Classroom Management Plan

Welcome to Miss Baldwin’s First Grade Classroom

Where learning is a Sweet Experience!!

Classroom Management PlanBy: Kimberley Baldwin

Curriculum and PedagogyEDUC 122Dr. Beisser

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Table of ContentsClassroom Organization pg. 3-5

Operations pg. 5-7Record keeping pg. 5If there is a substitute teacher pg. 5New students in the classroom pg. 6Keeping the class and desks orderly pg. 6Displaying student work pg. 7“Star of the week” pg. 7

Disciplinary Policies and Professional Ethics pg. 7-11Communicating/Relationship with the students pg. 7-8Establishing initial group rules/expectations pg. 8Behavior Chart pg. 8-9Office Referral pg. 9Conflict on the playground pg. 9-10Tardiness pg. 10Getting work done pg. 10Cheating pg. 10Professionalism pg. 11

Classroom Routines and Procedures pg. 11-18Prior to the beginning of school pg. 11-12Morning routine pg. 12-13Student sharing pg. 13Job helpers pg. 13-14Use of free time pg. 14Going on field trips pg. 14Homework pg. 15Activities to do when done with work early pg. 15Handing in papers pg. 15Passing out papers/announcements pg. 15-16Lining up for Recess, lunch, specials, and end of the day pg. 16Hall Procedure pg. 16Water Fountain/Bathroom procedures pg.17Praising/motivating students pg. 17-18

Differentiation Policy pg. 18-19

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Parents

Classroom OrganizationIn my future classroom, I would like the kids to sit in groups of five so that they can

collaborate, but also work individually when it comes time. I didn’t want to put them into rows because I believe the kids would get distracted. The table would be named to go along with some of the places in Candyland. Those would be Gingerbread House, Chocolate Fountain, Cupcake Commons, Ice Cream Slopes, and Gumdrop Hills. I would change the tables around, so that the students would get to be at the different places. My desk would be the Ice Palace as well. The centers would be named as well to go with the different places. I decided to have a reading the “Lollipop Library” on the right hand side, so that the kids can over there and pick out books to read. There will be fiction and non-fiction books there as well. The non-fiction books will be based on what we are talking about that day and it will change over the course of time. The circles that are in the library are chairs/beanbags, so that the students can be comfortable. There are two windows (one in the reading center and one outside of it) that will let in light. I put my desk off to the side, so that I can see what my students are doing at their table, but also see what is going on at the group work tables. The cylinder and cube by my desk is trash and recycling. There is also a trash can (cylinder) by the sink. At the front of the classroom there is a triangle, which is my chair when the students are up at the front. I like the idea of having them come up and sit there or move around because I believe that students should move throughout the day so they don’t become bored or distracted. I have a conference table off to the side of the dry erase board, so that if I need to work with a group of students I have a place to go without distracting the rest of the students. The cross by the conference table is where the phone is if the students need to call home or if someone calls the classroom. Across from the conference table is a bookshelf that will just have the books for the guided reading that will be done in the classroom. I would like to

have an easel next to the dry erase board because I would like to have a morning routine where the students answer a yes/no question about their weekend, a question that is related to what we are going to talk about that day, or just a question that I am interested to know the answer of. The

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shelves in the back of the room will be where there are extra supplies just in case one of the students forgets some supplies at home. The cylinder on top of that shelf is the sharpener and there will be extra sharpened pencils right next to it. Behind the reading center, I have the students’ mailboxes, where they will put their library books when they get them, and drawings they draw, and their Friday Folders will go in those as well. It will be the students’ responsibility to check them and take the papers inside of them home. There will also be the ELMO and a TV and DVD player there, so that if I need to use them, they are easily accessible, but are also out of the way. I did not put in a science, social studies, or math area because where I come from the students would go to different classrooms for those subjects. I believe that the way that I set up my future classroom will work for me because I am able to get the kids up and moving, have room to get around, but at the same time, it encourages both individual and group work.

OperationalTeacher record-keeping Procedures:Just like my classroom, I would like to keep my area clean by making sure that I have everything put away and heave everything in the right places. I will have a filing cabinet next to my desk that will have all of the graded paper, personal information of the students, lesson plans, and any IEP goals/behavior charts that are needed as well. Each of the students will have their own folder in the cabinet that will hold all of their things. When it comes time for parent teacher conferences, I will pull them out so that the parents are able to see where their child is in the class and also see the work that they have done instead of just seeing the grades. I will have an electronic grade book where I will enter all of the students grades immediately after they turn in an assignment, but I will also have a paper grade book that will have the same information just in case something happens to the electronic book.

If there is a Substitute Teacher…If there I have a substitute teacher, I will leave all of the material that they will need in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet or on my desk. When they collect papers for me to grade/put in the grade, I will have a folder on my desk that says “Papers to collect.” I will not have the substitute teacher put in grades because I do not believe that the substitute teacher needs to know the grades of the students. If there are children that I know will need extra time, might be difficult, or may need help with the assignments that I plan for that day, I will make a note of it and put it on my desk, so that the teacher can see it. I will also supply the teacher with a copy of our expectations and procedures and emergency information for me and all the students just in case something were to happen.

New Student in the Classroom

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Growing up, I went to three different elementary schools and one year, I came in late, so I know how it feels to be the new kids and “disrupt” the class. In my classroom, I hope that if I get new students during the year, I hope to let them know that they more than welcome in the classroom and that there is nothing to be afraid of. If I get told that I am getting a new student before

actually getting one, I will let my students know so that they aren’t surprised and that way they can also welcome that child. I will have extra nametags/desk tags on hand just in case I do get new kids. At the beginning of the year, I hope to have a buddy system where students are paired up and remind each other about the rules and procedures that will stay the same throughout the year. If I get a new student, I will make sure that the student has a buddy. It’s scary coming to a school where you don’t know anybody, so having a buddy right from the beginning is always helpful! The person that is that child’s buddy will help them learn the rules and procedures and answer any questions they might have as

well. I will also have two folders for them; one to go home with them every day and one that will go in my filing cabinet. Their folder will include the rules and expectations of the classroom, the schools’ calendar, my personal information, and that months’ lunch calendar so that the parents can decide ahead of time what their child will be eating for lunch each day. Also in the folder, I will write a little note for the parents letting them know that they can contact me if they need to and will write down my phone number and email. During those first few days, I will make sure that the student gets to know everybody in the class and knows that the classroom is a safe environment for them.

Keeping the Classroom and Desks OrderlyFor the classroom as a whole, at the beginning of school, I will let the students know that it is important to respect everything in the classroom and that if we use an item we need to make sure they put it back. As for the desks, I know from personal experience that childrens’ desk get messy really quickly and sometimes things may get lost in there. Because of this, I would like to implement a designated time every Friday where, we as a class, clean. The students will clean out their desks and I will work on cleaning my area. I will write on the board what needs to be in their desks. If they find things that needed to be finished or turned in, I will have them bring it to me. They will put whatever doesn’t belong in their desks back where they need to be or in their cubby to take home. At the beginning of school, I will encourage the students to take responsibility for their desks and if they do that and their desk is clean when it comes time for the whole class to clean, they will be able to choose something from the Candyland Treasury and will be able to read, draw a picture, or another task that they can choose.

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Displaying Student WorkI believe that having the students’ work displayed is a great motivator for the students. I always liked seeing my work displayed and it made me want to do my best. Because of this, I would like to have a bulletin board both inside and outside of my classroom that will display student work. The one that will be outside our classroom will be for seasonal work. This will be where we put our pumpkins, what we are thankful for, and much more when it comes to the different seasons. It will be decorated so that the people that pass our classroom can see how hard the first graders are working. The bulletin board inside of the classroom will be decorated with the Candyland theme and will be more for weekly work. Every week, I hope to have some sort of craft that the students can do and that we can put up. The craft that we will do will have to do will either have to do with the lesson or it will be a drawing that I had them make at the beginning of the class on one of the days during the week. I will also have a “Star of the week” section on the bulletin board inside the classroom.

Star of the week“Star of the week” will be a showcase of a student. Each week it will be a different student. I will have them fill out a sheet that is all about them and have them bring in 2-4 pictures. They will get the piece of paper saying that they are “Star of the week” on Friday and they will bring in their materials on the following Monday. I will have that student share their information with the class, so that they are able to understand what the pictures are. I believe that by doing this it helps the class get to know each other and gets the students involved.

Disciplinary Procedures and Professional EthicsCommunication/ Relationship with the studentsLike I have said above, I believe that having a safe, fun classroom is the best. I plan to accomplish this by having a great relationship with all of my students. I believe that this is important because all of the students, even the ones that are hard to like, need to be reassured that they are important and taken care of. It is like Aggie Jones says “Sometimes the kids that are the hardest to like need you the most.” Every kid needs their teacher because that is who teaches them in school. At the beginning of the year, I will take a picture of all of my students and put them on posters next to their names. I will put these posters up on the wall, so that everybody sees their smiling faces and knows what kind of classroom they are in. The posters also allow for anybody who comes in to the classroom to see who is in the class. Making personal connections with the kids lets them know that you care for them and that they are in a classroom where

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everybody is included. I plan on connecting with the students by letting them know who I am. I am going to display things that I like around the classroom, so that the students know who I am. There will be snow globes placed around the room, along with Wizard of Oz memorabilia. These are things that I love and I want my kids to know that. I will also put a few pictures and some facts about me on a poster next to the whiteboard, so that on those first few days, the students really get to know me. Throughout the year, I hope to tell my students tons of interesting stories from when I was a kid and really let them into my life. By doing this, I hope that my students understand that I will always be there for them and that if they need anything, they need only ask.

Establishing initial Group rules/expectationsAs a class, we will come up with rules, a mission statement, and positive expectations that we will all follow in the classroom and outside of it (in the hallways and/or different classrooms). I believe that by participating in the making of the rules, mission statement, and the expectations the students are more likely to follow them. If at the end of the discussion, we are missing an important rule, I will ask the students if it is ok if I put that rule/expectation in. In a classroom, it is always a good idea to have rules and positive expectations written out and posted in the classroom, so that the students are able to see them and that is what I will do after we have finished the discussion about these different ideas. I will let the kids know that I expect them to start practicing these rules today and that our class will be better for it.

Behavior ChartI really like this idea of the candy and gumball machines as the item that gets moved. In my classroom, I would have a similar chart. It would go blue, purple, green, yellow, and red. Each student will have a gumball machine with their name on it and it will start on green. During the day, they have the chance to move it up, but they also can move it down depending on how they behave throughout the day. The students start with 4 gumball stickers in their machine. If they move up, they get one sticker. If they move down, they have to take a gumball out of the machine(I will talk more about this in praising/motivating students on page 16).

Blue Candy: The students are able to move up their gumball machine depending on their behavior. The way that they can get it to the blue candy is by doing random acts of kindness and have a positive attitude. The students that get to this candy go above and beyond expectations.

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Responsibilty Sheet

What did you do to move your clip to the red candy? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

What do you need to do to fix your behavior?_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Parent Signature

_______________________________

Purple Candy: The students that move their gumball machine to this candy are students that are following directions and are trying. These are students that are listening and following rules.

Green Candy: The students start on this piece of candy at the beginning of the day. It signifies that the students are ready to learn and are ready to pay attention.

Yellow Candy: If the students are not following classroom rules or expectations, they will be asked to move their gumball machine down to the yellow candy. This is the warning stage.

Orange Candy: If the students are asked to move their gumball machine down to the orange candy are not following directions and/or behaving. If the student moves their clip to this candy, they will come and sit next to me while working on work and will have to walk next to me in the hallway on the way to a different classroom, lunch, lunch, and recess unless they move their clip back up again sometime during the day.

Red candy: If the students are asked to move their gumball machine down to the red candy, that student has not been following directions continuously or are causing trouble and not keeping their hands to themselves, they will be sent to another classroom to fill out a note. I will write it down in the grade book when a kid gets to red, so that I know if they are misbehaving all of the time or just once in awhile.

After the student has filled out the responsibility sheet, they willcome back to the class and hand the paper to me. I will look over itto make sure that they wrote down what had happened. I will then talk to the student about his/her choices and then they will put the paper in their backpack in order to get one of their parents to sign it.They will then bring it back to me and I will put it in their records folder to keep track of.

Office Referral: If the student gets an office referral, they bypass the different candy stages and go straight to the office. This would happen if a student gets in a fight, disrupts the class severely, or disrespects a teacher and/or student. If I cannot handle a student myself, then that is when they will go to the office. I would like to avoid this stage at all costs because I do not want anyone thinking that I cannot manage my class. If a student does get an office referral, they will take their responsibility sheet with them and work on it in the office. I will also let my principle know if there are any major issues in my classroom. If a student gets an office referral, this is also when the parents will be called because I believe that they need to be aware of when the behavior is happening.

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Conflict on the PlaygroundIf there is a conflict on the playground, the student will have to move their gumball machine clip once they get back into the classroom depending on how bad the behavior was. Also depending on what the behavior was, the child could get an office referral. During recess, if a conflict arises, the student will be told not to play with that child(remove themselves from the situation), but if it is still happening, the student(s) will sit with the teacher on duty until recess is over. The teacher on duty will also talk to that student about their choice and talk about other choices they had instead of doing what they did.

TardinessIf a student is late to school, they will need to go to the office first to get a tardy slip. When coming into their classroom, the student will know after the first couple of weeks to come in quietly, put the tardy slip on my desk, and start to do what the other students are doing. When we start to work on something, that assignment will be put on the missing students’ desks. If a student comes in late, they will be expected to start working on their assignment and if they have questions they need to talk to their buddy (from above in the new student section) first and then come talk to me.

Getting Work DoneIf a student is not getting their work done, instead of taking time out of their recess to work on it, I will have the student work on it the following morning. Every morning when the students come in each morning, there will be an assignment on their desk for them to complete. If a student does not finish an assignment, they will hand me the assignment that I will put in the folder “Work not done.” The next day I will look in that folder to see if there are assignments. If there are assignments, I will put the assignment on that students’ desk for them to work on during the morning routine. I will also have a designated time on Friday for assignments that didn’t get done. If no one has any assignments that they need to do, it will be time for the kids do something fun.

CheatingI hope that this never happens, but just in case, it will not be tolerated. Cheating is never a good thing and I want the kids to know that. Cheating doesn’t show me what they are capable of when I know that they are smarter than that. If a student does cheat, it will result in them having to move their gumball machine down two candies and the parents will be called. I will also talk to the student independently when time allows and not in front of the other students. Even if a student cheats, their pride and their sense of belonging does not need to be diminished, so we will talk in private and I will not call them out in front of the rest of the class.

Professionalism9

Because I am a teacher and I am always modeling what to do with my students, it is important that as a professional I keep professionalism a high priority. Collaborating with other teachers is an important piece to being an effective teacher and because of that I will need to keep an open mind and be willing to contribute ideas. Showing that professionalism is high on my list of what to do will help me with my relationships with the teachers and the administrators in the school that I am at. As much as I would like to say that people don’t gossip about other people, I cannot say that it does not happen. Throughout my career there is no doubt in my mind that I will come upon conversations where someone is talking negatively about another person or a student. If I am around when this happens, I will keep myself out of it. I will keep myself out of it by leaving the conversation, try to change the subject, or just not say anything and wait until the conversation moves to a different topic. As much as I would want to say something to that person on how rude they are being, I will use my restraint to not say anything. It is like my mom has always told me “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!” I will try my hardest to stay out of these kinds of conversations because no one needs these kinds of conversations in a school where we are supposed to be role models for the kids. To help with keeping up my professionalism as well, I will dress appropriately for the job and will talk in a way that shows my professionalism. I will remember that I need to be professional because the students pay attention to what teachers do and say. Because of this, we as teachers, need to make sure that we don’t do anything that the students can copy or take home to their parents.

If I do not agree with the leadership strategies or views of my principal, I will basically still have the same concept as above. Even though I may not agree with something that my principle is doing, I will not get in his way because he is our leader and I have to believe that he is doing what is best for our students and our school. If the principle does want to know what I think, then I will let him/her know, but if they do not ask, I will not say because it is not my place to.

Classroom Routines and ProceduresPrior to the beginning of schoolPrior to the first day of school, I would like to reach out to my students that will be in my class along with their families. I will do this by sending out a personal note to both the students and the parents. With the note will be the list of supplies that the child will need specifically for my class. For the parents, there will be a sheet of paper that will have the different opportunities that they can help with. I would like to have the parents to help out because I want them to believe that they also belong. I will also try to contact them via phone as well because I would ideally like to try to visit my students before the first day of school. I would like to do this because I believe that if the students know who I am before they see me in school, they will understand me and will hopefully have a sense of belonging even before stepping a foot into the classroom. When I was younger, I remember getting to meet my teacher and see my classroom before the first day of school and I have always liked that. Because of that, I would like to invite the parents

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and the students that are in my class to an open house, if the school doesn’t have one, where they are able to see where they will be learning. This is a great opportunity for the students because it allows for them to know where their classroom is so they don’t end up in the wrong classroom on the first day. It also is helpful because the students are able to see the layout of the room and see where they need to put their book bag and where they will be sitting at the beginning of the year. Ideally, on this night, I would like the parents to bring the supplies that I asked them to get. I would then have the students put their supplies away. I would like to do this before school starts because it allows for the students to come in on the first day without a heavy backpack, but it also saves time on the first day of school. Instead of having to get everything organized, the students and I could be starting our day and getting to know each other and the rules/expectations of the year.

Morning routineWhen the students first come in in the morning, there will be a routine that they follow. During the first few days of school, we will practice the many routines that they will have. The morning routine is the most important one, I believe, because it sets the mood of what they day will be like. The morning routine that we will follow will be as follows:

-The students will come in from outside and hang their coats and backpacks up in their lockers quietly.-They will then take their popsicle stick off the top of the bookshelf next to the door and put it in one of the three lunch choice buckets; hot lunch, cold lunch, packed lunch.- If there are any library books or any work that they need to turn in, they will put them in the correct baskets/trays.-The students then will go to the front of the classroom and read the yes/no question and answer it by putting a block in the yes bin or the no bin.-After answering the question, the students will go to their desks and take their morning work off of their chair.-They will put their chair down carefully and start working on the morning work-As the students work on their assignment, I will tally the lunch totals and write them down. By doing this, I am able to see what students are here and which ones aren’t.-If there are students that are not there, I will ask their neighbor to take their neighbors chair off of the desk and put it on the ground.-We will then come together on the carpet and talk about what day it is, the schedule, what the weather is, talk about the yes/no questions, and any unfinished business or announcements that I might have.

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Student Sharing For student sharing, there will be a classroom sharing bucket. At the beginning of the year, the supplies list will include some extra supplies on it like glue, pencils, markers, crayons, and colored pencils. When these come in at the end of the year, I will put together a bucket that will have all of these supplies in it. At each desk, a student will have a cup that has their scissors, their two pencils, glue, and coloring supplies. If they need another glue stick or something else that they don’t have at their desk, they can go up to the community bucket and grab what they need. If they take something out of it, it is their responsibility that they put it back, so that the supplies in that bucket don’t run out.

Job HelpersIn my classroom, there will be jobs that the kids will have. They will change every week and will be posted on the wall so that the students can look and remember what their job is. All students

will get the chance to participate in the jobs and will get to experience the different ones. By having the kids do jobs, it gives them responsibility and that is important for young kids to have. I would like my cards with the jobs on them to look like the picture. I will have some of those jobs as well, but there are some that I would like that are not on the picture. The jobs that I would like to have in my classroom are the following:

Line Leader: For this job, the student gets to be at the front of the line whenever

we line up to go to a different area in the school. Door Holder: For this job, the student is the second in line. When we go through a door that needs to be held open, that student is in charge of making sure that the door is open for all of the students to get through. If there is more than one door to go through, a student will be an “honorary door holder” for that trip. Paper Passer: For this job, the student will help me pass out papers. They will be in charge of making sure that all students get a paper. If a student is absent, the student will put the paper on their desk anyway and then I will go back later and put it in their absent folder.

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Teachers’ Helper: For this job, the student will assist me with the morning routine by putting the weather piece on the board for that day. This student will also help out by going to other classrooms if needed in order to give a message.

Librarian: For this job, the student will be the third person in line. This student will also be in charge of taking the basket with books in it to the library when it is our day to go. They are also in charge of bringing the basket back.

Light helper: For this job, the student is in charge of turning out the light to our classroom whenever the whole class leaves. The student will also turn the lights back on when we come back. Lunch Manager: For this job, the student is in charge of grabbing the bucket that have the packed lunches in it. They are to take it to the designated spot. After lunch is over, they are in charge of bringing it back to our classroom. CLean helper: For this job, the student will be in charge of making sure that the centers and tables are picked up after being used. If not, the student will let me know and I will have the last people there help clean. Use of free timeWhen there is time where we aren’t doing anything, the students will have free time. During free time, the students are allowed to play with the board games that will be in the classroom. They can also play a game that involves the whole class. Another thing that they can do is watch content related videos that I will find and pull up for them to watch. This allows for them to keep thinking about what we are working on instead of doing something that doesn’t have a purpose.

Going on Field TripsWhen we go on field trips as a class, as a grade, or as a school, the students are expected to take home a field trip permission form that needs to be signed by a parent and then returned to me. If a student does not return a permission slip, they will not be able to go. When we go on field trips, the classroom expectations and rules will still be in effect. Whenever we go on a field trip, along with the permission slip, I will send a sheet of paper home that describes the field trip and why we are taking it. The field trips that we will take will be related to the lesson that we are learning or will be related to the school. When we go on field trips, I will ask for parents to help volunteer/chaperone in order to help keep track of all of the kids. Once we return from a field trip, the students will write in their journals talking about their experience and any questions that they might have. We will talk about the trip as a whole class after wards and also make a thank you card(s), so that the people in the community know that we are grateful that they let us come.

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HomeworkWhen there is homework, I will pass it out the students’ Homework Folders with their homework in it. The students will know to get it done and to put it right back into the folder. When coming to class the next day, they will turn in their Homework Folder to me during the morning routine. If a student does not get their homework done, they will work on it instead of doing the morning assignment.

Activities to do when done with work earlyWhen we are working on assignments or activities, some kids may get done with their work sooner than when time is up. Thinking of activities that students can do when they are done are important to think of. When students are done before time is up, I would have them look at this poster on the wall. They would have to choose an activity based on the choices. One thing that they cannot do is repeat. When students are done multiple times throughout the year, they cannot pick the same thing over and over again. They have to do all of them at least once and cannot alternate between two. They have to explore the different choices and decide what would work best. For the activity that says Draw a Picture, I would include under that “content related.” If a student chooses to do that choice I would like them to draw what they think they learned that day. Depending on what kind of assignment was being worked, I would tell the students if “help your friend” was ok for that day or if today was not a day for that. Overall, I would like to incorporate a chart like this in my classroom that gives the students choices but they still work on reading, writing, or the content.

Handing in papersTurning in papers can be a very disorganized process. Because of this, I would like to incorporate a better way of doing just that. When the students are turning in their homework folders in the morning, I would like them to put them in my chair at the front of the class. During the day, when we are working on assignment, I would like the students to turn in their work in a bin that I will either have in front of my desk or on my desk. They will turn it upside down, so that nobody can compare their work to others. If there are assignments that they finish and are ones that do not need to be turned in, the students will put that work in their cubbies. The students will be expected to put those papers in their Friday Folder that is in their cubby, so that when it comes to the end of the week, they are organized and know what is going home.

Passing out Papers/ AnnouncementsIf there are papers that need to be passed out for an assignment, the paper helper will help pass those papers out. If there is more than one sheet of paper that needs to be passed out, I will ask

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another student to help pass the papers out. If there are graded papers that need to be passed out, I would have the students go and grab their Friday Folder out of their cubby. I would then pass out the graded papers and would have them put it in their folder. They would then take the folder back to their cubby.

Lining up for recess, lunch, specials, & end of dayWhen it is time to go to recess, lunch, specials, and at the end of the day, the students will be expected to push in their chairs and not run to the door. The Line Leader will be first in line, the door holder second, and the light helper third. I will have those students line up first. After those students have lined up, I will have the rest of the students line up by table. The students will know that they will be dismissed to get in line by table and it will be based on who is the quietest and then go from there. The students will learn this through procedure and practice.

Hall ProcedureWhen we are going through the halls, the students will know that they need to follow the rules and expectations of our classroom. Based on what I have seen from my practicum teacher, I am going to have two different things going on. One idea that I have is teach the kids the saying “Zip

it, Lock it, and put it in your pocket!” I will demonstrate the motions that go with it and through practice, the students will understand that their voices need to be off when we are going through the hall. At the beginning of the year, I will explain to them that even though we aren’t in class, there are other classes going on. We wouldn’t like it if a loud class walked by our room and disrupt our lesson, so we shouldn’t do it to other classes. Another idea I have is a game. This game encourages children to behave while going through the halls. I would draw a chip out of a box with a kids’ name on it. This kid would be the “Mystery Walker.” Only I know who that kid is, but I would encourage the kids by saying that it could be any one of them. If the student that is the “Mystery Walker” follows all the rules, they get to pick something out of the Candyland Treasury, but if that student does not,

then their name goes back into the box. If all of the students follow the rules in the hallway, they will get a coin to go towards their class party.

Water Fountain/Bathroom Procedures

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Throughout the day, students are going to need water and bathroom breaks. I will encourage my students to bring water bottles that they can have on their desks as long as they won’t be distractions, so that they don’t have to leave the classroom. If a student does need to get a drink of water, there will be a pass that says “water pass.” They will take them with them to get a drink of water. If a student goes to get a drink, they should only take about 2 minutes. If the student comes back after 2 minutes, they will have to take a gumball sticker off of their gumball machine

clip. For the bathroom breaks, I plan on doing something a little different than passes. Aggie Jones explained that if you have a kid take that pass with them to the classroom, they have a ton of bacteria on it and it s disgusting. Instead of a pass, I would like to have hand sanitizers as passes. There will be two(candyland themed of course!) bottles; one that says boys and the other that says girls. When a student needs to go to the bathroom, all they have to do is go and get the hand sanitizer that goes with their gender and put it on their desk. Once it is on their desk, they can go to the bathroom. When they come back from the bathroom, they students will pump some sanitizer into their hand and put the bottle back. A bathroom break should only take about 5 minutes. If a student comes back late, they will do the same thing that they do if they come back late form getting water.

Praising/Motivating StudentI believe that by motivating students, they do their work and are successful. There are a lot of ways to praise and motivate students I have found. One way is through encouraging words, verbal and written. I love telling kids how great of a job they are doing and that they are trying really hard. I also love writing that on their work! I will also have stickers that say encouraging words and words of praise so that the students can see that they are doing good and that I am proud of them. Other than words verbal and written of praise, I do have other ideas to help motivate kids. As a whole class, I want to do 3 pieces of paper that have been split up into 10 boxes each. I will put these above the whiteboard so that everybody can see it. The students have to fill up all 30 boxes with the fake coins that I have. They can earn a coin in many different ways. The ways that they can earn these coins are by all following the rules in the hallway, behaving for a substitute, behaving on a field trip, everybody has a good, and many more. When all of the boxes are filled with a coin, the students get to decide what they want to do. They can have extra recess time, have a class party, get to watch a movie, have free time, or something else that they come up with. Whatever they decide, we will enforce the decision on a Friday, so

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that it is a great introduction to the weekend. Other than whole class motivation, I have individual motivation. I will have this treasure chest in a corner called the “Candyland Treasury.” In the treasure chest, there will be goodies. It will have things like pencils, erasers, silly things, bottles of play-dough, and much, much more. When a student gets to pick from the treasure chest, they get to pick one thing. They get to pick from the “Candyland Treasury” in two differet ways. The first way is through filling up their gumball machine clip with gumball stickers. They earn the stickers whenever their clip is moved up and lose a sticker when it is moved down. When the gumball machine is full, they will get a prize. Another way that they can get a prize from the “Candyland Treasury” is through getting all of their stars on their Star Student card Punched. Around the card are stars. When a student stays on green or above the whole day, they get one of their stars punched. Once all of the stars are punched, they are allowed to choose a prize. These different motivation techniques are good ways to get the students involved and making the right choices. It also gets them interested in school and to pay attention. Because of this, I cannot wait to implement these techniques in my classroom.

Differentiation PolicyFor students who don’t understand Not all students learn at the same pace. Because of this, I know that there will be times when I have students in my classroom that may take longer on assignments, may not work well with other students, and may need quieter places to do assignments. I believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to help students succeed. Even if a student does take longer to understand, I still need to make sure that that student is succeeding and has all the help that they need. I plan on helping the students that are struggling in many different ways. Whenever there is an assignment, I will make sure to have many examples so that students understand what they are doing. Also so that if a student needs to come up and look at the example, they can. With all of my lessons, I hope to have a lot of repetition, so that the students that are struggling will start to grasp the concept. If a student needs more time, they will get it. For each student, it may be different on how much extended time they get, but they will get the time that they need. If there are students that don’t work well with others, I will help them as much as I can or they can do the work independently. I will ask them which they prefer, but I will not make them uncomfortable in my classroom. Whenever I give directions for an assignment, not only will I write them down on the board, but I will also say them verbally, and make sure that the students either have the

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directions on their paper or they will be provided with the directions. In this way, the students have many places to look for the directions and were able to hear them just in case they are struggling readers. In a classroom, there might also be students with behavior plans or special education services (IEP’s). If this is the case, then it is important that during the school day, I make sure that I am in contact with the individual people that might be helping that student. In this case, it is important that I make sure that I am doing what needs to be done with assignments and cooperating with the other teachers. In my classroom, I want my students to know that it doesn’t matter if they are a struggling learner. What matters is that they are trying and working towards succeeding in the assignments they do and I will help them with that.

Gifted LearnersIn a class, there may not only be students that are struggling. There may also be students that of a higher ability. If this is the case, I would like to make sure that in my class, that none of those students ever feel bored with what they are doing and are always being challenged to think higher than their grade level. If I have students that are gifted or higher ability students, I would like to have them work together in a lot of assignments. For assignments, I would want them to go bigger than just a worksheet. I want them to be able to show me what they can do. If this means that they jump ahead a unit in math, then that is what I will let them do. It may take a lot of work, but if those students stay at the same unit with us, they will get bored and no kid should be bored with school. The students in my class that are gifted will get open-ended assignments that allow them to explore a concept even deeper than we are. Knowing that a student is gifted will help me with grouping as well. I would not place the gifted learners with students that are at level or below level because it is not their job to teach those students; it is mine. Ideally, in my classroom, I would like to help those students achieve a higher level of thinking, and hopefully, I will.

ParentsCommunication with parentsStaying in contact with the parents allows for them to know what their child is doing in school and allows for me to know if there is anything going on at home. Like I said in the prior to school section, I would like to start my communication off with the parents before school even starts. I would like to make sure that they know who I am and my contact information if they ever need to get a hold of me for any reason. I would also like to communicate with the parents by sending home newsletters every other week or every month. This lets the parents know what their child is doing in school and what events are happening in our class and at the school itself. I will personally send out an email to all the parents inviting them to volunteer whenever I need volunteers. Keeping up communication with the parents is very important and I need to make sure that the parents know that they are included in my class, even though they aren’t in the class. By having parent volunteers, it gets the parents involved. I will have parent volunteers

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whenever we go on field trips, have a class party, if I need help setting up for an event, and much more. I hope to have great communication with my students’ parents and hope that they enjoy it as well.

Parent ConferencesEvery year, there are parent conferences. It is the best time of the year, I believe. At parent teacher conferences, it allows for me to show the parents their students successes and all their great work. At every parent conference, I will pull out the folders that have the students names out of the filing cabinet. In each folder will be tests, assignments, writings, drawings, and any other papers that I have kept for each child. I will show the folder to the parents and have them look through it. I will let them look at it and explain anything if I need to or they have any questions about what they see. Parent conferences are also a time to address any needs or concerns either that I have or that the parents have. I want the parents to know that they can tell me anything and I will try to work on whatever they tell me I need to do. These conferences not only help the parents understand, but it helps me understand as well and because of that I will do everything I can to make parent conferences go smoothly.

ResourcesWong, Harry K., and Rosemary T. Wong. The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective

Teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, 2009. Print.

I got the candyland themed pictures and the “I’m done” poster from google and then just clicked “view image.”

I used some ideas from my practicum teacher this last semester and this semester; Molly Peterson, 1st grade, Greenwood Elementary and Shauna Jansen, Kindergarten, Madison Elementary.

I created the Responsibility Sheet based on what a video or person told us about having kids take responsibility for what they did.

Candy Behavior Chart: http://kindergartencenter.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-07-14T13:48:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=28&by-date=false

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“Mystery Walker” and Hand sanitizer picture: thefirstgradefairytales.blogspot.com/2013/06/doubly-whammy-two-linkys-in-one.html

“Star Student” picture: dandelionsdragonflies.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-behavior-management-plan.html

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