MacKenzie Sherry

Dr. Rutledge
EDUC 305: The Art of Effective Teaching
March 24, 2020

Introduction
In order for a teacher to be able to run an effective and efficient classroom, the teacher
must have a high quality, well-rounded classroom management plan developed. An effective,
well-strategized, and strongly enforced classroom management plan should be planted the first
day of school. A strong classroom management plan will help make students feel more safe in
the classroom environment. Therefore, this safe atmosphere will help them be able to learn to
their fullest and highest potential in my classroom. A well-strategized plan should be effectively
stated to students throughout the first week of the academic year.

Classroom Management Goals

Every child should always feel welcome when they walk into my classroom. This goal is
one of my highest priorities. I want children to know that they are welcome, and that they should
feel special when they are a member of my classroom. I want my students to be aware of the
fact that they are responsible for the choices and decisions that they make, and that there are
consequences for their actions. I want my class to know that I am a trusted individual whom
they can confide in. I also want them to know that bullying is always exempt, and that there are
no exceptions in this classroom for bullying.

Another goal of mine is to have my students look at me as their role model, because this
is what I am going to be for them. Children tend to model behaviors after what they witness in
their own personal lives, so by leading by example and being a good role model, my students
will be exposed to exceptionally great behavior, and will therefore demonstrate these
characteristics in and out of my classroom. A third classroom management goal of mine is to
always possess a bright, positive attitude towards my students. I never want my students to feel
as though they cannot approach me with their questions or small talk during the day. I want my
students to know that I am someone who they can talk to, and share their interests with. I have
had numerous experiences with teachers in the past whom I was afraid to approach with
questions because they always acted as if they were being bothered by students.

Teaching is my passion, and it will soon be my career, so I want my future students to

know that they are safe to always talk to me and that I will always be there for them. I know that
an abundance of students come to school with worries on their minds that they should not be
worrying about. I plan for the school day to go as smoothly as possible. I want my students to
know that we are a team, and we work together. If the students are cooperating appropriately,
then everything will go smoothly. Even though I am the leader who makes the plans for the
class, the students are evidently the ones who are in charge of their actions and attitudes that
determine whether or not things transition smoothly.

Classroom Procedures
When students are entering my classroom every morning for the start of the day, the
student will automatically go to their cubbies and hang up their coats, backpacks, etc. The
students will grab any assignments that they need to turn in, and place them in the homework
tray on my desk. After this, the students will then go over to the chalkboard and put their magnet
under the lunch choice they choose for that day. The students will then go to their assigned
seats, and check that their two pencils for the day are sharpened. They students will form a line
at the pencil sharpener and sharpen their two pencils for the day. After the student puts their
pencils back at their desks, they are then allowed to eat their breakfast or choose to play in the
play center. Ten minutes before class is supposed to start, I will ring a bell, which indicates the
students must pick a book from the classroom library. After choosing their books, the students
are to read silently at their desks for the next ten minutes until class starts. After the ten minutes
are over, we will say the morning pledge as a class! After the morning pledge and
announcements, the students will look at the chalkboard and see the list of materials that are
needed for the first lesson of the day. The students will locate these materials from inside their
desks, and place them on top of their desk. We are now ready for our first lesson of the day!

Transition times can be hard sometimes for students. In my classroom, transition times
are fun! For example, if we are transitioning from our math lesson to storytime, I will
incorporate the specific aspect of math that we are currently learning about, into our storytime.
If we are learning about counting in math, and we are reading Dr. Seuss’, ​The Cat in the Hat
during storytime, then I may say, “Okay boys and girls, now we just learned about counting
numbers! Can you help me count the stripes on The Cat in the Hat’s hat?” This will help
prepare the students in the transition of going from one subject to the other, while still
acknowledging something learned that is fresh in their minds. In this case, we would be
acknowledging counting during storytime. Other great transition helpers include songs, poems,
or short video clips. All three of these are excellent examples of transition helpers, since they are
preparing the students for the next subject, while also being an interesting attention grabber.

Before students are allowed to line up for the bus, they must effectively complete three
tasks. First, the students must have a clean and orderly desk area. Their desk area is classified as
their desktop, inside their desk, and also the floor directly beneath their desk. All three of these
areas need to be clean in order to move on to the next task. Task number two consists of each
student grabbing their folders from their desks and placing their papers for the day on the correct
side of their folder. Their folder has a ​Stay at Home ​side, along with a ​Return to School s​ ide. In
order for a student to close their folder, they must have me check it first and approve for them to
close it. The third task is for students to go to their cubbies, grab their coats and backpacks and
return to their seats. This is the time that students are allowed to put their folders in their
backpacks and put their coats on. When the students have effectively completed all three of
these tasks, then they will be approved to line up for dismissal.

On Friday’s, the students will be allowed to sit wherever they want to, as long as their
behavior from the previous day was good! Friday’s in my classroom will be seen as ​Friday Fun
Days!​ On Friday’s, we will pack up for dismissal fifteen minutes earlier than usual. This is
because I will have a fun question or prompt on the chalkboard that the student must complete.
Examples of these questions and prompts include; “It’s Friday! What is one exciting thing you
plan to do this weekend?” “My dog at home was sad that I had to leave this morning! Can you
help me come up with three fun things I can do with him when I go home to make him happy?”
“Faucet Friday! Name one drink you wish would come out of your kitchen faucet!” This is a
great brain break for the end of the week, and it also gives the students time to talk with one
another, while coming up with creative answers!

I will have multiple learning centers in my classroom. While the students are
transitioning from center to center, I will have different animal noises playing, music from
different genres playing, and also instrumental music from different time eras and countries
playing in the classroom. Of course, not all three of these music types will be playing at once,
but they will serve a great purpose in the classroom for my students. First, they will serve as a
figurative and auditory time clock. When the students hear the music playing or the animal
noises, they will know that it is time to switch centers. Secondly, my students will be gaining
exposure to different cultures and animal noises that they would not be hearing in their everyday
lives.

Physical Arrangement of the Classroom

I believe that when you walk into a classroom, you should automatically be able to
visually see that children are creating and learning in that specific environment. Upon entering
my classroom, you will notice my decorated classroom door. The students will assist me in
coming up with new creations that can be displayed on the door. For example, during the
Christmas season, snowflakes will be covering my door. Each snowflake was designed by the
students. My classroom will have children’s artwork displayed in every corner, and on every
wall. I want parents and guardians to be able to walk into my classroom and see the projects and
masterpieces that their child has created. Bulletin boards will be displayed, being changed
biweekly. I will always have the student’s names presented on the bulletin board in some
manner. For example, if we are learning about planets, I will have the solar system on the
bulletin board, and each student’s name will be displayed on a star. The desks in my classroom
will be in groups of four to five, so students can learn to work with partners and learn how to
work on projects and other tasks together. Material cases will be in the center of each group
which holds scissors, glue, extra pencils, along with other materials students will need for that
day. At the start of every school morning, I will place the appropriate materials in the containers
so the students are prepared for the day. Also, I will have flexible seating options available to
students. This will allow them to choose if they want to sit in a regular chair or an exercise ball
chair. Additionally, bean bags will be located in the one corner of my classroom. This corner
will be the reading corner. Bookshelves will be located throughout the classroom, which are
filled with age appropriate, educational books. Posters with quotes and positive statements will
be displayed on the classroom walls. I will have curtains on my windows that can be let down to
cover up the light from coming in when we are watching videos on the White Board or doing an
activity that offers minimal lighting in the classroom. In the front of the classroom there is a
chalkboard, along with a White Board attached to the front of it. My desk will be along the back
wall, along with another table that holds my Doc CAM. On top of my desk, I have two
containers that are labelled; ​homework​ ​turn-in ​and ​lunch money.​ Beside my desk, I have a
student desk that is attached to mine. This desk is available to students if they need help with
anything in class. For example, if the students are working on my problems and a student needs
help, they can come and sit at the desk and that will be an indicator that they need my assistance.
When you enter the classroom, there will be student cubbies against the wall on the right. These
cubbies are where students will place their coats, lunch boxes, bookbags, and books. On the left
hand side of the chalkboard, the students can see their lunch choice options. This is the area
where students find the magnet with their name on it, and place it underneath their lunch choice
for that day. Near the windows, I have paper racks on top of the table where students can place
their artwork to dry. Underneath the tables, there are a variety of materials for the academic year
in clear storage containers. In front of the chalkboard, a giant alphabet carpet is placed on the
floor for students to sit on during storytime and other times when we gather as a group.

Incentives
The theme of my classroom will be ​bears. ​Each student desk will have a chart consisting
of ten boxes. After each day, if the student was well-behaved, they will receive a bear paw in a
box on their chart. In order for a student to receive a bear paw for that day, they must have
demonstrated good behavior, manners, helpfulness, following directions and cooperation of
assignments and lessons. After the student has collected ten bear paws, they will be able to pick
a “prize” from Miss Sherry’s prize jar. The prize jar has an array of bear cub cut-outs in it, that
are all labelled with different prizes that the student could pick. Some prizes include lunch with
the teacher, picking a pencil from the pencil jar, free homework pass, stickers, and many other
things.
 I will also be using an approach I call “Kindness Detectives”. Each student will have five
paw print sticky notes per month. Throughout each month, if a student sees a classmate doing
something kind, they can write that student’s name and their act of kindness on the sticky note
and turn it in to me. I will put all sticky notes in a jar, and at the end of each month I will pick a
name out of it. The student whose name gets picked will get to pick two friends and eat lunch
with me in the classroom on a Friday at the end of that month. This is a great incentive for
students to participate in kindness!

There are going to be times throughout the school day when I need the students to be
quiet. These times could include reading time and silent work time. To encourage students to
stay on task of using their whisper voices, I would implement a game I created called ​Shhh!
Don’t Wake the Bear! ​The game works by having a laminated picture of a bear on the
chalkboard when you tell the students they must be using their whisper voices. ​Z’​ s will be drawn
around the bear to indicate that the bear is sleeping. Each time I must tell the students they are
being too loud, a ​Z​ will be erased. When all of the ​Z’​ s have been erased, I will play the sound of
a bear roar. This sound will indicate to the students that they were being too loud and they woke
the bear up. This means that the students have lost their chance for a reward. If the students are
quiet and don’t wake up the bear, they will win the prize. Each student will be able to pick a
new eraser out of the prize den, pick their seat for the next class, or even choose to have an extra
bear paw stamped on their chart that is taped to their desks.

Classroom Rules and Consequences

Students come to school in order to learn, but I am a firm believer that students cannot
learn unless they are also having fun at the same time. This reason alone is why my classroom
rules are strictly rules that are set in place for the safety and respect of the student and those
around the student. I will make it very clear on the first day of school that I have three ground
rules that will be followed. If these rules are being followed, then we will have a fun academic
year! If not, then it might be a little bumpy for that student. My three rules are; (1) Be polite,
kind, and generous. (2) Come prepared and try your best. (3) Be respectful of others and
yourself. There are no exceptions to any of my rules. My three rules are simple and very easy to
follow so every year should be a fun school year! Students need to be polite, kind, and generous.
I am trying to shape well-rounded individuals, and students aren’t going to be well-rounded
individuals unless they practice and demonstrate these politeness, kindness, and generosity.
Next, I expect students to come into the classroom every morning, ready to turn in their
assignments and signature sheets from the day before. This includes turning in homework to the
correct bin on my desk, and having their two pencils sharpened and ready to learn for the day.
Lastly, students must always be respectful to others and themselves. This means that students
won’t cause disruptions during activities nor bully other students. If I have to pause class
because a student is acting out, the student is not only disrespecting their classmates, but they are
also disrespecting themselves by pausing their learning. Different consequences would be given
for different rules being broken. For example, if a student is bullying another student, they will
be sent to the Principal's office, a note will be sent home, and that student will also lose all bear
paw prints that were stamped onto their chart up to that point in time. For a student who forgot
their homework, or did not do their homework, they will lose a bear paw print on their chart for
that day. These rules will be highly implemented in my classroom. I believe that in order for
students to be shaped into well-rounded individuals, they need to follow rules. If they prove
there is a lack of following rules, then they will have consequences, which will hopefully help
them learn for the future.

Homework Policy
I am a strong believer that homework should be graded for completion. On the other
hand, some homework should be graded for the work being correct. If I grade homework for
completion, and the student has all of the problems incorrect, then they aren’t going to learn
anything from that. Of course, everything in the curriculum is important for students to learn. I
will grade for completion sometimes, but if I assign homework two days before a math test, I
will be grading the math homework on being correct. It does not help if students look at their
homework as an example while studying and it’s not checked fully. The student will think their
mistakes are correct. I cannot have this happening in my classroom. Homework will not be
assigned often. If there are worksheets that we are working on in class and the student does not
finish the worksheet during the time that was given to them, then the worksheet becomes
homework. Some children have a lot to worry about when they get home from school, and I
don’t want to stress my young students out by having them do homework problems when their
personal lives are stressful enough.

Conclusion
Classroom management is a very important strategy for a teacher to have a hold of,
especially during the first few weeks of school. It is important for a teacher to have a
well-strategized plan in order. This will help the teacher not only control the classroom, but also
the students who that teacher will be with for an entire academic year. The earlier that a teacher
establishes the classroom management plan, along with rules, the students will be more
successful in having a smooth academic year. Of course, not everything will work, and there
will be trials and errors, as there is with everything. A strong teacher understands that different
strategies will work for different students, so teachers must take everything into consideration.
The teacher needs to learn their students and make adjustments to their classroom management
plan as need be. Reaching out to other teachers and professionals in the school environment can
serve as a great resource in assisting a teacher with their classroom management plan.