Classroom management is a vital component of creating an effective classroom environment. As an educator, there are so many moving parts to consider when I am creating a classroom management plan. One of the main focuses when creating my classroom management plan would be ensuring my students are engaged in the learning process. Students should have activities or different method to learn interest them. This is how you keep classroom management or distractions to a minimum. I use a variety of strategies to engage my students. I find that students are more engaged when they get to play games like Kahoot or get to complete scavenger hunts around the room. These types of activities allow students to explore and move around. If my students are engaged in the lesson, there is not time for them to be disruptive. They are focused on the task at hand. I truly believe if teachers engaged their students then they will not have as many issues with classroom management.
To start my classroom management plan, I decide on what systems, procedures and routines are taking place on a daily basis when students are in my room. When I think about systems, I decide how I want processes to take place. For example, how do I want kids to enter/exit my classroom? All of the things students will do were thought about ahead of time to include it in the plan. It is good to establish routines, procedures and behavior expectations when students start a new school year. This year, my created a powerpoint presentation for my students. It went through all of my expectations and systems that are in place. I even made sure to have some of my students practice the routines and systems by having students show me good examples and bad examples of each procedure or system.
In the classroom, there is a diverse population of students who all have different needs. It is important to cater to all of the different needs your students may have. You may have students with specific accommodations or modifications. Some students may even need specific accommodations according to a behavior plan. If my classroom management plan is airtight, I am able to focus more on instructional goals then trying to figure out how to keep my students engaged and distraction-free. To keep lines of communication open with families, I would recommend sending letters home or at least communicating good and bad behavior. Once you communicate good behavior to parents, students work enough harder to improve their academics and behavior.