CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Nebo School District
Your Reputation Precedes You! Plop, plop, fizz, fizz
Companies use logos to create recognition. Can you identify the logos pictured above „
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You will establish a reputation. You want this to be a positive rather than a negative. Your first week will dictate how you are perceived.
DISCIPLINE MYTHS
Do not smile until Christmas. All you need is a good curriculum and you have no problems. All you need is to teach in an upper middle-class neighborhood where a majority of students and families share common values. All you have to do is be friends with the students and they will behave. All you have to do is be tough and mean and they won’t dare do anything out of place.
Principles of Effective Discipline
Treat students with dignity and respect. Effective teaching reduces discipline problems. Students need a limited say in what happens in the classroom. It takes time to develop an effective discipline plan and style. We create most of our discipline problems by how we teach and treat people. Bored students become discipline problems. Lack of self-esteem is the major reason why students act up. No one wants or likes to fail. A student would rather be bad than be stupid. Anything you can do to make people feel good about themselves will help to minimize discipline problems. People who feel powerless will find ways of expressing their lack of power (for example, not knowing what the assignment is).
How To Begin The First Day
Stand by the door and greet the students as they enter the room. Do this with a big smile and a handshake. Explain how seating will work (assigned/open). The first two major things you want to sate right off are your name, and your expectations.
Assigned Seats
Facilitates roll taking Aids name memorization Separates Potential Problem Students
How Students Enter The Room Do not make remarks like: “Try coming in again correctly.” “We walk into this room like ladies and gentlemen.” “You walk in properly, understand?”
Try the following: Ask student to return to the door Tell student why Give directions for correctly entering the room Check for understanding Acknowledge the understanding
Rules
Be sure to post your rules where they can be seen. Post consequences as well (positive & negative). Five rules are enough. If it is necessary to have more than 5, don’t post more than 5 at one time. .
Sample Rules General Respect Others Take care of Your School Be Polite and Helpful Keep the Room Clean
Specific Be on Time to Class Keep Your Hands, Feet, and Objects to Yourself. Have Materials Ready When the Bell Rings.
Your Rules List your three most important rules for running your class effectively
Idle Threats And Misbehaviors Left Unchallenged
It is a mistake to ever let misbehaviors go unchallenged. Never make consequences you don’t intend to follow through on. If a student breaks a rule, make sure you follow through with the given consequence even on a first offense. Eye contact is very important. Any variance here will cause you problems in the long run.
Consequences: Penalties and Rewards Penalties are negative consequences which occur when a rule is broken: Finish work during free time. Not able to participate in the given activity. Rewards are positive consequences which occur when a rule is kept: Free time. Sincere praise.
Don’t Forget The Positive
Be quick to recognize the positive, it will go much further than negative. Recognize the positive often.
Consequences: Penalties and Rewards
Natural Consequences are those results which will happen no matter what external influences come to bear. When you choose an action, these results occur, even though delayed. Logical Consequences are those results which we impose that are fair and reasonable because we need immediate penalty or reward for the action. We cannot wait for the natural ones to occur. Illogical Consequences are those results which we impose which are unfair and unreasonable. They are not related in any way to the action or rule, its keeping or breaking.
PROCEDURES AND ROUTINES
If you say, “raise your hand if you have a question.” and you have a student in the back raising their hand, one who yells out, and one who comes up to you and gets in your face and you answer the question of the student in your face first, what kind of precedence does this set?
Getting The Group Back Together
A signal is the most effective way to bring a group back together. Hand signal Verbal signal Other
When It Is Time To Go
Implement a procedure for leaving the room (clean-up, chairs, etc…). The clock/bell does not excuse the students, you do. Signals work here as well.
Your voice
Your voice is a great tool. Never let your voice show you are angry or flustered. Your manner and voice should be gentile and calm, even with a smile, but at the same time firm. As much as possible, use the students names.
You Are Treated as You Are Dressed
How much credibility would a bank have if the teller who processes your check was dressed in ragged jeans and wore a Tshirt that said “Poverty Sucks”? Would you buy life insurance from a salesperson who came to your house wearing overalls covered in grease, and had no shoes on his feet?
Which of these people would you trust your money with?
You Are Treated as You Are Dressed „
Students see how their parents go to work each day and make comparisons between their parents and their teachers.
DEALING WITH DIFFICULT STUDENTS Difficult students are those who on the days they are sick, we are happy. The Refocusing Technique • Stay calm • Focus on desired behavior • Preface with statement of understanding • Repeat as necessary More Structured Consequences • Principals Office • Time out in another classroom Consistency If you did it once and it worked, it’s worth doing again-isn’t it? Build Relationships Love is the greatest power in the world--isn’t it?
Questions and Activities 1. For a grade, subject, and topic you will be teaching, describe how you would manage materials distribution and collection, work routines, and assistance for students during independent or group work.
2.
Questions and Activities Mrs. Millers 5th grade enrolls students from a small community. Because students seldom move in or out, many of her students have been together since 1st grade, and during those years they have developed certain patterns of interacting. Unfortunately, many of those behaviors interfere with teaching and learning. During the first week of school, Mrs. Miller noticed that four or five students enjoyed making smart-alek comments about most things. As a result, other students would join in.
Questions and Activities
Mrs. Miller has begun an art history lesson that contains a reference to Julius Caesar. She asks if anyone has ever heard of him. Ben shouts out, “Yeah, they named a salad after him!” The class laughs and calls out encouraging remarks such as “Good one, Ben!” Mrs. Miller tells Ben she does no appreciate such contributions. She waits for the class to quiet down. “Let us go on.” “Yeah lettuce, get out of here,” shouts sally. The class bursts into laughter again. Mrs. Miller slams a book down on her desk and shouts, “Any more such comments and you will go straight to the office.” Class continues and there is no more shouting out, but the students continue whispering about “Cesar Salad.” What might help Mrs. Miller?