Classroom Management Plan

Classroom Management Plan

Bethanie Perrin
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
EDSC-408, Managing the Secondary Classroom

Classroom Management Plan

Classroom Management Philosophy

Classroom management is the basis for instruction and guides the course of the class
thought the year. To me, a teacher with good classroom management is consistent, patient,
caring, genuinely involved, passionate, fun and a facilitator of learning. The goals of my
classroom management plan are to adequately meet the needs of my students, engage them
through interesting and challenging curriculum, build trust with my students so they feel as if
they are in a safe environment and creating a classroom community where all my students know
they are supported, encouraged and treated fairly. The environment of the room as a whole is
important to me, without a safe, stable environment learning will not be able to effectively take
place. A democratic and equitable classroom is my top priority, especially since I will be in a
secondary education setting. I want to set the tone of the classroom at the beginning of the year,
taking the time to both present and demonstrate rules and procedures of my classroom in order to
provide clear structure. I believe that consistent and clear structure will provide support for all
my classroom management goals. Therefore setting my students up for success and an enjoyable
experience in my classroom.
Teaching Style
My teaching style will be somewhat a democratic approach to the classroom. In
Dreikurss Model he says that there are four aspects that stand out that my ideals align with,
identifying and addressing mistaken goals of misbehavior, acting as democratic rather than
autocratic or permissive teachers, using logical consequences rather than punishment, and
understanding the difference between praise and encouragement. (Manning & Butcher, 2013)
As the teacher I want to be effective with my instruction in order to demonstrate the type of
behavior I want in my classroom. As a democratic teacher in a secondary classroom, I want my

Classroom Management Plan

students to know that their feelings are highly regarded and embrace their opinions over what we
are learning.
Social Studies is often a subject where the students are disinterested because they are
used to a direct instruction teaching style, notes and movies. Differentiated instruction will be a
key part of my classroom. Fredric Jones believes that Students enjoy learning when the process
of instruction engages all of their senses. (Jones, 2007) He states that this will make students
actively engaged in productive learning activities, which will encourage a legitimate reason for
them to behave. (Manning & Butcher 2013) In my effort to include all learning styles and
instruction, I hope that students will enjoy learning about my content area. know that I have a
warm personality and because of this, I would have a hard time assuming an autocratic role in
my classroom. By creating a democratic classroom and treating my students like valued
individuals, I hope to create a positive environment where they will know they are worthy of
respect. When leaving my classroom I hope to instill a strong sense of self in my students as well
as the skills to participate in discussion and group work in a respectful and meaningful way.
Room Arrangement
Personally, my motivation in very reliant on my environment, so the visual aspect of my
room is very important. The walls will be covered in brightly colored world maps, timelines and
posters with motivation, historical and thought provoking quotes. Along the top half of my room
I will have timelines based on the current subject that I am teaching. I plan on having multiple
bulletin boards, two where I will display student work and one where I will have updated grades
posted as well as a schedule for the year, both for my classroom and the school. Having a very
organized and clean classroom is important to me as well. Physical clutter is known to negatively
affect the ability to focus and process information. I want my students feel as peace in my room

Classroom Management Plan

while also feeling motivated and prepared to learn and think.

The classroom will be arranged with rows of desks about 4-5 deep, half with their backs
to the left side of the room, half with their backs to the right side of the room, all facing towards
the middle. There will be a large walk way in-between the desks that are facing right vs. the
desks that are facing left so I have plenty of room to walk from the front to back of class during
instruction. This set up also makes it easy for students to turn their desk towards each other while
doing group work and having discussions, but also have a full view of the room and their
classmates while they are in their normal layout. My instructional desk will be at the front of the
room, but in the corner. This desk will be used as my administration desk as well. It will house
my computer where not only to I stream PowerPoints or videos, but I also take attendance, enter
grades, work on lesson plans and more.
Along the back wall of the room I plan on having a student table with a computer for any
student aid that I might have, or if a student doesnt have a computer available at home and needs
to work on something outside of instructional time. This desk will be in the middle of the back
wall. In one of the corners I would like to set up a comfortable area with bookshelves. These
bookshelves will be organized to contain textbooks, supplies for presentations and my own
collection of books, both fiction and nonfiction, related to social studies. Also along the back
wall I will have bins for each class labeled where they turn in work, and where they are able to
pick up graded work. The goal for my classroom set up over all, paired with the available student
table/computer and comfortable corner, is for students to always feel welcome and comfortable
in my classroom. I hope to promote a positive and motivating environment. (See attached image
#1 for rough idea of layout)
Classroom rules

Classroom Management Plan

There will be clear and constant reminders of the rules and expectations of my classroom
throughout it. In addition to taking time at the beginning of the year to explain the rules and
consequences of my room, they will be posted throughout. Depending on the age of my students,
I will take time at the beginning of the year to discuss and ask for possible contribution regarding
the rules that I already have in place. This will reinforce my democratic teaching style. Jones
talks about general rules, rules that describe teachers goals and objectives, versus specific rules,
rules that deal with training a class to do what you want them to do and when. (Manning &
Butcher, 2013) I will have both sets of rules and make them very clear. After the first week of
school and the classroom discussion on rules and expectations has taken place, I will also send
out a newsletter at the beginning of the year to all parents. If there are issues with the students in
regards to these rules and I have to involve a parents, they will have already been informed of
my expectations as well. Some of the rules that will be suggested to the students will include
cellphone use during direct instruction and overall respect, responsibility and accountability. One
key rule that is important to me is that not only do I want to earn and receive their respect, but I
want them to have respect for their fellow classmates. Once our rules are set in place I will hold
my students completely responsible for them. This includes classwork and homework, late work,
open communication, use of technology and the idea that I will be treating them like valued
adults so they are expected to act like one.
I will have a classroom website where parents can view what is currently going on in our
class, have possible examples of current student work, a timeline of our year which would
include major tests and projects as well as contact information for me. I know that my students
will have very diverse lives, so I will never require parent involvement. I will always encourage
parents involvement though. I hope to have positive relationships with the parents whenever

Classroom Management Plan

possible. Clear communication and involvement will reinforce what is going on in the classroom,
at home as well, only furthering instruction.
Classroom Procedures
The basis of their time in the classroom will be consistent. Every day on the board there
will be the standard that the lesson will address, the objective for the day, a brief schedule for the
class period and their warmup question. Students will be expected to have a spiral notebook
specifically for my class, where they will write the warmup question and their answer. The
question will always be something that recalls prior knowledge, while also introducing what we
will be doing that day. The student will know that when they enter the classroom and take their
seat, they are expected to immediately get out their notebook and answer this question. We will
always use about the first 5-10 minutes of class discussing this question before we get into the
lesson. My current mentor teacher has all of her students use a spiral notebook for her class. In
this notebook they keep things like their warmup, any sort of notes or vocabulary, homework that
isnt in the form of a handout and more. I will have weekly notebook checks for just their
warmup question, a couple times a quarter they will turn in their notebook for more thorough
grading. Homework will primarily be assigned if they do not finish their classwork, in the form
of a paper or project or if I feel we are covering a subject that is particularly important or difficult
to grasp. Although homework is necessary and helpful at times, I personally want to have as
much supervision over the instruction my students are receiving as possible.
Closure to my lessons will be less consistent than my warmups. I will use closure as a
formative assessment, varying between things like questions to check for understanding, asking
students to share something new that they learned that class, a ticket out the door where they
write questions the still had about what they learned today, and more. I will also always end the

Classroom Management Plan

class period by telling them what we will be talking about next class period, what might be due
and reminding them of upcoming tests or projects.
I plan on using different types of assessment to grade and evaluate my students, short
quizzes, unit tests, written responses and projects are some of the ways in which I plan on doing
this. Within my assessments, I will try to keep the timing of them consistent for my students.
Short quizzes will ideally be on the first day of the week in which I see them, tests will be on the
last day of the week in which I see them and projects will always be towards the end of the unit
but never due on the same day as a test. Although I like variation, I do well with consistency, so I
hope to do the same for my students. In addition to this, I will make it clear to my students that
they are free to ask me for more specific, one on one instruction, as well as differentiated
assessments that can help them better express their comprehension and understanding of the
material.
My grading policy would be broken up into class participation, classwork, homework and
quizzes, tests, projects and presentations all together. Their participation grade would be the
smallest precent of their grade and will consist of general participation, daily attendance and
their warmup question. Classwork will have multiple categories such as the work they do in
class, group work and their notebook checks. This together with their test, quiz, presentation and
project grade will count for about 75% of their overall grade. Homework will only count for
around 15% of their grade. If a student turns in late work I will take points off per a day it was
late, depending on how many points the assignment is worth, around 5-10% of the overall points
depending on the assignment. Alongside this, I will let my students know that my late work
policy is not set in stone. Open communication with me prior to a due date will be taken into
consideration when grading late work. I believe that if the student is having a hard time with

Classroom Management Plan

something or dealing with a personal situation and they take the time to talk to me about it prior
to an assignment being due, the student may deserve an exception in grading.
Encouraging All Students
We have learned about many different models and theories regarding classroom
management this semester, they have helped me realize what techniques I will and wont feel
comfortable with, as well as helping me identifying what my weaknesses are. My biggest fear,
and I know it is warranted, will be my size when dealing with high school students. Standing at
about 52 I feel as if I am already have the predisposition of issues with respect. I plan on
addressing with with consistency in my classroom, with my own actions and emotions as well as
my rules and expectations regarding the behavior of my students. One of the models that I plan
on implementing is Richard Curwin and Allen Mendlers: Discipline with Dignity. Their idea of
a social contract aligns with the discussion I will have over the class rules at the beginning of the
year. This once again supports my democratic approach and once it is finalized it will very
clearly define was is acceptable and unacceptable. With this in place it will be easy for both me
and my students to reference, therefore supporting me in being consistent. Two of the ideas their
principles address are for teachers to stop doing ineffective things and to make rules that make
sense. I plan on being an effective as possible with enforcing my rules. If my rules do not make
sense or seem unreasonable, I believe that I will only receive more backlash from my students.
(Manning & Bucher, 2013)
Skinners positive reinforcement ideas is a classic theory that I feel many teachers
support and identify with. This is the idea that proper and immediate reinforcement strengthens
the likelihood that appropriate behavior will reoccur. (Manning & Bucher, 2013) On the simplest
level I will always make a point to give positive, specific feedback to my students. Instead of

Classroom Management Plan

saying, Good job today, John! I believe changing it to something like, You did a great job
participating in our discussion today John, thank you for always raising your hand and not
interrupting other students. would be significantly more effective. On a large level I will
provide extra credit opportunities or class wide recognition for good behavior throughout the
year. An idea I have is setting a specific goal for the week and starting the students out at 0
points. Using raising your hand before talking as an example, every time a student raised their
hand instead of interrupting or yelling out an answer, the would receive a point. If they didnt
raise their hand their negative action wouldnt be acknowledged. At the end of the week whoever
had reached a certain number of points would get to use an index card of notes for the next test,
or something along those lines.
One of the community approaches that agree with is the Child Development Project. This
focuses on building the sense on community within the school as a whole. As a teacher I will not
just focus on my own classroom, but the whole school having a positive environment. It is
important for all the students to feel safe and welcomed while at school. The CDP has an
emphasis on cooperative learning, where the students are working on meaningful yet challenging
tasks that promote collaboration. (Manning & Bucher, 2013) I will do my best to partner with
teachers across subject areas and clubs to promote our content together, while encouraging social
involvement with the students. Group work within the class is important, but social collaboration
is essential as well for students to develop.
There are many more theories that have small parts that resonate with me as well. I will
consistently work to make sure that all aspects of my classroom are positive. This starts with my
choice of words, body language and tone of voice. As a teacher I know that while typically my
emotions and frustrations are validated, I am also in control of them. My word choice, support

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and reinforcement will always focus on the positive, while ignoring the negative. I will do this
not just in relation to my classroom and content, but my students lives as a whole. To encourage
my positive environment, I want to make phone calls home, or notifying parents in general, a
regular thing. For both small and large reasons, at the end of the week I will spend time notifying
parents of their students achievements. Another part of my classroom will be the board I have
where I display student work. I will also choose to focus my reinforcement on tasks or actions
instead of personality traits or behaviors, this will acknowledge their hard work and support their
efforts.
Conclusion
Overall in my classroom I hope to take these strategies, methods and theories and use
them in a way that really resonates with me as a teacher to provide the best possible experience
for my students. I want the environment of my classroom to be one where my students are
engaged and excited to learn, but also feel as if the are supported, safe and welcome. My
classroom management plan will be something that I will constantly work on, using feedback
from my students, my own experiences and new ideas to build on. I hope that my classroom
management plan is able to create the diverse learning experience that a classroom deserves,
addressing all aspects from encouragement on the walls, to leaving my students feeling confident
in their own decision making abilities, to instilling a willingness for collaboration and respect for
others.

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References
Manning, M. and Bucher, K. (2013). Classroom management, models, applications and cases
(3rd Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Classroom Management Plan

Image #1-Classroom Arrangement

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