Classroom Management

Classroom Rules and Expectations: 

Having strong, clear, and concise expectations is a vital piece in a successful, well-running classroom community. My priority is to create an environment in which the teacher and students work together to construct classroom rules and expectations. By doing this, students will feel more autonomous and will understand that they too are active contributors to the classroom community. However, there are a few non-negotiable rules that will be followed in my classroom. 

These rules include: 

• Be respectful - to others and to materials. 

• Be responsible - always try your best! 

• Be safe - with your body and materials. 

The co-created list of classroom rules and expectations will be created at the beginning of the school year and will be displayed on an anchor chart, signed by myself and all students for the duration of the year to refer back to as needed. I will clearly go over the expectations with the students and provide examples and nonexamples to ensure all students understand what is expected of them. All students will be held accountable to following these expectations. 

Classroom Routines and Procedures: 

As previously mentioned, consistency is a vital component in my classroom management. I put my best effort to be as consistent and provide as much structure as possible in all areas. This includes following a daily schedule, and constructing clear, detailed, and manageable routines and procedures to ensure the classroom runs smoothly all day, every day. To do this, I put a lot of thought into every component of the day including what students and the teacher should be doing. I begin teaching and practicing routines on day one and hold students to high expectations of following routines as directed. My routines begin as soon as students arrive outside of my classroom and continue until they leave. To avoid unnecessary interruptions, I utilize non-verbal hand signals for things such as asking to go to the bathroom. 

Classroom Culture and Community:

One of my favorite pieces of being a teacher is fostering a warm, supportive, and positive classroom community. I also believe that this is a huge part of classroom management. My students all know that they are active contributors to the classroom. Students are assigned classroom jobs, and special roles such as being a small group leader. In my experiences thus far, I have been repeatedly commended for the ability to build such a strong community of learners in my classroom. I believe this is because I work diligently to build strong relationships with all of my students. I show them everyday that I care for and respect them while holding them to high standards and pushing them to be their best selves. To foster a strong class community I also work to get students to build relationships among their peers through morning meetings, closing circles, and team building activities. When problems arise, my class has restorative conversations where everyone has an opportunity to be heard and we create solutions together as a team.