My classroom management plan and style is highly influenced by the strategies

by Harry and Rosemary Wong. My classroom management will not focus on

discipline, but rather it will be a system of procedures and routines. When
procedures and routines are established and observed students will know
the expectations of behavior and the consistent consequences of that behavior,
be the consequences good or bad. I will encourage student involvement and
cooperation in order to create a well-managed, productive classroom. In creating
such a classroom, I hope to create the characteristics of my well-managed
classroom that Wong describes in The Well Managed Classroom, which are:
1) Students are deeply involved in their work, especially with academic, teacher-
led instruction, 2) Students know what is expected of them and are generally
successful, 3) There is relatively little wasted time, confusion, or disruption, 4)
The climate of the classroom is work-oriented but relaxed and pleasant (Wong
&Wong, 2001). I will set procedures for classroom activities and actions at the
beginning of school, as well as a systematic consequence if they do or do not
follow the procedures. I will also reinforce the procedures throughout the year
and will follow-through with the pre-described consequences for all students. As
a career teacher, I will revise and refine these procedures year after year until
they become models of efficiency.

At the beginning of the year, I will spend a significant amount of time explaining
and modeling the procedures. The majority of classroom behavior problems are
caused by a teachers failure to explicitly teach the students the expectations and
procedures (Wong and Wong, 2001). In my effort to effectively convey the
classroom procedures, I will follow Wongs Three-Step in Approach for
introducing all procedures big and small. The approach is as follows: 1)
Explain: state, explain, model, and demonstrate the procedure, 2) rehearse:
Rehearse and practice the procedure under my supervision, 3) reinforce:
reteach, rehearse, practice, and reinforce the classroom procedure until it
becomes a student habit or routine(Wong and Wong, 2001).My classroom
managements goal is not just assist me in teaching, but to reach the goal of
being an effective teacher that is capable of affecting the lives of my students. I
will establish good control and expectations the first week of school and I
will follow-through and add to these throughout the year as needed. I will also be
dependable with the expectations for myself and my students, consistently
throughout the entire year. My classroom management will convey to
my students, school faculty, and families that I have positive expectations for my
students success, I have the ability and knowledge of how to be a good
classroom manager, and that my schools days are designed for student mastery
of knowledge.

Preventative

Classroom Rules On the first day of school, my students and I will review the
classroom rules. I believe in a democratic classroom, but the rules of the
classroom are such an important topic for me that I do not want them to be
completely dependent on student decisions and input. I will state
that our classroom will follow The Three Rs. The Three Rs are Responsibility for
their own actions, Respect for themselves, and Respect for others. I like these
three simple rules because they are short and simple, but each has a lot of
meaning and weight. After I introduce our three rules, our classroom will come
together and discuss and decide what each rule means. Our classroom will
collaboratively create classroom signs to help students remember the rules.
We will also have numerous classroom building activities within the first few
weeks of school and throughout the year to reinforce the rules.

Classroom Seating Arrangement
In the first few days of class, I will allow my students to sit at whatever desk they
would like. The first few days will allow me to observe student interactions with
the others and with myself as the teacher. I will be noting the students that do too
much talking and if there are particular students that that do talk excessively to
certain other students. I will be watching for students who are quiet, cooperative
and mind their own business. I will most closely be paying attention to the
students who are helpful to one another and interact well with one another. I will
then use my observations to create a seating chart with students sitting next
to other students that complement their personalities and classroom
characteristics. I will tell students that the seating arrangement is at my discretion
and it always up for revision. I will also state that I am taking notes on student
interactions and needs and will base future arrangements on these needs
(Lindberg & Swick, 2002).


Family Involvement
At the beginning of the year I will encourage parents to be involved in our
classroom by volunteering in whatever capacity they are comfortable. I will have
a sign-up sheet for classroom holiday and party helpers, but also availability for
parents to be involved that do not have the ability to come to the school during
school-hours. There are many activities that parents can do at home that do not
involve them coming to the school. I will not only mention my want and need for
parent volunteers at the beginning of the year, but throughout the year when I
send home parent communications.

Family Communication
As a parent, I particularly appreciate when teachers send annual communication
about classroom happening sand expectations. I will be sending weekly emails
that will include a broad overview of each weeks schedule, as well as
any other important information. In the case that parents do not have email or
do not check it often, I will print paper versions of my emails and to send home to
those parents. At the beginning of the year, I will alert parents of how I
communicate on a broad-classroom level and ask each individually if they were
prefer a different form of communication.

Classroom Jobs
Classroom jobs teach students responsibility and also show students that I trust
them with responsibilities. Classroom jobs can be an effective tool to promote
classroom behavior and to ensure that all students feel welcome and valued as
part of our classroom community. All students should have a job throughout the
year. The students should demonstrate responsibility in order to obtain the
more in-demand jobs, or jobs that do require more attention and care. I will have
a list of jobs that students will rotate through monthly. I choose to rotate monthly,
instead of weekly, because I think students need time to master tasks and skills
as well as giving students a sense of ownership over their classroom job. When
students rotate the jobs more frequently, they lack a sense of ownership over
their responsibilities. I will use a job application for students to request jobs. The
application will mirror typical job applications that students will encounter in the
real world. When assigning jobs I will need to
discuss with students the reasons as to why they didnt g
et a particular job, if my decision was based on their classroom behaviors, and
set goals with the students so that in the future they would be a viable candidate
for the job.

Job List:
1. Librarian
2. Messenger
3. Materials Manager
4. Phone Manager
5. Board Eraser
6. Word Wall Manager
7. Line Leader
8. Gardener
9. Classroom Ambassador
10. Meteorologist
11. DJ
12. Paper Passer New Work
13. Paper Passer New Work
14. Paper Passer Returned and Graded Work
15. Paper Passer Returned and Graded Work
16.Techie
17. Caboose
18. Electrician Energy Monitor
19. Chair Stacker
20. Door Monitor
21. Pencil Sharpener
22. Teacher Assistant
23. Recycle No Waste Manager
24. Recycle No Waste Manager
25. Scheduler

Morning Routine
At the beginning of the day there will always be a self-start for students - this will
not change. This expectation is very important for students, even if there are
other activities that may interrupt them completing the assignment at the
beginning of the day. This gives students an automatic expectation when they
walk in the door, even if they are early. The self-start will rotate between content
areas. The self-start will be followed everyday by our classroom meeting.

Classroom Meetings
Our classroom meetings will be a nurturing and illuminating opportunity for my
students as well as for me as a teacher. Our classroom meetings will be held in a
common area on the floor, not in seats. The class will meet together and review
the class schedule, review any due assignments, and review expectations.
Classroom meetings may even be held throughout the day to discuss any
classroom issue or even classroom celebrations. In the classroom meeting the
students will know that we must meet in a circle, we will have a classroom
meeting everyday, and that I will not censor what they say (unless it breaks one
of our classroom rules).

Students Seeking Help
When students raise their hand, there is a variety of reasons as to why they may
be raising their hand. Each time a hand is raised, the class does not need to be
distracted by an interaction that takes place in front of the whole class. I will
explicitly teach my students the difference between raising their hands in the
following way, as well as posting it large and visible in my classroom (Wong &
Wong, 2001).

Five Fingers I wish to Speak
Two Fingers I wish to leave my seat
One Finger - I need your help

The important factor with this system is acknowledging each student that raises
their hand with a nod of the head or gesture of the hand so that they know I will
assist them.

Entering the Classroom
When entering the classroom at the beginning of the day the students know the
expectation is the self-start activity. Students will know that the expectation when
they return from recess or a special activity that the expectation will be for them
to prepare for the next assignment. The students will follow the schedule posted
on the board and also discussed at the Classroom Meeting. If the assignment
involves a particular page, the explicit instructions will be written on the
board. This expectation will be explicitly taught and I will verbally praise students
that follow-through with this expectation. If a student is pulled-out for a particular
reason, they are to rejoin the class quietly, being sure to even close the door
quietly behind them. The student is to observe the students around them to see
where the class is and if they still need more help they are to raise one finger and
wait for teacher assistance.

Tardy
When a student is tardy, they are to sign the tardy clipboard and join the class.

Absent
When a student is absent, I will give them the Absent Folder with their missed
assignment and the date when the assignments are due.



Bathroom
The expectation is that bathroom needs are to be taken care during recess and
lunch recess. If a student does have an emergency during class time, they will
need to ask for teacher permission. They are not to ask during teacher
instruction, unless it is an emergency and they can do it by raising two fingers (as
listed in the Students Seeking Help section). The student will need to write on the
Bathroom Board that they used one bathroom pass. It will depend on my grade-
level as to how many bathroom passes a student has available to them. Also,
special circumstances could give certain students more bathroom
passes depending on their needs.

Drinking Fountain
This procedure is for a drinking fountain that is located in the
classroom. Students do not need to ask for permission to get a drink of
water. The expectation is that they get a drink of water during independent work
time and not during class instruction.

Hallway
When in the hallway our expectation is that our class is in a single file with their
arms clasped behind their backs and mouths closed as to not disrupt other
classrooms. This will always be the expectation and it will be practiced and
rehearsed explicitly at the beginning of the year. The students that do not follow
the expectation will follow the consequence schedule listed in the Intervention
section.

Pencil Sharpening
The expectation is that all students have at least two sharpened pencils in their
desk at all times. The students may sharpen these pencils during the self-start
time at the beginning of the day. If both of their pencils fail throughout the day,
they are to return one pencil to the Dull Pencil container and in return take one
sharpened pencil from the Sharpened Pencil container.
Center Expectations
When students are rotating centers a timer will be set. The timer will be visible for
all students to see on the Smart Board in a small widget in the corner of the
screen. Students are to stay in their assigned center and to be on task during this
time. The students expectation is to be done with all assigned center activities by
the end of the week. If a student finishes early, they are to go to the Finish Early
center and they have a choice between three-four activities to complete. The
student will receive extra credit for each additional assignment finished.

Teacher Attention Getting Strategies
Give Me Five The teacher puts one finger in the air and counts up to
five. The students know that by the count of five they need to do five things
and also have their hand in the air (Wong & Wong, 2001).
1) Eyes on Speaker
2) Quiet
3) Be Still
4) Hands Free (put things down)
5) Listen

Hocus Pocus I stand in a prominent spot in the room and loudly say, Hocus
Pocus and the class chorally says back Everybody Focus. The students
expectation is then to be quiet and that they need to focus their attention on
me.

Class? Yes! In order to gain the classes attention, I say Class? The class
repeats back Yes! in unison. The students have to repeat back Yes! with
the same tone and expression that I used (www.teachingmaddeness.com). A
couple variations on this could be:
Classity-Class-Class : Yessity-Yes-Yes
Classy-Pooooo : Yessy-Pooooo
Ohhhhh, Classss : Ohhhhh, Yesssss
Supportive

The desirable student school behavior is that in which students show self-
control, responsibility and consideration, and respect for others (Charles, 2005).
Students can accomplish the desirable school behavior if the teacher is able
to communicate positive or high expectations. When a student meets the high
expectations, the teacher will benefit because it adds positively to the whole
classroom environment (Wong & Wong, 2001). When a student meets the
high expectations and follows classroom procedures, they should be rewarded
with a positive consequence. In order to get away from the whats in it for me
mentality or a bribery system, teachers need to establish more natural,
positive consequence.
When rewarding my students I would like to reinforce the following:
Rewards go to those who!
1. Have the knowledge
2. Have the power
3. Have options
4.Can make Choices
5. Have Control
6. Continue to Learn (Wong & Wong, 2001)
The rewards that reinforce any of the above assist students in understanding that
future rewards throughout life are not always tangible objects, but rewards that
are more intrinsic
Academic Rewards
Students will be rewarded academically with high grades. Students will feel a
sense of accomplishment and achievement. In order to assist students with
monitoring their own grades, I will have annual check - ins with students about
their grades. I will also be sure to send parents the instructions and access
information for PowerSchool. If parents do not have computers or Internet, I will
do annual check - ins with the parents as well.

Extra Special Class Time
The students that meet the expectations of the classroom will have extra time
at a special of their choice. The extra time will be allotted bi-weekly and
the students will choose what they would like to do during this time.
Lunch with the Teacher
Students that meet a particular goal will be allowed to have a special lunch with
me that will have a special extra treat.
Good News Phone Calls
This can be a motivating reward for students to keep doing well in school. Their
parents and teachers are proud of them and both notice their hard work.
Whole Class Rewards
The whole class collaboratively works together towards a goal. The class
collaboratively decides their positive consequence for achieving their goal.

Interventions
The classroom rules are used to set limits. The procedures are in place to ensure
that those limits do not get meet. The limits are set to help the students behave
better. The limits tell the students how far they can or cannot go in the classroom.
As an effective teacher, I plan to use my classroom rules and procedures as the
mechanism for setting my classroom limits. When dealing with students, rules
must have consequences. The negative consequences must be consistent and
consistently placed upon the violators. The consequences must be reasonable
and logical. As a teacher, I must not stop class to give a consequence. This will
allow for a students misbehavior to disrupt class as little as possible.
I must also immediately give the consequence and not wait an extended amount
of time (Wong & Wong, 2001).

I have chosen to have a simple Intervention plan. As a student violates
classroom rules and procedures, I will write their name on a designated spot on
the board. If the student violates the rules again, I will add a check mark next to
their name and so on. The check marks indicate a certain negative
consequences. The third check mark will be an automatic call home.

Bibliography

1. *Teaching Maddeness*. (n.d.). *Teaching Maddeness. Retrieved December
16, 2013,from http://www.teachingmaddeness.com

2. Charles, C. M. (2005). Building classroom discipline (8 ed.). New York [u.a.:
Longman.

3. Lindberg, J. A., & Swick, A. M. (2002). Common-sense classroom
management: surviving September and beyond in the elementary classroom.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.: CorwinPress.

4. Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (1998). The first days of school: how to be an
effective teacher ([2nd ed.). Mountainview, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.