Miss Sauers Classroom Management

Classroom Rules:
I believe that part of the teachers job is to create a democratic society within the classroom. One
way to do this is to let students help establish the rules of the classroom. In my classroom I will have a
group discussion and let the students come up with 5 rules. I think that by giving students this
responsibility, they will be more likely to follow them. I want to only have about 5 rules so that the
students can really know them. I will make a poster with these rules and constantly refer back to them.
For example, if a student is not being respectful of others, I will say, Please be following rule #3. I will
also communicate these rules to the parents by including them on the side of each weekly newsletter.
Individual Management:
I believe that students need to be responsible for their own individual
behavior and actions. By using the clip system, students are given the opportunity to
move up or down the chart based on their effort, attitude, and actions. The colors are
associated with either rewards or punishments. The key to using this type of system
is only effective if students are able to move up and down the chart throughout the
day. They are not stuck in one place the whole day.
At the end of the day, their placement is then reflected in their daily
homework sheet so that their parents are informed about successes and problems that
day.
Whole Class Management:
In order to create teamwork and sense of unity within the class, I also intend
to use whole class behavior management systems. One system I like is the use of a happy cup and a
sad cup. I will begin the year by having an equal number of objects (beans, buttons, marbles, etc.) in
each cup. During transitions, behavior during specials, or special presentations I will either move an
object to the happy cup or sad cup based on the behavior of the entire class. Once all objects are in
the happy cup I will reward the class with an incentive such as a popcorn party, pajama day, kickball
game, or movie day.
Classroom Dojo is another online tool I plan to use for both individual and whole class behavior
management. www.classdojo.com