Classroom Management Approach
(A living document!)
Our Shared Classroom Rules:
1. Respect others’ personal space and belongings
2. Respect others’ likes and ideas
3. Dare to Share – my time, materials, and ideas!
4. Clean up after myself
5. Be a Good Listener
6. Ask for Help
I always have a choice. If I choose not to follow the rules, I am responsible for the *Consequences.
The above will be negotiated with and written by the students and hung in the classroom. The following is intended to explain my philosophy on consequences, as it relates to the following noted methods of discipline. Instead of having specific consequences hanging in the classroom, my preference is to develop a consistent, interactive discipline system that directly involves the students and results in consequences directly related to his or her misbehavior. This will be discussed and modeled to students at the beginning of the year but will undoubtedly require some learning and acclimation the first few weeks of school, particularly if not a school-wide policy. My ultimate goal is to maximize student choice and responsibility while simultaneously stressing importance and value of rules.
Decisive Teacher Action (based on The William Rogers model of decisive discipline and to a lesser degree the Jones model of discipline - http://www.teachermatters.com/index.php)
Step 1: Tactical Ignoring and/or using nonverbal cues and proximity
Step 2: Simple Direction or Rule Restatement (avoiding “why” and focusing on “what” questions)
Step 3: Secondary Behavior (giving students a “clear choice” – simple acknowledgement of student’s behavioral response but restatement of direction or rule; if, after three tries, student refuses to comply, providing choice – work by the rules or choice of consequence)
Step 4: If none of the above are effective, issuing a “time out”, which might consist of temporary isolation or exit from classroom; not a punishment, but used as a time for the individual to reflect on his or her actions and to come up with, initially on own, a solution to the problem, which is then discussed openly with the teacher. This approach, if used consistently and effectively, also sends a clear message to rest of class community regarding non-negotiable behaviors.
In order to deal with minor disruptions and behaviors, I will again use strategies (dependent on the situation) that include tactical ignoring; non-verbal cues; proximity; and positively stated simple redirection (i.e., if students are talking in the hallway during transition, stating “all students are being extra quiet in the hallway until we get back to our classroom.”
Social-Emotional Mini-Lessons
· Being a good listener and learning from others
· The importance of being honest
· Independent problem-solving
· Conflict resolution
· Doing your very best
· Respecting others’ space
Positive Reinforcement
· Achievement chart, if necessary – set specific behavioral goals, daily, for class, and use student-centered tracking system to assess progress; at end of week, have students assess, as a group, their behavioral performance compared to overall goals
· Creating a “good deed” or “peace” tree
· Weekly or monthly achievement/recognition of students – awards for focused and inspiring learner; compassionate student and friend; active listener; and making good behavior choices
· Positive notes and phone calls home to parents or guardians
Instructional Engagement
· Opening new units/topics with interesting fact, demonstration, or relevant story
· Assessing for understanding during lesson
· Planning extended learning activity into every lesson
· Integrating multiple pedagogical approaches into classroom teaching, including collaborative learning; cooperative learning; workshop models; and centers
STUDENT ROUTINES
Passing in assignments: Students will be grouped at tables or in concentric circles close to teacher desk and seats will be changed throughout year so that most students have a chance to sit or associate with all classmates. Certain students will be designated each week with specific classroom jobs, one of which will be an assignment collector. These students will be responsible for collecting and handing in their group’s assignments, unless otherwise directed by teacher.
Homework: There will be a bin set up on a table near the desks/backpack area; students will be designated a homework folder, and any homework (minimal!) or notes from home, etc., will be placed in this bin as students are hanging up their backpacks, getting ready for the day.
Late work policy: In elementary school, late work is likely less of an issue, since most projects/assignments will be ongoing and/or completed in class. If there is a homework assignment that is late for the first time (unless there are extenuating circumstances), the teacher will provide feedback but the student will only receive half credit; a note will also be sent home to parents reminding them of classroom expectations and late-work policy. If this occurs a second time, teacher will provide feedback, but student will not receive credit. If this continues to occur, teacher will meet with student and/or parent to discuss issue and come up with planned resolution/action.
Leaving room for bathroom: Explicit procedure for bathroom and water breaks – do not need to ask if going at suggested times (i.e. before morning work routine; before/after lunch; before/after recess; during snack); otherwise, students should ask an adult first. For intermediate grades, a sign-out sheet and girls/boys pass; for younger grades, individual name cards with magnets.
Exiting classroom/transitions/re-entering classroom: When time to exit to transition to lunch, recess, art, music, an assembly, at end of the day, etc., students will be expected to line up at the back of the classroom as called (I might say all students wearing tennis shoes, you can now line up at back of the classroom, and continue until all students are in line; this will vary from day to day); students can talk quietly to his or her neighbor until exiting classroom but must stand in a single-file line.
Students will be expected to always be quiet and remain in a single-file line when transitioning during school hours as other classes are in session; they should understand that this is done out of respect for other classes, who may be taking tests or doing other assignments that might require quiet time in order to best focus.
Entering class in morning: Students will be expected to enter the classroom, greet the teacher, and immediately hang up their backpacks/put away their lunchboxes and coats, turn in any assignments into the proper bin, and begin their classroom jobs for the day (these will be rotated every week); duties include taking out supplies for each group’s table; un-stacking chairs; taking care of the classroom plants/pets; holding the door; turning out the lights; etc.
TEACHER ROUTINES
Greet students at door each morning by name
Morning Meetings (to include peer shares – up to 3 students can volunteer the day before to share a special story or event in his or her life the following day): After preparing for day, meet each morning to greet each other individually and read teacher’s message
Open lines of communication: “Anonymous” Suggestion Box on desk; weekly notebooks with free-writing assignment – students will have option to write me a letter expressing anything that they’d like to share with me
Signaling for attention: Repeating rhythmic claps or sing-alongs; using noisemaker as another way to solicit attention; standing silent at front of room
Giving directions: Wait until I have whole-class attention; give clear directions once; quickly review by having individual students repeat; use reference sheets for routine assignment/project tasks and to promote independent learning
Providing feedback/formative assessments: Check on all students’ progress periodically and quickly; note strengths and/or or accurate work, give quick and simple reminder of where to go next or what to reference to continue progress; move on until I’ve reached all students
Providing corrections/summative assessments: Unless using a probe to quickly test current knowledge skills, or a summative assessment such as a test, will use summative assessments that provide constructive and specific feedback; students will almost always be given the opportunity to assess their own work, or that of a peer, so that they can develop self-regulatory skills and a better understanding of the purpose of the work being produced.
(A living document!)
Our Shared Classroom Rules:
1. Respect others’ personal space and belongings
2. Respect others’ likes and ideas
3. Dare to Share – my time, materials, and ideas!
4. Clean up after myself
5. Be a Good Listener
6. Ask for Help
I always have a choice. If I choose not to follow the rules, I am responsible for the *Consequences.
The above will be negotiated with and written by the students and hung in the classroom. The following is intended to explain my philosophy on consequences, as it relates to the following noted methods of discipline. Instead of having specific consequences hanging in the classroom, my preference is to develop a consistent, interactive discipline system that directly involves the students and results in consequences directly related to his or her misbehavior. This will be discussed and modeled to students at the beginning of the year but will undoubtedly require some learning and acclimation the first few weeks of school, particularly if not a school-wide policy. My ultimate goal is to maximize student choice and responsibility while simultaneously stressing importance and value of rules.
Decisive Teacher Action (based on The William Rogers model of decisive discipline and to a lesser degree the Jones model of discipline - http://www.teachermatters.com/index.php)
Step 1: Tactical Ignoring and/or using nonverbal cues and proximity
Step 2: Simple Direction or Rule Restatement (avoiding “why” and focusing on “what” questions)
Step 3: Secondary Behavior (giving students a “clear choice” – simple acknowledgement of student’s behavioral response but restatement of direction or rule; if, after three tries, student refuses to comply, providing choice – work by the rules or choice of consequence)
Step 4: If none of the above are effective, issuing a “time out”, which might consist of temporary isolation or exit from classroom; not a punishment, but used as a time for the individual to reflect on his or her actions and to come up with, initially on own, a solution to the problem, which is then discussed openly with the teacher. This approach, if used consistently and effectively, also sends a clear message to rest of class community regarding non-negotiable behaviors.
In order to deal with minor disruptions and behaviors, I will again use strategies (dependent on the situation) that include tactical ignoring; non-verbal cues; proximity; and positively stated simple redirection (i.e., if students are talking in the hallway during transition, stating “all students are being extra quiet in the hallway until we get back to our classroom.”
Social-Emotional Mini-Lessons
· Being a good listener and learning from others
· The importance of being honest
· Independent problem-solving
· Conflict resolution
· Doing your very best
· Respecting others’ space
Positive Reinforcement
· Achievement chart, if necessary – set specific behavioral goals, daily, for class, and use student-centered tracking system to assess progress; at end of week, have students assess, as a group, their behavioral performance compared to overall goals
· Creating a “good deed” or “peace” tree
· Weekly or monthly achievement/recognition of students – awards for focused and inspiring learner; compassionate student and friend; active listener; and making good behavior choices
· Positive notes and phone calls home to parents or guardians
Instructional Engagement
· Opening new units/topics with interesting fact, demonstration, or relevant story
· Assessing for understanding during lesson
· Planning extended learning activity into every lesson
· Integrating multiple pedagogical approaches into classroom teaching, including collaborative learning; cooperative learning; workshop models; and centers
STUDENT ROUTINES
Passing in assignments: Students will be grouped at tables or in concentric circles close to teacher desk and seats will be changed throughout year so that most students have a chance to sit or associate with all classmates. Certain students will be designated each week with specific classroom jobs, one of which will be an assignment collector. These students will be responsible for collecting and handing in their group’s assignments, unless otherwise directed by teacher.
Homework: There will be a bin set up on a table near the desks/backpack area; students will be designated a homework folder, and any homework (minimal!) or notes from home, etc., will be placed in this bin as students are hanging up their backpacks, getting ready for the day.
Late work policy: In elementary school, late work is likely less of an issue, since most projects/assignments will be ongoing and/or completed in class. If there is a homework assignment that is late for the first time (unless there are extenuating circumstances), the teacher will provide feedback but the student will only receive half credit; a note will also be sent home to parents reminding them of classroom expectations and late-work policy. If this occurs a second time, teacher will provide feedback, but student will not receive credit. If this continues to occur, teacher will meet with student and/or parent to discuss issue and come up with planned resolution/action.
Leaving room for bathroom: Explicit procedure for bathroom and water breaks – do not need to ask if going at suggested times (i.e. before morning work routine; before/after lunch; before/after recess; during snack); otherwise, students should ask an adult first. For intermediate grades, a sign-out sheet and girls/boys pass; for younger grades, individual name cards with magnets.
Exiting classroom/transitions/re-entering classroom: When time to exit to transition to lunch, recess, art, music, an assembly, at end of the day, etc., students will be expected to line up at the back of the classroom as called (I might say all students wearing tennis shoes, you can now line up at back of the classroom, and continue until all students are in line; this will vary from day to day); students can talk quietly to his or her neighbor until exiting classroom but must stand in a single-file line.
Students will be expected to always be quiet and remain in a single-file line when transitioning during school hours as other classes are in session; they should understand that this is done out of respect for other classes, who may be taking tests or doing other assignments that might require quiet time in order to best focus.
Entering class in morning: Students will be expected to enter the classroom, greet the teacher, and immediately hang up their backpacks/put away their lunchboxes and coats, turn in any assignments into the proper bin, and begin their classroom jobs for the day (these will be rotated every week); duties include taking out supplies for each group’s table; un-stacking chairs; taking care of the classroom plants/pets; holding the door; turning out the lights; etc.
TEACHER ROUTINES
Greet students at door each morning by name
Morning Meetings (to include peer shares – up to 3 students can volunteer the day before to share a special story or event in his or her life the following day): After preparing for day, meet each morning to greet each other individually and read teacher’s message
Open lines of communication: “Anonymous” Suggestion Box on desk; weekly notebooks with free-writing assignment – students will have option to write me a letter expressing anything that they’d like to share with me
Signaling for attention: Repeating rhythmic claps or sing-alongs; using noisemaker as another way to solicit attention; standing silent at front of room
Giving directions: Wait until I have whole-class attention; give clear directions once; quickly review by having individual students repeat; use reference sheets for routine assignment/project tasks and to promote independent learning
Providing feedback/formative assessments: Check on all students’ progress periodically and quickly; note strengths and/or or accurate work, give quick and simple reminder of where to go next or what to reference to continue progress; move on until I’ve reached all students
Providing corrections/summative assessments: Unless using a probe to quickly test current knowledge skills, or a summative assessment such as a test, will use summative assessments that provide constructive and specific feedback; students will almost always be given the opportunity to assess their own work, or that of a peer, so that they can develop self-regulatory skills and a better understanding of the purpose of the work being produced.