All About Classroom Management! A New Linky
Greetings friends!
I’m excited to start a new Linky for classroom management! I encourage anyone who has any tips that have worked for them, or know of any they would like to try, to link up and join the fun! The below is an introduction to classroom management for the newbie, or for the veteran teacher looking to keep it all together! t I think all teachers can use some reminders and tips
about classroom management – I know I can! I love to read about what works in other classrooms too - so be sure to link up below!
How Do You Manage a Classroom?
Classroom management is all things that a teacher does to
organize students, space, time, and materials so that instruction and student
learning can take place.
Some reasons to focus on effectively managing a classroom:
- Clear student expectations: assignments and tests are based on objectives
- High level of student involvement with work: students work well in class
- Work oriented, but relaxed and pleasant climate: teacher invests time in procedures, knows how to gain attention, and how to encourage students.
- Little wasted time, confusion, or disruption: set behavior plan, prompt, consistent, students know what to expect.
- Provides security: no surprises, yelling, disruptions. Students know what to expect from teacher and vice versa.
We all have heard about effectively classroom management
tips. Some of the ideas we have heard are “buzz” words, or the BIG ideas of
classroom management. Other ideas are smaller, and thus less focused on, but
still are an important part of classroom management.
Some “BIG” Ideas of Classroom Management:
- Posting Assignments & Starting Class
- Classroom Procedures
- Rules and Expectations
- Rewards and Consequences
Some “smaller” Ideas of Classroom Management:
- Teacher Presentation
- Maintaining the “small” stuff
- Classroom Setup
BIG Ideas
Posting Assignments &
Starting Class
Priority should be made to get the students on task and have
the assignments posted daily and in the same place. This holds through for the
daily schedule. Posting assignments is crucial for all age groups. When we
think of posting assignments, we might think of recording homework in our
homework log, or secondary classes in which we have independent work to
complete. However, posting assignments can be the agenda for the class period,
or expectations for quiet time. For example, I list the tasks, lesson, and
assignments etc. for my whole and small group lessons. It usually looks similar
to this:
1. Math Mini-Lesson
2. Math Worksheet
3. Math Video
Not usually that clear cut – sometimes I won’t have a name
for something, but will give it a name. I might say “pattern practice” if it’s
a less concrete math assignment (read: not just a worksheet) or “Race to 100”
(a math game used by name). It’s less important that you use language to match
precisely, but that you are identifying what the assignments are and how many. This way, especially for students working toward earning
breaks or other rewards in many special education classrooms, students know
just how many items they need to get through.
For one-to-one work (and/or independent work), I usually
provide an activity schedule, or write the agenda on a personal white board.
This way, the student can access the list of assignments themselves.
5 more tips for posting assignments and starting class:
1.
Start the Class Yourself – do not rely on the
bell. Get the students on task, even if the bell hasn’t rung. This ensures that
you have control of their on-task behavior, not the school bell.
2.
Post assignments daily/hourly. Post the
agenda/assignments prior to students entering the classroom/transitioning to
the next subject. This will eliminate the questions: “What’s next?” and “What
do I have to do now?”
3.
Post assignments/schedule/agenda in the same
place. The assignments and schedule should always be in the same place, such as
always on the front white board for whole group lessons, and/or always on the
small bulletin board near the small group area for small group lessons. This
will help students become independent with starting and completing their work.
4.
Post previous assignments. This is especially
true for older grades, in which make up work is required. If students have been
absent the day before, they can still be held responsible for their own
assignments and they won’t have to rely on the teacher.
5.
Don’t teach by the book. This one is obvious,
and I know we know this! But just some extra motivation: if you rely on the
textbook to teach your class without understanding the concepts, tasks, or
objectives, you will come across as unknowledgeable and confused, feel
unprepared, and your students may have trouble understanding. The text is
written for you – not for your kiddos. Make sure you are using the text as a
guide for you so that you can better
guide your students.
Classroom Procedures
We all know the importance of classroom procedures. We’ve
experienced this first hand! Teachers have procedures for everything; from how
to sharpen a pencil, to when to blow your nose, to how to ask to use the
bathroom, to passing in assignments. The procedures possibilities are
endless! Regardless of what your classroom procedures are, there are
tried-and-true tips to ensuring your students follow your procedures…
Explain: State,
explain, model, and demonstrate the procedure.
Rehearse: Practice
the procedure under your supervision.
Reinforce: Reteach,
practice, and reinforce procedures until it becomes a habit.
Techniques to Support
the Above Tips:
Make a poster: Write
out the procedures for the students to see. See an example of one of my posters
here.
Make a
syllabus/contract: Explain the rules by going over it with the class; have
the students sign it (like a contract)
Make it a game: Turn
rules into songs and games to help students remember the procedures.
Rules and Expectations
I could write an entire series of posts about classroom
rules and expectations. But, I won’t. Not yet at least. In terms of this brief
overview of classroom management, we will focus on the best way to introduce
these rules and expectations.
Rewards and Consequences
Starting the school year on the right foot includes
establishing classroom rules that will last the whole year. Many teachers
involve students in establishing these rules (see above). Students want to
attend school in a safe environment, and boundaries are crucial to this
security. Students want to know these boundaries prior to entering a classroom
or school. It’s important to implement these rules and expectations
immediately.
Additionally, providing rewards for following rules and
behaving in expected ways, as well as providing consequences for maladaptive
behavior and rule breaking, are at least as important as the rules themselves.
Every teacher must create consequences with when they are comfortable setting
(and/or follow a set of school procedures).
Examples of Rewards (Reinforcing Consequences):
- Stars next to name
- Notes home
- Marbles in Marble Jar
- Extra break-time/recess
- Minutes lost at recess/choice time
- Behavior Think Sheet
- Time out
- Overcorrection procedures (practicing the broken rule over and over again)
- Calls home
- Principal referrals
Of course, you may not be comfortable with all of these consequences,
both reinforcing and punishing ones. It’s important that you identify what youa
re comfortable with, because if you are not comfortable following through with
your set of consequence procedures, your classroom management attempts will
fail. Simple as that.
I’ll also add that you should be pairing the consequence
provided with the rule that was followed or broken. For example, you may say
“Wow, nice job raising a quiet hand Gino! I’m going to add a marble to our
Marble Jar!” Conversely, you may say “Anthony you need to go take space in the
timeout area because you aren’t showing me a calm body.”
small Ideas
Teacher Presentation
How a teacher presents his or herself to the class can be
very important, especially in the older grades. Here are some ideas for your
“teacher presentation.”
Introducing Yourself-
Say your name, room number, period or grade level, and a warm welcome. In
younger grades, meet your students at the door and greet them individually with
a warm small and handshake (if appropriate).
Before School Starts-
Send a letter home to parents and/or students welcoming them to class.
Important First Words
– This is an opportunity to show express the importance of you classroom
expectations. Discuss these first or within the first part of the morning.
Introducing kids to their lockers or cubbies is a good place to start!
Maintaining The “Small” Stuff
By “small” stuff, I mean really big, annoying, time
consuming stuff.
·
Grade Books: A grade book or record book must
show the results and progress of each student. To keep a good grade book you
need 3 or 4 lines after each of the students’ names for attendance, scores, and
running totals. Record individual assignments, such as tests, projects, papers,
worksheets, and homework. An up-to-date overview of the progress of each
student should be available.
·
Attendance: This involves keeping track of who
is absent ad who is present in a classroom. If you can help it, don’t take
attendance right when class starts. Have folders or something independent for
students to complete when they walk into the room. You can refer to a seating
chart quietly, without disrupting the group. Another tip is to have clothes
pins attached to an object with the students names attached. When the students
arrive to class they pin their name to the chart (maybe to their lunch choice
if necessary). The names that stay in pace are the students who are absent.
·
Endless paperwork and emails: This is tricky for
even the most veteran teachers! You need to find what works for you. I often
rely on my To-Do list and place a number next to the most important tasks. I
also try to respond to parent emails and any other pressing emails as soon as I
receive them. This way, I never fall behind. Easier said than done, right? What
I’ve done is set aside time at the end of the day to respond to these emails
before I leave. That way, you are responding within a timely fashion, but not
while you have other things you need to do during the day. I also have a set
day where I plan to stay later (or come in early) if needed for paperwork.
Lately, I have been focused on my teacher evaluation and district-required
SMART Goals.
Classroom Setup
Assigned seating facilitates roll
taking, aids name memorization, and separates potential “problem” students. Arranging
your desk in a manner that is appropriate for your spacing and intention of
your room makes it easier to see your students, teach your lessons, and have
students move around the room.
Think about what “areas” you want
in your room. Do you want a listening center? Do you need a “timeout” or “quiet
area”? What about a small group area? Many classrooms have different sections
of the room, devoted to different subjects – such as science area, a library, and
the pocket chart station. Deciding on what you will incorporate into your
teaching prior to organizing your classroom will help you uncover the best way
to utilize your space.
As mentioned before, this is a brief (despite the lengthy post),
overview of the large topic of classroom management; there are BOOKS devoted to
this topic! I hope this post is useful to teachers with all different years of
experiences, especially those who are new to teaching. I would love to hear
your ideas for how you manage your classroom, especially in the first few weeks
of school.
Nice ways of managing classroom shared here. Thank you. I would like to share one more here i.e use of smart devices or computers. It is also one of the good way to manage the classroom. Students are like to have their smart devices or laptops with them. If we allow them to use it during lecture then it may increase their interest towards study. And we can easily manage these devices through classroom management software like Faronics Insight.
ReplyDeleteHope you like the way.
great idea! Thanks for your suggestion - I agree that student engagement may increase if we allow the use of smart devices and laptops into the classroom environment. Even with the younger students, the advantages to incorporating technology are notable!
Deletevery wonderful advice
ReplyDelete