Classroom Management Strategies
Classroom Management Strategies
Classroom management can be a struggle for new and seasoned teachers alike. Even with the best lesson plan, keeping students engaged isn’t easy. When designing an approach for your classroom, it’s important to consider where your students are developmentally and implement PBIS. Here are the top 7!
Greeting Students at the Door
Greeting Students at the Door
Research shows that greeting students as they come into class bolsters a feeling of belonging and readiness to learn, so start the day right!
Entry Tasks
Entry Tasks
When coming up with morning work activities for your classroom, consider carefully how each options fits into your students' morning routine, as well as your own morning routine. How much time do you have to prep for morning work? How much time do your students need to do other tasks, like hang up backpacks and sharpen pencils?
Connection Before Content
Connection Before Content
A good welcoming activity is also a proactive classroom management strategy—it builds community in the classroom, establishes a sense of shared values, and makes everyone feel included. How can we connect with our students?
What's the Difference Between Procedures and Expectations?
What's the Difference Between Procedures and Expectations?
Expectations are the desired outcomes or behaviors, while procedures are the steps taken to achieve those outcomes. In a classroom, expectations & rules are standards of behavior, while procedures are the steps students take to accomplish a routine.
Clearly defined and posted classroom expectations/rules and procedures help students understand what is expected of them and the consequences for breaking the rules. Establishing classroom norms can also help set the tone of the class, decrease incivility, and make students feel safe expressing their ideas.
Click Here for Some Examples of Classroom Procedures:
Click Here for Some Examples of Classroom Procedures:
Using hand or sound signals
Managing transitions
Using cell phones and technology
Entering and exiting the classroom
Lining up and hallway procedures
Bathroom procedures
Use of supplies
Opportunities to Respond
Opportunities to Respond
An opportunity to respond (OTR) is a teaching strategy that gives students multiple chances to answer questions or prompts, either individually or in a group. OTRs can be verbal or non-verbal, and can help keep students engaged and on task. They are most effective when used to review material that students already know, and can help students increase their fluency and content knowledge, while also reducing disruptive behaviors.
Here Are Some Examples and Tips for Using OTRs
Here Are Some Examples and Tips for Using OTRs
Examples:
Thumbs up/down: Students raise their thumbs up or down to indicate their response
Pinch cards: Students hold up cards with their response pinched
Dry erase boards: Students write their answers on dry erase boards
Note cards: Students use note cards with questions
Presentation slides: Teachers use slides with questions
Tips for using OTRs:
Ask relevant questions
Vary the types of questions and how you ask them
Provide at least three opportunities to respond per minute
Ensure all students have opportunities to respond
Break down complex problems into smaller parts
Use a deck of flash cards or note cards
Mix in brief reviews of previous material
Proximity to Manage Behavior
Proximity to Manage Behavior
In close proximity, an we can move closer to specific students to increase engagement and reduce disruptive behaviors. This non-disruptive strategy can be used to keep students on task without calling attention to misbehavior, reducing individual student embarrassment and increasing student engagement.
Behavior Specific Praise
Behavior Specific Praise
Behavior specific praise is a type of praise that acknowledges students appropriate behavior and provides them with the specifics on what appropriate behavior they are engaging in. When we provide immediate, frequent, and specific praise, our students are able to identify what behaviors are positive and then they are more likely to engage in those behaviors in the future. Behavior specific praise is cited as one of the most effective strategies for promoting students’ positive social behaviors and reducing students’ challenging behavior.
Behavior-Specific-Praise-Tips.pdfBehavior Specific Praise
Behavior Specific Praise
Tip Sheet
Example_Praise_Statements.pdfBehavior Specific Praise
Behavior Specific Praise
Example Praise Statements
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