Management Tools
First off, I make no claims to having management "mastered." As I see it, classroom management is a living, breathing, and constantly evolving entity. And as such, I am constantly adapting my management style for the student, the situation, the weather, the phase of the moon ...
However, I do use certain tools, charts, and forms which may be helpful to have on hand, and I've posted a few of these below.
Give Me Five Sign --- I use this count-down method for gaining all of my students attention in five seconds. After some practice at the beginning of the year, this works without a hitch. I have a laminated version of this sign hanging near the front of my classroom as a reminder of what the silent countdown from five entails.
| give_me_five.pdf |
Class-Community Values Contract --- At the beginning of the school year, my students choose five classroom values which they agree to uphold for the entire year. I guide them towards choosing the values that I had in mind by showing them how many of their ideas for "rules" fit under the umbrella of a few core values. After I chart the values and hang them at the front of the room, the students copy the values onto the contract that I've included below. It includes an explanation of consequences. The students then bring the contract home to share with their families. The contract explains how we use a "color chart" to keep track of student behavior in my class.
| class_rules_form.pdf |
Think Sheet --- If a student changes to "orange" on our class color chart (after two poor decisions in regards to behavior,) they need to fill out a "think sheet" to reflect upon their decisions and how they can improve their behavior. I review the think sheet afterwards, and then the student takes the form home to be signed by a parent or guardian. I keep a supply of think sheets in a manila envelope attached to the wall under the color chart, so that a student can take a think sheet and work on it without disrupting a lesson or getting any extra attention from me.
| think_sheet.pdf |
Note: For the fist month of two of school, I award stars at the end of each school day for students who are on green and yellow. By the second or third month of school, I stop marking down the stars. At that point, all of my students are on green 99% of the time, so I explain to them, that it's simply redundant to write down the stars. I point out that I would be able to remember if there was an instance of a child going onto orange during the week, it would be such an unusual turn of events. And in my past two years of teaching, I've only had one child land on pink, once.
"Friday Reward" is intentionally vague. At the beginning of the year, it is usually a teacher directed game that we play as a class at the end of the day on Friday. Later on during the year, once I've established all of my routines with my students, I sometimes give them a half hour of "free choice," with several options of activities. Other weeks, I give them students an extra twenty minutes of play time on the playground on Friday afternoons. I've even led short yoga classes for my students as Friday reward when we all needed a calm yet physical way to end the week. I like how "Friday reward" is open ended, so that I can adjust it for the time at hand, the mood of my students, etc. Once in a while, if I am really crunched for time, I'll just bring in a pack of cookies and some juice, and we'll have a little snack for Friday reward. (This can be done in five minutes.) However, that is my students' least favorite option for Friday reward. :)
"Friday Reward" is intentionally vague. At the beginning of the year, it is usually a teacher directed game that we play as a class at the end of the day on Friday. Later on during the year, once I've established all of my routines with my students, I sometimes give them a half hour of "free choice," with several options of activities. Other weeks, I give them students an extra twenty minutes of play time on the playground on Friday afternoons. I've even led short yoga classes for my students as Friday reward when we all needed a calm yet physical way to end the week. I like how "Friday reward" is open ended, so that I can adjust it for the time at hand, the mood of my students, etc. Once in a while, if I am really crunched for time, I'll just bring in a pack of cookies and some juice, and we'll have a little snack for Friday reward. (This can be done in five minutes.) However, that is my students' least favorite option for Friday reward. :)