Classroom Management Plan

Samantha Elbert

I believe classroom management is a key component in any educational setting. I believe that there are
many elements to effective classroom management. Some of these elements include establishing
classroom rules, establishing consistent classroom procedures, reinforcing school rules that implement the
school mission statement, having a safe and positive classroom environment, building connections and
positive relationships with students, engaging and challenging students when presenting content and
curriculum through the use of differentiated instruction, and implementing a variety of reinforcements
that encourage students to do their best academically and behaviorally.

Philosophical Statement
I am committed to making my classroom a safe and challenging environment and engaging my students
through the curriculum as well as getting to know them. I want them to be comfortable with the other
students, as well as me, so that there can be meaningful discussions and interactions. Talking will be
common place in my classroom, along with group work. I want to encourage all students to participate in
class so that they can learn from each other as well as me. I want to have a democratic and equitable
classroom so that students can learn. I want to be a fair as I can be, so the students trust me.

Classroom and School Rules

Establishing rules right away in a classroom lets students know right away what is expected of them.
Classroom rules should also be made known to the families of students. This way, there will be no
surprises or room for arguments from students and families of students.
I plan to take time during the first day of school to work with my students to establish class rules.
Although I will guide these rules and keep them concise and straightforward, I want the students input
because I feel they will be more likely to respect the rules if they feel their voices are being heard and
have some say in creating them. Also, when creating these rules, I will steer the children to think of
behaviors they SHOULD do, as opposed to behaviors they SHOULD NOT do. For example, we would
say Keep hands and feet to yourself instead of saying No hitting or kicking. I will collect the rules
and write them on a poster, we will all sign this poster, and then I will laminate it and hang it at the front
of the classroom for everyone to see and refer to. I will also types these rules up, print them out, and send
them home with the students on the first day so that their families so that they are aware of the classroom
rules as well.
Another big part about creating classroom rules is being sure to reinforce them so that students know to
take them seriously. All undesired behaviors should be corrected, no matter how small. If students notice
that a classmate doesnt receive a warning or consequence for breaking one of the rules, theyll develop
bad habits that will be hard to break. Also, you open up the window for students to feel like you are
singling them out if you correct the behavior with them but not with another classmate.
Classroom Procedures
Procedures are different from rules and are just as integral to a well-managed classroom. If your
classroom rules are like the rules of a basketball game, your procedures are the plays. They are the
strategies a teacher uses to keep the classroom organized and running smoothly. Procedures are created to
avoid obstacles and overcome them before they arise. This way, each student knows exactly what to do,
and I dont have to give instructions every time.
Some procedures I plan to implement in my classroom are:
1) Knowing what to do and what is expected of them right away when they arrive in the morning.
Students will know that right when they come in, they will indicate whether they are having hot
or cold lunch. Then, as the days get colder, they will take their outside garments off and stow
them away in their designated lockers. Then they will head right to their desks, take their chairs
down, and get started on the morning bell work.
2) Where to turn in their assignments when they are finished with them. Students wont have to
come up and ask me every time where their assignments should go because they will know where
to turn completed assignments in based on designated drawers or folders for each subject.
3) How to get my attention. Once this procedure is learned, I will not respond to students getting
out of their seats and following me around the room or shouting my name across the class. In
order to get my attention, they will give me a sign from their seats. There will be a sign for each
need for my attention students might have including a sign for using the restroom, getting a drink,
needing a new or sharpening a pencil, and having a question. I will also have a signal for yes, not
now/ wait, and no. This way, I can respond to multiple students while working one-on-one with
another student without being disrupted.
4) Where they can sit during independent work time. I will give girls the opportunity to move
around the classroom during independent work time on even days and boys move around the
classroom on odd days. When it is not their day, students will be expected to work at their desk.
This way, students will get practice knowing and reading the date and wont have to ask me if
they can move around the classroom every day.
5) Where to sit when gathering in the designated meeting area. I will have colored dots on the floor.
I will tell students the first few days that they can choose their seating, but I will be assigning
them spots later in the week. I will assign the spots once I have a pretty good idea of who should
not be seated next to or near each other because they will be disruptive. Then, each student will
be assigned a dot color. Students can choose where they sit as long as its on their color of dot.
6) Who to talk to when told to talk with partners. I will assign each dot elbow partners (or a group of
three in the case of an odd number) when asked to do partner discussions in the meeting area so
that students dont have to take time out of the mini lesson to move around and look for partners.
This will also excludes the possibility of someone feeling left out or not having a partner.
7) How to line up. I will teach students that they need to wait to be dismissed in order to line up, and
when they line up, they will line up in a certain order unless I instruct otherwise.
8) How to transition between tasks. I will assign different tunes for different transitions. For
example, when students hear one tune, they would know that it is time to clean up their
workspace. Another song might mean to meet back in the meeting area. Another might mean its
time to line up while another means it is work time and students need to remain on task during
this time.
9) Brain Break signals. At the beginning of the year, we will sit down as a class and come up with
our own brain break ideas, such as jumping jacks, Simon Says, etc., and write our ideas on
popsicle sticks. I will give students magnets that they will keep on the side of their desks. These
 magnets will be specifically assigned to represent when students feel like they need a break
because they are getting stressed or overwhelmed. When a student feels they are getting antsy,
stressed, or overwhelmed, they can move the magnets to the corner of their desk. When I see that
the class has the magnets moved, we will draw a popsicle stick with the brain breaks we have
created and take a few minutes to give our brains a break. Then, we will move our magnets back
and get back to work. However, I will limit the amount of times we will do brain breaks as a
class so that students arent trying to do more brain breaks than work. I will tell students that we
will only do 3 brain breaks in a day, so if they use them all right away, we wont have any for
later. I will also suggest to students to use one in the morning, one somewhere in the middle of
the day, and one towards the end of the day. If students dont use their brain breaks, I will pick
different times in the day to use them. I will also tell students that brain breaks can only be taken
during independent work time.
10) What packing up at the end of the day entails. Students will know that we will take the last 10
minutes of the day to put our school supplies away in our desks and take out our planners. We
will fill out our planners as a class. Once our planners are filled out for the day, students will put
their chairs up and grab anything they brought from their lockers. When they are ready, they will
line up at the door and show that they are ready to be dismissed for the day. On Fridays, students
will know that once they fill out their planners, they will grab all the papers out of their mailbox
and grab their Friday folders from the tub and put their mail in the folders to be brought home.
11) Classroom jobs. Some classroom jobs might include librarian, wiping down desks, sharpening
pencils, picking up scraps, etc. Students will know what assignment they have by a wall hanging
with a list of all the jobs, and clothes pins to mark which students have what job.
12) Listening to a speaker. I will teach students different call and response procedures that they know
means it is time to listen to the teacher/speaker. One such call and response I might use would be
if I said Flat tire! the students would respond by saying Shhhhh!
13) School emergency procedures.
Procedures, unlike rules, cannot be established in a day. I will spend time teaching them and making sure
students understand, and then, we will practice over and over again until the procedures become routine. I
will spend plenty of time in the first couple of weeks of school explaining the procedures, modeling them,
and putting them into practice. If a procedure doesnt end up working, I will make the necessary changes
and practice again. I will implement procedures in the same structure as I implement lessons; I do, we do,
you do.

Classroom Environment
I plan to provide students with a safe and positive environment by encouraging all students and allowing
them to feel like their voices and opinions are being heard. I have mentioned some ways in my rules and
procedures how I will incorporate the students ideas and opinion when building our classroom. I also will
state at the beginning of the school year and constantly remind students that one rule I have created on my
own is that students must respect each other, the classroom, and the teacher, which means no put-downs
or name calling will be allowed. All negative language in the classroom will be addressed immediately.
This will prevent discipline problems as kids might act out if they are feeling attacked or unsafe in the
classroom.
Building Relationships
I will build honest and positive relationships with students and parents. I plan to do this in a variety of
ways as the school year goes on. One way I will build a stronger relationship with parents is by
introducing myself to parents and families at open house and giving them the link to my professional
website so that they can take a look into my background and education before the school year even starts.
Engaging Students
Reinforcements