Discipline Plan Christine Madsen Morningside College Professor Susie Lubbers
Hypothetical Classroom Grade level: 3rd grade Gender: 17 females, 10 males Socioeconomic levels: Lower class Ethnicity: White (12) , Hispanic (9), African American (6) Class size: 27 students Education breakdown: 5 students in Special Education, 5 students in ELL, 2 students in TAG Reading levels: 17 students at 3rd grade reading level, 1 student at 4th grade reading level, 1 student at 5th grade reading level, 7 students at 2nd grade, 1 student at 1st grade. Room arrangement: Teacher desk in corner facing the class, student desks are in pods of 4, with the groups facing each other. There is a set (5) of classroom computers in the corner. There is a kidney shaped table for literacy groups. A SmartBoard is at the front of the room, along with a teacher’s podium to teach from. Large group instruction is done here. There is a classroom library with a few comfy chairs for students to sit in while reading. The room arrangement photo below gives the general idea for the room. There are 7 student desks, which represent the 7 pods of 4 desks each. The Blackboard represents the SmartBoard and the Semicircle table represents the Kidney Table
My Educational Philosophy
Developing a sense of community in the classroom and creating an environment where the students feel comfortable will help in effectively managing a classroom. My classroom management skills will develop over the course of my teaching career, but it is important that I start off strong during my student teaching and first years of teaching. Having a strong first few days of school will let the students know what will be expected of them and some things they will need to be working on throughout the year. One of the biggest influences on student engagement is the teacher itself. I believe being a high-energy teacher that creates meaningful relationships with the students will be influential on a positive classroom climate. If the students know that the teacher cares about them, they will feel more comfortable in the classroom and hopefully more engaged during classroom discussions or activities. The teachers and the students have a right to have good days and bad days, but it will be important for the teacher to always be honest with the students and let them know how they can help the teacher if he or she is having a bad day. Another aspect of my philosophy of teaching deals with discipline. Once the rules of the classroom have been set, it is important for the teacher to enforce consequences to students if the rules have been broken. Whether it is the teacher’s favorite student or the class clown, once the rules have been broken there needs to be some sort of consequence. If the students see that the teacher is holding the students accountable for their actions, they will hopefully be better behaved. Disciplining the student may sometimes involve the parent’s help. If there is a problem in the
classroom, there is a chance that this behavior also extends to the home life as well. Getting the parents on board can help the behavior, but is not always an option. If the behavior is severe enough, the teacher may create an intervention plan based on the student’s behavior and use some sort of reinforcement to correct the behavior. Disciplining and creating a positive classroom environment are things that will take time. My educational philosophy cannot be put in to practice without the belief that teachers need to be willing to put in the time to make these things happen. Teaching is not always easy, but with the right attitude and commitment to the profession it can be a life-long journey of learning and influencing children to be positive members of society.
Rules, Consequences, & Incentives Be Respectful: Each student deserves to be respected and each student must give
respect to their peers, the teacher, and the classroom. Treat others how you want to be treated. Consequences 1- A conversation will be had with the student on his or her actions and why they were not respectful. 2- The parents will be notified of the situation. 3- The principal will be notified of the situation Incentives: students will be praised if they act appropriately in the classroom. If they respect the classroom materials, new materials can be bought. If they do not respect them, they will be taken away. Rationale: This rule is the first rule on the list because it is something extremely important for students to do inside and out of the classroom. Respecting others is something that must be done in order to be a good citizen and to be successful in the real world.
Come to class prepared: All homework must be done before coming to class. Have
all materials ready to use. Pencils should be sharpened at the beginning of the day or during free time, not during classroom instruction. Consequences: 1- If a student does not have homework done, they will get 1 verbal warning. 2- Students will lose points for not having assignment completed 3- Students will finish the homework during their own time (before school, after school, lunch, etc) 窶的 do not want to take away recess time Incentives: students will receive full credit for homework turned in on time. Rationale: The students will not be able to move on to the next topic if they did not finish the homework from the day before. Also, the teacher will not be able to know what students are struggling with if they do not have questions from the assignment if they did not complete it. Being prepared in the classroom will help the students learn to be prepared in the real world.
Stay on task: Whatever the task may be, students are to be on task and doing what
they are supposed to do. Students should be actively participating in classroom discussions, actively listening to classroom instruction, and completing the activities. Consequences: 1- Verbal warning 2- Conversation outside of class 3- Parents will be notified Incentives: students that are on task will be praised for attentively paying attention to class work, discussions, and activities. Rationale:If the students are not on task they will not finish their assignments and will fall behind. There is limited time for each subject and if the teacher has to take time
out of teaching to redirect students, he or she will not have enough time to teach what needs to be taught.
Follow directions: Whatever the directions are, students should follow them the first time they are given. If the teacher is unclear when giving directions, students are encouraged to ask any questions. Consequences: 1- verbal reminder of the direction by teacher 2- Teacher will not repeat the direction a 3rd time, so student asks a peer what the directions were 3- Student and teacher have discuss ways the student can follow directions more closely. 4- Parents are notified Incentives: If students follow the directions they will know what to do for assignments or activities. Students will be praised for following directions Rationale: Following directions is something that students need to learn how to do to be successful in the real world. If they do not listen to directions they will not know what the assignment is and will fall behind in the work.
Procedures to Become Routines Clean up: At the end of the day, the class will help the teacher clean up the room. The chairs will go on top of the desks so the janitor can vacuum/sweep under the desks. All trash will be picked up off of the ground and thrown in one of the trashcans. Everything will be put in the student’s desk, with nothing left on top of the desks. Decorations: There will be a calendar with each student’s birthday posted for the class to see. There will also be a bulletin board displaying student work, which will be changed every other week. Based on different Holidays there will be decorations in the classroom (i.e Valentines Day, Halloween). There will be posters relating to different subjects (ie. math, science, reading) to act as a resource for student’s to use. Enrichment: If a student finishes an assigned activity before the rest of the class they can finish other homework, read a book or magazine, write in their journals, or work on a Scramble Square individually at their desk. If a student wants to bring activities for the class for an enrichment activity, they must get it approved by the teacher. Clerical chores: Leaving the classroom: Students will be in and out of the classroom for multiple reasons (seeing the ELL teacher or SPED teacher). Each student will have a schedule
for where they should be at what time, if they are assigned to leave the room with another teacher. Only one student at a time will be allowed to leave the room to use the bathroom. During large group instruction, no one will be allowed to leave unless given special permission by the teacher. Technology in the classroom: Students will not be allowed to use personal cell phones or iPods while in the classroom. Students must respect the technology that is provided in the classroom (i.e computers, iPads, SMARTBoard). If a student is not respecting the technology they will lose the privilege of being able to use it. Classroom materials: Each student will be given a list of school supplies to bring at the beginning of the year. If a student cannot get any of the supplies because of a financial reason, the teacher will work with that student to get them the materials they need. There will be a bin with sharpened pencils for the students to trade their unsharpened pencil for. They will put their unsharpened pencil in the correct bin when they take the sharpened pencil. At the beginning of each day, the teacher will sharpen the unsharpened pencils. Textbooks will be kept in bookcases in the classroom and students will put them back on the bookcase when finished with them. Desks: Once every 2 weeks the students will receive 10 minutes to clean out their desks. During this time they can throw away any papers they do not need and organize their folders, journals, and papers that are in the desk. Desks should be able to close at all times.
Letter to Parents Hello all! My name is Christine Madsen and I will be your son and daughter’s 3 rd grade teacher this year. I am very excited to get to work with your child as we explore and learn about a variety of topics. We have a lot of new things to learn this year, so in order to ensure a safe environment for our learning I have created some rules that we all must follow. These rules are be respectful, come to class prepared, stay on task, and follow directions. I have also set up consequences if students choose to not follow the rules. Depending on the level of severity, consequences include a private conversation with the teacher, notifying the principle, or calling the parents. If students follow these rules, they will receive incentives, which will be decided on as a class. If at all possible, it would be great if you could discuss with your child what these rules mean and the importance of following rules. Our classroom will follow a basic schedule each day. This schedule is as follows: 8:30-8:45 Welcome/Attendance 8:45-9:45 Literacy Block (Guided Reading, Daily 5) 9:45-9:55 Recess 9:55-10:00 Bathroom Break 10:00-10:45 Math Block 10:45-11:30 Writing 11:30-11:50 Lunch 11:50-12:00 Recess 12:00-12:30 Science 12:35-1:10 Specials (Art/PE) 1:15-1:45 Social Studies 1:45-2:20 Specials (Library/computer time/Music) 2:25-2:45 Recess 2:45-3:05 Intervention Time (Reading) 3:05-3:30 Character Counts 3:30 Dismissal If there are any special events or field trips that will be taking place, I will let you know in advance so you can plan ahead. I also will be asking for parent helpers through out the year so if you are interesting in helping out in the room please let me know by checking the box and turning the bottom half of this sheet in with your child. Throughout the year the students will be bringing home multiple homework assignments and projects. It is my goal to have each of them complete this work at home and turn it in at school the next day. I would ask each of you to be proactive in your student’s learning by asking them each day if they have any homework for the
night. Feel free to assist the student in the homework, but please do not do the homework with them. I want to be easily accessible for you and your student throughout the year so please feel free to contact me via email whenever you feel necessary. I will be making phone calls to parents if any problems arise throughout the year, but I also will be making positive phone calls to update you on the progress of your student. Please provide your name, email address, and phone number that you can be reached at. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - Name(s): Email: Phone Number: I am interested in volunteering in the classroom (circle one):
Yes
No
Any other questions or concerns you may have: _________________________________________
Supplemental Resources Character Education: My character education is based on the Six Pillars of Character from CHARACTER COUNTS! The Six Pillars of Character are: Trustworthiness: being honest, loyal, and doing the right thing Respect: being accepting of others, using manners, and being tolerant of others Responsibility: thinking before acting, doing what is supposed to be done Fairness: taking turns and sharing, playing by the rules, being open-minded Caring: being compassionate, forgiving others Citizenship: making the school a better place, respecting authority, and volunteering Each month a new pillar will be discussed during Character Counts time. Lessons and activities will be planned around the specific pillar that is being discussed during that particular month. A “big project” will take place each month, where students will pick a person they feel displays the pillar being discussed. They will write about this person and describe how and why they chose them to represent the particular pillar. Some months the students will pick a person they know (i.e family member, teacher, pastor, classmate, etc) and some months the students will pick a famous or historical figure that represents the pillar. Information on CHARACTER COUNTS received from: http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html
ELL Students: This classroom has 5 students who are in the ELL program. While they are learning many things when they leave the room for ELL, it is the responsibility of the general education teacher to also include supplemental resources and programs that support these students. Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM): students “shake out” words from pictures that contain familiar objects or scenes. Students create sentences using the words from the pictures. The goal of PWIM to get these words in to the students every day vocabulary. Visuals: visuals will be used whenever ideas can be represented with pictures or objects. The relations between the words and the pictures will help the students
put a name to a picture. Signs with the word printed on it will be hung up in the classroom on various items (i.e. clock, table, chair, desk, light, white board, marker, etc). Interactions: give the students multiple opportunities to interact with peers of their native language as well as peers who do not know their native language. Positive interactions of using English will give the students practice so they become more comfortable using their new language. Time: The teacher will need to make sure he or she does not talk too fast so ELL students can understand what is being said. In addition, ELL students may need additional wait time when communicating in their second language. Encourage their native language: Many times teachers discourage the use of the student’s first language and only try to enforce the second language (English). However, it is important to encourage the students to keep using their native language as well as learn English. Being bilingual is a real world skill that will help the students in and outside of school.