1

Blast Off in
Ms. Mohss
Third Grade
Classroom!

Casey Mohs
Curriculum and Pedagogy: EDUC 122
Management Plan
Dr. Beisser

Table of Contents
Classroom Layout.. p. 3

Classroom Layout Rationale... p. 3
Operational Classroom Organization. p. 5

Attendance and Lunch Procedures. p. 5

Record Keeping . p. 5

New Student Procedures.. p. 6

Keeping the Classroom Orderly p. 6

Student Helpers.. p. 7

Displaying Student Work.. p. 9
Disciplinary Policies p. 9

Positive Consequences ...p. 9

Negative Consequences and Handling Infractions. p. 11

Playground Conflicts p. 12

Tardiness. p. 12

Cheating... p. 12

Lack of Motivation. p. 13

Administration/Principal Involvement p. 13

Professional Behavior p. 13
Classroom Routines/Procedures . p. 13

Established Expectations... p. 13

Getting Students Attention.. p. 14

Beginning of the School Day p. 14

Asking for Help.. p.15

Homework ad Paper Collecting/Returning p. 16

Free Time ....p. 16

Dismissals .. p. 17

Specials. p. 17

Restroom and Drinks... p. 17

Meeting the Needs of All Learners... p. 18

Parent Communication and Involvement .. p. 18
Resources p. 20

Classroom Layout

Classroom Layout Rationale

My dream of becoming a teacher has been something that I have thought
about my entire life. The classroom aspect has been something at the front of my
mind as I have consistently been assessing and taking mental notes of the
classrooms that I have visited. Throughout the years I have accumulated a variety of
ways for organizing my future classroom.

Directly after entering the classroom, there is an area for students cubbies.
The name of each student will be on a cut out of a rocket ship. This is the place
where students can hang up their backpacks and coats and where they can pick up
work that is returned and to be taken home and given to parents. Above the cubbies
will be the birthdays of each of the students. I like this idea because it adds a little
something extra to the classroom and gets the students excited for which of their
classmates have birthdays that month. Also upon entering the room is the bathroom
with a sink located right beside it. The sink would be there with a water fountain on
the faucet, which is very convenient when students get thirsty and need something
to drink. The wastebasket is right beside the sink for the disposal of paper towels
and cups.

In the southwest corner of my classroom will be my reading area. It will be labeled

with a bulletin board that says, Find a SPACE to read! I am getting a reading
endorsement and I view reading as a huge part of the classroom. In the reading area
there will be a rug with a rocking chair for when we read books as a class. There will
also be two bookshelves that are filled with a variety of genres of books for
students to choose from during their free time. There will also be beanbags for
students to sit in, which will be determined by a system of taking terms for who gets
to sit in them for that particular day. There will also be a student worktable that will
be utilized during group work.

In the south wall of the classroom will be my desk, which also has a
computer. It will have storage directly beside it to hold all of my lesson plans and
files that are needed to be stored. I will also have a place for students to turn in their
work to me. I have found that having the turn in area right in front of the teachers
desk works the best due to students having a bigger sense of accountability because
of having to turn everything right in front of their teacher. I will also have an area
for a class pet, which would preferably be a hamster. This will teach students the
responsibility for caring for a pet and who would care for the hamster would be on a
rotation between students.

On the east wall is where the whiteboard can be found. The whiteboard has a
rug in front of it for students to gather. The projector would preferably be hanging
from the ceiling so it doesnt take up as much space as it would by being on cart
beside the rug. Next to the whiteboard would be a bulletin board for
announcements and a calendar. The day would start off by all of the students
gathering here for morning announcements and going over the schedule for that
day. Next to the bulletin board and calendar would be a map of the world.

In the northeast corner of my classroom would be the computer area. This
would be an area for students to participate in interactive games and activities on
the computer. There will also be easels with a pencil sharpener right beside them. I
think that art is a huge part of students school experiences. It fosters creativity and
imagination, which is incredibly important at that age.

The desks are set up in a circular formation, with a rug in the middle. This
setup would creative an environment for collaboration between students while also
giving me the opportunity to keep track of all students at the same time. It also helps

students during discussions because they can easily split off into their groups or,
alternatively, participate in whole class discussion.

Operational Classroom Organization

Attendance and Lunch Procedures


I will take my attendance and lunch count together in the mornings. At the
beginning of the year, I will have sent home a lunch menu for the month with all of
the students so they (and their parents) know what is for lunch each day. In the
mornings when all of the students arrive, I will read out loud what is for lunch that
day. From there, I will read off each students name and ask if they are having hot or
cold lunch (cold lunch is one they bring from home). This will allow me to know
what students are present/absent while being efficient and taking lunch count at the
same time.

Record Keeping


My record keeping will be kept both in writing with a record book and
through an Excel document on my computer. I will keep my records in two places to
ensure that nothing gets lost and I always have a backup in case of emergency. In
both of these forms of record keeping I will have sections for attendance,
homework, assessment, participation points, and records of their behavior. The
attendance section will just keep track of who was present, absent, and tardy on
each day. The homework section of my records will have a section for each area of
the curriculum. Each content area will have its own place will sections for each
homework assignment. The assessment portion will contain progress reports for
each student. This will help keep me organized for conferences and personal
reference when taking into account how to differentiate learning for each student.
Behaviors will also be recorded, both positive and negative, along with participation
points. This will include an area where other comments can be made so I can
reference particular instances that a student was performing at a high or low level.

My record keeping methods will be alphabetized by each students last name.
This will make referencing my records easy because I will not have to search
through things to find their file. This also makes it easy to transition a new student
into the classroom because I can easily add their file to my records in accordance
with their last name.

New Student Procedures


Before the school year begins I will mail each parent of the students in my
classroom a parent newsletter welcoming not only the student to my classroom, but
them as well. The newsletter will include a little blurb about me, where I attended
school, and my contact information. I will also include with the newsletter a letter
addressed to the student and welcoming them to my class. This will incorporate
welcoming both the parent and the student to my classroom.

Something else I will do
before the school year begins is
hold a Meet the Teacher night.
While going through grade
school I loved going to these
events, so I want to take that
and implement that into my
own classroom. It eases the students worries for the first day of school because they
will have already met me and seen some of the other students that will also be in my
classroom. It also gives the parents of the students a chance to mingle and get to
know each other.

If I receive a new student during the school year, I will do my very best to
make them feel welcome and comfortable in my classroom. Before they officially
start in my classroom, I will invite them to come and visit my room to see how
everything works. I will also give them a tour of the school so they gave an idea of
where everything is. I will also assign a student that I feel like would be compatible
with the new student to be their buddy for a week to get them acclimated to their
new environment. This student will help them with our daily tasks, eat lunch with
them, and include them in their games at recess.

Keeping the Classroom Orderly


Keeping my classroom orderly is something that I will have to take very
seriously. I will ensure that students understand the expectations I have for them
from the very first day of school. I will verbally inform students of their
responsibilities at the beginning of the school year, but also repeatedly come back to
the expectations to ensure that they are followed consistently throughout the school
year. The expectations that I will have of my students in order to keep the classroom
orderly include:
When students arrive in the morning, they will unpack their bags and then
hang them up, along with their coats, in their assigned cubbies.

When we leave the classroom, all chairs will be pushed in.

When supplies are borrowed from Ms. Mohs, they will be returned.
Depending on how dirty the floors are, students will be told how many
pieces of paper (or other things) they will be asked to pick up off the floor as
their get out of class slip at the end of the day.
Students desks will be kept clean and orderly. Friday will be our day to
clean out our desks for the weekend.
At the end of the school day, chairs will be stacked on top of the students
desks. If a student is absent that day, the student who holds the classroom
job Chair Monitor will stack their chair

Student Helpers

Along with the keeping the classroom orderly expectations, I will also have
assigned classroom jobs for each student. These classroom jobs will be on a rotation
so everyone has a chance to have each job throughout the year at least once. I will
post the jobs on the wall under a bulletin board that reads Star Helpers. Each job
will be listed on the bulletin board, along with the name of the student (on a cut out
star) who holds that job. Classroom jobs will include:
Line Leader
Door Holder
Board Cleaner
Pet Manager feeds the classroom pet and picks one other student to
assist them in cleaning out the pets home
Calendar Monitor will announce the date each morning and switch the
day on the classroom calendar
Chair Monitor ensures that all chairs are stacked at the end of the day,
stacks the chairs of absent students at the end of the day, checks the
room each time we leave to see if chairs are pushed in
Lunch Count Monitor turns in the lunch count to the office
Messenger runs messages for me throughout the building
Desk Inspector inspects the desks on Friday to ensure that they are all
clean
Floor Inspector inspects the floor at the end of the day to ensure that
it is relatively clean after we clean up
Electrician turn the lights on/off, turn the smartboard on/off, hand
out electronics if needed (example: iPads)
Paper Collector collects completed assignments done throughout the
day

Line
Leader

Door
Holder

Board
Cleaner

Pet
Manager

Calendar
Monitor

Chair
Monitor

Lunch Count
Monitor

Messenger

Desk
Inspector

Floor
Inspector

Electrician

Paper
Collector

Displaying Student Work

Displaying the work of students shows how much I appreciate their hard
work and effort and also gives them a sense of pride. I will have a section in my
classroom that is for Work Thats Out of This World! This will be a display of
student work that went above and beyond. It is extremely important that each
student gets featured on the board so that no one is feeling left out, so I will monitor
in my records how many times each student is featured so that I can manage the
board.

Disciplinary Policies

Positive Consequences (Rewards)

To me, a reward system is something that is extremely important to
implement into a classroom. It gives the students something to work towards and
holds them accountable for their actions. As a teacher, I will make sure to
consistently give positive feedback to all students. This could be in the form of
stickers, verbal comments, or writing a positive note on tests/homework
assignments.

10

I will also have a whole class reward system. I wanted implement a system that
would teach students something as well as make them feel responsible. To do this, I
would have a salary system. Third grade students are aware that parents earn
salaries, so I would like them to build off that prior knowledge in the form of this
reward system. Students would get paid by me for positive actions: turning in
homework, helping a friend when theyre having trouble, following classroom
expectations (especially when they think Im not paying attention). They would also
get part of their salary docked for negative behaviors such as hitting others,
disrupting class, interrupting others, etc. I would keep track of how much money
people earn and every two weeks I would give them their paycheck. They are able
to use this paycheck in the store that I have in my classroom. Each item in the store
would be listed for a different price. The items would include having lunch with the
teacher, pencils, erasers, stickers, being able to write in colored pen for the day, and
other small monetary items I would find in dollar stores. This system teaches
students the basics of money and gives me the opportunity on how to teach students
money values. It also teaches them responsibility in managing their money. It also
makes my schedule less hectic because I would only open the store once every two
weeks so it is less disruptive to my schedule.

11

Negative Consequences (Penalties) and Handling Infractions


Penalties in the classroom can be difficult to handle. Something that I want to
be sure to do is be consistent with my consequences. I also will have to follow
through when giving consequences to make sure my credibility stays in tact and
students understand who is in charge of the situation.

In my classroom, I will have a cool off area. This gives students the
opportunity to take some time to themselves to gather their thoughts and calm
down. When situations escalate, it is important to keep in mind that some students
just need a few minutes to gather their emotions and then meet with me to have a
discussion on the situation that had occurred.

In my ideal classroom, I would like for each student to have a pouch that
hangs off the back of his or her chair. This pouch would hold not only this behavior
sheet but also pockets for work that needs to go home, letters to parents/guardians,
etc. The behavior sheet would have coding regarding which negative behavior the
student was having. This sheet would be sent home with the student for parent
approval and signing. The key to this would be confidentiality and for students to
not feel embarrassed or humiliated in front of their peers but to still accept
responsibility about their actions.

12

Playground Conflicts
For my third grade students, I
would have students have a meeting with
each other to try and talk out the issue. In
some situations, this would clear up the
conflict. However, if this fails to work, I
will have the students fill out a conflict
report. This report would have each
student explain what happened during
the conflict and their ideas for how the
conflict could be resolved. From there,
students will have a meeting with me to
discuss what they had written on their
reports. I will mediate the conversation
and chime in when necessary. From this
conversation, I will decide if
consequences are necessary and take into
account how often each student has to
have meetings like these.

Tardiness


Managing tardiness in third grade can be tricky. Many times at this age
students are not in charge of their transportation to school. If students are
continually tardy, I will send a note home with their parents to ensure that they are
aware that their son/daughter is continually tardy. The parents would be asked to
sign this paper and have the student return to me to keep in my records. If the
behavior continues, I would place a call to their parent or guardian to discuss the
reason for tardiness and come to an understanding on how to manage this behavior
for the future. I would also have a meeting with the student either before or after
class to hear their explanation for their tardiness.

Cheating


In my classroom, cheating will be absolutely unacceptable. At the beginning
of the school year, I will explain to my students immediately my policy on cheating
so they understand the policy. I will also define cheating for them: looking at
another students paper during a test or quiz, copying someone elses homework,
and explain that cheating is claiming the work of someone else as your own. If I see
or suspect that a student is cheating, I will schedule a conference with this student
to discuss the situation. From there, I will place a call home to discuss with the
students parent/guardian that the student had been cheating. The student will
receive a zero for the assessment/homework and the incident will be recorded in
my records.

13

Lack of Motivation


As a teacher, it is my responsibility to have students get excited about their
success and education. This requires me to get excited about my lessons so that
portrays excitement for my students. If a student seems unmotivated/bored by my
curriculum, I will schedule a meeting with that student. We will discuss their
behavior and reasons behind their lack of motivation. Together, we will brainstorm
ideas on how we can change this to have the student become more engaged during
the school day. If the problem persists, parent participation might have to be
included.

Administration/Principal Involvement


Given my classroom management plan and making my expectations clear to
my students, I would hope that the principal and administration involvement in my
classroom is only necessary is extreme cases. I would have my principal look over
my management plan at the beginning of the year to get his or her feedback on how
I will handle my classroom. From there, I would have a discussion with them on
cases in which they would like to be contacted for a consultation on the situation.

Professional Behavior


Being professional is incredibly important, both in the workplace and out of
it. I will demonstrate my professionalism by the way that I dress. I will also refrain
from the gossip that could commonly happen and remove myself from situations
that that is occurring. Gossip has the power to destroy relationships and cause
tension between myself and other teachers, so leaving the situations will cease this
from happening. Also, I will conduct myself in an appropriate manner outside of
school. When you are a teacher, especially in a small town like I hope to be,
everyone knows who you are and are watching your actions. If I am conducting
myself in a poor manner, even if Im not at school, that could damage my reputation
and my credibility as a competent and
successful teacher. Something else that I will be
sure to do at school is always be on time.
Punctuality is extremely important and reflects
responsibility.

Classroom Routines/Procedures

Established Expectations


The first day and week of school are
extremely important in establishing classroom
expectations to students. As a class, I will go
through the expectations that I have for all

14

students. I will present a poster that I will have made before class began that list the
expectations I have. It will be titled Our Classroom Rules. The rules will include:
Be safe.
Be kind.
Use quiet, school voice.
Raise your hand.
Follow directions the first time.
Respect others.
Do not disrupt our learning.
Always do your best!

As stated before, I will have this made into a poster. After we go through these
rules, each student will take a turn to come and sign the poster. I will explain that
this will serve as proof that each student agreed to the rules and I will have
something to reference later on if undesirable behaviors occur. I will keep this
poster hanging for the remainder of the school year.

Getting Students Attention


When transitioning between tasks or when I simply need to get students
attention, I will flicker the lights or do a clapping sequence. At the beginning of the
year, we will practice both of these. I will explain my expectations for when I do
either of these things and ensure that students understand their duties during
transitions. Practicing these
will show me that the students
are capable of doing both of
these and that it will
successfully get their attention.

Something else that will
help with getting the attention
of students is communicating
with them how much time they
have to transition. To help with
this, I will project a timer onto
the board so that students can
see how much time they have
left to get everything done they
need to.

Beginning of the School Day


I always want to start my school day on a positive note. I will greet each
student at the door as they are entering my classroom. My goal is to make each and
every student to feel comfortable and welcome every single day in my classroom, so
I will take time to acknowledge everyone. When everyone is seated, I will go

15

through my morning routine. After taking attendance and lunch count, my calendar
monitor will announce what day of the week it is, what month it is, and what day of
the month it is. We will also go through what specials we have that day so the kids
know what to expect. I will always have the schedule written on the whiteboard.

Asking for Help


Having my students ask for help might be something that takes some time for
them to understand and master. During whole class instruction, I will explain to
students that they are to raise their hand to be called on. I will practice this with
everyone so that they know exactly what to do. During independent work time, I
will instruct students that they can raise their hand if they need help. This might be
hard for students to pay attention to if they get impatient.

Another procedure that I would like to implement is the stoplights on the
desks of students. I will cut out stoplights and tape them to the desk of each student.
There will be Velcro on the green, yellow, and red areas of each stoplight. Each
student will have a piece of paper that also has Velcro on it that says Me on it.
Students will be told that they can put the Me paper on the green, yellow, or red
part of the stoplight. I will circulate the room to look at the stoplights to see how
students are doing on their assignments.
Green: My assignment is going well and I dont need any assistance.
Yellow: My assignment is going okay but I would like you to stop and check
my progress.
Red: I need help on my assignment, please!

If I am at my desk, which I plan to rarely do, I will instruct students that they can
form a line. They will take turns for me to assist them in whatever question they
have.

16

Homework and Paper Collecting/Returning

For homework to be turned in, I will have a bin that is labeled Completed
Homework. Students will be told that this is where they are to turn in their
completed homework. For homework that was assigned over the night, they will
turn in this homework when they arrive in the morning unless otherwise stated by
me. For work completed throughout the day, I will either have each student place
their completed work in the homework bin as well, or have them collect their
assignments as a table group and have my paper collector gather them and hand
them to me.

Returning papers can be an extremely hectic time. In order to make this more
orderly, I will return graded assignments to the cubbies of each student. They will
then place this in their take home folder to show their parents. This will eliminate
unnecessary time that would be required to hand them out during the day. Another
option would be to have papers waiting on their desks for when they arrive at
school. They could put everything in their folder right at the beginning of the day so
we wouldnt have to worry about it later.

Free Time


When free time is an option in my classroom, I will have centers provided
that they can choose from. These centers will be:
Literacy
Independent reading
Technology (computers, iPads) with educational games/activities
Art
Free writing
Math/Science
Sensory

The centers should be a fun experience for all students. They will aim to be
educational and entertaining for all. I will have them preplanned with games and
activities so that there is no chaos that is usually associated with free time. Also, in
order to manage free time, I will utilize a projected timer so that students know how
much time they have for free time. This will eliminate surprises and protests that
they didnt get the set time.

17

Dismissals


My goal for dismissals is that they will run as smoothly as possible. Students
will have everything gathered on their desks that need to take home. I will dismiss
the tables in order of who are on task/ready. They will then be able to go to their
cubbies and pack their bags, get on their coats, etc. They will then be asked to line
up at the door. As students are leaving the room, I want make sure that each student
gets acknowledged before they go home just as I acknowledged them as they
arrived. I will follow students that are going to the busses or parking lot to get
picked up.

Specials


From the beginning of the school year, I will stress and ensure that students
are to behave in specials the same way they behave in my classroom. In order to
make this happen, I will have conversations with the teachers of specials when I go
to pick up my class. I will ask how the students behaved and if there is anything that
I should be aware of. If there was a behavior issue, I will address that with my
classroom and take away part of their salary, which is the reward system that I will
have implemented.

Specials are a great time for students to get involved in their jobs. The line
leader and door holder will be asked to do their jobs each time we leave for specials.
The chair monitor will also check to make sure that everyone has pushed in his or
her chairs. Something that I would practice before specials would be how to
appropriately walk in the hallway. We would discuss and model the proper way to
do these tasks.

Restroom and Drinks


The classroom layout that I included in
this management plan includes a bathroom, sink,
and water fountain in it. If this was the actual
way my future classroom was arranged, I would
have students ask me to use the bathroom as
they need to. The bathroom would have a
stop/go sign on the outside that could be
switched for when it was in use and when it was
vacant. Drinks would be given after recess with
the process of saying, 1, 2, 3, save some for me!
This limits the amount of time that each student
has to get a drink (~6 seconds). It also is catchy
and gives the students something to do when
they are waiting for a drink. Also, students could
get a drink during classroom time if they ask me
first.

18

If I were in a classroom that differed from my included classroom layout, I
would have to alter these plans. I would have punch cards for each student with the
numbers 1-6 at the bottoms. Each student would get a new punch card every three
weeks. Each time a student leaves to get a drink or use the restroom I would punch
one of the numbers out of the sheet. This helps me monitor how many times that
student has left the classroom and also serves as a hall pass for them on their way to
the restroom. I would also hold classroom bathroom breaks after lunch/recess. I
would have students sit in a line outside the restroom and dismiss 3-4 students at a
time to use the restroom while everyone else sits quietly and waits their turn.

Meeting the Needs of All Learners


Differentiation is key in a classroom in order to meet the needs of all
learners. Understanding the needs of each student will be vital. I will monitor the
strengths/needs of all learners in order to differentiate the curriculum that best fits
them. There are many ways that I plan to meet the needs of all of the learners in my
classroom. These include:
Assessment: I will take measures to understand the best way for each
student to be assessed. Assessment can be a stressful thing and I want to
make the process as easy as possible. Although some assessments cant be
changed and I will have to teach all of my students to be successful on
standardized testing, I can alter my assessment to ensure that students can
accurately communicate with me what they have learned.
Flexible grouping: I will group students by learning preferences, ability level,
readiness to learn a certain topic, and performance. This will encourage
participation of all students and help everyone get the most of a particular
activity.
Time: Some students may need more/less time than others. I will have
separate activities for those who finish early to work on while others finish. I
will make sure not to rush those who need more time.
I will assess students before a topic is introduced so I can get an idea of
where they are at with that topic. This will help me better plan activities and
lessons on that topic and what modifications might need to be made.

Parent Communication and Involvement


Communication is key in many areas of life, and parent communication by an
educator is extremely important. I will use ClassDoJo to communicate with parents.
Many parents have smartphones even if they dont have access to a computer.
ClassDoJo allows for me to update the behavior/grades of students throughout the
day. It also has an app that parents can download so they can track the progress of
their student each and every day. If parents dont have access to a smartphone, I will
still update their behavior and grades. I will then print out their reports and send
them home with the student for the parent to look at.

19

I am a big believer in open communication. In my newsletter and throughout
the school year, I will encourage parents to call or email me if they have any
questions about their student or what Im doing in my classroom. I will be
responsible and prompt when answering these inquiries. Newsletters will also be a
common procedure that I send home with students to give to their parents. They
will be sent home every two weeks so that parents can see what Ive been doing. The
newsletters will include:
Announcements of upcoming events
Reminders for the next two weeks
Descriptions on the units that we will be working on next
Explanations for how the last units went
Highlights of what is going on in the school
Classroom news

Another thing that I want to be sure of is contacting parents immediately if
there are any concerns with their child. I want to ensure that there are no surprises
when conferences come. That could lead to confrontation, which is something that I
want to avoid. I will keep parents informed on the behavior and academic progress
of their child to ensure that there are no surprises.

20

Resources
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr301.shtml
http://mindfulrambles.blogspot.com/2014/10/tbt-my-last-attempt-at-happiness-
as.html
http://www.proteacher.org/c/611_Restroom_Breaks_Policies/Procedures.html
http://lcsclaremore.publishpath.com/meet-the-teacher-night
http://www.myclassroomideas.com/work-thats-out-of-this-world/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/377035800028486416/
http://teach-a-roo.blogspot.com/2011/06/clip-chart-one-of-my-new-favorite.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=animated+timer&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS603US60
3&espv=2&biw=1232&bih=740&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=YuNrVMODMI6
jyATnmoGoBw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=animated+lightswitch&facrc=_&
imgdii=_&imgrc=nZQRJyK3QVPuVM%253A%3BXW5UMqRbetnW3M%3Bhttps%25
3A%252F%252Fd13yacurqjgara.cloudfront.net%252Fusers%252F63537%252Fsc
reenshots%252F1069396%252Ftoggle.gif%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fdribbble.
com%252Ftags%252Flight_switch%3B800%3B600
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/413979390721633019/