Classroom+Management

Creating a caring classroom environment is essential for productive learning. Effective classroom management helps to maintain such a positive learning environment. Here are some tools to help with classroom management:



the carpet.Set up what your expectations are for the class at the beginning of the year. || means that they have to have everything put down. the expectation needs to be that when they have their hands up, their eyes need to be on you. || out that you have something important to say and will quiet down. Careful, this one does not work with every class or for every teacher. || the desk arrangements as well as the students who are sitting together every two weeks. I think this is valuable because students learn how to work effectively with others in the class. Depending on the class you can mix it up between teacher arranged and student choice.I generally operate on the rule that if a student cannot pick a productive place for themselves to work, I reserve the right to choose it for them. || desirable for an older class. || phone call home to parents and the third (you're out!) is a visit to the principals office and a letter to the teacher explaining what they did wrong and how they can improve that behaviour in the future. || with the most points earns a period of free time to do education games on the computer or art (or other teacher approved activities). || behaviours gain points and which loose points. Set an amount at which a prize is gained (ex. 1000 = extra recess, 5000 = pizza party) || I find that elementary students need brain breaks or a chance to re-engage their brain often. These are strategies that I often use to help students get a mental break and re-engage in a lesson.
 * **Tool** || **Description** ||
 * **Clap Repeat** || Clap a rhythm to the class and have them repeat it back to you. ||
 * **5-4-3-2-1** || Count down numbers on your fingers. By 0 the students should know to be seated quietly at their clean desks or at
 * **Lights off** || To get the students attention simply flick the lights, or turn them off completely. ||
 * **Two hands up** || I find this one very useful for messy or noisy activities. Have students put both of their hands up in the air. This
 * **Silence** || Sometimes nothing is more powerful than standing in front of a group of students and being silent. They soon figure
 * **Seating Arrangements** || I find seating arrangements to be one of the most useful classroom management tools. Personally, I try to mix up
 * **Board Timer** || There are many SMART board timers or cool ones you can find online to use with classes. This may be more
 * **Three- Strikes** || On the board a student gets strikes for poor behaviour. The first is a warning. The second means an email or
 * **Table Points** || Have students in table groups the chance to earn, or loose points during the week. At the end of the week the table
 * **Class Points** || Throughout the year the class gets a chance to gain (or loose) points. At the beginning of the year come up with which
 * **Look at the ceiling,**
 * look at the floor,**
 * eyes on me** || A quick way to get students attention to focus on different things around the room and them bring the focus back to you as the teacher. ||
 * **Treasure Box** || As a reward to positive behaviour have a points system where student get stamps. Have a treasure box with small items of different values where students can 'cash in' their points of good behaviour. ||
 * **Mimicry** || Having students mimic your body actions is a kinaesthetic way to regain their attention. Example: Hands on head, hands on shoulders, hands on knees, hands folded on desk. ||
 * **Check-in Chart** || Having a chart by the door where students have names on clothes pins and they move the clothes pin to where they are when they leave the room. Places on the chart could be bathroom, nurse, library, errand... ||
 * **Checking Own Work** || I was recently observing a math class where the master key of a worksheet was on the teachers desk. The expectation was for students to work quietly on their own, asking their desk neighbour for assistance if they had a problem, then mark their own work before turning it in for a teacher check. Student work was done in pencil and marked in colour. I thought this was a great way for the students to run themselves and have ownership and accountability in their work. The teacher was available for individual conferencing or questions as needed. ||
 * **Class Meetings** || Having a class meeting once a week or biweekly is a great way to maintain a positive class atmosphere. You may choose to have a student be the secretary and type notes of the meeting to repost on a class notice board. A recent format I saw was "stars, wishes and suggestions." Share positive things about the class, have the teacher share wishes for improvement (ex. work handed in on time), and share suggestions for improvement from the students. One or two students may facilitate the meeting and throughout the year you should rotate through all the students in the class. ||
 * **3 before me** || Have the students ask for assistance from three classmates before putting up a hand to ask the teacher. It will have having a line of students with questions and keeps students on task longer. ||
 * **Credits** || Allow positive behaviour to earn credits. Instead of having a treasure box allow student to negotiate a certain amount of credits for rewards like free time on math computer games, a week off homework, using the teachers chair... Have the students come up with the rewards (and negotiate a proper amount of points) to help motivate them to continue showing positive behaviour. ||
 * **Class Angels** || To foster a positive class atmosphere have students have an anonymous angel partner in the class for whom they leave occasional positive or encouraging notes. (The teacher sets the expectation at once a week or biweekly) ||
 * **Signs of type of work** || Make colour coded signs for the type of work happening and set clear expectations of what each sign means. Ex: Red = quiet silent work, Green = talking group work, Yellow = partner work) ||

Awesome Brain Break site! 20 ways to keep your students attention.

working at their desk, try having them sit at the carpet. || the classroom. Give them something to think about while they walk, or come up with a personal response to a discussion question. When the minute (or song) is up, have them share their thoughts with a partner. || Great cards for group roles!
 * **Tool** || **Description** ||
 * **Change of location** || It really helps to bring back a students attention if you give them a chance to change location. If they have been
 * **Musical Walk** || Play an appropriate song (see if you can link it to a unit or theme you are covering) and have students walk around
 * **Mini- story** || Read the students a story from the current novel, or have a book of short stories or poems you can use for mental breaks. ||

Found this little image on Pinterest and thought it was very cute and usable for younger grades! (thanks to http://www.3rdgradethoughts.com/ for the image).