Classroom Management Plan Elementary BY ALYSSA RODRIGUEZ Background

Classroom Management Plan: Elementary BY: ALYSSA RODRIGUEZ

Background Grade: Elementary School- preferably 5 th grade Community: Suburban/ Rural area- More developed than a true rural area but less developed then the city and suburbs. I plan to stay in New Jersey and teach in either central or northern New Jersey Student information: Predominantly white community Mainly general education Students or inclusion education

Philosophy Classroom management is an ongoing process that begins in the beginning of the year to allow for academic and social-emotional learning. This process is based on prevention of misbehavior rather than discipline. Two important prevention techniques include building relationships and setting rule and routines. Through building relationships students will see that I care about them and their learning. Hoping that they will care about the class just as much. By greeting students at the door in the morning and making myself available before and after school will show students that I am here for them. For setting rules and routines, both students and teacher will have a say in what rules are set. This process will happen in the first few weeks of school. Rules will be hung in the classroom and students will be reminded of them throughout the year. Daily routines will be hung on the board each morning.

Teaching Style Student centered Inquire based approach. Students play an active role in their own learning Children are explorers and need to find their own answers to their questions I see my role as an educator as the student’s guide in learning. I will give them advise, support and set them up for success but the students are expected to participate.

Physical Design Based on Steele’s six functions of classroom Security and Shelter Social Contact Task Instrumentality Pleasure Growth

Physical Design Security and Shelter- creating an environment for the students providing both physical and psychological safety. Add elements of softness- bean bag chair, additional lighting

Physical Design Social Contact- One of the most important areas Students are able to interact among students – talking is strong encouraged in this classroom.

Physical Design Symbolic Identification- Personalizing your classroom Display student work

Physical Design Task Instrumentality- Understanding where to go and how to complete everyday tasks. Where supplies/ resources are kept Space to keep personal belongings Know class rules

Physical Design Pleasure- making the classroom attractive and pleasing Adding color and textures to make the environment pleasing Adding plants, pets, bulletin board displays

Physical Design Growth- an environment that invites students to explore, observe, investigate and discover. Classroom library Area for resources Open activities easily seen

Rules By 5 th grade, I believe that rules can be mainly student based. In the first few weeks I will have students help brainstorm rules that they feel are important to create an environment for academic learning From the list generated by the class I will then suggest that we combine some of the rules that seem similar. I will point out rules that are similar and see if students can come up with a way to combine some of the rules to make one general rule.

Rules Then the rules will be hung up in the classroom somewhere all the students can see them. It is important that student are reminded of the rules that they created for the classroom By allowing students to create the rules and shape them creates a sense of accountability. They are now holding themselves to these rules.

Routines Movement Routines: Arriving to class Sharpening pencils Using the Restroom Handing in finished assignments General Routines: Copy Homework before leaving class Lesson- Running Routines Collecting, recording and returning homework What to do when an assignment is complete Get all supplies from your locker before class

Movement Routines Arriving to class: When students first arrive to class they are to enter the classroom politely. They are to go directly to their seat, unpack their bags and pull out their first period books. They need to sit at their desk ready to learn. Reading a book or working on a quiet task is appropriate while they wait. Everything that they do not need should be put away or under their seats. Sharpening pencils: Students may sharpen their pencil when I or any student is not talking. Appropriate times to sharpen pencils are in the beginning of class when working on the do now and during group or independent work.

Movement Routines Using the Restroom: It is encouraged that students go to the restroom before class starts so they do not miss any of the material. If students finish the do now or any guided/ independent work early, that will be an appropriate time to go to the restroom. But sometimes students will have to go during a lesson. If that is the case they will need to raise their hand put their index finger in the air. This will represent that they need to go with out them asking and interrupting the lesson. I will be able to say yes or no. It is also important to follow any school policies about going to the bathroom as well. Some schools have students use a personal sign out sheet, others give students a select number of hall passes they can use in one day. Handing in finished assignments: All finished assignments that I plan to collect must go in the appropriate basket (subject) that will be placed in the back of the room. They can turn in their work when I am not speaking. All assignments will go in the same basket as long as it is for the same class.

General Routines Copy Homework before leaving class: Students should always makes sure they copy down the homework right after they finish the unpacking. This way it is done in the beginning of class and no one needs to worry about forgetting to write it down at the end of the day.

Lesson Running Routine Collecting, recording and returning homework: When students first come into the classroom, they are to take out their homework and read the board for additional directions. If I am just checking for completion, I will walk around the room while students are doing the do now. If their homework is not out on the desk they will not be given credit for the assignment. When I need to collect homework, students will be able to go over the problems together and everyone is responsible for correcting and filling in answers. After a given time, I will collect one paper of my choice from each group. Everyone in that group will get the same grade. This will hold students responsible for their work. They are also given time to correct and make changes so there should be no reason why they can not edit their paper. When returning papers, students need to stay seated and quiet. When their name is called, they can get up , get their paper then sit back down. Then we will go over and answer any questions. If there are personal concerns about the grade or a problem, students are encouraged to come speak to me after class.

Relationships with Students Greet students at the door: By saying hello when welcoming the students to the class every day is just a nice way to know that their teacher cares about them. It is a great way to check up on your students. You are able to notice if a student looks upset about something or really happy about something. Then you can pull them aside a check in to see what is going on. Open communication is key for creating a safe environment. Students see the friendly effort that you are putting out and they truly appreciate it even when they do not show it back. Take a personal interest in my students: When talking to students it is important to say the students name. It makes it feel more personal when talking to them. It shows that you take the time to learn their name. Also, just talking to them about non-subject related topics shows your students that you wanted to get to know them better. Be fair: Being fair is giving students what they need to succeed in class. It is not treating all the students the same way. Some students may need different accommodations in order to be successful.

Relationships among Students Team builders: In the beginning of the year team builder will be used to build community among the students in the class. It is a great way for student to start working as a team and getting to know each other better. I feel like the beginning of the year gets such a strong focus on team builders but I would want to continue these throughout the year. Every student is needed to achieve the goal: Students need to be accountable for their work. When everyone in the class is needed to reach a goal they are all more likely to put in the extra effort. The goal will still be attainable if everyone does not take part. It will just take longer for the class to reach the goal. Cooperative groups: In cooperative groups every student is held responsible for the work. They need to be able to talk to others and work cooperatively or they will have problems completing the task. Every student is needed for the task to be successful. By working with people you do not usually talk to helps build relationships.

Relationships with Parents Utilizing positive phone calls and emails: It is important that when communicating with parents that you do not just reach out to them when something bad happens. If you only tell them about the bad, they are not going to respect you and you will never develop that relationship. By notifying them about good things shows the parents that you care about their child. In middle school parents still want to be involved, but their child does not keep them involved. This is why it is important the teacher shares the good news. Send home progress reports: It is important to keep parents in the know about their child’s progress in the class. By sending how a progress report makes the student responsible for their work and lets the parents know how their child is doing in class. Develop classroom website: This is my favorite way to communicate with parents. This is a way to inform parents about everything that is going on in your class. It can be used by the parents but also by the students. On the website, you can put up notes, video clips of teaching, homework and other helpful links. This can all be used by the students. But for the parents, you can have a newsletter over viewing what is going on in class, stars of the week, homework and when large assignments are coming up. It is just a great way in to communicate without blowing up the parents email.

Discipline Plan There are three types of misbehaviors Minor More Serious Chronic On the next few pages I will go into how I plan to deal with each type of misbehavior.

Minor Misbehavior Always preserve the students dignity!!! Non- verbal: Eye contact with the student Hand signals Facial expressions- “the look” Ignore the misbehavior Verbal: Call on the student State their name in the problem Remind students of the rule

More Serious Misbehavior Make sure the consequence is Reasonable Related Respectful Examples: Violations system 1 st - warning 2 nd- Private conference with teacher after class 3 rd- Contact parents

Chronic Misbehavior Self evaluation- Students judge the accountability of their behavior Steps: Identify the behavior Demonstrate and record the appropriate behavior Give a predetermined time interval Rewards: I believe in rewarding students to preform the appropriate behavior. Rewards need to be something that the student wants so they are driven to preform the positive behavior.

Closure I strongly believe in a student centered classroom using an inquire based approach where the students play an active part in their learning. I have go over the dream layout for my classroom as well as the rules and routines I will set up with my students. Most important to me, I discussed how I plan to build relationships with my students, among my students and with parents. Finally I presented my Discipline plan for when misbehavior does occur.