Whittney Lapham Classroom Management Plan I plan to create an extremely positive environment in my future classroom.

I think this is very important for children, especially young children. I plan to teach 2nd grade so I believe that creating an over-all positive climate will benefit children throughout their lives and add to their experience while they are at school. I think it is very important for children to know that school is a safe place and that they feel wanted and good about themselves while they are there. One thing that I will do as a teacher to help promote a positive climate for the psychosocial dimensions of my classroom management plan would be to use negative reinforcement. This is a great way to get students motivated and also to promote a positive atmosphere. By taking something negative away when they do something positive, just enforces the idea of doing the right thing instead of punishing. Another thing that I will do to promote a positive climate is to create care packages at the end of each year. These are brown paper bags that I will have the students write their names on and then pass the bags around the room and each student will write a special note about the student whose name is on the bag and put it inside for them to read later. By the end of this, each student will have notes from every student in the class, telling them something positive about themselves. I think this is a great way to create good relationships between your students and also to show each student that they are appreciated and cared for. To have effective communication in the classroom, I plan to hold parent nights where I will meet with all of the parents from my classroom to explain what weve been doing in the classroom and also to address any concerns or questions they may have. I also plan to have a blog set up that states our agenda each week and a place where parents and fellow teachers can

communicate with me and each other. I will send home paper copies of the agenda as well so that parents who do not have access to the internet can still feel included in the communication as well. For my procedural dimension of the classroom, I plan to teach my procedures at the beginning of the year and to keep the same procedures throughout the year so that students know what to expect. The first procedure that I will teach will be bathroom breaks. I would explain to the students that they must inform me when they need to use the rest room. Next, I will hand them a hall pass to take with them to the rest room. I will also explain that if they are not back in a reasonable amount of time, I will have to send someone to look for them. The next procedure that we would discuss would be the chore bored. This will be a board that has all of the different chores in the classroom listed on it and each child will have their own chore that they are assigned to for the week. Another procedure that I will teach in my classroom would be lining up at the door. I would talk about when the appropriate time is to line up at the door, (lunch time, field trips, etc.) Also, we would talk about who would be leading the line that week which would be decided by the class chore board. To teach my procedure on lining up, I would begin by asking the class why this procedure is important. We would talk about how lining up relates to the rules of the classroom and also how this procedure will keep us safe. Next, I would ask the students to quietly walk to the door and line up with myself being the line leader to practice this procedure. After this I would ask the students to return to their seats and once again I would ask them why it is important to line up before leaving the classroom. Also, we would talk about the proper procedure for lining up. To reinforce this procedure I would use positive reinforcement by explaining to the students that if they lined up the way they were taught everyday for the whole week, we would have a small treat that Friday afternoon.

For the physical dimensions of my classroom, I plan to arrange the desks in rows with my desk at the head of the classroom and centered with the students desks. I also plan to have a table that is separated from the desk arrangement where we will go to work on projects. Each student will have their own cubby for their books, backpacks, and coats which will keep their things off of the floor and out of the way. This will also help with any students who have exceptionalities and have a difficult time moving throughout the classroom. I plan on using a SMART board in my classroom as much as possible. I believe that this is a great tool that can really enhance learning. It allows every student to participate and can be used for classroom discussions. SMART boards are also good for students who have exceptionalities such as autism because they often find it stimulating to manipulate the SMART board and learn in a more hands-on way. If possible, I also plan to use iPads in my classroom as well because I think it would be beneficial for each student to have their own screen in front of them and to follow along as we go through a lesson. For the behavioral dimensions of my classroom, I plan to develop a list of classroom rules that are reasonable and promote a positive safe atmosphere. These rules would consist of: Be Respectful, Be kind, Be safe, Be productive, and Be Responsible. I think it is very important to use positive rules instead of negative rules so that students will be motivated to follow them. I also would like the students to come help me come up with a couple of rules at the beginning of the year as well. I think this is important because it allows them to have a voice in the classroom and shows them that as a teacher, you value their input as well. If students begin having a difficult time following these rules, I will use behavior management tactics to get them back on track. For example, if a student does not want to do their homework or pay attention in class, I would use I messages. I would explain to the student that when I see them not paying

attention during a lesson, I get concerned because they will not be prepared for the test. Another tactic I will use in the classroom is a goals sheet. If a student starts becoming unmotivated in the classroom and is having a difficult time paying attention or just does not want to learn. I will ask that student to put together a list of goals that they have for themselves and tape it to their desk. This is a great way to help students get motivated because they have to look at this goal sheet every day and it will remind them of why they should pay attention in the classroom. To keep my classroom organized, I plan to write a schedule on the board each day so that the students know what to expect when coming into the classroom. I think it is important to be consistent while organizing your classroom because it helps students be consistent as well. I also plan to keep the same schedule each day, math at the same time, English at the same time, etc. This teaches students that there are no surprises in your classroom and that they know what to expect while they are in there. I also plan to have a set form of grading so that students know what I expect of them and how they should be participating in the classroom. I also plan to talk with my fellow colleagues about their grading strategies. This is a great way to gain feedback on your own work and also to learn some new ways to manage your classroom as well. I would like all of my co-workers to have access to my blog that I stated earlier as well. This is a great way to keep in contact with each other and share ideas for the classroom. I plan to use a student centered approach to teaching the majority of the time. I will also use some strategies from a teacher centered approach as well but the main philosophy of teaching will be student centered. I think this is important because the reason that we are teaching is to benefit the students and by allowing students to express themselves and tell you what they will benefit from, it will promote a positive learning environment. I do believe that

there are times when the teacher needs to direct the students but I think it is important for students to give their input and for a teacher to value that students opinion as well. I will represent each lesson in multiple ways by first explaining the lesson orally. Next, I will present the lesson as a power point or on the SMART board so that students who learn visually will also understand the lesson. I will also give each student a hand out of the lesson plan so that they have a hard copy to take home as well. Then, I would find a way for the students to interact and also learn the information as well. This would be done through a classroom activity, role playing, or a discussion which would involve the entire classroom. This will allow students to have multiple ways to remember and learn the information. While leading a classroom discussion I will also ask the students to write down what they talked about and then have one student from each group come up and write their ideas on the white board. This allows students to engage the information in multiple ways. A classroom discussion will also help the students express themselves in multiple ways, however, another way to help them express themselves would be to give each student their own sticky note or pad of paper to write down their personal ideas and then give them the option of turning them in or keeping them for themselves. This allows students to think about what they have learned that day and how they can use apply it later on. To address challenging behaviors in the classroom, I will begin by assessing how well students performed on their Curriculum Based Measurements and then offer them any outside help they may need based on how they perform. It is important for students to know that they can come to you for outside help if needed. This really benefits students who are struggling in a certain area of the classroom. I also plan to use functional behavior assessments in my classroom. By assessing the student and knowing what will trigger a certain behavior issue, it

will allow me to avoid those triggers. This is especially important for students who have exceptionalities and need some extra help in the classroom. It is important to pay attention to the antecedents to know what caused the problem behavior and then what action to take after the behavior has happened and what your desired response would be. By getting to know your students you will be able to help them succeed in every way possible. If a CBM places a student on one of the upper levels of RTI, I will set aside time to work with students individually to promote their learning. I will also plan to implement group work into every subject that I teach. Group work allows students to interact with each other and learn from one another. I will reinforce each of these ideas by implementing the concepts of PBIS or Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports. I will encourage students to replace their problem behavior with a positive behavior instead. Also, I will arrange my classroom environment to fit the needs of each of my students as best that I can. Overall I plan to encourage a safe and positive atmosphere in my future classroom by using many different behavior strategies and tactics to help my students learn as much as they possibly can in the time that I will spend with them.

Sources
Albano, A. (2011, September 13). Creating a positive classroom climate: "Capturing Kids Hearts" . Retrieved from Teachers: where teachers come first: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom_solutions/2011/09/creating-a-positiveclassroom-climate-capturing-kids-hearts Ann Turnbull, R. T. (2010). Exceptional Lives - Special Education in Today's Schools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. . Armes, C. (2012, December 4). Cognitive Learning Styles in the Student-Centered Classroom. Retrieved from Scientific Learning: http://www.scilearn.com/blog/cognitive-learningstyles-student-centered-classroom.php Engaging learners the SMART board way. (2006, October). Retrieved from Eduscapes: http://eduscapes.com/sessions/smartboard/ http://rems.dcsdschools.org/departments/2nd_grade/mrs__fedewa_s_class/classroom_procedures /. (2012). Classroom Procedures. Retrieved from Rosenwald elementary and middle school. Leah Davies, M. (2007, April). Elementary Classroom Rules and Management. Retrieved from http://www.kellybear.com/TeacherArticles/TeacherTip72.html