Classroom Management
There are many strategies I have used to enhance classroom management in addition to carefully creating seating arrangements and rearranging seating when needed, consciously planning out partners or small groups, getting to know each student and their parents, allowing students to use study buddies (personal offices) to help them focus, and giving students a small sequence of directions in order to minimize wait time .
As a means of keeping students active and involved in lessons and activities, I sometimes use Popsicle sticks to call on students. This encourages all students to think of about the answer or an idea because they know I am selecting the person at random because each of their names is on a stick in the jar .
When a child makes an inappropriate decision and a parent needs to be notified, I have the student address the issue with their parent/guardian. I hold students accountable to this by having the student write a letter to their parent/guardian. I require students to have the note signed by a parent/guardian and brought back to school the following day. In the note students must come up with a restitution for the problem.
Some students benefit from an individual behavioral plan that encourages them to be working toward a personal goal. By addressing this plan with the student and parent, the student can be receiving additional encouragement and support at home for their dedication.
Sometimes individual students or an entire class may become chatty and blurt out at inappropriate times. One way I minimized this was by using blurt blocks, this is a tower of 10 "blurt blocks" (unifix cubes) and I remove a blurt block each time there is a blurt. This can be implemented privately with one student or with the entire class. The challenge can be to have 8 cubes at the end of the day or more than 1 depending on the circumstances.
In late January of my student teaching, the students seemed to be a little less focused during transition times than in the past months. I decided to try Family Groups to help build responsibly and expectations. Students are divided into three groups. Each group has a “parent”. When students have a question during work time, they need to ask the parent in their family. If the parent cannot answer it, then the parent will ask the teacher. This helps to promote that students are expected to listen to the instructions and to work as a team.
As a means of keeping students active and involved in lessons and activities, I sometimes use Popsicle sticks to call on students. This encourages all students to think of about the answer or an idea because they know I am selecting the person at random because each of their names is on a stick in the jar .
When a child makes an inappropriate decision and a parent needs to be notified, I have the student address the issue with their parent/guardian. I hold students accountable to this by having the student write a letter to their parent/guardian. I require students to have the note signed by a parent/guardian and brought back to school the following day. In the note students must come up with a restitution for the problem.
Some students benefit from an individual behavioral plan that encourages them to be working toward a personal goal. By addressing this plan with the student and parent, the student can be receiving additional encouragement and support at home for their dedication.
Sometimes individual students or an entire class may become chatty and blurt out at inappropriate times. One way I minimized this was by using blurt blocks, this is a tower of 10 "blurt blocks" (unifix cubes) and I remove a blurt block each time there is a blurt. This can be implemented privately with one student or with the entire class. The challenge can be to have 8 cubes at the end of the day or more than 1 depending on the circumstances.
In late January of my student teaching, the students seemed to be a little less focused during transition times than in the past months. I decided to try Family Groups to help build responsibly and expectations. Students are divided into three groups. Each group has a “parent”. When students have a question during work time, they need to ask the parent in their family. If the parent cannot answer it, then the parent will ask the teacher. This helps to promote that students are expected to listen to the instructions and to work as a team.
Students are given verbal reminders about being responsible. If a student has to be given two reminders, he or she will be asked to move his or her clip on the stoplight. Each color has consequences.
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During writing workshop, when I am conferencing with individuals, students seek help from their "parent", to ensure that they are not waiting for me to be available. Between each conferencing session, I allow questions from students in case a "parent" is unable to help.
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Students always need to be working on or doing something in order to help minimize distractions and behavioral issues. When students finish their work they have the option to read to themselves, complete a challenge assignment, write a story, or ask me for permission to read with a partner or "shop" for books in the classroom library.
These students finished morning work early and decided to read with a partner.