My Classroom Management Plan
Creating a Caring Community
Creating a caring community is a pillar of successful learning. If students feel comfortable and respected, more questions are asked during discussion and students take responsibility for their own education. It is pertinent that I, as the teacher, work hard to develop a learning community and spend class time in the beginning of the semester to foster to growth of a positive learning environment and a sense of belonging .The ways I will create this classroom culture are as followed:
1. Anticipatory Set
Teacher tells students to take out a pen and paper and he/she says, “Think about a time you were apart of a team. It could be a sports team or it could have been a group activity or some other type of competition where you were working with other people. What was your role (leader, follower, etc.)? What did you accomplish as a group? How did that make you feel?” Teacher tells students to respond quietly to the prompt on a piece of paper. (5 minutes)
2. State Objective
“This classroom is our learning community for the semester. If we can figure out how to work as a team, then everyone in this room will benefit.” Teacher tells everyone to stand up and get on one side of “wall”. Teacher explains that this activity is a competition for time and the period that gets the fastest time will be rewarded handsomely. (1 minute)
3. Input – Modeling –
Teacher explains the process of the activity:
- The goal of this activity is to get EVERY student on this side of the wall to the other side of the wall in the fastest time.
- To get to the other side of the wall, you must climb through the holes/shapes made from the string. Teacher climbs through hole to show an example.
-You are allowed to help each other through the holes toward the top, but you cannot use props such as desks or chairs.
-You must go through the “wall” one at a time. If more than one person goes through, they must return to the other side of the wall and try again.
-You are only allowed to use a hole two times. Teacher gives example of what that mean. Teacher shows students the grid that is projected on the front board. Teacher explains that each time a student goes through a hole, she will mark a “/”. When the hole has an “X”, that hole is closed and the students must use another hole. There are 16 holds total, so that means that 32 students can go through. Depending on the class size, not every hole will be closed.
-If a student touches the string as you go through a 1-minute penalty is accrued.
- If the class has to start over, a 5-minute penalty is accrued.
- You will have 2 minutes of planning before I start the clock.
(3 minutes)
4. Check for Understanding
Teacher tells students to turn to a partner. Partner A explains the process of the activity while partner B listens. (30 sec)
Teacher tells partner B to explain all the ways the class can accrue penalties to partner A. (30 sec)
Teacher puts rules and penalty list on board (provided below)
Teacher tells class that we have 30 seconds to ask the teacher more questions of clarification about the activity.
(2 minutes total)
5. Guided Practice/Independent Practice
Teacher tells group to start planning (2 minutes)
Teacher tells students to start the activity and starts clock.
As students are working through the wall problem she is monitoring for penalties and marking “/” on the projector as students go thorough the holes.
Teacher is silently noting students behavior during the activity. Who is leading? Who is helping? Who is shy and not participating? Who is on their phone and not helping once the get through the wall? Etc.
If the class gets stuck and has to restart, then add a 5 minute penalty. (25 minutes)
6. Closure
Once every student is to the other side of the wall, record time and tell students to go back to their desk and get out their piece of paper from earlier.
Read students these prompts and tell them to respond on the paper. “What did you do when you got to the other side of the wall? If you could redo the activity, what would you do differently? How is this activity related to math class?”
Discuss and debrief the activity. “ Think about the activity and what everyone’s role was in class. Who was helping? What were people doing once they got the other side of the wall. How is this activity like math class? Sometimes you hit the string and make a mistake, but everyone still gets through to the other side. What do you think your job should have been when you got to the other side? How does that relate to math class? Why did you not want to be carried over? Why is it embarrassing to get lifted?
Now write one thing you learned from this activity and how you will apply what you learned to math class this semester.
The paper is the student’s ticket out the door.
(7 minutes)
On a day to day, students may be excited, unmotivated, frustrated, and a myriad of different emotions when coming into class. Instead of deeming their behavior as discipline worthy, using different language, such as recovery with accountability, can evoke a more positive response from the student and help him/her get back on the learning path. Below are some ways that I will encourage recovery with accountability with my students:
It is the responsibility of teachers to help develop positive social skills in students and to hold students accountable to the social contract of the classroom. These skills will benefit them in college and in the work place. The following are a few ways I will encourage long term support and the development of life skills with my students:
What Happened? Describe the Situation:
RULER skill Me Other Person
Recognize and Label What was I feeling? What was ______ feeling?
Understand What cause me to feel this way? What caused _______ to feel this way?
Express and Regulate How did I express and regulate me feelings? How did _______ express and regulate his/her feelings?
Reflect: What could I have done to handle the situation better? How would I have liked the situation to turn out? What can I do now?
Somewhere Else to Plan – The Planning Room:
Every student has the right to feel safe, free from threats and free from disruption of their learning. At times, it will be necessary to provide a place for a student to go if they cannot cool down and are constantly disrupting the class and their own learning. The following is what will happen if this step is necessary (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 183).
Every student is entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), even those that are challenged with complying with classroom expectations (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 186). The following are ways that offer support to those students that struggle with appropriate behavior or learning disabilities that is disrupting their right to learn.
o Ongoing student assessment. Universal screening and progress monitoring provide information about a student’s learning rate and level of achievement, both individually and in comparison with the peer group. These data are then used when determining which students need closer monitoring or intervention. Throughout the RTI process, student progress is monitored frequently to examine student achievement and gauge the effectiveness of the curriculum. Decisions made regarding students’ instructional needs are based on multiple data points taken in context over time.
o Tiered instruction. A multi-tier approach is used to efficiently differentiate instruction for all students. The model incorporates increasing intensities of instruction offering specific, research-based interventions matched to student needs.
o Parent involvement. Schools implementing RTI provide parents information about their child’s progress, the instruction and interventions used, the staff who are delivering the instruction, and the academic or behavioral goals for their child (RTI Action Network, 2014).
My Teaching Philosophy - Progressivism:
Progressivism, my teaching philosophy, aligns well with the 5 levels of the Self – Discipline Pyramid.
Creating a caring community is a pillar of successful learning. If students feel comfortable and respected, more questions are asked during discussion and students take responsibility for their own education. It is pertinent that I, as the teacher, work hard to develop a learning community and spend class time in the beginning of the semester to foster to growth of a positive learning environment and a sense of belonging .The ways I will create this classroom culture are as followed:
- Collaboratively Develop a Classroom Social Contract: During the first week of school, we will create a social contract as a group activity then sharing together as a class, in a democratic way, an outline of the expectations for the students and teacher for the semester. Students will collaboratively develop class expectations and accountability guidelines (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 174-176). The goal is to promote a classroom climate of mutual respect and participation. Some examples of what the contract will include are assignment expectations, bathroom policy, how to show respect for others, homework policy, classroom management, etc. The social contract will require every student and parent signature.
- Routines and Signals: Routines and procedures allow students to be self-directed and flexible in taking ownership for the way the class operates. One example of a procedure I will implement in class is some type of bell work that students are to start as we start the period and to get them focused on the math lesson. If they need to turn an assignment in, there is a designated basket for their period. The class agenda and daily goals are written on the board in the same location every day, if they were absent, they are aware of how to get missed notes, etc. Signals also help students take responsibility for their learning because they have clear expectations. One signal I will use in my class is when I want students to stop group work or discussion between partners and come together again as a group. I will say “Class?” They will have to respond “Yes” in the same tone that I addressed them as class. Also, I will employ the “Three Before Me” signal when students ask a question. First they ask an elbow partner, then each one asks their face partner, if the whole group doesn’t know the answer they all raise their hand at once and I come over to answer the question (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 176-177).
- Directorship Roles: There will be several jobs that will rotate at least twice throughout the year to give each student a classroom responsibility. During the class meeting when we discuss the social contract, we will create roles for students such as a homework checker, a person that informs absent students of notes and activities they missed, a classroom monitor that makes sure the room is orderly after each period, an assignment calendar maker, etc. In addition to these roles, on each desk there will be one of four colored squares that represent a different role when students are doing group work. For example, the group roles will be group recorder (blue), presenter (green), skeptic (red), and group manager (orange).
- Class Meetings: These meetings will be regularly scheduled at least 4 times throughout the semester, the first meeting being when the class develops a social contract. The meetings can address planning, such as how, as a class, we can support a substitute teacher, a meeting to check in with the class and address how they feel their learning process is going, or a meeting to address community problems. The idea of meetings is a place where students get their questions addressed and answered and to encourage a safe environment where students are taking responsibility for their learning (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 177-178).
- Team Building Activities: During the first week of class, and periodically throughout the semester, I will organize fun team building games and activities that encourage student interaction and break down stranger barriers. These activities are the base for effective group work and collaboration throughout the semester. One activity I particularly enjoy is The Other Side team building activity
1. Anticipatory Set
Teacher tells students to take out a pen and paper and he/she says, “Think about a time you were apart of a team. It could be a sports team or it could have been a group activity or some other type of competition where you were working with other people. What was your role (leader, follower, etc.)? What did you accomplish as a group? How did that make you feel?” Teacher tells students to respond quietly to the prompt on a piece of paper. (5 minutes)
2. State Objective
“This classroom is our learning community for the semester. If we can figure out how to work as a team, then everyone in this room will benefit.” Teacher tells everyone to stand up and get on one side of “wall”. Teacher explains that this activity is a competition for time and the period that gets the fastest time will be rewarded handsomely. (1 minute)
3. Input – Modeling –
Teacher explains the process of the activity:
- The goal of this activity is to get EVERY student on this side of the wall to the other side of the wall in the fastest time.
- To get to the other side of the wall, you must climb through the holes/shapes made from the string. Teacher climbs through hole to show an example.
-You are allowed to help each other through the holes toward the top, but you cannot use props such as desks or chairs.
-You must go through the “wall” one at a time. If more than one person goes through, they must return to the other side of the wall and try again.
-You are only allowed to use a hole two times. Teacher gives example of what that mean. Teacher shows students the grid that is projected on the front board. Teacher explains that each time a student goes through a hole, she will mark a “/”. When the hole has an “X”, that hole is closed and the students must use another hole. There are 16 holds total, so that means that 32 students can go through. Depending on the class size, not every hole will be closed.
-If a student touches the string as you go through a 1-minute penalty is accrued.
- If the class has to start over, a 5-minute penalty is accrued.
- You will have 2 minutes of planning before I start the clock.
(3 minutes)
4. Check for Understanding
Teacher tells students to turn to a partner. Partner A explains the process of the activity while partner B listens. (30 sec)
Teacher tells partner B to explain all the ways the class can accrue penalties to partner A. (30 sec)
Teacher puts rules and penalty list on board (provided below)
Teacher tells class that we have 30 seconds to ask the teacher more questions of clarification about the activity.
(2 minutes total)
5. Guided Practice/Independent Practice
Teacher tells group to start planning (2 minutes)
Teacher tells students to start the activity and starts clock.
As students are working through the wall problem she is monitoring for penalties and marking “/” on the projector as students go thorough the holes.
Teacher is silently noting students behavior during the activity. Who is leading? Who is helping? Who is shy and not participating? Who is on their phone and not helping once the get through the wall? Etc.
If the class gets stuck and has to restart, then add a 5 minute penalty. (25 minutes)
6. Closure
Once every student is to the other side of the wall, record time and tell students to go back to their desk and get out their piece of paper from earlier.
Read students these prompts and tell them to respond on the paper. “What did you do when you got to the other side of the wall? If you could redo the activity, what would you do differently? How is this activity related to math class?”
Discuss and debrief the activity. “ Think about the activity and what everyone’s role was in class. Who was helping? What were people doing once they got the other side of the wall. How is this activity like math class? Sometimes you hit the string and make a mistake, but everyone still gets through to the other side. What do you think your job should have been when you got to the other side? How does that relate to math class? Why did you not want to be carried over? Why is it embarrassing to get lifted?
Now write one thing you learned from this activity and how you will apply what you learned to math class this semester.
The paper is the student’s ticket out the door.
(7 minutes)
- Seating and Room Arrangement: My classroom will be set up in groups of 4 students per table because most of my class activities will be group work. I will start the semester with an alphabetical arrangement to assess different learning styles and student characteristics. Then, the seating chart will change depending on how the class decided the seating chart will be formed.
On a day to day, students may be excited, unmotivated, frustrated, and a myriad of different emotions when coming into class. Instead of deeming their behavior as discipline worthy, using different language, such as recovery with accountability, can evoke a more positive response from the student and help him/her get back on the learning path. Below are some ways that I will encourage recovery with accountability with my students:
- Eye contact
- Walking around the room and standing next to the child that needs to recover while continuing addressing the class.
- Schedule a follow-up conversation after class (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 178).
- I will employ Cooperative Type Discipline, for example, I will catch students seeking being good or teach them to ask for attention with “Notice Me, Please” cards. With students that seek power, I will move the student to a different seat or grant them a legitimate power (Albert, 1996).
- I will be consistent with enforcing, with empathy, classroom expectations and consequences as decided upon by the class in the social contract at the beginning of the semester.
It is the responsibility of teachers to help develop positive social skills in students and to hold students accountable to the social contract of the classroom. These skills will benefit them in college and in the work place. The following are a few ways I will encourage long term support and the development of life skills with my students:
- A Helping Script – This is given to students if they have been in recovery and still are not compiling with classroom expectations. It is a way for students to collaborate with an adult and take ownership of their behavior. The script is as follows
1. What are you doing?
2. Is it helping? OR Does it comply with expectations? (If not, which expectation does it violate?)
3. How will you solve the problem? OR What could you do instead (that fall within expectations)?
4. Is this something you can really do?
5. When will you start? For how long can you do this?
6. What will you get out of following this plan?
7. Congratulations, you made a good plan/choice/decision! (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 179-180).
- Cool Down Activity: As the class or an individual is starting to get out of control, a cool down activity may be assigned. This cool down activity could be a drawing, a journal entry, or practicing deep breathing but it is an activity that the class has created in the social contract. Sometimes, a verbal signal may be used to encourage students to get back on track with out actually having to do the cool down activity (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 182-183).
- Emotional Literacy Blueprint: The following blueprint, taken from Creating Emotionally Classrooms: An Introduction to the RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning, will be used to address conflict between two students. It is a way to facilitate an emotional awareness of how and why certain conflicts happen, to diffuse an emotionally charged situation, and to prevent one in the future (Brackett, Kremenitzer, Prickard, 2011, p. 12).
What Happened? Describe the Situation:
RULER skill Me Other Person
Recognize and Label What was I feeling? What was ______ feeling?
Understand What cause me to feel this way? What caused _______ to feel this way?
Express and Regulate How did I express and regulate me feelings? How did _______ express and regulate his/her feelings?
Reflect: What could I have done to handle the situation better? How would I have liked the situation to turn out? What can I do now?
Somewhere Else to Plan – The Planning Room:
Every student has the right to feel safe, free from threats and free from disruption of their learning. At times, it will be necessary to provide a place for a student to go if they cannot cool down and are constantly disrupting the class and their own learning. The following is what will happen if this step is necessary (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 183).
- Planning Room: This is a place outside of the classroom that students will go so they will no longer disrupt the rest of the class. They will know that when they enter the planning room, they will have to formulate a behavior contact described below (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 183)
- Behavior Contract: An an example of a behavior contact that a student will develop while they are in the planning room is shown below (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 184).
- Repeat Visitors to Planning Room: After a student has been to the planning room a few times in one semester and the behavior contract is not being fulfilled, a letter is sent home to the parent to inform them of their child’s behavior and to ask for additional support (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 185).
Every student is entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), even those that are challenged with complying with classroom expectations (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 186). The following are ways that offer support to those students that struggle with appropriate behavior or learning disabilities that is disrupting their right to learn.
- Positive Behavior Support Plan (PBS): This plan will be developed with the student, the teacher (or several of the student’s teachers), and the parents of the student. This is a teaching plan that will specify what the student will do and what the adults supporting the student will do to replace the behavior in question with behavior that will assist in learning (Villa, Thousand, and Nevin, 2010, p. 187).
- Response to Intervention: This is a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs. Outlined below is how RTI will be implemented, taken from the RTI Action Network website:
o Ongoing student assessment. Universal screening and progress monitoring provide information about a student’s learning rate and level of achievement, both individually and in comparison with the peer group. These data are then used when determining which students need closer monitoring or intervention. Throughout the RTI process, student progress is monitored frequently to examine student achievement and gauge the effectiveness of the curriculum. Decisions made regarding students’ instructional needs are based on multiple data points taken in context over time.
o Tiered instruction. A multi-tier approach is used to efficiently differentiate instruction for all students. The model incorporates increasing intensities of instruction offering specific, research-based interventions matched to student needs.
o Parent involvement. Schools implementing RTI provide parents information about their child’s progress, the instruction and interventions used, the staff who are delivering the instruction, and the academic or behavioral goals for their child (RTI Action Network, 2014).
My Teaching Philosophy - Progressivism:
Progressivism, my teaching philosophy, aligns well with the 5 levels of the Self – Discipline Pyramid.
- Creating a Caring Community: I will focus on running the class in a democratic way by making every student feel apart of the class community. I believe that if a student feels apart of team, it will motivate them to not let their team down and to do the best they can. This team mentality will be cultivated in a variety of ways. The democratic way I will run my classroom will also give the students some autonomy with their education that will further motivate them to do well.
- Recovery with Accountability: My teaching philosophy lets me gently remind students how they can realign themselves with the class expectations and it does not push a totalitarian type of punishment onto them. Because the class is run in a democratic way, students understand that they are accountable for their actions because that is what the class decided together, not solely me as the teacher.
- Long Term Support: The progressivism teaching philosophy allows students to reflect when they break the social contract and learn from their own processing of their behavior. This reflection is supported by ideas and assignments described above that guide students’ thinking with questions. I think this style of reflection is more effective than having an authority crack down on misbehavior in a rigid style.
- Planning Place: Again, I encourage self-reflection and personal responsibility of actions by sending a disruptive student to a planning place so they can think about how they can get back on track.
- Wrap Around Support: I will offer the students wrap around support so not only themselves, but also adults that know and want the child to succeed are collaborating on a way to encourage the student to get to a place where their behavior is no longer disrupting their learning. Once again, my teaching philosophy is focusing on the student having a major role in their recovery plan.