Classroom

Management
Portfolio
By: Victoria Austin
CUIN 4375
Monday 9am-12pm
 Introduction
Welcome to my Classroom Management Portfolio! This plan is developmentally appropriate for
elementary ages, specifically kindergarten through second grade, although some concepts may be used
for higher grade levels. This portfolio promotes the idea of building positive student-teacher
relationships while allowing the students to take ownership of the classroom. Responsive classroom
approaches such as “the cool down corner” are implemented into my portfolio to foster a safe
classroom environment that focuses on the social-emotional and academic development of each
individual student. I believe an effective teacher is one that models the positive behavior they want to
see reflect on their students in the classroom. This is why I saw it fitting to include procedures such
as morning meetings and greetings which allow for positive interaction between the teacher and
students. While I plan to expand my knowledge on classroom management through my future years in
teaching, this plan will provide me with a solid foundation for what I may include in my classroom one
day.
 Philosophical statement
My philosophical statement relies on a variety of concepts from Fredric Jones, Ginott, Canter & Canter, and the
applications from the Responsive Classroom Model. My main objective as an educator is to be a positive role model that
fosters a safe, secure, and engaging learning environment for my students. Building a foundation of trust and respect in
the classroom will be a top priority. Fredric Jones’s application of building a positive classroom environment align with my
core values of what I feel is most important in a classroom. Jones emphasizes the importance of educators to “model
appropriate behavior, use appropriate classroom management methods, and motivate students’ to learn (Jones 2007).” He
also emphasizes the important of fostering social-emotional skills as well as reflecting dignity and respect into
instructional and classroom management strategies. Ginott’s Congruent Communication Theory is another model of
classroom management I believe will be an effective way to address behavior in the classroom. Ginott’s idea of always
having a language that signifies compassion and being protective of the student’s feelings is a concept that I find very
important. Moreover, I find his method of using appreciative praise rather than evaluative praise to be of significant in
building a positive relationship with students. The practical applications of the Responsive Classroom Model hold important
concepts I plan to incorporate into my classroom management strategies. Holding daily classroom meetings, encouraging
open communication with parents, enforcing logical consequences, and intentionally organizing the classroom environment
are just a few ways I will ensure I am creating a safe, engaging learning environment for all of my students.
 Table of Contents
✓ First Days
◆ First Day Agenda, Meet the Teacher , Icebreakers, Classroom Constitution, Monthly
Newsletter
✓ Classroom Environment
◆ Classroom Layout, Reading Corner, Calm-down Corner, Bully Prevention Activity
✓ Classroom Procedures
◆ Good Morning Greetings, Morning Binders, Morning Meetings, Transitions & Centers,
Attention Getters, Hand Signals
✓ Discipline System
◆ Logical Consequences, Behavior Blocks, Color Conduct Folders,
✓ Student Motivation
◆ Quiet Critters, Classroom “Bucks”, Marble Jar
✓ Classroom Engagement
◆ Brain Breaks, Singing & Dancing
 First Day: Agenda
7:30-8:00- Greet students and help them settle in. *Take attendance & assign seats
8:00-8:30- Introduce myself to the class, Icebreaker activity
8:30-8:50- Morning procedures, Classroom constitution
8:30-8:40- Restroom break/Wash hands (practice restroom procedures & lining up!) Photo Source
8:50-10:00- Read aloud- How will I get to School this Year? (Discussion & Activity)
10:00-10:40- Class Reading Stamina & Brain Break! (Count to 100 everyday)
10:10-10:20- Restroom break/ Wash hands (practice restroom procedures)

10:40-11:15- Lunch
11:15-11:55- Attention Getter, Read aloud- “Froggy Goes to School”
11:55-12:45- My first day in first grade activity
12:45-1:15- First day of school portrait, recess rules & snack procedures
1:15-1:45- Snack & Recess (1st day photos)
1:45-2:30- Closing circle activity & Reflection, Goodbye song
2:30-2:40- Get ready for Dismissal Photo Source
Template Source
 First Day: IceBreakers & Activities
First Day Self Portraits :
Students will color a self
portrait of themselves to put in
the cover page of their writing
portfolios! I also want to ensure
I snap a photo of each student
during recess to email to their
parents for their first day of
school! Photo Source
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Getting to know you Jenga:
Students will get into small
All About Me Activity: On the
groups or partners. They will
first day, everyone will fill out
draw from a pile of blocks and
and decorate a book that
answer the questions on the
reflects themselves. They can
block! This game can also be
even take them home and have
played as a whole class!
their parents help them. This is
a great way for me to get to
know each of my students!
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First Days: Creating Classroom Constitution
We will create a classroom constitution on
the first day of school so the students know
what is to be expected of them. I used the
rule of thumb of Canter’s classroom
application, three to four rules for the
students to follow. Treating others with
respect, keeping hands and feet to yourself,
and keeping the classroom clean are general
rules that may be included into the
classroom constitution.

I really liked this poster of classroom

promises because it holds the students
accountable of how they are treating each
other as well as how holding themselves
accountable to always do their best!

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 First Day: Routine & Expectations
For the first week of school, we will go over classroom procedures. I will explain
and model the procedures to my students so they know what is expected of them.
Lining up and restroom procedures such as washing hands will be addressed on
the first day in the morning. We will also practice other classroom procedures on
the first week of school, such as unpacking, sitting on the rug, turning in
assignments, using supplies, and cleaning up. It is important to remain consistent
with classroom procedures at the beginning of the year so the students know
what is to be expected of them on a daily basis.

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 In order to maintain effective communication, I will be
sending out a monthly newsletter on the first week of
every month for upcoming school events, important
reminders, what we are learning in each subject, and an at
home practice guide that may contain vocabulary words or
online resources. It is important to keep the parents
informed on what we learning in the classroom!
This is a great way to ensure I am organized and I am not
missing any important dates the parents need to know
Photo Source about sooner than later.
Classroom Environment: Layout
The classroom layout is an essential element
in running a successful classroom. Using
intentional planning to set up the classroom
structure will be very important before the
school year begins. I want to ensure I am
really creating an environment that fosters
the students learning. This blueprint was
intentionally brainstormed so the physical
layout sets the students up for success. The
arrangement of the desks are set up so
students can easily transition from whole
group instruction to the carpet area for
story time. This layout is appropriate for
Pre-K through first grade.
Classroom Environment: Layout
This classroom layout has been
modified to be a little more
interactive. As you can see, the
whole group instruction area is
very close in placement. The
smartboard is placed in sight
for students to view during
whole group instruction.
Classroom Environment: Layout

This layout was created with the intention of

creating more space between the reading corner
and other activities that may require more noise.
As you can see, the centers are closer together
which would make it easier for the students to
transition. The shelf is placed closely to the
carpet area for easy access of books for story
time.
Classroom Environment: Reading Corner
Setting up a reading corner is a great way to foster a engaging
learning environment for students to feel comfortable in. This
could also encourage students to read more! I am believer in giving
children choices, as this allows them to make their own personal
connections to a book they might be interested in! I love this
reading corner because it includes a soft bean bag and pillows.
Students could rotate during centers and take turns using the
bean bag as long as they are reading! Soft music could also be
added to the reading corner to really promote an engaging
environment for reading. Including decor to areas of the classroom
such as the tree and flowers would captivate the students
attention, and could motivate them to read more!

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Classroom Environment: Calm Down Corner
Including a calm down corner in the classroom can
really beneficial for students with behavioral
problems. This method aligns with a responsive
classroom approach and really nurtures the students
self-regulation skills. I believe including a cool down
corner really promotes a safe environment for the
students where their emotional needs are also being
met. I would explain to the students how the calm
down corner is only for when they are feeling really
frustrated or upset. I would also model for the
students some techniques for remaining calm, such as
counting down from 10 and breathing exercises. This
teaches the students how to appropriately deal with
their emotions while promoting self-regulation.

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Classroom Environment: Bullying Prevention
Activities
In order to create a classroom environment
where all of my students feel safe, bullying
prevention activities will introduced at the
beginning of the school year. This activity is
called “wrinkled heart,” where students
“wrinkle” the heart every time the character in
the story is being teased or made fun of. In
contrast, every time someone showed kindness
towards the character we will try to smooth
the heart out. This teaches students the
importance of their words and how powerful
they can be. I believe to really prevent
Photo Source bullying, encouraging kindness amongst the
students is really important.
 1.
Classroom Procedures
Morning Greeting- Students will arrive and pick which greeting they prefer from me to start the day on a positive
note
2. Morning Procedures- 1. Hang up your backpack. 2. Take out your folder. 3. Sharpen Pencils. 4. Morning Work.
3. Morning Calendar Binder- Practice writing name, date, and circle the day of the week
4. Lining Up- 4 S’s (Silent? Still? Straight? Smiling?)
5. Transitioning to Carpet- The Carpet Song- Are you criss-cross, Are you criss-cross? Eyes on me?
6. Class leaders- Lunch manager, attendance monitor, teacher’s assistant, paper manager, door holder, etc. (jobs will
rotate & be randomly assigned)
7. Restroom Procedure- Take individual bathroom pass from bathroom velcro chart (velcroed popsicle stick with
name on it)
8. Cleaning Procedure- Keep supplies in assigned desk bins, “The desk Fairy” will leave a treat if all desks are clean &
neat at the end of the week.
9. Turning in work- Turn in work to class bin and quietly choose a center or math game
10. Folders- At the end of each week parents sign behavior log and send folder back
11. Lunch- Lunch count chart- students will move their name on which lunch choice they prefer or if they brought a
lunch from home.
12. Attendance Procedure- Magnet board with names showing who is in and out of the classroom for the day, at lunch,
or in the bathroom.
13. Attention Getters- 1, 2,3 eyes on me
14. Centers- Centers chart with names on clothespin, students will find their names and rotate to the correct center
15. Hand signals- procedure for minimizing disruptions in the classroom
Classroom Procedures: Morning Greetings
Morning greeting will the first procedure I will use to
start the day on a positive note. Students can choose
which greeting they prefer as they enter the classroom.
This is a great strategy for promoting a positive
classroom environment and building student-teacher
relationship. This is another method that fosters a
responsive classroom approach. I want to create an
environment where my students feel important, loved, and
comfortable with being themselves and believe greeting
the students in the morning is a perfect way to encourage
this. I believe giving students choices is really important
and this is a procedure that allows them to make their
own choice.

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Classroom Procedures: Calendar Binders
Having a daily morning calendar routine is a great way
to start off the morning with the kiddos!

We will review what day of the month it is, the week,

the year, and the weather. This is very interactive and
a great tool for implementing math and writing into
the daily routine! These calendars could easily be
differentiated to ensure every student in the
classroom is moving in the right direction.
This could even begin with a good morning song!

We will count out loud the days of the week and

discuss the weather and temperature as a class. The
calendars will be set up for the students to
independently fill them out as we review together as a
class.

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Classroom Procedures: Morning Meetings

In addition to morning calendar binders, holding morning

meetings is a great way to start off the day! These
meetings can be held for 10-15 minutes in the morning to
This is procedure is interactive and builds classroom
community. We may begin the meeting with a song and
what we are learning for the day. I want my students to
feel involved in these meetings and will include activities
that are more student-centered. An example could be
including activities that initiate conversation about the
students weekend or having them share out what their
favorite season is and why. We would also address
birthdays in these meetings and wish the student a happy
birthday.

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Classroom Procedures: Transitions & Centers
Teaching students what is expected of them during centers is really
important. This is a procedure we will address and practice at the
very beginning of the school year. The students will have a chart with
their names either on a card or clothespin. Students will usually be
paired with a partner they work well with. When the clothespin
moves, they are to transition into another center with their partner.
They will know when they look at the chart where they are suppose to
be during transitions. Fun transition songs or chants can also be
implemented during transitioning for centers!

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Classroom Procedures: Attention Getters
Attention Getters will be used daily with a class of first
graders. This graph gives a variety of attention getters to
use for the classroom. I think choosing one or two attention
getters to use for the year is a good rule of thumb. I would
explain to the class how the attention getter works and then
we would practice consistently, especially on the first week
of school. I personally like 1-2-3 eyes on me because this
really gets the students to focus their attention on what you
have to say and they know they need to be listening. I would
also use hands on top-that means stop for whole group
instruction to get the students to refocus their attention to
me for further instructions.

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 Classroom Procedures: Hand Signals
Hand signals will be used to minimize disruptions during class
instruction time. Hand signals are a great for nonverbal
communication in the classroom and a perfect solution to
prevent interruptions during story time, guided reading, or
teaching a lesson.

I would laminate a copy such as this photo for the students

to refer to when they need to signal to use the restroom,
get some water, have a question, need a tissue, done with
work, or need help. This would need to be practiced at the
beginning of the year in order for it to be effective during
the school year.

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 Discipline System: Logical Consequences

Logical consequences in the classroom are one of the

most important methods to effectively addressing
behavior. Curwin and Mendler explain that
consequences should directly correspond to the rule
and must be natural and logical. I believe practicing
good behavior on a daily basis is an effective way to
prevent behavior issues from occurring. For example, if
the whole class is making a mess, we would have to
practice cleaning up as a class during recess time, as
this would be a logical consequence to the students not
following the correct clean up procedures. I thought
this “cheat sheet” of logical consequences would be
really beneficial to refer to when I have a classroom
one day!

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 Discipline System: Behavior Blocks
Behavior Blocks is a strategy I plan to implement in my
discipline system. Each student will receive unifix
cubes on their desk and when they are displaying
disruptive behavior, they will have a cube taken away.
The students will have a chance to earn their cube
back if they are showing me positive behavior. If a
student gets to red cube, this means they are at a
point where I must write a referral. If the student
has their green and blue block taken, they must fill out
a “think sheet” to reflect on their behavior. I much
prefer this method opposed to having a behavior chart
on display.
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Discipline System: Color Conduct Folder
In order to maintain effective communication
with parents, the students will take home a
color conduct chart in their folder for each
month. This lets the parents know what kind
of behavior they were displaying for the day. I
like this chart because the colors correspond
to behaviors such as being a role model, and
the student is ready to learn. The student
would only receive a negative color such as red
if the behavior is extremely disruptive and the
student has refused to listen and cooperate all
day. In this case, the parent would need to be
contacted.
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 Discipline System: Quiet Critters
An easy way to get students quiet and ready to learn! The students will
become protective over these cute little “quiet critters” and will want to
keep them on their desks. This is a positive reinforcement strategy that
could be really useful for primary grade levels. Students must be
displaying positive behavior, staying on task, and following directions to
earn a critter on their desk. If the student decides to become noisy or
disruptive, the “quiet critter” will hide away in the jar because they do
not like noise! These are good for times when the students should be
focused on independent work such as reading or writing.

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Student Motivation: Classroom “bucks”
Classroom bucks is a fantastic strategy to use for
motivating good behavior in the classroom. It teaches the
students the importance of responsibility and how currency
works. This “banana bucks” chart is from a classroom I
observed. The students in the classroom displayed
exceptional behavior, possibly due to the good classroom
management strategies such as this one. The students earn
classroom bucks in several different ways such as helping a
friend or answering a question correctly. The student has a
choice of saving their banana bucks for an even bigger, more
exciting prize or spending them on something small such as a
sticker. I love this method of student motivation and will be
implementing it into my future classroom.
 Student Motivation: Marble Jar
Using a marble jar gets the whole class involved in
displaying positive behavior! The whole class must be
participating in order to fill up their marble jar. I
personally like having a marble jar for the teacher
and one for the whole classroom. I would have my
jar filled with marbles at the beginning of the year
and the classroom jar empty. The students must
earn their marbles from my jar to receive rewards.
For example, everytime the class receives a
compliment from another teacher, I would take a
handful or marbles from my jar and place it in their
jar. The reward for when their jar is filled could
Photo Source different things such as a movie day, pajama day, or
pizza day for the whole class.
 Classroom Engagement: Brain Breaks
This activity is appropriate for pre-k through
second grade. This activity fulfilled Glasser’s
psychological needs, students need for
freedom. It is important to remember students
need structure but also need to have a fun and
engaging learning environment. This activity
really helps gets the students moving and helps
them refocus their energy on learning. This
can also be done with popsicles stick in a cup
and have the students pick one from the cup
for the whole class. These are so much fun and
include a variety of activities so it ever gets
boring!

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 Classroom Engagement: Classroom Songs &
Dancing
Adding a learning song into the lesson plan for the day is a great way to
get the students excited and engaged for learning! For example, if I am
planning a lesson on syllables, I could go to GoNoodle and find a learning
song for my students to dance to before I teach the lesson on syllables.
GoNoodle is a great resource and includes tons of learning songs to
choose from! Rhyming songs, chants, and songs with known tunes are all a
great way to get students involved and engaged on what is being learned!

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