Classroom Management Key Components

Area #1: Procedures/Structures/Routines

● Beginning Routine/Start of Class
○ Begin each class with a short, quiet activity.
○ Students enter the classroom, turn in their folders and any work, they sit
down and do corrections, read a book, or color a picture for the first 10
minutes everyday.
● Quiet/Attention Signals
○ Some of my favorites are callbacks such as “Flat tire, shhhhhhh” “Macaroni
and cheese, everybody freeze” “Hocus pocus, everybody focus”.
○ “If you can hear me clap once, if you can hear me clap twice, etc”
● Physical Transitions (groups, pairs, labs, activities, carpet)
○ Transitions should be practiced multiple times in the first week of school. This
way students will know exactly what is expected of them in certain routines
and how and when they should move within the classroom.
● Dismissal or Lining Up
○ The student of the day will always be the line leader and we will follow with
line order after that.
○ Each student will have a small dot on the floor to stand on facing the door.
● Non-Verbal Cues (visuals, hand gestures, music)
○ You will have to discuss what visuals/hand gestures/music means when it is
used and what it should signal. For example, you may play music during
work time and when it stops, that means the students have “x” time to clean
up and return to their chair. You will also have to practice this as well.
● Giving Directions
○ Directions should be clear and concise. When working with younger
students, your directions may need to be cut in half. The clearer the
directions are, the less confusion and chaos there will be in the classroom.
Giving clear directions should also help in the number of times you will have
to repeat the directions. Your directions should also include any other
expectations you may have such as noise level.
● Checking for Understanding
○ After you give directions, you may ask “Are there any questions?” or “Is
anyone confused by these directions?” You may also have students hold up
a thumb if they understand or nod their head in agreement. This is a good
 check for you to know how well you presented your directions.
● Holding Ground/No Arguing
○ This is a skill that I am still working on along with responding to a student
when they tell me no. After I have said no or told the student their work was
incorrect and they begin to argue, I will ignore them or send them back to
their seat. When their argument becomes a question, then I will help them
answer it.
● Raising Hands to Speak
○ When students talk out of turn, I would either just simply raise my hand until
they do the same, or ignore the student who is blurting, give praise to another
student who is raising their hand, and call on them.

Area #2: Engagement & Participation

● Variety (three or more activities per hour)
○ Reading instruction in lower grades can get to be lengthy, but if we can work
in three activities that incorporate some sort of movement or game, the
students tend to stay engaged longer.
● Collaboration (Students Talking/Peer Discussions)
○ Incorporating any sort of partner talk, table talk, or group discussions about a
topic related to an assignment can also help foster participation from all
students. Even if they don’t participate, they still hear the conversation and
are equipped with an answer in case of being picked at random to answer
the question.
● Movement (two or more times per hour)
○ Everytime students finish a worksheet or a question, depending on if we are
working together or not, I have them do something quiet that lets me know
they are done. These can be as simple as putting your finger on your ear,
raising both hands, hands on your head, stand on one leg. Something that
requires a little bit of movement. This helps them to get the wiggles out a little
to in order for them to refocus on the next task.
● Total Participation (all students think, write, share, or answer simultaneously)
○ Writing on whiteboards is the best way that I can get all students to
participate. Students can write answers on their boards and share them with
their partners, or hold it up and show me. I like to let students know when
they got it by saying “I see that John has the answer, Jane is close”
● Rigor (higher order thinking and tasks required)
○ Generally with problems like this, I would read the problem with students and
then let them work it out from there. Before allowing them to do those
 problems independently, we would practice a problem that is similar first.
● Instruction (explain, model, guided practice, independent practice)
○ This explicit instruction model has worked the best in the math class that I
have taught. First, we start with a problem to get our brain warmed up, then
we go into the actual teaching, then guided practice, leading into the
assignment. Students generally have questions once they get to the
assignment. I encourage them to ask one friend before coming to ask me.
● Questioning/Probing
○ A teacher may question their students and ask them to explain further how
they did something or their reason behind making the choice they did. By
having students explain, they are learning to be better learners and also how
to question others when they need clarity. You may have the students come
up with questions about the content and then work through them as a class.
● Group Work (roles and productivity)
○ I like to group students based on ability so that in each group there are one
high level student, one low level student, and one or two middle level
students. From there, I remind the students of the jobs/roles needed for the
project and let them discuss and plan who will do what fr their group.

Area #3: Rapport/Connection

● Teacher Warmth/Friendliness/Approachability
○ This has much to do with the demeanor in which a teacher carries oneself.
Students need adults who are approachable and friendly. This means that we
generally have a smile on our face or carry ourselves in a confident, positive
way.
● Teacher Enthusiasm/Energy/Excitement/Joy
○ When a teacher brings excitement in a classroom, the students reciprocate it.
By being energetic and enthusiastic about a lesson or a topic, the students
will also be excited to learn about that topic(even though some will try to hide
it).
● Teacher Humor/Laughter
○ If a teacher can bring laughter into the classroom, the entire environment of
that classroom is 100% more pleasing to be in. The humor or laughter does
have to be kept controlled though.
● Teacher Knowledge of individual students’ interests
○ A teacher can constantly tie the content to specific things or activities that
students enjoy. The more that you acknowledge those interests of a student,
the more the students will feel cared for and loved.
 ● Teacher Respect and Appreciation for students
○ As teachers, we can never be appreciative enough of our students. Letting
them know that you appreciate them also shows that you respect them and
what they are doing in the classroom.
● Teacher Encouragement of students
○ This is another characteristic of teachers that can make students feel loved.
By encouraging students, they not only feel loved, but feel more confident in
their ability.
● Teacher sensitivity to student cultures and backgrounds
○ In today’s society, it is more common to have many kids of diverse
backgrounds in your classroom. It is important to remain sensitive to
their cultures and backgrounds, while still teaching all that is required.
We should take an interest in learning from that student or students
about their culture. Allow them to share things with their classmates
too.

Area #4: Behavior Intervention/Consequences

● Regular use of gentle redirects (proximity, warnings, the look)
○ I like to start with a general reminder such as “make sure we are working”. If
nothing changes with a certain student, I will pat their shoulder or their work
to let them know I am watching and also near if they have a question. If still
nothing, I use “the look”.
● Consequences are reasonable and equitable
○ The consequences should be logical based on what the behavior was.
Losing a privilege is not an adequate consequence for a student forgetting to
bring a folder back to school. A student who sits and refuses to do their work
may lose specials time in order to finish their work.
● Consequences are given as choices (you have a choice right now...)
○ “You may choose to change your behavior right now, or we can visit about a
better way to work through this later during lunch.” This is just one example
of a choice, but the context can be used for just about anything you need it to
work for.
● Teacher uses soft eyes, soft voice during conflicts
○ Instead of being hard and gruff, a teacher can use a low voice and soft eyes
during a conflict. This can let the student know that you are on the same side
and trying to work together to solve the problem. It is you and the student
against the problem, not you against the student.
 ● Teacher is firm, but also calm and compassionate (doesn’t yell or intimidate)
○ A teacher needs to be calm and firm as well as compassionate without
yelling or belittling the student. This again reiterates that you care about the
student and are working together, but it also lets the student know that you
are serious.
● Consistent follow through with consequences once they are earned (doesn’t make
the same request over and over)
○ When a consequence needs to be given, and you have given the student the
choice of whether to change the behavior or not, you need to be consistent in
sticking to your consequences. Students will not change their behavior if
there are never any consequences for their actions.
● Arguments/debates are delayed, done in private
○ You should never argue with a student in front of the entire class. The best
response is “You and I can visit about this later.” and then end the
conversation there. If the student continues, you can ask them to leave the
room, or ignore them and get the class working on something while you visit
in private with the student.
● Progression up hierarchy is swift but fair
○ The transition up hierarchy should be done in a timely manner, but it should
also be done in a fair manner. This means that it should be similar for almost
all students. It also should happen swiftly if nothing is changing.

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