1

Classroom Management: Final Paper

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

CIE 508 - 2005: Classroom Management for Elementary Teachers

Jill Snyder

Jul 16, 2023

 2

Classroom Management: Final Paper

When it comes to the classroom, a diverse variety of personalities exists amongst

students. As the year progresses students grow and change, both physically and mentally. This

past school year I worked as an elementary instructor’s assistant for intermediate resource. In

resource, I worked specifically with students from third grade through fifth grade and this

included some of the students from our autism program. For the sake of this paper, I will be

speaking about one of my former fourth graders, whom I will refer to as C.

C was enrolled in general education with pull-out minutes for math, writing, and reading.

At the time, I did not know the full extent of C’s medical history, all I knew was that she was

suggested to be in the autism program but her parents wanted to keep her in general education. C

was a sweet girl who loved having toys and free time. She was easily distracted and sometimes

even defiant when it came to work. There were multiple instances throughout the school year

where she had negative outbursts, ranging from work avoidance to problems with peers. I will be

speaking on one specific incident that occurred well into the year, after I had already built a good

relationship with C and knew her triggers and how to help her calm down.

The resource teacher had left the room for a bit, I cannot recall whether it was for a

restroom break or to talk to a colleague. Regardless, he was gone long enough for this incident to

transpire and for me to have to deal with it on my own. The students were working on a

worksheet, there were four students from fourth grade and two students from third grade in the

classroom. I was working with one of the third graders on his sight words. The students were at

voice level 1, so they were talking fairly quietly. C had a sudden outburst, screaming at one of

her peers to be quiet. She began to throw anything on top of the desks off the desks and even

pushed a desk over. Immediately, I gathered the other students and had them wait outside the
 3

classroom, I did not really have time to think. The student who C yelled at quickly explained that

she had called something C drew “ugly,” and that had led to C’s reaction. I gave that student a

look and told her I would be speaking with her later. Back in the classroom, C had, luckily,

finished her outburst and was situated in our calming corner. I walked over and thanked her for

putting herself there but also began to speak about her behavior:

“C, thank you for using the calming corner, that was a good choice. But do you

think that messing up Mr. B’s room was a good choice?”

“No…”

“That’s right, because Mr. B and I didn’t do anything to you right? So it was not

very fair to us.”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay! Thank you for apologizing, I will talk to (the student she yelled at)

when Mr. B is back. I do have to let the other kids back in though okay, but you

just stay in the calming corner as long as you need.”

I had the other students come back in and asked them to help clean the room. I was met

with groans of how unfair it was to have to clean up someone else’s mess, which I agreed with in

my head. I promised to award them Dojo points and maybe even let them choose a small item

from the treasure box if they helped, and they did. The resource teacher came back as we were

cleaning, I updated him on what happened. After this incident, the rest of C’s day went without a

hitch. I feel it was a mix of procedures, my calm composure, and my relationship with C that

allowed for the incident to not transpire into something worse. I could have easily started yelling

at her to stop or physically tried to stop her, but since I was aware of how her behavior was, I

knew that letting her take out her emotions on a few inanimate objects was the best course.
 4

Thinking back to that time, finding her in the calming corner was all due to our

establishment of procedures. Every classroom is meant to have a calming corner, we introduced

where ours was the first week of school. To see it utilized was great. Fourth grade teacher Renita

Marshall-Martin spoke on the many procedures she establishes at the beginning of the year to

keep her classroom running smoothly, from pencil sharpening to needing a drink of water. She

really showcased how teaching her procedures and routines at the beginning of the school year

set her up for success (SanBdoCitySchools, 2019). I did not realize it at the time but teaching the

students about our calming corner set us up to be able to handle situations such as the one with

C. She was aware there was a spot specifically made when you feel overwhelmed and she chose

to utilize it. “Classroom procedures increase on-task time and greatly reduce classroom

disruptions” (Wong et. al., 2018). While C’s behavior was disruptive towards the classroom

environment, knowing that there was procedure in place for such events helped limit this

disruption.

I also now realize how important my relationship with each of my students was when it

came to helping them. If I had not spent time and built a relationship with C, she could have

easily ignored me or had a bad reaction when I chose to talk to her. I have seen her do both of

those scenarios to other staff at the school. But because she knew and trusted me, and I knew her

and what triggers her, we were able to have a simple conversation about her behavior that led to

her understanding why it was wrong. In the video The Power of Relationships in Schools (2019),

Dr. Cantor speaks on the importance of students having a strong enough trust to release the

positive hormone of oxytocin. Cassdy, an eighth grade student, states that it is easier to ask

questions and feel comfortable in class if she is comfortable with a teacher (The Power of

Relationships in School, 2019).

 5

Over my time in this course, I have come to learn that classroom management should not

be focused on managing the students. While there will be times where a bit of first-hand

management will have to come to play, it should not be the daily. A good classroom and a good

teacher will have an easy-to-follow and simple set of routines and procedures that are meant to

support the students. These routines and procedures should not leave the students that they are

being taken from, rather the students should be able to understand why they are in place. As an

educator, I will strive to set routines and procedures that work for me and my students. I will also

strive to build and foster positive relationships with all of my students, no matter the day or the

mood.
 6

References

SanBdoCitySchools. (2019). Teaching Procedures, Routines, and Rules During the First Week of

School in Fourth Grade [YouTube Video]. In YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaedonG8-_Q

The Power of Relationships in Schools. (2019). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023,

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvm1m8zq5g&t=75s

Wong, H. K., Wong, R. T., Jondahl, S. F., & Ferguson, O. F. (2018). The classroom management

book (2nd ed.). Harry K. Wong Publications.