Jasmine Crawford

Nov 7, 2019
Classroom Management Plan
Philosophical Statement:

I believe that school is meant to be a safe place for children and students to learn and

explore. The purpose of classroom management should be to keep children safe and to motivate

them to be on task. In a good classroom, there is consistent structure, and children thrive from

that. Student’s need an environment that makes them feel comfortable and safe so they can focus

on learning. I believe that fun and discipline can happen within structure, because without it,

children feel unsafe and confused. Rules and regulations help students learn what behavior is

acceptable for a safe classroom, and what the teacher expects of them. These all lead into

structure, which students need to feel safe and secure in the classroom. Structure in the

classroom means consistent routines and expectations so students know what to expect and act

accordingly.

The safety and learning needs of my students are my top priority. My personal teaching

philosophy is that all students can learn and I will do what I can to help them learn. I believe that

students construct their own learning and require teacher-initiated activities. My teaching

philosophy is partially influenced by Piaget, as I believe in having activities that let students

learn and explore their environment so they can construct their own knowledge. Other subjects

that require direct instruction, such as math and literacy learning, will be taught with teacher-led

and student-led activities. I will model the activity first, then have students practice on their own.

Most of the skills I want students to learn will be modeled first. Children need visual and

kinesthetic tools when learning.

First Day of Class:

On the first day of class, I plan to welcome students into my classroom and introduce

myself as Ms. Crawford. I plan to teach pre-kindergarten children, so I will teach them how to

form a line and teach them behavior management techniques such as walking with behind their

back. I will have them practice walking in line at lunchtime. Afterwards, I will have carpet time

with them and tell them about my class and expectations. I will ask them how they think a

student should behave and make some rules on their own. Then I will tell them my rules and

expectations for behavior. Next I will show the children to their desks and do a drawing activity,

either writing/coloring their names or a picture they like. Next, I will show them around the

classroom, first by walking around and demonstrating what to do in each area, and then letting

them explore for themselves. After, I will have them sit back at the carpet and tell them about the

first lesson they are going to learn. Then they will go to their desks and do an easy practice

activity at their desks while I make folders for each of them to bring to and from class. Lastly,

when there’s only ten minutes left of class, I will show the students how to do work stations and

set them up. They then spend the rest of class at workstations or having free time.

Classroom Policies:

For classroom policies, I believe in a democratic classroom so I will work with students

and ask them what rules and consequences they think we should have. I will use this information

to build a Social Contract with my students and have them sign it. I want to have a sense of

community in my classroom and I want to use a Social Contract as a starter. While the students
will have their rules posted, I will include my own in case they were not mentioned. Rules such

as washing our hands or using our indoor voice when in the classroom. I will also have my own

consequences and communicate them to my class on the first day.

If the students misbehave, they will get a red sticker for each offense which will be

visible either on a desk name tag, the board, or a chart in the classroom. I will warn the student

each time they get a red sticker. After three red stickers, I will pull the student aside and talk to

them, either by having them go to the Thinking Corner, or seating them at the teachers desk. I

will try to prevent the behavior by finding out why they are misbehaving and/or working with

them to prevent it. I will give them different choices and we will make a behavior plan that the

student will refer to to prevent further misbehavior. If they are not cooperative, or they continue

the misbehavior, I will call the parents. If they continue after that, I will sent the child to the

principal or the counselor, call the parents, and periodically check-in with them through the day.

I will definitely check-in with them at the end of the day to see how the child is progressing

behaviorally.

Class Policies, and/or the Social Contract, will be printed and sent home in a folder and

through email. I will create an electronic version and post it to my class website so that parents

and guardians can easily access the document. I will also send home a survey for parents to fill

out. The survey will ask about the child’s interests, likes and dislikes, subject matter learned, and

food preferences. The survey will also ask for medical and emergency information, the preferred

time and way to communication, and a few lines or a box for the parents to put anything else

they think I should know about their child or what they would like to see in the classroom.
Classroom Procedures:

The way class would begin is with Morning Motivations where students sit in a circle and

go around and talk about something good that happened to them or a loved one recently, or they

talk about something or someone they appreciate. The question of the Morning Motivation is

subject to change as I will read a book at the beginning of class and ask them questions related to

the book. At the end of the day, the students will sit in a circle or at the carpet and each student

will talk about what they liked or learned in class. We will say a mantra that will change every

week and go over homework. Starting the day on a positive note motivates students to want to

learn and behave. And ending the day with a class discussion helps review what students learned

throughout the day, see what needs improvement or change, and go over homework before they

leave for the day.

For transitions, I will give them a time limit and countdown the time they have to get into

their seats, workstations, or in line. I will also have songs or sayings that the children will use

when transitioning. For example, they could sing the first part of “Twinkle Twinkle” while

moving to their seats. I will also have a reward system and the class will earn a point for every

time they transition in time. For interruptions, I will have hand signals that the students can use

when they need a new pencil, to use the bathroom, to wash their hands, and to speak if it is and

emergency. This eliminates students interrupting the lesson or individual activities every time

they need something. This also helps students who are shy communicate in a way that does not

draw too much attention to themselves. Other interruptions, such as a visitor or a fire alarm, will

be addressed immediately. If there is a visitor in the classroom, I will introduce them and the

class will greet them. I will let them talk to the visitor or ask them questions if the visitor

consents. For emergencies, I will draw the children’s attention and have them either stand at their
desks or in line. I will then refer to the class emergency plan that I copied and placed by the door

and the teachers desk. The emergency will be drafted by either me or the administration of the

school and will have a script I can use with young children. Keeping the students orderly and

calm, while remaining calm myself, ensures that no one gets hurt or lost. This will help in the

event of a fire, natural disaster, evacuation, lockdown, and severe injury.

Younger children in early education have short attention spans. The longest they can hold

their attention, according to research, is averaged about 8 minutes. That is why I will have

strategies in place to hold their attention and keep them engaged. For lectures, I will have

frequent breaks about every 3 to five minutes where I ask them a question or we exercise, such

letting the children wiggle their arms or clap their hands. For activities, I will keep them short

and engaging by integrating games or integrating a kinesthetic component.

Lastly, to distribute the work, everyone in the class will have a role or job assigned to

them. There will be a class leader which will be assigned to the student who is the most well

behaved. If the most well behaved student(s) have been leader long enough, I will pick a new

student so that every student has a chance to be the class leader. Students will switch jobs every

week or month, depending on how many students I have and how many jobs are needed. There

will be jobs such as Lunch Monitor, Pencil/Paper Person, Clean Kid, etc. After assigning Class

Leader, I will ask the children what job they prefer and assign jobs if no one volunteered. I will

keep a chart and keep track of whose assigned what so that every person gets to do every job. If

there are no more jobs available, I will have a role for the extra students called Hearty Helpers

and they will be an extra pair of hands for the teacher or for other students in case they need

help.
Misbehavior:

When addressing misbehavior, the teacher must be calm and professional. Being

reactionary could either humiliate the child and cause them to cry, hurting their self-esteem. It

could also escalate the situation to be more dangerous, where either the students actions become

more severe or the teacher overreacts too quickly causing the students to lose respect and fear

them. I plan to address misbehavior with a calm demeanor so the student knows that I still

respect them and to keep order in the classroom. Studies have shown that the way the teacher

reacts can affect how the student reacts. If a teacher thinks a student is just a bad kid, the student

will pick up on that and it will be reflected in their behavior. I want my students to know that I

care for them and I care more about them learning effectively and being safe than sitting still in

one place. With that in mind, I will also be consistent and fair, giving the same consequence to

each student for the same misbehavior. Teachers have a tendency to have a bias either for or

against a student(s), so I will keep a journal or a chart of student misbehavior and refer to it

regularly to check myself for any bias and to check for repeat offenders.

I plan to teach students appropriate behavior in class. Since the grade-level I plan to teach

is Kindergarten to Prekindergarten, I must show the children how to behave in a school setting

because they are unfamiliar with the institution. I will have age-appropriate expectations for all

of my students while teaching them appropriate behavior. I will not address every misbehavior.

Small misbehaviors, such a standing up at their seat or during carpet time, or getting up to get

something without raising their hand will be ignored as they do not hinder instruction or pose a

threat. If the misbehavior is repeated, or starts to become prominent, I will use positive I-

messages, such as praising another student for sitting quietly or having their materials ready. If

small misbehaviors behaviors are repeated, the student will get a red sticker and the process
previously written will start. Misbehaviors that are moderate to severe will be addressed, but

with different levels of urgency.

Moderate misbehaviors will be met with a warning or a one-to-one discussion while

severe behaviors might result in being taken out of class. Moderate behaviors, such as

interrupting during a lesson or making noise during a silent activity, will be addressed via verbal

or non-verbal warning. The sticker process will start if they repeat the behavior. Severe

misbehaviors, such as yelling, hitting, or throwing objects, will be addressed immediately. If the

behavior completely interrupts the class’ learning or puts another student in danger will be

addressed with an immediate discussion and the student will be sent to the principals office or

the counselor. I will have a discussion with the principal or the counselor and the student to find

the reason why they are misbehaving and devise a plan to prevent it in the future. The student

will be given choices on how they want to proceed as well as an appropriate consequence. If the

hurt another student, they will choose how they want to talk to apologize. If the other student

aggravated them or teased them, I can have a discussion with both students and they can choose

how they want to problem solve. The parents will be contacted when the student gets sent to the

office and I will discuss with them what happened in class if they are called to the school or

when the day is over.

When addressing behavior I will use I-messages to let the student know they did

something wrong while letting them know they are not a bad child. Children make mistakes, and

I plan to give students a chance to learn from them. I will ask the student what they think they

did wrong and why they think it was wrong. If they don’t tell me or give me a dishonest answer,

to avoid prosecution, I will tell them what I think they did wrong and why it was wrong and I

will ask if they agree. While talking to the student who misbehaved, I will have the class engage
in discussion, do an individual activity, or give them workstations so the student I talk to does

not feel embarrassed or humiliated. In-class consequences will either be time spent in the

Thinking Corner, or at the teachers desk, which will be a small desk next to mine. If the student

was particularly disruptive during class, but not enough to warrant being sent to the principals

office, I will talk to the parents/guardians when they come to pick up the student.

Motivation:

There are many ways to motivate students to learn in class. Motivation is necessary as

they will see class as fun and inspiring. There are different motivation strategies that can apply to

the whole class or individual students. I have two strategies that I can use to motivate the whole

class. One strategy is to have a mantra or song that the students can clap, sing, or dance to. It can

either be an excerpt of the schools song or chant, or it can something unique to the classroom.

We can sing this at the beginning of class, during transitions, or when class ends and it can

change every week or two weeks. While this strategy might work with younger children in early

education, I may have to alter it or omit it altogether for older students. Another strategy is to

have dance breaks or meditation minutes and use a program such as GoNoodle.com. This could

be used in between lessons, before or after recess or lunch, or when class starts or ends.

The whole class approach might work for some students, but not all. Or the energy to do

tasks might wear off sooner for some students. There might also be some tasks that students find

boring, difficult, or both, so I have strategies that mostly apply to individual students. First, I will

ask them how they feel about the assignment. The student might have done something similar in

the past and it did not work or they failed. Or they may have failed at something earlier and their

self-esteem may be affected. By talking to the how they feel about the assignment, I can work
with them by reminding them of past successes and validating their efforts. If the assignment is

boring or does not engage them, I can offer accommodations, offer to assist them with it along

the way, or negotiate or bribe them with extra points or extra recess time. Another strategy to use

are I-messages, saying things such as “I bet you can do this part” or “I like it when you try and

give it your best effort.” Students respond well when you are attentive to their needs and feelings

and it motivates them to do well. I can also use I-messages to issue little challenges, and ask

them to complete a small portion of the task. After the student completes the small task, I can

praise them which will enable them to do more. Students like it when teachers and mentors are

proud of their work and showing that you believe in the student will reflect in their work and

behavior.

Motivating students to do work they see as scary or boring can be dealt with if the teacher

shows that they are proud of the student and that they believe they can succeed. But what about

students who see no value in school? Students who just don not like school may have various

reasons as to why. Their family or loved one may not see education as important as something

else, such as working. Or someone who the student looks up to, either a loved one, a mentor, or a

celebrity, may not have completed their education and the student thinks they do not need it to

become successful. Or another reason may be that they see problems within the school system or

politics and do not think they can succeed with or without and education. These are all reasons

that are very real to students and as a teacher, I will take their concerns seriously.

The most important thing I can do is talk to them. I will ask the student why they don’t

like school. And their answer may range from their families views towards school to not wanting

to be away from their parent/guardian. It is important that I listen to the students fears and

concerns and address them with respect and care. In addition to listening to them, I can offer my
assistance and ask if there is anything I can do to help them see the value in school. I will work

with the students and devise a plan of action or internal motivator that makes school a better

environment for them. I can ask them about their interests and see if I can integrate them into the

class or have activities and toys the student can use. Another thing I could do is show the student

that what they learn in class is related to their interests. For example, if the student liked animals,

I can take the class to the zoo or show them a video of zookeepers taking care of the animals. I

can then point out how reading, writing, and math are all related to caring for and studying

animals. Lastly, I can discuss with parent/guardians about their child’s motivation. I will ask

them about their child to try and find reasons why they may not like school and even suggest

activities at home they can do with their child to motivate them to learn.