EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

Classroom Management Plan

I. How will your personality impact your classroom management?

I think that my personality will fit well in my interactive classroom management plan.

Naturally, an interactive classroom will have quite a bit of noise associated with it. I love hearing

the sounds of learning. I will have a noise level system in place; Noise Level 0 is no noise, Level

1 table talk, Level 2- discussion, Level 3- presentation,, Level 4 outside. If the noise level is

above what was asked, I will ask students what noise level is this? or what noise level are we

on? to redirect them to the appropriate noise level.

There is definitely a place in my classroom for joking and humor. I want students to

enjoy themselves and have fun during the learning process. I also enjoy playing music in the

classroom. Students can get up and dance for little brainbreaks. I think that music motivates

students and makes them more productive. I am comfortable having students move around the

classroom during projects and interactive lessons.

I do consider myself organized and structured. I plan on using a timer in my classroom so

my students and I know how much time we have to work on assignments and projects. I will

have my unit and lesson plans act as a roadmap to learning. It is essential that all procedures are

taught and followed in the first month of school to allow us to be productive and establish an

effective learning environment.

II. Personal Approach to Classroom Management:

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EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

Classroom management means that students know, understand, and follow the rules and

procedures of the classroom. Classroom management means that I have road map on how I will

instruct, discipline, organize, and communicate in my classroom. I will use Class Dojo to provide

positive reinforcements for my students. Reinforcements show students that they are on the right

track and students that are not following classroom rules and expectations are guided in the right

direction. Its amazing how a simple statement said aloud in the classroom (Michael, I really

like that you are working hard on your writing) will encourage the majority of the class to focus

and work harder. I think social reinforcement can go a long way.

My classroom will be a community of learners where students have an input through

classroom meetings. Students will help create class rules and communicate with me through

journal writing. Journal writing provides me with a direct connection to my students. It will

allow me to write notes and exchange personal thoughts with my students. This allows me to

engage with students one on one and also provides them with privacy.

Building a community plays an important role in having a positive relationship with

students. I want my students to know they can come to me. In addition to daily end of day

classroom meetings, we will also conduct appreciations where students share who they

appreciate in the classroom and why. I also want to create a classroom Facebook and Instagram

account. I think social media is a great way to interact with upper level elementary students as

well as their parents.

III. Classroom Environment:

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EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

My classroom arrangements will be groups of 4 or 5 students in mixed ability groups. My

classroom arrangement will be similar to the one pictured below except that no students will

have their back towards me. Wong and Wong (2009) stress the importance of students not having

their back turned from the teacher because you cannot see them and do not know if they are

understanding, practicing, or following procedures (p. 120).

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EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

Figure 1 http://junior-learner.blogspot.com/2012/08/commitment-to-students-and-
student_2646.html

On the first day of school, students will be sitting in alphabetical order. All desks will have name

plates placed on them. Students will be assigned a student number (1 to 24; depending on the

number of students in class). After benchmark testing, I will move students around to ensure that

each group includes a variety of abilities and experiences.

It is important to me that there is a large desk available for small group instruction. I want

to have an area where I can pull students to give them group or individual instruction to clarify

areas of misconception. The area that is labeled as quiet work desks will be the area in which I

work with students in small groups.

To provide a safe classroom environment, I will ensure that all emergency procedures are

clearly posted at the front door. The front door and windows will remain free from clutter and

easily accessible. Emergency procedures will be practiced several times a year as a school. I will

make sure to discuss these procedures and their importance before any school drills. Students

will take these practices seriously.

IV. Rules, Routines, and Procedures:

Daily Schedule
Time Activity
0745 - 0755 Door Open
Teacher greet students at the door
Students turn in any homework in basket
Students start on journal free writing

0755 - 0810 Bell Rings

Pledge

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EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

Attendance/Lunch Count (student job)

Dojo Points for homework completion
(student job)
0810 - 0940 Language Arts Block
0940 - 1115 Math Block
1115 - 1125 Clean Up
Wash Up
Bathroom
Fill out planner/Homework/Posted on
white board

1125 - 1225 Lunch/Recess

1225 1345 Social Studies/Science Block
1345 1400 Classroom Meeting/Appreciations
1400 1410 Clean-up
Dismissal
Student jobs: Attendance, Lunch Count, Homework Checker, Messenger, Clean-up monitor,

Computer Technician, Line Leader, Librarian

Students are given 3 minutes to transition between activities. If students transition prior to the

timer going off, they receive Class Dojo points.

Classroom Rules are created as a class. The 5 Rules are posted in the classroom. Each group

will create the rule poster.

Students will use hand signals
o Bathroom
o Water
o Pencil

Attention Getters
Teacher Says: Class Says:
Marco Polo
Class, class Yes, yes
Quiet in 3, 2, 1
Give me 5 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

V. Behavior Management Plan:

During our classroom meetings and the creation of classrooms rules, appropriate

classroom behavior will be discussed. By giving students input in creating the rules gives them a

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EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

sense of ownership for their behavior. In addition, I will use Class Dojo and rewards to prevent

behavior problems. The class will work towards extra recess, student-choice block, lunch with

teacher, or free homework passes. When students reach the agreed upon number of Dojo points,

they will receive one of these rewards.

I will use a combination of limit setting and a behavioral approach as my behavior

management plant. I will first use limit setting as explained by Hardin (2012); however I will not

terminate instruction. I will start by looking at the student then say the students name. Next, I

will walk over to the students desk. If the student continues the behavior, I will bend at the

waist, make eye contact, and tell the student what to do next. I will continue to follow the steps

of limit setting of placing my palms on the students desk, camping out in front, and camping out

from behind (p. 69). I will also use Frederick Jones concept of the Backup System that gives

students negative sanctions for their behavior. First, I will hold a private meeting with the student

in the hallway. Next, I will have the student take a time-out in a colleagues classroom, and

finally I will call a counselor or the Vice Principal (p. 73).

I will use positive reinforcements; verbal and Class Dojo points. Students will receive

Dojo points for helping others, being on task, participating, persistence, teamwork, and working

hard. After students have received instruction and are working individually or in groups, I will

walk around the classroom and engage them in discussion. I will find ways to scaffold their

learning as necessary. In addition, students will write in their reflection journals; what went

well? and where do you need more help? Students will also turn in assignments in different

colored baskets based on their level of understanding; novice, practitioner, apprentice, and

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EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

expert. This allows students to self-monitor and show me which students need additional

instruction.

VI. Instructional Strategies:

As mentioned in my educational philosophy, classroom meetings will play a large part in

my classroom. Not only does this give students a chance to chat with me, but it allows them to

provide input about rules, assignments, and various other concerns. A student-centered classroom

requires an interactive classroom. I need students to communicate openly and honestly to

facilitate their learning. Students will write in their journals every morning. This will act as a sort

of teacher/student communication log. I will comment in the margins and respond to any

questions or concerns.

Another instructional strategy that I will utilize in my

classroom is self-assessment. Students will

reflect in their journals after the

completion of an assignment; what went

well?; where could I improve? I will

also provide different colored baskets

labeled novice, practitioner, apprentice,

and expert. Students will file their paper in the basket based on their self-assessment of their

knowledge.

The third instructional technique I will use in my interactive classroom is the use of

Popsicle sticks for random name calling. I plan on engaging my students in whole group

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EDUC 650 Signature Assignment Melanie Miles

discussions quite often. In order to ensure everyone is actively participating and has an equal

chance, I will use Popsicle sticks to select names. If there are many students who want to share, I

will ask them to share with a partner for 2 to 3 minutes and then move on to the next question. I

want all students to have an equal chance of participation.

References

Cubukcu, Z. (2012). Teachers' evaluation of student-centered learning environments. Education,

133, 49-66.

Cohen, L. (1999). Philosophical perspectives in education. Retrieved from

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/PP3.html

Hardin, C. J. (2012). Effective classroom management: models and strategies for todays

classroom (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Takayama, B., & Ledward, B. (2009). Hawaiian cultural influences in education (HCIE): School

engagement among Hawaiian students. Honolulu: Kamehameha Schools, Research &

Evaluation Division.

Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher.

Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.