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Classroom Management Project

Jackson Watt

National University
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Classroom Management Project Introduction

According to Wong and Wong, “classroom management consists of the practices and procedures a

teacher uses to maintain the environment in which instruction and learning can take place” (Wong &

Wong, 2014. pg5).

The biggest aspect of classroom management is showing students how to be a positive and productive

individual. Ben Franklin once said, “tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I

learn”. Classroom management is driven by relationships, students will only commit to a classroom

culture when they feel deeply connected to and cared about. In the following pages, I will lay out my

classroom management plan as a high school social science teacher.

Purpose:

My purpose is to help students navigate through their high school years. To teach students not only

course content but also the skills of respect, time management and personal responsibility that will stay

with them for the rest of their lives. To make the most of my instructional minutes. And finally, to meet

the needs of each student through my relentless belief in servant leadership.

Beliefs:

 Classroom management is about relationships

 Every interaction in the classroom has to be intentional

 I am invested in servant leadership

 I get to help people solve problems

 I get to bring history to life for students everyday

Goals:

 Be an elite observer
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 Be an elite listener

 Be elite in positivity

Rules and Procedures:

Rules set the tone for the classroom, they are few, simple and direct. They create a behavioral

expectation for students and ensure that each student is responsible for their own actions. High school

students tend to be averse to rules, so we have very few. However, high school students function best

with clearly defined systems. Procedures create systems and procedures are integrated into the day to

day happenings of our class. According to Wong and Wong, “procedures are the tasks students must do

to increase their chances for learning and achieving” (Wong & Wong, 2014. pg6). Procedures create

order in the classroom, they teach students how to be efficient in the classroom. Students expect

structure and if implemented consistently, procedures become habitual after they are established. Rules

and procedures need to fit the teacher’s personality and style. I believe in bringing positive energy to

the classroom as a leader, my rules and procedures reflect this belief.

Here are the rules for my classroom:

 Respect yourself and others

 Come prepared for class everyday

 No complaining allowed

Here are the procedures for my classroom:

Classroom Order

 Students are in their seat and quiet when the bell rings

 I assign seats and groups (seating charts rotate quarterly)

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 When the bell rings, students place their homework from the night before on the corner of

their desk to be stamped or collected

 I post a daily agenda and a daily action question. Students copy down the agenda in their

planners and answer the daily action question as I make my way around the room

stamping/collecting homework

(Daily action question from my 12th grade economics class)

 Students must ask to use the bathroom. They must fill out a check-out form and trade their

phone for the bathroom pass

 If a student is having a bad day, they are allowed to go to the “happy place” (table in the back

of the classroom)

 I use a toy train horn to get attention. When the horn goes off, it is time to be quiet and get on

board

 The bell does not dismiss students, I do. It is expected that each student has respected the

classroom and will leave it better than they found it. I decide if that is the case.
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Academics

 If an assignment is stamped the student gets 100%, if the assignment is not stamped (late) the

student gets up to 70%

 All students start with 15 participation points, they can gain or lose points based on their

behavior

 All coursework will be completed in MLA format

 All notes will be taken in Cornell style and stamped for completion

 Graded work will be returned before the end of the unit

 We will have a review day the day before we take a unit test or a final

 If a student misses a class period, it is expected that they will follow up with me to get back on

track

 Unfinished class assignments go in their corresponding class period milk crate at the front of

the room.

 All additional school procedures will be followed in my classroom

Summary:

Rules and procedures will be posted in the classroom in a variety of ways. On the first day of school, I

will go over the rules and procedures for the year. I will explain how and why our classroom is set up the
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way that it is and the importance of it. I will make it clear that I have high expectations for my students

because I am invested in their success. Caring drives connection and connection drives commitment. I

will be relentlessly positive and productive and I will model these behaviors for my students on a daily

basis. Students want to be loved, they want to be understood and they want to be cared for. It takes

time, but by understanding who I teach, I will be better at what I teach.

I will refer back to the classroom rules and procedures constantly. Eventually, I will have created an

effective and efficient classroom culture. The most important aspect of this culture is my behavior. I will

live these values every day. Students will read the behavior of the teacher much quicker and more

frequently than they will read the rules and procedures posted throughout the classroom.

Rewards:

Rewards influence student behavior. At the high school level, these rewards typically come in the form

of teacher-student interactions. I come into class everyday with energy. I am a strong believer that the

students will mirror my behavior. The more positive energy I can bring, the better. It is important to

note that this energy has to be authentic, the kids know if you are faking it. Positivity as a leader is

important but it has to be real and relational. Wong and Wong state, “do not issue generalized,

complimentary praises that carry no specific personal meaning, such as ‘nice work’ ‘great kid’ or ‘good

job’” (Wong & Wong, 2014. pg51). Verbal and written interactions like this are surface level and do

nothing to encourage students or build trust with students. In the high school setting, the kids need to

know that you genuinely care and that rewards come through interactions more than anything else.

Reward Strategies:

 I praise 5x more than I criticize

 I Create positive energy everyday

 I thank students who model expected behaviors

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 I utilize Individually packaged candy

Summary:

Much of my social science class depends on group discussion. It is important that the students feel like

they are an important part of the classroom culture. My leadership will create energy and connect

students but sometimes that is not enough. Oddly enough, I have found that candy is a powerful thing

for high school students. Each time a student asks a question in group discussion and follows up that

question with active listening they will get a candy. It is important that in our discussions, students learn

how to listen just to listen instead of listening while simultaneously formulating a response, “when

students know how to truly listen to what others have to say, they will learn more and acquire greater

benefit from a lesson” (174). Value each other’s time and don’t be reactionary. This is a great life skill

that will help my students beyond the classroom.

Although candy is an integral piece of my rewards system, the most important aspect of rewards in my

classroom management plan is my classroom behavior. It has to be consistent with the culture I have

created, it has to be real. When teachers do this effectively, their students want to learn, the classroom

is fun and rewards are seamless integrated into learning.

Consequences:

With high expectations come consistent consequences. When a student is demonstrating low level

inappropriate behaviors that can be handled in the classroom with no intervention, I apply several

strategies to correct the behavior.

Strategies:

 Non-verbal cuing

 Proximity
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 Confiscating of electronics

 Docking of participation points

Low Level Inappropriate Behaviors:

 Talking while the teacher is talking

 Talking when a peer has the floor

 Using profanity

 Being directly rude to a teacher or peer (please, thank you, sir and ma’am are used

frequently in my classroom)

 Doing work for another class without teacher approval

 On their cell phone

 Not being equitable during group assignments

My behavioral expectations are really high because I believe that student behavior determines success

in the classroom and beyond, its important. Students need to be held accountable for their actions both

good and bad.

When a student is behaving inappropriately in class, while I am lecturing, I will continue running the

class but I will stand right next to that student, maybe lean on their desk and proceed to be extremely

respectful to those around me until the student gets the hint. If this behavior continues, I will talk to the

student one on one and if the behavior still persists, I will call home. Non-direct cuing is the best way to

steer students back in the right direction in a classroom setting.

It is extremely important to be consistent when policing the classroom, “teachers’ expectations of

students greatly influence students’ achievement in class and, ultimately, achievement throughout their

lives” (Wong & Wong, 2014. pg19). If I let an inappropriate behavior slide once, it becomes an
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acceptable behavior in the student’s minds. It is my responsibility to teach these students how to carry

themselves in a classroom setting as these skills will directly translate to the professional setting.

Intervention and Support Strategies:

 Three strikes rule

 Servant leadership

 School policies

In situations where intervention is needed, I will be quick to act. I define sustained inappropriate

behaviors as behaviors that are not corrected after I intervene three times. After the third attempt, if

the student does not correct their behavior, I will make a call home. I am a firm believer that the parents

and the teacher need to work as a team to prepare the student for the real world. After the call home, I

will meet with the student one on one to resolve the conflict. After this meeting, I will rely on my

consistent procedures to make sure that this student is back on track. Repairing relationships takes time,

teachers need to “show you care, and the student will feel your concern” (Wong & Wong, 2014, pg232).

I will be consistent and relentlessly positive in my behavior and eventually the student may trust me

again. Either way, they will behave in my class allowing other students to learn.

In any situation that is deeper than a class disruption, I will follow our school’s standard operating

procedures and my duties as a mandated reporter. It is my job to prevent intervention if at all possible,

by implementing elite standard operating procedures in my classroom.

Engagement and Motivation:

 Meaningful motivation

 Support students

 Do the work
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Student engagement and motivation is almost all relational. The better I can understand my students,

the better I will be able to teach them. Supporting them in extra curricular activities is a powerful way to

develop positive relationships. When the students know you care about them and their interests, they

will work for you. Meaningful conversations motivate students.

My expectations motivate students as well. My job as a teacher is to get my students to commit to the

course content. Do the work and do it at the highest level possible, “the world respects and rewards

people who can execute well and do it correctly with a degree of courtesy and graciousness” (Wong &

Wong, 2014. pg297). I expect this behavior out of my students because I expect them to be the best

versions of themselves. I give responsibility to my students and I support them as they do the work. I

may expect a lot but I am compassionate and patient in this venture.

I run my class with student engagement and motivation in mind, I am a servant leader. I make an effort

to spend 20 minutes or less per topic. The more dynamic I can be as a teacher, the more interesting the

content becomes. On days where we need to spend significant time on a topic, I will utilize multiple

methods of delivery.

At the end of the day, I need to live what I preach and preach what I live. As a leader I have to embrace

the desire to be the best high school teacher I can be. When the students see that, they see my

investment in their education. Now, not every student will be easy to motivate, they will all present

unique challenges but I hope my consistency can push many of those kids to be the best high school

social science student that they can be.

Social/Emotional Skills:

 Respect

 Control emotions

 E+R=O
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 Individualize instruction

 Promote self-awareness

I am a high school baseball coach so I apply many of the same systems I use on the baseball field to the

classroom. Social skills are the single most important skill a high school student can learn. I believe in

teaching these skills through rules, procedures and how I go about my business in the classroom. As

stated by Wong and Wong, “effective teaching happens when the teacher structures a foundation with

procedures” (Wong & Wong, 2014. pg253). My classroom culture is based in confidence, respect and

discussion. Students learn how to show themselves and their peers respect. They learn how to properly

active listen. And they learn how to translate these interactions to the real world.

The ability to control your emotions is one of the most difficult for high school students to learn but it is

the most fun for me to teach. I am all about how students respond to events and their response tells me

a lot about who they are. I will have E+R=O posters all around my classroom and I will refer to this

equation every day, the equation stands for “Event+Response=Outcome”. Self-awareness is a major key

to emotional heath and if my students can learn how to control their “R” they are well on their way to

success. Becoming self-aware and learning how to respond with respect are the two biggest ways that

my students learn how to control their emotions.

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My classroom procedures and culture encourage students to self-regulate their behavior and their work

ethic. My in-class expectations do not allow students to be off task for long, if they do not self-regulate

quickly, I will regulate for them. It is important and I will make it clear that they must learn how to stay

on task. Students often fall back on their survival mechanisms, their phones, their peers work, google,

etc. It is my job to give them the tools to be confident and efficient when they are in my classroom.

Every student is different and it is important that they do the work themselves to figure out how they

function best. I will individualize my instruction and make an effort to fit UDL but the most effective way

for me to help students become more self-aware is to ask them questions. Questions like what are your

strengths in this class? Weaknesses? What is stressful? What is peaceful? Etc. I will have time to ask

these questions everyday as I check their homework.

Culturally Responsive Teaching:

 It is important to know the students

 Individualize instruction
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Being a culturally responsive teacher in a high school social science classroom is extremely important. I

will individualize instruction in order to meet students needs. Most importantly, I will maintain a

confident, respectful classroom culture by bringing awareness to students’ different backgrounds and

cultures. According to Wong and Wong, “the more the home is connected to the classroom, the more

positive the relationship becomes” (Wong & Wong, 2014 pg264). One corner of my classroom will be

dedicated to the students. Over time, this corner of the room will be filled with pictures, maps and

drawings that connect our students to their unique cultures. Personal connections allow us to develop a

positive efficent classroom culture.

Summary/Reflection:

Classroom management is the single most important skill a teacher can have. It does not matter how

smart you are, if you cannot connect with and control kids then you will not be an effective teacher. My

classroom management plan fits my personality. I believe that high school students have an aversion to

rules but they expect procedures. Because of this, I only have three rules but I have many procedures.

The key to a good classroom management plan is good consistent procedures. But procedures by

themselves are useless, it is the teachers’ job to model the behaviors expected and reinforce procedures

on a daily basis. At the end of the day, this plan is all about teaching student’s life skills and developing

relationships. Students connect with teachers who care about them.

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References

Wong, H. K., Wong, R. T., Jondahl, S. F., & Ferguson, O. F. (2014). The classroom management book.

Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.