Classroom Management Plan

Aaminah Durham-EDU 402

First Day of School Outline
Greet students enthusiastically at the door, smiling
warmly. In this moment I would briefly introduce
myself (Hello [students name] , Im Ms. _________). The
student notes that I already know their name and Ive
already established how they are to address me. I
would also let them know to check the board/screen
for activities they can do until class starts.
As students are coming in, appropriate currently
popular songs or their instrumentals will be playing. A
playlist of these songs would have already been
made so that I would not have to monitor song
choices. I can make a connection with my students
on this level in that they realize I listen to a lot of the
songs that they listen to.
On the board would be various choices of sponge
activities until class starts whether it is playing games
on the computer, GONoodle, activity stations, etc.
NOTE: The outline so far would be my basis for my
morning routine which at this point I would introduce
telling and showing students what it is they need to do
when coming in in the morning (more in depth details
will be given on morning routine in upcoming slide).
When all or most of the students have arrived, I would
again introduce myself to the class as a whole. I
would explain to them we will be spending the year
together and spending most of our day with each
other. Therefore, we are like a family. There are
certain characteristics that define a family, the first
being that families know each other well. They know
everyones names and know a lot of facts about
each others likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc. This would
lead into the next activity.
 First Day of School Outline (Introductions)

I would first like to show a video that is somewhat of a journal/scrapbook that shows
students aspects of my life. For example, where I was born, where I live, my family,
activities I like to do out of school, etc. My video The Story of Me from EDU 255 (attached
below) would be an example of this. It would of course be edited to fit my life at the time
at the time of my teaching.
First Day of School
Outline
(Introductions)
In an effort to have students get to know
each other, we would do a Get to Know
You Scavenger Hunt. Students would have
a list of questions and go around to their
classmates asking the questions. Before
they ask the questions they must introduce
themselves saying Hi, my name is _______.
Whats your name? They should have 2
names besides each question. The
questions can be adjusted to fit each class
and their characteristics. Before actually
beginning the activity, I would model how
I expect the scavenger hunt to go giving
an example of the introduction, how to
answer the question and how to record
the name.
First Day of School Outline

After introduction time, I would allow students to write their

names on name tags for their desks. I want to use the
Hello, my name is _______ format so that students keep in
mind what the initial beginnings of an introduction are.
Tell students that families also have certain expectations of
keeping order in the house. There are certain behaviors
that we cant do otherwise we would have chaos. WE
have to make good choices. There are also
consequences of making bad choices. At this point I
would teach the Expectations Lesson to go further into this.
(see attached)
First Day of School Outline

After teaching the expectations lesson, I would introduce various other expectations such as
hallway behavior, bathroom procedures, how to turn in homework, etc (all of these will be
outlined in further slides). We would practice these procedures as they are reviewed. Whatever
is not covered in the allotted time can be reviewed the next day.
I Cant Funeral-This part of the day is to put to rest all negative connotations about what
students can accomplish. This will establish that I have high expectations of ALL my students
and that I believe they can do anything they put their mind to. Students will take a small piece
of paper and write down everything they think they cant do writing I cant
____________________. After everyone has written down their I cants we will put them in a
coffin (paper bag, shoe box) and bury it in the classroom while playing sad music. I will give
the I cants a eulogy saying Here lies our I cants. We will miss them terribly but we will learn
to live without them. At the end of the school year, we can pull the statements out so that
students can look back at what they thought they would not be able to accomplish.
First Day of
School Outline
After lunch and recess, I would
take the time to do more
academic activities. It is
important to me to know what
level each student is on within
the grade level. Time would be
spent giving pre-assessments for
each subject that is taught within
the classroom.
To close the day I would review
what our end of day dismissal
routine should look like everyday
(detailed outline in further slide).
After everyone is packed, I
would have a little fun with the
students and do a photo booth
(DIY) with students so that we
have memories of our first day of
school.
Introductory Letter

This letter would be sent

to parents and students
shortly before the
school year begins. Its
purpose would be to
give parents and
students a brief
overview of my
background and goals
in teaching. It would
also be an initial way to
give them my contact
information.
 Upon entry to the classroom, I would greet students warmly at the
door to set the tempo of positivity for the day. There would be music
playing in the background to wake the students up and get their
energy flowing. On the board would be a checklist of things that
should be done upon entry into the classroom:
Hang up backpack and jacket
Make sure you have sharpened pencils

Entry/Morning

Turn in homework
If there is time left, choose a sponge activity (reading, math

Routine
game, etc.) until morning meeting.
At morning meeting, students have the opportunity to share things
with each other and with me that they would not normally get to
share during class time such as an event or problem. Morning
meeting would last for about 15 minutes after which we would do a
GONoodle yoga video to get everyone on the same page and
ready to start the day. It does not always have to be a yoga video, it
could be dancing or a game. It just needs to be do something that
we do collectively.
Classroom
Jobs/Duties

At the beginning of the week,

students would sign up for a job
of their choosing on a sign up
sheet that included information
about each job and the salary
for each job. Sign up would be
on a first come first served basis.
Whoever gets to class first have
first choice of jobs. There would
also be a limited number of jobs.
Students cannot hold jobs
consecutively. For example, if a
student is a sweeper one week,
they cannot be a sweeper the
next week. At the end of the
week students receive their
salary for the job done.
Turning in Homework

In terms of turning in homework, I

would have student place their
homework in bins labeled with each
subject (math, spelling, reading, etc.).
In each a basket would be a chart
with each day of the week on the
columns above and their names on
the rows on the side. The students
would check the box corresponding to
the name and day as they turn in the
homework for that subject. They would
then place their homework below that
sheet.
Note: I designed the checklist myself.
Getting Attention

I would use various methods to get the attention of my students depending on what is needed. Here are
examples of methods I would use:
Call and Response-Teacher calls out, 1,2,3. Eyes on me. Students respond, 1,2. Eyes on you. Another
option is Ready to Rock? Ready to Roll.
Echo Clapping-Teacher claps out a rhythm and students imitate the pattern.
Timer-Whenever classwork or group work is being done, I could set a timer so that students know when the
timer goes off all attention should be brought back to me.
Waiting-I would also utilize the phrase Ill wait and stand at the front of the classroom waiting until students
are quiet. Another variation of this is to make the quiet symbol over my mouth with one hand and place my
other pointer finger in the air until students naturally copy and are all quiet.
Silent Talking or Talking to an Inanimate Object-This is an idea I saw in my field placement where a teacher
was talking but no sound was coming from her mouth. She was silently mouthing words talking to the class as
though they could actually hear her. This caught their attention and they all became quiet. After she had
their attention she suddenly returned her voice to normal volume. Teachers could also start talking to the
board or a desk. Students would think I was crazy at which point I would tell students that that object was
the only one listening to me.
Homework
Routines
To make homework fun, I would
include an idea I saw on
Pinterest called Homeworkopoly.
All students who complete all
homework assignments for the
week get a chance to play.
Students may land on chance or
computer space after which
they would draw a card with an
incentive. On the academic
spaces, such as spelling street or
math question, I would get to ask
them a question pertaining to
that space. This would
encourage students to turn in
their homework each day
because they would want a turn
at playing.
 Every day, students have a different criteria
to line up according to such as hair color,
shirt color, birth dates, number of siblings,
etc. Another option could be for students to
line up boy, girl, boy, girl, etc. Students will
be too busy trying to make sure they are in
correct order in line to do anything that is
Lining Up not acceptable behavior while lining up.
Hallway
Expectations
On the first day of school, I would outline the behavior
expected when out in the hallway during transitions. We
would also practice good hallway behavior by taking a
walk around the school using the expectations. Students
would be expected to:
1. Speak quietly
2. Be aware of others
3. Keep hands, feet and objects to self
4. Allow others to pass
5. Walk with a purpose
6. Monitor your time
7. Always walk
These rules would be posted on a poster in the classroom
so that students can always keep in mind the rules of
hallway transition. To make it fun I will use Mystery Walker
in my classroom. This consists of me choosing a name
from a container of student names. Students do not know
who the student is. They do know that I am keeping an
eye on this mystery walker to see if they are following
hallway expectations. If they do, they will receive a prize
upon returning to the classroom. Students will be eager to
follow the hallway rules because the mystery walker could
be any of them so they must all be on their best behavior
to have a chance of getting a prize.
Bathroom Routines

At the beginning of each day, students

will receive two laminated bathroom
tickets. As they leave to go to the
bathroom, they will submit their ticket into
a container designated to collect the
tickets. Students cannot use the ticket if I
am in front of the class teaching or
talking. This prevents students from
distracting me and the rest of the class
with a simple bathroom request. They can
only use their tickets during classwork or
any other time where I the attention of
the class is not on me. This teaches
students responsibility because they have
to use their limited 2 tickets wisely when
not going to the bathroom as a class. We
would practice this routine as a class on
the first day of school.
 About 20-30 minutes before students are dismissed, I would take the time to
go over all homework so that students have the opportunity to write it in
their agendas/notebooks. As in the morning, there would be a checklist
posted on the board to ensure order:
If you borrowed something, return it.
Did I write my assignments down in my assignment notebook?
Do I have all of the materials I need to complete my assignments?
(Books, notebook, handouts, etc.)
Do I have a test or quiz tomorrow? Do I have a study guide, review

End of Day/Dismissal
sheet or notes to help me to prepare?
Is my desk neat, tidy and clear?
Is there any trash in my area?

Routines
Students may not talk until the checklist is completed. Music will be playing
in the background. Once the checklist is completed, they may talk softly to
each other until dismissal. If there is time left, I may choose to do a sponge
activity.