Start of the School Year: Classroom Management

Goals and Means

Belinda Gregory

GOAL: Organize classroom and materials.

Preparatory Week:
- Move materials and furniture back into the classroom.
- Organize the classroom and set up different zones within the classroom (carpet area, desks
space, sofas, classroom library, technology area).
- Unpack teaching materials, and organize those to be used first in the classroom.
- Designate spaces for students to store materials and for different tasks (iPad shelves, math work
book shelves, reading response bins, materials drawers, hand-in box, stationary table).

First Day:
- Organize materials brought in by students.
- Designate students lockers.
- Student desks: allow students to choose their own seat, and instruct them on what should be
kept within their desk.
- Establish what should be brought to the classroom and what should be left in backpacks.
- Give the students a classroom tour; highlight where materials can be found, and where the
different classroom zones are.
- Distribute materials to students.
- Introduce classroom routines (lining up, where to hand in letters and notes, etc.).

First Few Weeks:

- Continue to distribute materials to students.
- Adapt classroom setup as needed.
- Create a seating plan after the first couple of weeks, once you have a better idea of students
work habits and relationships.
- Continue practicing routines and enforcing rules; be consistent in the implementation of all
rules and routines.
- Collect forms, money, and paperwork coming in to the school.
- Begin to display student work around the classroom.

Artifacts:
- Photo of the classroom
- Photo of the various zones with the classroom
- Photo of where materials are organized
- Photo of desk arrangement
- First seating plan
- Photo of classroom expectations

GOAL: Create a safe, positive, and welcoming classroom

environment.
Preparatory Week:
- Organize the classroom and set up different zones within the classroom (carpet area, desks
space, sofas, classroom library, technology area).
- Arrange desks in groups, to create an environment conducive to teamwork, and that will help
develop a community feeling.
- Plan get to know you activities and icebreakers for the first week in order for students to
work together and get to know each other.
- Review students files to learn about any special circumstances or student histories.

First Day:
- Stick-it group activity to give students a voice into their learning environment and classroom
rules and expectations.
- Lines and blobs activity to get students up and moving, and working and talking together.
- Establish your own expectations. Develop expectations with students, especially those based on
how to treat each other (respect, bullying), to ensure they have say in how they will work
together to create an environment in which all can feel safe and comfortable
- Introduce any students who are new to the school.
- Allow students to choose their own seats; this will give you an idea of student relationships.

First Few Weeks:

- Welcome Back packs with scavenger hunts to explore the classroom and school, with classmate
interviews, and with teacher scavenger hunts to get to know other adults in the building.
- Art activities focused on students representing who they are, to be displayed together in one
location in either the classroom or the hallway, to show how students are all part of the
classroom community.
- Uphold all expectations consistently.
- Make time to talk individually with each student so you get to know each other.
- Allow for group and collaborative work to foster teamwork and a sense of community.
- After observing how students work together in their chosen seating plan, adapt it as necessary.

Artifacts:
-

Lines and blobs activity

Stick-it activity
Art activities
Classroom expectations
Initial and adapted seating charts

GOAL: Prepare for instruction.

Preparatory Week:
- Meet with your new students previous teachers, childcare workers, and any resource teachers
who worked with your new students. Find out what worked well and didnt work well for the
group and for individuals.
- Find out where students ended the previous year.
- Look through students files, and their work portfolios if available.
- Read through any IEPs, and meet with previous teachers and resource teachers as needed to find
out further information.
- Plan activities that will allow you to get to know more about each student (such as Welcome
Back packs with questionnaires about students least favourite and favourite subjects, their
study habits, what they struggle with, what they think they are good at, etc.)
- Start to plan out first few weeks of instruction where you want to start, and what you want to
cover at the start of the year to set students up for the rest of the year.
- Prepare diagnostics to be started in order to gain an idea of what students have retained/
understand/ dont understand.

First Day:
- Observe students interactions with each other to get an initial idea of students relationships.
- Give students a brief idea into how the start of the school year will look, with a gradual start,
using diagnostics and a review of what they remember from last year.
- Get an idea of students abilities to follow basic instructions during classroom set up.
- Set classroom expectations to create a classroom environment that will allow for maximum
learning.

First Few Weeks:

- Begin diagnostics.
- Math: diagnostics, math games, mental math activities, logic problems.
- Writing: begin personal responses, have the students write everyday to get them back into the
swing of things, and to get an idea of where students are starting in terms of their writing
responses.
- Welcome Back packs: use questionnaires to get an idea of students opinions of learning and
their own strengths and weaknesses.
- Get to know you activities: get to know your students better so you are better enabled to
instruct them according to their learning styles, behaviours, attitudes.

Artifacts:
-

Welcome Back packs

Diagnostics
Get to know you activities
Overview of plans for the first few weeks

GOAL: Establish routines, rules, and expectations.

Preparatory Week:
- Decide what your classroom routines will look like, and where routines will need to be in place
throughout the day (morning, before and after recess, before and after lunch, end of day,
classroom transitions, gym class transitions).
- Decide what rules are important to you in your classroom, and how you wish to inform students
of them (verbally, visually represented in the classroom).
- Prepare a way for students to contribute to the classroom expectations (Stick-it activity).
- Organize the classroom in a way that will allow for students to work smoothly and find
materials easily.
- Talk to other teachers to attempt to establish similar routines and expectations for movement
though the hallways/ during transition times.

First Day:
- Classroom tour of where everything is, and where everything should be.
- Introduce your pre-decided expectations to the students. Allow for discussion to be sure all
students understand the expectations, and more importantly the reason why these expectations
are in place.
- Have students work on deciding on their own expectations for the classroom, for each other,
and for the teacher. This allows them to insert their voice into the running of the classroom,
and will show that the smooth running of the classroom depends on both the teacher and the
students.
- Introduce routines, and have students practice a few times throughout the day.

First Few Weeks:

- Review fire drill and lockdown procedures.
- Consistently uphold the classroom rules and expectations.
- Practice the routines often, and consistently. Have high expectations that students perform the
routines correctly.
- Model routines, and dont accept behaviour that doesnt meet your expectations.

Artifacts:
- Classroom rules and expectations
- Photos of organization of materials
- Reminders of routines such as posters or pictures up in the classroom
- Stick-it activity