Classroom Management Blueprint

Kayla Teeney

Roanoke College

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Table of Contents

Philosophy Statement…………………………………………………………………………………………………….………3

Classroom Arrangement………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4

Classroom Procedures……………………………………………………………………………………………………………6

Classroom Rules………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………12

Discipline Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12

First Day Plans……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….15

Resources……………………………………………………………………………………………….……….…18

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Philosophy Statement

I believe that school is a place to learn, live and love and all the expressions of each of those things. I think children should love school and there is no better way to do that than to create a classroom environment that is welcoming and safe.

I believe that to create that environment I need to model kindness, love and a passion for learning if I expect the same of the children I teach. My role as the teacher should be to embody the kindness and love I wish to see in my students. I not only want them to love and care about each other; but I also want them to love learning. My job as a teacher is not only to pump their brains full of SOL knowledge but to inspire them to love learning beyond test questions and beyond even school. My role as a teacher is to provide the students with deep and meaningful content that not only covers curriculum but touches their lives and calls upon their unique experiences as individual. Most people spend their lives trying to figure out who they are and what their purpose in life is and I think there is nothing more powerful than if you can connect a child’s school learning to the discovery of self. This might look like taking a day to explore a topic a student has brought to me as a special interest or reading chapter books together that capture our hearts and our minds. In my classes I would like to explore all different career types, including some that do not lead children down the college path, in an attempt to broaden their horizons because I believe with my whole heart that is what a teacher should do.

Strongly supporting what I believe my role as a teacher should be is my belief in how students learn best; through constructivist methods and differentiation. Students should take ownership of their education and they should be in charge of how they learn. As often as I can I want children to experience the things I am teaching them. Often times what I need to teach the students can be a very abstract idea. For example teaching young kindergarteners about history and the passage of time is a very abstract idea. It is a difficult concept to convey just exactly how much time has passed since say the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock or Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address. To make it something they can experience, touch and see can explode the moment in their minds. Instead of an abstract snapshot of an idea if I can give them pilgrim hats to touch, or take them to the place where the Gettysburg address was given it becomes a tremendously powerful experience. These are the conditions under which I believe students learn best. At the convergence of deep thought and exhilarating experiences the children’s excitement and interest peak and that moment of learning is captured in their minds for a lifetime.

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Classroom Arrangement

Primary Grades K-1

I think a classroom should be first and foremost welcoming. By that I mean that there should not be any dark, or closed off spaces. I would love to have windows to let in natural light. I would love to use bright and cheerful colors to invite happiness and joy. I believe that a classroom should have the atmosphere and attitude that you wish for the students in you class to possess. The thing that will make the biggest impact to a kindergartener is the way they feel in school. Years after they have been in kindergarten they will struggle to remember what they did for morning work, who they sat next to or what they ate at lunch. But, they will remember the way they felt. Feelings have a way of making a lasting impression on our memories and a classroom’s physical environment can do a lot to make those feelings positive.

I would like to have groupings that encourage community. By sitting together at round tables, kindergarteners can seek comfort and friendship from one another. For some of them, this may be the first experience with formal schooling that they have. That can be very scary! It can be a real help for them if they seek comfort from other people their age. It will also foster community and compassion. I believe students learn best in environments where they feel safe and comfortable.

I would put a carpet off to the side with the smartboard or projector and easel for circle time. When we get together as a group for whole group instruction, I want to be able to show them things on the smartboard/projector without them having to look all the way across the classroom or have to move their bodies a ton. I would also put a chair for me to sit in while I read stories, give instruction, etc.

Upper Grades 2-5

For students that are a little bit older, I think the same sense of comfort and community is just as important. I think that older students are also able to lean on each other more for academic and social support. For that reason I would like to put them in small group clusters all around the room. So, by putting two or three students together, while making sure they are facing the place where most instruction will take place (white board, smartboard).

I would also want to put a large focus on the classroom library because it is in elementary school that a child’s love of reading can either bloom or die out and I want to give them all the materials and tools needed to foster this process. I would like to have a large library in the corner of the room with shelves and comfortable seating.

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Kindergartner/ First Grade

Second-Fifth Grade

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Classroom Procedures

Morning Routines

In the morning, students will be asked to come in and say hello! They should then walk to their cubbies or lockers to unpack their things. They should take out planners and folders and place them in bins marked “folder” or “planner” for the teacher to check. After they have turned in their folders and planners students should next make sure they grab their pencil boxes with all their supplies in it from their book bag and have a seat at their desk. They will have morning work to do that will take 15-20mins of independent work at their seats. For older students, instead of work sheet like work I would like to have morning meetings where we catch up with each other. I will share with them some interesting facts related to our topic of study or questions to think about or quotes to inspire them. Students will be encouraged to talk to each other, welcome each other and ask how one another are.

Taking Roll

Roll taking in most cases will be done electronically. I plan on doing this at my desk while they are doing their morning work. I will wait until the tardy bell, then mark any students who are not present. I don’t think roll is something that I want to spend precious class time on. I would rather the students catch up with each other as to encourage a sense of community and a safe haven.

Down Time

For down time, students will always be encouraged to read. Each student will have a personalized book box where they are allowed to put poems, books, articles, magazines and any other reading material they would like to look at when they have a free minute. I want to encourage them to be lifelong readers, not just readers of tests and papers. I would also like to offer students a rotation of centers to break routines and offer different learning styles a chance to flourish. I would like to have listening centers, computer/tablets, writing, art and others. The centers would be related to the topics or units that we are studying.

Classroom Jobs

I will have classroom jobs that change weekly. Those jobs include door holder, calendar helper, light conductor, paper passer, line leader, caboose, pledge leader, janitor and messenger. I will post these jobs by the calendar in a pocket chart. I will have their names on popsicle sticks and put those sticks into the job they have for the week. Not every child will have a job every week but every child will have every job at least once throughout the school year. With the pocket chart I will keep a list of each job and who had the job when. Below I have included a chart of each job and the corresponding responsibility. I think it is very important for children to have jobs and learn responsibility through those jobs.

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Job Title DescriptionDoor Holder Help us out by keeping us from being hit by

that troublesome door! Strong muscles neededCalendar Helper Do you like numbers and dates and holidays?

This is the job for you! Help tell us with the weather and the date and what year it is! Without you we would be living in the past-literally!

Light Conductor Give us light! Let us use our eyes…or keep us in the dark! You hold the power over whether we use our night vision or regular eyes!

Paper Passer Are you good at counting? Do you have fast hands and quick walking feet? This is the job for you! We’ll make sure we have Band-Aids for any paper cuts you may get….

Line Leader Do other students look up to you? They should! You are the line leader and are showing all of us what it looks like to be a super student and follow all the rules!

Caboose Are you great at paying attention? I hope so, because as the caboose it’s your job to make sure we are headed to the right place and haven’t left any friends in the dust!

Pledge Leader Do you love America? We all do! Help us pledge out Allegiance to our great country with your proud and strong voice.

Janitor We rely on you to make sure our class is super clean. Remind friends to throw paper scraps away and push in chairs! If you see some mess on the ground, could you clean it up please? You are the front line against tornado like messes that curiously happen in classrooms…

Messenger If you are good at the telephone game and like to pass along messages to friends boy is this the job for you! We will rely on you to take our notes and important things to the office.

Questions

Students will always be encouraged to ask topic related questions! We will discuss what a question is versus a comment or a story. There will be a time and a place to share stories and I want to hear from all my students every day. It is important to me that every student feel listened to and cared about. To ask a question, simply raise your hand and I will call on you as long as you have a quiet hand raised. I want to use a hand number system. So, if it is really important

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your raised hand should have one finger up. If it is kind of important and you really want to share you should have two fingers up and if it is something that could wait until later students should hold three fingers up. Three fingers up will only be called on after ones and twos have gotten their turns and only if there is time or it doesn’t disrupt the flow of the lesson. There will also be times when I ask yes or no questions and we will use our “yes/no” fists for that. To do that, students just raise a closed fist in the air when I ask a question. If the answer is yes, shake your fist yes and if the answer is no, shake your fist no.

Bathroom Breaks

Students will never be denied bathroom use unless it becomes excessive and the student is clearly wasting time or looking for an excuse to get up. If the student uses the bathroom a lot we will have a class discussion on when it is appropriate to use the restroom. To ask to use the restroom students will be taught how to make the sign language for the letter “B” and whenever they have to go just hold it up in the air and I will let them go. Posted to the door frame will be a location chart with all their names on it. When they go to the restroom, they need to move their names to bathroom box so I always know where they are. When they come back they will move it back to the in class box.

Nurse/Office

Students if they are called out of the classroom for any reason will be asked to move their name to the appropriate box on the location chart. If they are not sure where to go or how to get there I will send the class messenger with them. When they return, students must put their names back into the in class box of the location chart so I know where they are. Below is an example of a location chart I would use. The brown arrows symbolize clothes pins with the names.

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Quiet Time/Cueing

If the noise level is getting to loud I will use chimes to make a quick melody to get their attention. In the beginning of the year we will practice this so that they know it means time to listen and be quiet. If we are out of the classroom I would like to teach them that when I say “got your ears!” the get quiet and look at me and respond with “and our eyes!”. This way they know I need their attention. If we are in a place we cant talk, like an assembly I will teach that instead of speaking I will raise my hand and tug on my ear and they will acknowledge me by using their index fingers to gently point to their eyes. Those are all things we will practice a lot in the beginning of the year.

Getting the Wiggles Out

Sometimes little ones just have to move! It is difficult for children to stay in one place for a long time. When I notice the class is moving a lot and having trouble engaging I like to get the wiggles out! Sometimes I like to have them sit crisscross apple sauce with their hands on their knees and close their eyes to take some deep, Zen, yoga breaths and then we all try to talk in our most calming voices. I also like to do some movement activities like the songs and videos

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available on “GoNoodle!”. That website is wonderful for fun, quick movement activities guaranteed to get rid of the wiggles.

Lining Up/Hallway

For lining up, we will always use hips and lips! That means that lips shouldn’t be talking and your hands should be on your hips. We will walk single file, one friend behind another. Occasionally I enjoy fun walks through the hallway that reinforce the need to be quiet like sneaking past other classes like ghosts around Halloween or tip-toeing around while learning about the five senses to use our ears and hear all the sounds in the school, to name a few.

Absences

If a student is absent for a short period of time (less than 2 days) their work will be saved for them to complete in the morning instead of morning work. Anything they don’t get to will be sent home. I do not believe in with holding students from encore/special time or recess. If students are chronically absent or missing large amounts of work a call will be made to the parents or guardians. I will deal with that on a case by case basis because I always want to err on the side of compassion and you never know what is happening in a student’s family life that may be affecting them.

Packing Up/Dismissal

In my class I will allow the last 10 minutes of every day for packing up. Students will be asked to clean up all their tools and supplies and make sure that everything is back in the right place. They then should bring their pencil/supply boxes to their cubbies. Students will need to pack up everything they need to bring home and put it in their back packs and zip it up so they don’t lose it! Then they need to put on any jackets, hats, gloves, etc. they may have. If they need help zipping up ask a friend or ask me, no worries or stress. I will always have a transportation chart hanging by the door so I know how each student is getting home that day.

Rationale

These are just a few of things that I would like to offer students in my classroom. I am always looking for new ways to engage and interest students and as I see them, I plan to incorporate them into my classroom. In the beginning of the year I think I would have them all be doing the same morning work, but as the year progresses and I get to know them more and more I would like to offer some differentiated options based on ability level and interest. I would also like to offer them choices as opposed to just one option. For every grade I would also like to include a calendar time where we can discuss the date, count the days we have been in school, countdown to holidays and discuss weather. I also really enjoy during that time giving students a sense of the day and what they can expect from me and what I expect from them that day. The

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reality of life is that there will be tough days and days you can relax a little and I always want my students to know what I expect from them.

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Classroom Rules

1. We use kind hearts.

2. We use listening ears.

3. We use gentle feet and hands.

4. We use looking eyes.

5. We always use our brilliant brains!Explanation:

I want to let students brain storm all the different rules we think we should have in the classroom and I will guide the suggestions and conversations so that we end up at these five. I think that anything they may saw or suggest will fall under one of these 5 and if it doesn’t we will consider adding it to our list! I think the rules that we create as a class to govern our behaviors during the year should be something that we all agree upon. I think they also need to be positive and focus on good behaviors and good choices. Do’s make the heart feel better than don’ts!

Discipline Plan

If the class rules are broken…

I believe with my whole heart that students are there to learn and I want them to love learning. Nothing would crush their souls or stamp out the love of learning faster than turning school into a jail for them. I want to take a very positive approach when it comes to discipline. I believe in giving second chances and do-overs. I believe in modeling what I expect from them and I believe that they should practice self-regulation.

I want students to take ownership of their actions and I will do this by sitting down as a class on the first day of school and creating a list of class rules together. This is a room that we are all going to share, so we should all agree upon the rules that govern our world. It is a wonderful ideal to teach children.

There will be instances where children repeatedly break the rules and have trouble controlling their behaviors and second chances and do-overs will not be an option. In these instances I will use a “Clip up” system.

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In the clip up system all students will have their names written on clothes pins that are clipped to a behavior chart I have shown below. All the students will start the day on ready to grow and if I catch them making good choices, they can move their clothes pins up to growing strong and eventually to blossoming brains! If they make poor choices they get clipped down to need more sun and eventually to replant, rethink! At that point I will pull the student aside and show them compassion and understanding to try and get to the root of their behavioral problems. If more than half the class ends up on blossoming brains by the end of the day (it gives us a great learning opportunity to talk about what is half and less than/more than!) and I will give them an incentive; I will put a marble in a small jar. Once we fill up the jar with marbles I will reward them by having a dance video at the end of the day, eating lunch with them, reading a silly fun story to them, planning a day to do a fun craft they pick, having extra reading time or anything else positive and rewarding. I would also love to give the students marbles for getting good reports from specials teachers, principals, aids, etc.

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Clip Up Behavior Chart

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First Day Plans

Preparation

Before my students even arrive I want to spend time arranging the desks to encourage friendship and community by putting them into circles or group tables. I will then make sure to have beautiful, colorful decorations that incite happiness and excitement about school. I will always try to decorate my classroom in a theme and plan my lessons around that theme. I would like to start the year off in a summer camp like motif so I would like to have camp decorations on and around my class. I want students to feel like they are welcomed and safe and most of all I am so excited to have them there! I will make sure to have their name tags at their seats as well as planners, folders and any other supplies or paper work I need to give them. I also want to make sure I have extra supplies in case students are not able to provide them or have forgotten them. There will be no morning work on the first morning. I want to get them talking and smiling before I put them to work.

Student Arrival

As students walk in I will greet them all personally by name and show them to their cubby or desk. I will point out that it has their name on it, so they know it is there special spot. I will ask students to take out any supplies they have and bring them to their seats. Every student should have a pencil box loaded up with their supplies. If they don’t, no worries! We can get some for them since I have planned ahead and have extras.

Begin the Day

Once they have put their supplies at their seats I will ask them to join me on the story rug. There I will introduce them to calendar and calendar time and classroom jobs. I will show them how to do all of our morning procedures and tell them not to worry because we are all new at this and will need lots of practice and I will help them every step of the way. Next, I would like to introduce them to my cueing signals which are my chimes and “I got your ears” “and our eyes” signals. We will practice them a few times. Then I will have them stand up and walk around the run and check things out as a practice drill for the cueing systems. We will have fun and try it a few times!

After that we will all head back to the carpet where we will all sit in a circle and share things about our lives. I will start out by telling them a few things about myself and then give them ideas of what they can say about themselves. If they don’t feel safe or comfortable they can just say their names and wave hello. I will make sure to make it really fun and silly so they do feel safe and free to share.

When we are finished with that I want to make a list of class rules that are guided and influenced by me. Friends should raise their hands and suggest things that are really important to

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do in school. I will write all of their ideas on the board and from there I will put together all the ideas in five class rules I believe we should all value. The five class rules all touch on a specific character skill and each day that week we will take time to work on that character skill. For the first day we will focus on kindness by doing a science experiment. I will use a tube of toothpaste and a paper plate for this. The paste stands for unkind words and actions and I will go around and let each child squeeze a little out on to a paper plate. When everyone has had a turn we will then try to put the toothpaste back into the tube; which turns out you cannot do. The point of the activity is for kids to see how difficult it is to take those things back once they have been done, thus learning the importance of kindness.

Once the experiment is finished we will practice lining up and walking in the hallway. I will discuss and model what my expectations are for the hallway. Then we will go on a practice walk around the school. If they are new to the school (kindergarteners) we will go on a tour of the school practicing our best hallway manners the whole time.

After that we will come back to the classroom and launch into academics on light. I will share with them the class schedule and when in the day we will study each subject. We will do light academic work just to get them into the routine. I would like for the students during language arts time to do a small piece of writing about their favorite color, animal, show, movie, book, etc. so I can get to know them a little better and I can see where they stand writing wise. For kindergarten and first I will have to modify this in some way.

At the end of the day we will have a class meeting where I introduce them to the name game, Pass Pete the Cat. We will have fun and play this as we are building community and friendship. Below is the name game courtesy of Kathy Griffin’s blog! After we play the name game I will show them how to pack up and line up for end of the day transportation. I will make sure to have all their transportation on a clip board by the door. We will say farewell and see you tomorrow! Then we will line up and head for the buses and cars.

Pete The Cat Name Game By: Kathy Griffin, http://kathygriffinteach.blogspot.com/2014/08/group-time-fun-with-pete-cat.html

You will need a Pete the Cat Puppet, Pete the Cat Stuffed animal, or this DIY Pass Pete (Directions below).  Have your students sit in a circle.   Introduce the chant.

Hi there Pete the Cat.Go see ___________.Scat!

Teacher models how this will look during circle time.  Teachers looks at Pete the Cat as if giving him directions.  Teacher then passes Pete to the person on the left when she says, "Scat!" This student nows says the chant.

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Hi there Pete the Cat.Go see (student on left side).Scat!

Play continues until Pete gets passed around to everyone and makes it back to the teacher.  This game is great as a "Getting to Know You" routine and learning each other's names.

BUMP IT UP

When the students have masted this activity, place your students' pictures or name cards inside the Pass Pete container.  Teacher models activity.

Teacher draws out a name card.Teacher reads the name card.Teacher inserts the name of student in the chant.

Hi there Pete the CatGo see Kathy.Scat!

Teacher takes Pass Pete to the child (Kathy).  This student (Kathy) draws a card and repeats the same steps.  Play continues until all names have been read.

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Resources

Here I have compiled a list of my go to resources for every subject and all grades. These are my top favorite education sites for anything from lesson plans, activity ideas to silly dance videos!

Virginia SOL’s: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/

I find myself frequently looking at the standards of learning when planning lessons and sequencing the order in which I would like to introduce new topics.

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/

Pinterest is a wealth of free activities and worksheets! I even read teaching blogs that I find linked to here to see how someone else teaches a certain subject.

Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

I love this website! The concept is so awesome and the things you can find on it are even more wonderful! Teachers create worksheets, units, activities and then they upload them to this site for other teachers to buy, download and use. I have purchased many fun, creative things on here!

AbcYA!: http://www.abcya.com/

This website offers so many fun and interactive games in math, word work, social studies and more! The kids love using it, it is available for tablets and IT IS FREE!

Starfall: http://www.starfall.com/

Starfall has wonderful games and activities for letter naming, word families and rhyme. That is mostly what I use it for, but it also have great things for whole number concept, counting and more. It is not free so you have to buy a subscription but it is well worth the money.

Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr.: https://www.brainpop.com/ and https://jr.brainpop.com/

These websites have phenominal educational videos that are humorous and easy to follow. The kids love the characters and it is a great supplement to any lesson. Or it can be used to reinforce learning in a fun way! Some of the videos and activities are free but most you have to buy a membership to access.

GoNoodle: https://www.gonoodle.com/

I LOVE THIS SITE. This is the perfect way to get the wiggles out! They have guided dances, Zumba for kids, Indoor Recess, free dances, sing alongs, and so much more! It is

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the perfect way to end the day, kill some time before an assembly or anything time you just want to dance!