Classroom Management Key Components

Area #1: Procedures/Structures/Routines

●Beginning Routine/Start of Class

- The students will put their coats/backpacks in their lockers, set their
cold lunches in the lunch basket, and folders in the crate. They will go
sit at their tables/desk ready to take attendance.

●Quiet/Attention Signals

- When I want the students’ attention, I will clap my hands twice and
they will repeat the claps.

●Physical Transitions

Students will be called by tables, pods, or rows to transition. Groups can be

chosen by numbers, drawing their names from sticks, or teacher assigned.

●Dismissal or Lining Up

- Students can line up or be dismissed when their row, pod, or table is

called. I can also use techniques such as “Students who are wearing
red may line up” or “Students with short sleeves” ect may be
dismissed.

●Non-Verbal Cues

- Visuals, rubrics, thumbs-up, lights blinking, raised-hand, and music

are all examples of ways to reinforce procedures non-verbally.

●Giving Directions

- Directions can be given verbally, written on the board, and the

teacher can ask the student to repeat the directions or explain to the
class or a partner what the assignment is about.
●Checking for Understanding

- The teacher can ask the students what they think the expectations
are. The teacher can walk around and check the work of the students
to ensure they understand the assignment.

●Holding Ground/No Arguing

- I really like the “Love and Logic” strategy when working with students.
I also appreciate giving students time to think about it and discuss the
situation at a later time.

●Raising Hands to Speak

- I will remind students that I call on students who have their hand
raised. I will praise the students who raise their hand to answer. To
reinforce procedures, structures, and routines, teachers must use
different forms of teaching such as auditory to tell students, visual to
show students, and kinesthetic to have students perform the task to
ensure that all students know the expectation. It is important to start
teaching procedures on the very first day of school. I really like the I
Do, We Do, You Do. approach. I will model what students will be
expected to do. Students will practice in pairs, small groups, or as a
class. I will provide feedback throughout the process. Students will
then try to accomplish the task independently in real time.
Area #2: Engagement & Participation

●Variety

- It is important to change up the activities so students don’t get bored.

I would have discussion time, teacher instruction time, hands-on
activities, and work time.

●Collaboration

- Students need to interact with one another and learn to appreciate

different ways of thinking or points of view. They also need to learn to
verbalize their thoughts and share them with others.

●Movement

- Movement stimulates the brain cells and gets the blood pumping!
Kids need to move!

●Total Participation

- By all students answering at the same time, the pressure is taken off
students who are shy or those that don’t know the answer and are
afraid to answer in front of the whole group.

●Rigor

- We must establish rigor in our teaching to encourage critical thinking

and analyzing. Our assignments can’t all be yes/no or multiple
choice.

●Instruction

- I believe in the I Do,We Do, You Do approach so the teacher

explains, then models together, and then lets the students work
independently.

●Questioning/Probing

- It’s important to ask questions that stimulate higher level thinking. I

like asking them to “tell me more” or explain what you are thinking” or
 “how did you come up with that?” It is also important to give students
time to think about what they want to say.

●Group Work (roles and productivity)

- I think it is important for students to learn to work with different

people. Each person should have a task to do in the group to ensure
that everyone is responsible for the final outcome. Groups can be
flexible, heterogeneous, homogeneous, or mixed ability depending on
what you want the outcome to be. Class participation is critical in a
learning environment. I like using talk strategies such as Pair/Share,
Repeat what you think the student said. Pressing for Reasoning, Tell
me more, and Stating if they agree/disagree and why. There are
many ways to have students participate in class - hands-on,
collaboration, grouping, and sharing. Another strategy that works well
is to ask them to respond to another student’s comments. Involve
more students by asking questions that agree or disagree with a
comment: :How do the rest of you feel about that? “Does anyone who
hasn’t spoken care to comment?” “Is there anyone else who agrees
or disagrees?” Discussions run best when the students are
responding to each other. I will try to keep my talking to a minimum
and encourage students to respond to each other's comments, to
look at each other and to use each others’ names.

Area #3: Rapport/Connection

●Teacher Warmth/Friendliness/Approachability

- When students feel a positive connection with the teacher and the
class, they are more likely to participate and less likely to act out.

●Teacher Enthusiasm/Energy/Excitement/Joy

- Students can feel the energy and excitement from the teacher and
want to work hard to show the teacher their work and love to see their
enthusiasm.

●Teacher Humor/Laughter

- I love to laugh with my students and have fun while learning. I think it
is a really important thing to have between you and your students. It
helps build those relationships that are so important.

●Teacher Knowledge of individual students’ interests

- Students love it when teachers come to their events - basketball

games, dance competitions, soccer or baseball/softball games,
concerts, ect. It is important to recognize the interests of your
students and make them feel valued for their accomplishments.

●Teacher Respect and Appreciation for students

- Each student has a right to be respected for who they are and what
they can do. Respect must go both ways in a classroom.

●Teacher Encouragement of students

- All students, no matter what level they are at, need encouragement
and positive reinforcement with their work.

●Teacher sensitivity to student cultures and backgrounds

- It is important to recognize the background and experiences that

students have coming into our classrooms. Some students may come
from a culture where eye contact is not made as a sign of respect.
We must learn about their customs and beliefs so we understand why
they do or act the way they do. If we don’t connect to students’
 cultures, then we increase the likelihood that they will feel
misunderstood, lonely, and uncomfortable. When students feel that
their cultures are welcome, relevant, and represented in our
classrooms and in our hearts, then they can become allies for a
positive learning environment. Research states that how students feel
about their learning environment has a huge effect on how much
attention and effort they expand in the classroom. If we personally
and genuinely care for our students, then they’ll know and appreciate
us. It’s so important to establish connections with each child and
make them feel welcome in my classroom. I like to greet them in the
hallway or at the door in the morning. At the end of the day, I will
stand at my door and they can give me a hug, high-five or fist pump
to say goodbye. At the beginning of the year, it is so important to
learn the names of each student as quickly as possible.

Area #4: Behavior Intervention/Consequences

●Regular use of gentle redirects

- When a student is first misbehaving, I like to walk close to where they

are to see if the behavior will stop. If not, sometimes putting a hand
on their desk as I walk by helps. If we are on the carpet, I can give
them a look or shake my head as a warning.

●Consequences are reasonable and equitable

- Students need to know the expectations and consequences in the

classroom. I like to develop the rules with the students because they
take ownership in the rules they create. I would like to develop a
powerpoint with them for rules in the classroom, hallways, bathroom,
lunch, recess, and library. I will review these rules occasionally to
remind them of what they came up with for expectations.

●Consequences are given as choices

- I like to give choices to students that are a win-win situation. For

example: “You can do your work now or you can finish it during
recess”, “You can sit in your chair or you can stand up to finish your
assignment”.

●Teacher uses soft eyes, soft voice during conflicts

●Teacher is firm, but also calm and compassionate

●Consistent follow through with consequences once they are earned

●Arguments/debates are delayed, done in private

●Progression up hierarchy is swift but fair

- This is an area that I will always continue to work on. I am learning to

say “No” and move on and not over explain things. I think it is
important to delay explanations until later and “get the conflict off the
center stage”. I will ask the student to approach me in 5 minutes or
after class to de-escalate the issue and allow time to think and calm
down. I agree with giving the student choices or options such as “Talk
to me after class” or “Come see me at lunch” because it puts
ownership on the student, and can soften the situation.