Classroom management for young learners

Submitted 7 years 3 months ago by alexenoamen.

Classroom management refers to the ways in which student behaviour,

movement and interaction during a lesson are organized and controlled
by the teacher” Richards (1990, 10) .

Definition of Classroom Management

Classroom management refers to the ways in which student behaviour, movement

and interaction during a lesson are organized and controlled by the teacher”
Richards (1990, 10) .

Definition of Discipline

 To maintain order and to keep the group on task and moving ahead, not to spot and
punish those students who are misbehaving.“( Greenwood and Parkay, 1989)

The best teachers anticipate when misbehaviours are likely to occur and intervene
early to prevent them. The most effective interventions are subtle, brief and almost
private. They do not, therefore interfere with classroom activities.

 Causes of deviant behaviour (Cole and Chan, 1987)

Class Rules

 At the beginning of the school year, establish the class rules.

 Discuss Classroom rules with the students and consequences of misbehavior.

 Post room rules and consequences of misbehavior.

Students’ Seating
 The way the students are seated in the classroom will often determine the dynamics
of the lesson. Indeed, a simple change in the seating pattern can make an incredible
difference to group coherence and student satisfaction.

In many cases the seating has been a crucial element in the success or failure of the
lesson.
In some cases, the desks are fixed to the ground or the school has strict rules about
not moving the furniture.

Student numbers are also going to be an issue.

Teachers have different preferences for seating arrangements – each group is

seated round small tables is often one choice. This is probably the best option for
the larger classes.

For smaller numbers and with adult or teenage students I think the horseshoe
shape, which I find has all of the advantages of groups, and none of the
disadvantages. A horseshoe may be desks in a U-shape with a hollow centre,
students in a semicircle on chairs with arm-rests and no desks, or students seated
around three sides of a large table, with the teacher at one end.

In any case, whatever seating pattern you choose or is imposed on you, the class is
likely to be more successful if you keep the following principles in mind:

Try and maximize eye contact.

Make sure students are seated at a comfortable distance from each other.

Think in advance about how you will organize changing partners or changing groups.

Students’ Names

 Make two sets of name tags – one for the child's table space or desk, and one for
the child to wear around the neck to special classes.

 Hang name tags on a hook by the door.

 Make it private: call to desk, whisper, nonverbal cues.

 Briefly talk to student/assess penalties.

 Time out at desk or another room.

 Communicate positive expectations to students: convey confidence in students’

ability to do well and maintain high expectations.
 Teacher Talk & Drawing Attention

 Don't speak when children aren't listening and ready. Wait.

 Establish a signal for getting the group's attention:

1. turn off the lights

2. clap a pattern with your hands
3. Say “Freeze!” and everyone halts right where they are, like a statue. Then say
“Melt!” when you are ready for them to move again.

 Practice numbers, in the beginning, even when children are doing well, just so they
get the idea of how to respond to your signals. Then praise them.

Example: “One, two, three

eyes on me”

 Establish good listening habits for story time. Sometimes we read and listen, and
sometimes we read and discuss, but we always listen.

Giving Instruction

 It is better to make your instructions for primary students precise and concise.

 Use puppets to help with classroom management. Puppets can whisper in the
teacher's ear, and they can write messages to the class.

 Compliment leadership in students. "Oh, I like the way Antonio is ready!" will cause
everyone to turn to look at the ready student and to get ready also.

 Use the same standards for everyone – no favorites!

Using Pair and Groupwork

 One of the successful ways, if the teacher is resourceful and skilful enough, to
motivate his/her students to participate in the lesson is to use “pair work” or
“Group work” appropriately.

Language is best learned through the close collaboration and communication among
students. This type of collaboration results in benefits for all or both learners. In
fact, learners can help each other while working on different types of tasks such as
writing dialogues, interviews, drawing pictures and making comments about them,
play roles, etc…
 Setting Time Limits

1) You should set time to each activity when you are planning your lesson so that
you would know if you would be able to finish your objectives or not.

2) You should tell your students about the time assigned for each activity when you
give them a task to do in class.

3) Your students should gradually be aware of the importance of the time issue and
respect it.

Role Play

 This is a technique to vary the pace of the lesson and to respond to the fundamental
notion of variety in teaching. Teachers are advised to use the role- play activity in
order to motivate their students and to help the less motivated learners take part in
the lesson. Besides, certain tasks in the student’s book are followed by a role- play
activity where it becomes a necessity to undergo such an activity. As good examples
of that we can state: the hide (item) and guessing game, dramatizing an interview
of customer and shop assistant, doctor and patient conversation, etc…

Tasks for Early Finishers

 This especially happens when students finish an assignment while other students are
still working on it. That’s why you need to include an “early finisher” activity with
every assignment.

 Think in advance for possible activities, options including extension activities related
to the current topic, journal writing, silent reading, and educational games

Whole Class Feedback

 Take a look at the following classroom exchange:

Whole class: He bought a sandwich. (Sea of noise in which the teacher hears the
answer)
Teacher: And number 4?
Whole class: He drank orange juice. (Sea of noise in which the teacher hears the
answer)

 Sound familiar? How many times have you done feedback like this? Probably many.
Why do we fall into the pattern of getting feedback in this way? Is it the easiest
way? The quickest?
 I began to realize that generally it was only the stronger or the more confident
students who would shout out the answers. When I looked at individual student’s
work, I saw that they didn’t always have the correct answer and, more importantly,
they didn’t know what the correct answer was.

 Feedback is better checked through each student’s response on a written form

paper.

Using Whiteboard

Make sure students easily see the board.

Have your lesson objectives clear for your students. Write them on the board or get
the kids to know them at the beginning – by the end of this lesson I will have
learned……

These clear objectives provide a guide to what you want to achieve and can be the
basis of the lesson structure. A map on the board can help to show the kids where
you are going with the lesson.

References

Cole and Chan ( 1987), cited by Gary Sturt http://www.garysturt.free-

online.co.uk/classman.htm

Elementary Classroom Management Survival Tips

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/pro-dev/classroom-management/6752.html

Emmer, Edmund & Evertson, Carolyn, Teach a Book: Classroom Management

forMiddle and High School Teachers, PowerPoint
presentation. http://www.google.com/search?
q=tasks+for+early+finishers+for+classroom+management&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-
8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Greenwood and Parkay (1989), cited by Gary Sturt http://www.garysturt.free-

online.co.uk/classman.htm
One stop english http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?docid=146446

Richards (1990, 10), cited in Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics, edited

by Keith Johnson and Helen
Johnson. http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?
id=g9780631214823_chunk_g97806312148237_ss1-12

Prepared by Noamen Amara

http://teachingenglish-alexenoamen.blogspot.com/2010/05/classroom-
management-for-young-learners.html

http://teachingenglish-alexenoamen.blogspot.com/2009/01/noamen-mahfoudh-amara-
curriculum-vitae.html

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Consequences For Breaking Class Rules

September 1, 2010 by enpsteacher

It may seem cruel to enforce consequences on children, but a classroom without structure and
boundaries is far crueler.

If and when students violate class rules use these effective

consequences:
(for a 5 great class rules click here)

1st time a rule is broken: A brief reminder of the rules. This can be a mere nod to where the

class rules have been displayed in the classroom.

2nd time: A discreet conference with student DIRECTLY after class.

3rd time: The student’s desk is moved or switched. The teacher arranges the desk

rearrangement AFTER class. This can be away from a particular student, to a place of less

stimuli, and/or closer to where the teacher is. Students must earn the right to move his or her

desk back.
4th time: (Thanks to extremely interesting and informative conversations with my PLN,

colleagues, and administration I’ve decided to change this consequence.)

5th time (or an extreme rule breaking [e.g. violence, gross disrespect]): A student is

sent to the principal and does not come back to class until a parent has met with the principal

and/or the teacher

***

Consequences teach the relationship between Cause and Effect!

In my ten years of teaching, I’ve only had one student break 5 rules in one day.

***

Everyday the student starts again with a clean slate. In other words, if John breaks 2 rules

Monday then he enters class Tuesday with zero strikes against him.

***

Consequences must be fair and consistent as humanly possible. It’s hard to always follow

through, but the longer you are consistent the easier your school year will be!

© 2010 David Mach

1872 Instructions to Teachers and

Punishment Guidelines
From Mason Street School in San Diego County. The schoolhouse
still stands to this day, with the Instructions to Teachers and the
Punishment Guidelines posted on the outside wall. Dating back to
the 1800s.

The Instructions to the Teachers:

It reads:

1872 INSTRUCTIONS TO THE TEACHERS

1. Teachers will fill lamps, clean chimneys and trim wicks each day.

2. Each teacher will bring a scuttle of coal and a bucket of water for
the day’s use.

3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs for the individual
tastes of children.

4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting
purposes or two evenings if they go to church regularly.

5. After ten hours in the school the teacher should spend the
remaining time reading the Bible and other good books.

6. Women teachers who marry or engage in other unseemly conduct

will be dismissed.
7. Every teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents
pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good
reasons to suspect his worth, intentions, integrity and honesty.

8. The teacher who performs his labors faithfully without fault for
five years will be given an increase of 25 cents a week in his pay —
providing the Board of Education approves.

The Punishment Guidelines:

It reads:

Punishments
1. Boys and Girls Playing Together: 4 lashes
2. Fighting at School: 5 lashes
3. Quarreling at School: 5 lashes
4. Gambleing or Betting at School: 4 lashes
5. Playing at Cards at School: 10 lashes
6. Climbing for Every Foot Over Three Feet Up a Tree: 1 lash
7. Telling Lyes: 7 lashes
8. Telling Tales Out of School: 8 lashes
9. Giving Each Other Ill Names: 8 lashes
10. Swaring at School: 8 lashes
11. For Misbehaving to Girls: 10 lashes
12. For Drinking Spiritous Liquors at School: 8 lashes
13. Making Swings and Swinging on Them: 7 lashes
14. For Waring Long Finger Nails: 2 lashes
15. Misbehaving to Persons on the Road: 4 lashes
16. For Going to Girls Play Places: 3 lashes
17. Girl Going to Boys Play Places: 3 lashes
18. Going to School with Dirty Faces and Hands: 2 lashes
19. Calling Each Other Liars: 4 lashes
20. For Wrestling at School: 4 lashes
21: For Weting Each Other Washing at Playtime: 2 lashes
22. Scuffling at School: 4 lashes
23. For Going and Playing about the Mill or Creek: 6 lashes
24. For going about the Barn or doing any Mischief about the Place:
7 lashes
November 18[XX]

There are a few comments I could say here that’d probably get me
in trouble. But I’m curious: how many lashes am I in for if I call the
Board of Education a bunch of douchebags for
misspelling gambling, lies, swearing, wearing, and wetting?
Before you do the math, give me some time to throw a few rocks
through their windows for ignoring the serial comma.
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