Classroom management is one of the most important factors that will determine the amount and kind of learning that will take place in the classroom. In my belief, the key to creating a happy and productive learning environment, is to establish classroom management from the very first day of school.
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Routines and Procedures
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Classroom Rules
Establishing classroom rules is an important factor to effective classroom management as it will determine the expected behavior of every student from the moment they enter the classroom. Therefore, rules have to be established from the very first day. In order to ensure students understand the importance of having rules, the rules should be formed with the students. Overall, the rules aim to create a safe and happy environment where learning can take place.
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SmartBoard Attendance and Morning Message
The SmartBoard attendance is both fun to students as well as helpful to the teacher. As students walk into the classroom, they tap their name on the SmartBoard and proceed to their seat quietly, ready to follow the instructions written on the blackboard. In fact, taking attendance in such a way will prevent time to be wasted by calling students name by name. In addition, having the instructions written on the board is a great classroom management strategy as it prevents having students wonder around waiting to be told what to do. |
Line Order
Having a line order is effective as it prevents having students argue about who gets to be first and it becomes part of their daily routine. Students are constantly asked to line up, especially before and after recess and lunch, as well as throughout the day when they change classrooms. Thus, having a line order will facilitate transition time as students know exactly where they are meant to stand. |
Classroom Jobs
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Organization
Organization also plays an important role in terms of classroom management. Misbehavior is often caused by disorganization as students do not know where to find their things. Thus, when the teacher organizes the classroom, she or he minimizes distractions and time wasted from learning. It is therefore important to have clear labels on different bins indicating where students should drop off their homework, deposit finished worksheets, and take extra work in case they finish their work earlier than the rest of the class. |
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Gem Jar
Having a reward system where students receive points collaboratively is also a great classroom management strategy. Students learn that they are all part of the same team and that the actions of one person affects the whole class. The gem jar is a reward system that gives students a gem when they behave well. The reward is given to everyone as a class when all the gems are in the jar. This reward system has been working well so far. Students encourage each other to behave well constantly so they can accumulate the gems. |
Classroom Participation
Student participation is fundamental for the proper functioning of the lesson. An effective way to ensure the full participation of every student is to use popsicle sticks with every student's name written on one. Throughout the lesson, the teacher will pull out a popsicle stick and call on students to share answers. Using popsicle sticks ensures students remain on task as they can be called on at any time. |
Engaging Lessons
Having engaging lessons greatly contributes to classroom management. Most often, misbehaver occurs as a result of boredom or if a student feels incapable to successfully complete the task. As such, when the teacher prepares engaging and challenging yet achievable lessons, students are most likely to participate fully without causing any disruptions. |
Verbal Cues
To get students' attention, the teacher can call out "1-2-3 all eyes on me."
The teacher can also call on a student who is ready and use it as an example so everyone can do the same. For instance, the teacher can say "Jessica is ready," which will get other students ready as they want the teacher to use them as an example as well.
Non-Verbal Cues
To get students' attention without having to use the voice, the teacher can put up two fingers which will signal to students that the teacher is waiting for quiet.
If the teacher wants to get the attention of one specific student, she or he can walk over and stand near their desk as a way to avoid stopping the lesson to call out on the one student who is not focusing. As such, the lesson can continue without delay.
Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Brain Breaks
Students are often hyper after recess, lunch, and gym. Thus, an effective way to get students to walk into the classroom silently and ready to work is to have soft music playing in the background and have them rest their head on their desk for two minutes.
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Reflecting on Misbehavior
Although all of the latter techniques are put in place to prevent misbehavior, it can happen that a student misbehave. As such, it is important for the teacher to have a consequence put in place.
In my classroom, if a student misbehaves repeatedly or is disrespectful, he or she is given a reflection sheet to fill out as well as an apology letter to write. This consequence has been proven beneficial so far. The teacher also has a form to fill out in order to always have a written document of any incident.
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