‭Classroom Management Key Components‬

‭Area #1: Procedures/Structures/Routines‬

‭●‬ ‭Beginning Routine/Start of Class -‬‭The students will‬‭stop at their lockers to put their‬
‭ ackpacks away. They are to put their sack lunches on the back counter. They are to bring their‬
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‭take-home binders to the classroom and put them in their desks. Students should place‬
‭papers/messages in the teacher bin on my desk or give them to me as they get settled. The students‬
‭should grab the morning work for the day at the back table and start working quietly until I come into‬
‭the room and give further instructions.‬
‭●‬ ‭Quiet/Attention Signals -‬‭I have many attention getters‬‭that I will teach the students in the first‬
f‭ew days of school. Some of them are: “Class class. Yes Yes.” “Flat tire. Shhhhhh.” “All set? You bet.”‬
‭“Ready to rock? Ready to roll!” I also like the idea of having a doorbell in the classroom.‬
‭●‬ ‭Physical Transitions (groups, pairs, labs, activities, carpet) -‬‭In younger elementary‬
c‭ lassrooms, I like the idea of using a song such as a clean up song or a calendar song to get‬
‭students to the carpet. Partner cards are a great way to pick partners at random for any grade.‬
‭●‬ ‭Dismissal or Lining Up -‬ ‭I like dismissing students‬‭by rows or pods. This makes them wait‬
‭ uietly so they are the first in line. Another way is to dismiss random things like a color on your shirt,‬
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‭odd or even class number, and what they are eating for lunch (sack, cold, or hot). If students are not‬
‭following directions, tapping desks of students who are meeting expectations to dismiss is a good‬
‭way for them to notice expected behavior.‬
‭●‬ ‭Non-Verbal Cues (visuals, hand gestures, music) -‬‭Using my fingers to count down from 5.‬
‭ he students know when they see me do this, they have 5 seconds to be silent. Once students‬
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‭notice me doing it, they follow. I will use timers on the Smart board as a visual for how much time‬
‭they have left for a task. When using laptops, I will use the messaging feature for apps such as IXL‬
‭to tell the students they can move onto the next activity.‬
‭●‬ ‭Giving Directions -‬‭For multi-step directions, I plan‬‭to have them written on the board for students‬
t‭o follow independently. For example, during laptop time they should 1. Do XtraMath 2. IXL until they‬
‭get a message from me to move on. 3. Boddle, Prodigy, or EPIC.‬
‭●‬ ‭Checking for Understanding -‬‭One way I like to check‬‭for understanding is calling students to‬
t‭he back table and watching them do their work. I like seeing how all students are doing their‬
‭independent work, not just students I suspect to be struggling. This is especially helpful for math.‬
‭For other subjects like reading, I like to have discussions with individual students, small groups, and‬
‭the whole classroom about the story. Assignments like graphic organizers and comprehension‬
‭packets help me understand how students are grasping the information.‬
‭●‬ ‭Holding Ground/No Arguing -‬‭I think that this skill‬‭comes with practice. I have noticed that‬
c‭ onfidence in my teaching and rules assists me in holding my ground. I will teach my students that‬
‭they can always ask for clarification of rules.‬
‭●‬ ‭Raising Hands to Speak -‬‭I will practice positive‬‭reinforcement by giving praise to students that‬
‭ re raising their hands to answer. I will also only call on students who are raising their hands and‬
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‭being quiet.‬

‭I am confident in my classroom routine and classroom management abilities. I believe that my field‬
‭ xperiences and substitute teaching experiences helped me find ways to control the classroom. I do need to‬
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‭work on checking for understanding. I am learning to find pausing points during my instruction to allow‬
‭students to ask questions. I will ask my students how I can better teach them and what they think I do‬
‭well/need to improve on.‬

‭Area #2: Engagement & Participation‬

‭●‬ ‭Variety (three or more activities per hour)‬‭- A variety of activities keeps the students‬
‭ ngaged. Activities I will do will include partner reads, brain breaks, challenge worksheets, and math‬
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‭center.‬
‭●‬ ‭Collaboration (Students Talking/Peer Discussions) -‬‭I love using partner cards to have‬
s‭ tudents work together. This way, no one is left out and there are new partners each time. One way I‬
‭like to have the students share ideas is to have them partner up and then tell the class what their‬
‭partner said. I find this to be beneficial for the class because they have to pay close attention to what‬
‭their partner says.‬
‭●‬ ‭Movement (two or more times per hour) -‬‭Children need to move their bodies so their brains‬
c‭ an work at full potential. Movement breaks such as dancing, using flexible seating, and working‬
‭around the room are ways to get students to move.‬
‭●‬ ‭Total Participation (all students think, write, share, or answer simultaneously) -‬‭I like‬
‭ sing “think, pair, share” with students. They think about a question, pair up with a partner, and share‬
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‭to the class. Asking students to share what their partners say is another way for students to share in‬
‭a way they feel less of a risk of getting the answer wrong. Students should know that their input is‬
‭valid, wanted, and welcomed. This standard should be set at the beginning of the school year by the‬
‭teacher.‬
‭●‬ ‭Rigor (higher order thinking and tasks required) -‬‭Assignments, activities, and assessments‬
s‭ hould vary. Not all assignments should be multiple choice, essay, or fill in the blank. The students‬
‭should have to take their learning and apply it to the task. Project based learning is a great way to‬
‭increase rigor!‬
‭●‬ ‭Instruction (explain, model, guided practice, independent practice) -‬‭I will make my‬
i‭nstruction techniques fresh by switching up what and how I teach every week. For example, we‬
‭might work out of the book in math one day and have math centers the next. I will also use fresh‬
‭technology such as Flip, EdPuzzle, Boddle, Kahoot!, and Google Slides. I have learned through my‬
‭SDSU/DSU classes and field experiences that the I Do, We Do, You Do approach to teaching is‬
‭effective for students and teachers. In this approach, teachers teach and model, work with the‬
‭students, and then allow students to work on their own.‬
‭●‬ ‭Questioning/Probing -‬‭It is important to ask questions during discussions to see how the student‬
i‭s thinking. Asking questions also allows the student to elaborate and clarify how they came to a‬
‭conclusion.‬
‭●‬ ‭Group Work (roles and productivity) -‬‭I believe that group work can be both beneficial and‬
‭ armful for students. Group work is beneficial because students need to learn how to work with‬
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‭people. Teachers might need to strategically place students in groups to maximize on task behavior‬
‭and minimize off task behavior or conflict. Group members should have roles so the expectations are‬
‭clear.‬

‭I am confident in my abilities to make learning exciting. One way I do this is by changing the way‬
‭ ssignments are done. I like to have partner work, independent, teacher table, and activities or games for the‬
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‭students to learn. I find that I could improve on making lessons in reading more enjoyable and different.‬

‭Area #3: Rapport/Connection‬

‭‬
● ‭ eacher Warmth/Friendliness/Approachability‬
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‭●‬ ‭Teacher Enthusiasm/Energy/Excitement/Joy‬
‭●‬ ‭Teacher Humor/Laughter‬
‭●‬ ‭Teacher Knowledge of individual students’ interests‬
‭●‬ ‭Teacher Respect and Appreciation for students‬
‭●‬ ‭Teacher Encouragement of students‬
‭ teacher who is approachable, enthusiastic, respectful, and encouraging creates a safe learning‬
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‭environment. In order to have a successful school year, teachers need to create a safe learning environment‬
‭and it starts with getting to know the students on a personal level. Simple gestures like smiling and saying‬
‭“Good morning”, asking about their soccer game, and finding similar interests make a world of difference for‬
‭students.‬
‭Excitement changes everything! If a teacher is excited about learning multiplication, students will be excited‬
‭to learn about it. If a teacher is dreading teaching common and proper nouns, the students will dread learning‬
‭it. Children pick up on energy. Teachers should do their best to be excited and enthusiastic in every lesson…‬
‭even if we need to fake it until we make it.‬
‭●‬ ‭Teacher sensitivity to student cultures and backgrounds -‬‭Teachers can become‬
i‭nformed on students’ cultures and backgrounds by reaching out to parents and guardians. Teachers‬
‭should be accurate when talking about cultures and educated on current world events. If teachers‬
‭create a safe environment for students to be welcomed regardless of their backgrounds and‬
‭appreciate diversity, inclusion will be less of an issue when talking about diversity.‬

‭Area #4: Behavior Intervention/Consequences‬

‭●‬ ‭Regular use of gentle redirects (proximity, warnings, the look) -‬‭There are many ways to‬
‭de-escalate unwanted behaviors.‬
‭‬ C
● ‭ onsequences are reasonable and equitable‬
‭●‬ ‭Consequences are given as choices (you have a choice right now...) -‬‭I think teachers‬
s‭ hould be careful when posing choices to students who are struggling to follow directions. An‬
‭example of an appropriate way to pose a choice would be “You have two choices. You can either‬
‭choose to finish your assignment now or finish your assignment during free choice time.” This way,‬
‭the expectation of the assignment being completed is there, but the student feels like they have a‬
‭choice in the matter.‬
‭●‬ ‭Teacher uses soft eyes, soft voice during conflicts -‬‭When in conflict, students are often‬
s‭ tressed and in panic mode. A teacher who uses soft eyes and soft voice while de-escalating a‬
‭situation will calm the student down and get to the root of the problem. My favorite way to calm down‬
‭a child who is upset is asking the following questions: “Who, what, when, where, how?” Who was‬
‭involved? What were you doing? When did it occur? Where did it occur? & How do you feel right‬
‭now? I have noticed that this technique calms the student down. It also gives the teacher a better‬
‭chance of assuming the best of the student and situation.‬
 ‭●‬ ‭Teacher is firm, but also calm and compassionate (doesn’t yell or intimidate)‬‭- I think it‬
i‭s important to make the student feel that the teacher cares for them while they are receiving a‬
‭consequence.‬
‭●‬ C ‭ onsistent follow through with consequences once they are earned (doesn’t make‬
‭the same request over and over)‬
‭●‬ ‭Arguments/debates are delayed, done in private‬
‭●‬ ‭Progression up hierarchy is swift but fair‬

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