threatened that after they’ve misbehaved that the teacher will never treat them the same again.  I think it’s important for students to feel safe, welcome, and valued in my classroom at all times, and while it’s important they understand that sometimes trust must be re-earned, to never feel as though they’ve dropped so far that they can’t possibly regain good standing with me.

Plan to be Culturally Responsive

In today’s world, with so much diversity in and out of the classroom, it is becoming increasingly more essential to be culturally aware.  If you’re not culturally aware, then you’re more likely to make a mistake in the way you are treating someone, and be accidentally prejudiced simply out of misunderstanding.  I think the best way to ensure that I’m being fair to all my students is to keep an open communication with them.  If I can talk to my students, then I am more likely to understand them, and less likely to mistake their intentions in the way they’re behaving.

However, it is a give and take relationship.  I think I need to be open and communicative with my students in order to understand them, their culture, and where they come from, but they must also be willing to give a little and become part of my classroom community.  For example, in the article the “woofing” that Nicole noticed was part of the African American boys’ culture.  Nicole may have come down too hard on the boys because to them the intent was not malicious, and to them it is a natural, and perhaps even valued way to communicate.  However, she could have handled it better, first by talking to the boys in order to understand that it is part of their culture.  Secondly, she could have asked the boys to not continue this behavior in the hallways because other students may get the wrong idea and either feel threatened, or misunderstand the intent of the woofing and begin engaging in verbal sparring themselves, but without the sporting mentality.

I think it’s important to understand my students’ culture, and be accepting of it, but not to the point where it would disrupt my classroom, which should be a safe and inviting place for all my students.  Verbal sparring, for example, would not be allowed, because name calling of any kind is not permitted.  If I am clear with my rules at the beginning of the year, students should not have too much trouble following them.  In addition, I will be issuing a warning for a first offense, which will give students a chance to correct their behavior before suffering a more serious consequence.

If the classroom and school in general is meant to be a small-scale model of the “real world,” then I think it’s important to emphasize to students learning about cultures different from their own, and to be accepting of those cultures within their own cultural ideology.  To make all students feel welcome I think it would be helpful to initiate a discussion about cultural differences and awareness early in the year.  I think it’s important for students to realize that everyone has something different about them, and to see this as an advantage in people, instead of a reason to ostracize them.  I will be having students write a little about themselves in the first week of classes in their journals, which I’ll have a chance to read that first weekend.  I think knowing the students background and understanding their culture, in addition to making them feel welcome, is the key to treating all of my students fairly.

Rules & Consequences

1. Be Respectful to Other People and Their Belongings
   • This rule is especially important because it helps to foster a sense of safety in the classroom and helps to create a positive learning environment.  It covers things such as listening and staying seated when others are talking as well as raising hands and waiting to be called on to speak.  It also covers issues of respect, such as behaving for substitutes, keeping the room orderly, name calling and swearing.  It also covers issues of personal space and belongings, such as asking permission before borrowing things and returning them when done, fighting (physical or verbal) and general bothering
2. Bring All Needed Materials to Class
   • This rule is important because it sets the tone for the rest of the class period.  It sets up a procedure that allows students to know the expectations for what they should have for each class period.
3. Be In Your Seat and Ready to Work When the Bell Rings
   • This rule ensures that students have pens and pencils (sharpened) and out.  A warm-up activity, such as journal writing, will be used to help enforce this rule.
4. Obey All School Rules
   • This rule reminds students that school rules apply in and out of the classroom.  It also gives me the opportunity to discuss what school rules specifically apply in my classroom.

I will not be having my students help in the rule creation process, though I will be exceedingly clear in my explanation of what the rules are, and their possible consequences.  However, I would like to stage a quick discussion with the students to talk about why the rules are important.  This allows me to address one of the main critiques of assertive discipline: that it doesn’t allow the students to contemplate the ethics of rules and decisions.  The discussion will prompt the students to consider why the rules are in place and make sure that they fully understand what the rules are, and the consequences for breaking them.

I will be enforcing my rules through the use of the check system, keeping track of offences on a clipboard board designed to notate both good and bad behaviors.  Students will be have a “clean slate” at the beginning of each class period, so that bad behavior from the previous day does not count against them for the current day. For each good behavior students will receive credit that can be built up and used for things like homework passes and extra credit at the end of the quarter.  The chart below lists consequences for bad behavior.

First Offense	Warning
Second Offense	Lunch Detention to develop a plan
Third Offense	Call Parents
Fourth Offense	Send to Principal

In addition to this system I will also employ minor intervention strategies, such as gently, but forcefully, reminding the entire class to follow classroom rules.  This includes all those day-to-day classroom management strategies (nonverbal cues, proximity, redirecting, etc.) If the problem continues after these strategies and a class-wide announcement, then the first warning check will be given to specific students.  Severe behavior problems may already have assigned consequences by the school.  Students will be reminded of this at the beginning of the year in the discussion of the rules.

Problem Solving Form

Name: Date:

Rules we agreed on:

1. Be Respectful to Other People and Their Belongings
2. Bring All Needed Materials to Class
3. Be In Your Seat and Ready to Work When the Bell Rings
4. Obey All School Rules

Please answer the following questions:

1. What rule did you violate?
2. What did you do that violated this rule?
3. What problem did this cause for you, your teacher, or your classmates?
4. What plan can you develop that will help you to follow this rule?
5. How can the teacher or other students help you?

I, student name , will try my best to follow the plan I have written and to follow all other rules and procedures that we created to make the classroom a good place to learn.

Signature

Procedures

Beginning of the Period

Students will need to be in the room when the bell rings, otherwise they’ll be counted as tardy.  I’ll be beginning each class with a 7-minute journal/free writing assignment.  Students will have a separate notebook to use solely for journals and be expected to get to their seats after the bell has rung to get started on their journals.  At the beginning of each period there will be a journal prompt on the board.  Students will be given the option of either responding to the prompt or writing on another topic of their choice, with the only requirements that they must be writing for 7 minutes.  I will collect the journals every Friday to check for completion and return them on Monday.

This procedure will ensure that students are seated and ready to work.  They will have their pens or pencils out and sharpened, and there other materials stowed beneath their desk.  It will also allow me to easily check attendance and determine tardy students, as everyone will be seated.

During this beginning of the period time previously absent students will be expected to collect handouts they have missed and borrow notes from classmates to copy.  I will also be checking attendance while students are writing.  The agenda for the day and the night’s homework will also be posted on the board for students to copy down.

Previously Absent Students

Throughout each unit extra copies of all handouts will be placed in folders arranged by date.  Students will be expected to collect materials from these folders at the beginning of class if they have missed days.  This folder also allows students who have lost a particular handout to retrieve another copy.  Previously absent students will be expected to copy any notes from their classmates and to see me at the end of class or during quiet seatwork time for any additional information on what they’ve missed.

This procedure helps students to develop independence and responsibility for managing their own work.  It also won’t overwhelm them by putting all the responsibility on them, as they will be expected to meet with me to discuss what they missed.  During this meeting I can find out why they missed a day, and encourage them to come to me if they have any questions or need help making up missed work.

Tardy Students

Students who are tardy will be required to sign in on a clipboard that I will keep hanging by the door.  This will allow me to keep a record of who is late, but the ability to check tardy passes at a time convenient for me and at a time that won’t interrupt whatever I, or the class, am currently working on.  Assuming there is no school policy, my method would be according to my classroom rules: to issue students a warning on their first tardy, and a lunch detention after that.  However, unlike the classroom rules, the student will not be given a “clean slate” everyday, as this would not work for tardiness (for obvious reasons), and would instead be given a clean slate every quarter.

Taking Attendance

While the students are writing their journals I will be checking attendance based on the seating chart.  The seating chart, along with an attendance sheet and any forms required by the school will be stored in the lectern at the front of the room.

Distributing Material & Handouts

I will distribute handouts and materials for class work by handing the proper amounts to the students in the first row of desks.  These students will take their copy of the handout and pass the rest back for the students behind them to take.  Each class will have a labeled folder where work that has been graded will be placed.  I will announce when a graded assignment has been placed in this folder, but students will be responsible for collecting their own work from this folder at the end of class.

Collecting Homework

Students will pass their homework to the front of the room and then pass across to the desk that has the various file folders arranged on it (absent/extra handout copies, graded work, homework) and the student closest to the desk will place the work into the homework folder that is labeled with their class period.  This will help transitions between homework collection and instruction go more smoothly.

Signal for Student Attention

I will signal for student attention by standing at the front of the room.  At the beginning of the year I will verbally ask for students to settle down and get ready to work, and as the year progresses they will hopefully come to learn that it is time to work when I stand at the front of the room.

Student Participation

Students will be required to raise their hand and wait to be called on to participate in class discussions and ask questions.  During reviews or discussions I will be calling on students to give an answer or their opinion to ensure that all students are speaking and allow myself to do a formative assessment.  During the first few class periods I will be reminding students of the classroom rules, which require them to be respectful by raising their hands and listening while others are talking.  Students will be encouraged to respond to each other and elaborate on ideas presented by their classmates, and not just by me.

Drink and Bathroom Breaks (leaving the room)

Students will be discouraged from leaving the room except for emergencies.  At the beginning of each quarter students will receive 3 hall passes.  There will be a box to drop their hall pass in and a sign in/out sheet by the door that student will be required to fill out before leaving the room.  This will allow me to keep track of who is out of the room and for how long.  The hall passes will keep students from making a habit of leaving the classroom, and the sign in/out sheet will provide accountability for the time they are gone, deter them from just cruising the halls, and keep them from simply creating more hall passes.  Students will be allowed to use the hall passes for retrieving materials from their locker, going to the bathroom, getting a drink, etc.  Unused hall passes at the end of a quarter can be turned in for bonus points.

Pencil Sharpener (leaving seat)

Students will be expected to have all their materials ready at the beginning of the period.  They won’t be allowed to get up to sharpen pencils (or leave their seat) while anyone is speaking, as the noise would be both distracting and disrespectful.

Ending the Period

I will ask students not to leave the room until I dismiss them, because I may have last minute announcements for them after the bell rings.  In conjunction with this I will allow 2-3 minutes at the end of each class period to allow students time to gather up their things and for me to make any needed announcements.  This practice will allow students to feel as though they have plenty of time at the end of the period to take care of what they need to (packing up supplies, cleaning around their desk, relaxing a bit before their next class), and will hopefully keep them from packing up to leave before the end of the lesson.

Room Arrangement

I will be arranging my room in a double or triple horseshoe.  This will allow students to face the blackboard, and help to keep all students feeling as though they are sitting close to the front of the room, as no seat will be no more than two or three deep.  There will be a lectern in the front of the room to hold any necessary papers for lecture portions of the class.  The overhead will be stored in a corner at the front of the room so it can easily be brought to the front of the room for use.  The teacher’s desk will be in the back of the room.  This way it can be seen from the doorway.  It also allows for more space at the front of the room for teaching.  Students will not need to see the desk in ordinary activities.  In addition, at any time there is seatwork being done that no longer requires teacher assistance or during testing, this allows me to observe the students unobtrusively.  This is especially useful if I work in a school that allows students to have laptops, so that I can hopefully discourage students from perusing websites irrelevant to the lesson.

The first day of class I will be allowing my students to sit where they choose.  I will tell them that whenever they sit the next day will be their permanent seat, and I will reserve the right to move them should the seating arrangement begin to cause problems.  I plan on changing the seating plan at the beginning of each quarter after that so that students will be changing up who they do partner seat work with.

Communication Plan

In order to promote communication I will be sending home a letter the first week of class introducing myself to the parents/caregivers.  I want to be able to build a good relationship with them as well, that way I can go to them if there are any discipline problems with their child I can call home and have their support.  I would also like to be able to call home and praise their child if they’ve done something particularly well.

In addition to the letter home at the beginning of they year I would like to send home and email out a monthly newsletter.  The newsletter will tell what the class has been learning about that month, as well as showcase some student work.  I want to keep the parents informed of what their students are learning.  I feel like that is something that happens often in elementary school, and is faded out as students reach the secondary level even though there still seems to be benefit to be had from it.

Here is an example of the letter I will send home to parents/caregivers during the first week of class:

Dear Parent,

I’d like to introduce myself.  My name is teacher and I’m your student’s English teacher this year.  This is my first year teaching at school and I’m confident that we have an exciting year ahead of us.  I graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in English and a Master’s in Education.  I’m interested in Renaissance Faires, and take part in historical re-enactments and interactive theater.  I’m also active in martial arts and enjoy time spent exercising, reading, and playing with my two cats.

I believe that each student learns best in different ways, and I will do my best to make sure all students in my classroom are reaching their full potential.  I also feel that parent involvement is important in students of all ages, and communication between the teacher and parent is an excellent way to maintain focus, discipline, and motivation in the student.  I hope to be in contact with you through the school year.  I will be sending home a monthly newsletter to inform you what we’ve been working on in the classroom, as well as showcasing some exemplary student work.

I’m very passionate about my subject matter and hope to imbue your students with some of that same passion.  I look forward to interacting with you and your student this year.  If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me by phone or email.

Sincerely,

Teacher

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