The classroom environment is a critical area of expertise that a teacher must develop to establish a comfortable, safe place where students are open to learning and sharing. Students should feel safe and comfortable to laugh and have fun while learning, as demonstrated in the picture above. Classroom management is at the heart of every successful classroom. It is my responsibility as the teacher to establish a positive learning environment for my students, and the initial manner in which I achieve this goal is by establishing a classroom management policy to will prevent disciplinary problems from occurring in the first place. Classroom management is of the utmost importance for me and this must be established in the classroom from day one.
The most obvious, but one of the most important, aspects of classroom management is to establish classroom rules and procedures. These should be established from the first day of class. I not only post these rules in the classroom so that students will be constantly reminded, but I also provide a student syllabus and contract that both parents and students sign at the beginning of the year. They are asked to take this syllabus home with them, after the first day of class discussion. I ask that they all sign it in an effort to provide a cooperative environment between parents, students, and myself to establish the best learning environment possible. I feel that parent understanding of my expectations is a critical part of my classroom management policy. I don’t believe that the contract should be extensive, but I do feel that expectations should be outlined from the first day of class. I also have pre-set consequences for misbehaviors established before school starts, so that students know the consequence for behavioral issues. This is particularly important to me in order to establish myself in the classroom as the one in charge.
The simplest way to describe my classroom management, and the form in which I would physically post my rules in the classroom are what I call my “Three P’s” of classroom management: Prompt, Polite, & Prepared. These three words describe the minimum requirements I expect from my students. Be on time, be ready for class, and have respect for your classmates and the teacher. They are short, sweet, and to the point, and perfectly accessible for any of the grade levels I am certified to teach.
Routines in my classroom are established from the first day of school. Students know to expect to find on the board or overhead a bell-ringer activity of some sort, and what they should have prepared for when I enter the classroom. Organization is a critical aspect of classroom management. A weekly seating chart/attendance sheet allows me to take attendance quickly and efficiently, as well as keep track of absences, disciplinary problems, tardies, etc., all in one place. This method of attendance and discipline tracking is an effective way of keeping records of problems in the classroom as well as keeping the business end of the class runningsmoothly and efficiently.
One important way to prevent many of the problems that typically happen at the beginning of a class period is to offer a focus activity for students to begin working on when they enter the classroom. Bell ringer activities include Daily Oral Langauge, Journal entries (either written or submitted virtually via Moodle), or an anticipation guide to get students thinking about the topic of the lesson for that day. This helps students to get ready for the day and is very important since most disciplinary problems occur at the beginning of class or during transitions in class activities. Providing a motivational activity will set the mood for the class while preventing possible problems from occurring as students enter the classroom. Providing a proper closure to any lesson is also critical, and helps to alleviate the last few minutes of class from turning into chaos by providing the students with an activity to participate in prior to the end of class, as well as helping myself as a teacher to ensure that the objectives for the lesson have been met. An exit slip of some sort is typically given to students, either written or submitted virtually, to see where students stand and to ensure the objectives have been met (or what information I need to return to the next day).
Classroom management must be implemented every day, and it must be at the heart of every lesson that you teach. Establishing proactive classroom management techniques will help, but reaction to daily problems that occur despite careful planning is crucial for a teacher. The ability to think on one’s feet is important for any teacher, but is a particularly helpful skill during disciplinary issues that come unforeseen. No matter how much planning I may do, problems will most likely arise that I do not expect. This is something that my teaching experience has taught me: expect the unexpected, and acknowledge and understand that I will have to deal with issues as they come. By understanding this fact, I am much more prepared to deal with the unexpected situations that arise daily in a high school classroom.
Examples of Classroom Environment Expectations: 1) Grade 9 Syllabus
The classroom environment is a critical area of expertise that a teacher must develop to establish a comfortable, safe place where students are open to learning and sharing. Students should feel safe and comfortable to laugh and have fun while learning, as demonstrated in the picture above. Classroom management is at the heart of every successful classroom. It is my responsibility as the teacher to establish a positive learning environment for my students, and the initial manner in which I achieve this goal is by establishing a classroom management policy to will prevent disciplinary problems from occurring in the first place. Classroom management is of the utmost importance for me and this must be established in the classroom from day one.
The most obvious, but one of the most important, aspects of classroom management is to establish classroom rules and procedures. These should be established from the first day of class. I not only post these rules in the classroom so that students will be constantly reminded, but I also provide a student syllabus and contract that both parents and students sign at the beginning of the year. They are asked to take this syllabus home with them, after the first day of class discussion. I ask that they all sign it in an effort to provide a cooperative environment between parents, students, and myself to establish the best learning environment possible. I feel that parent understanding of my expectations is a critical part of my classroom management policy. I don’t believe that the contract should be extensive, but I do feel that expectations should be outlined from the first day of class. I also have pre-set consequences for misbehaviors established before school starts, so that students know the consequence for behavioral issues. This is particularly important to me in order to establish myself in the classroom as the one in charge.
The simplest way to describe my classroom management, and the form in which I would physically post my rules in the classroom are what I call my “Three P’s” of classroom management: Prompt, Polite, & Prepared. These three words describe the minimum requirements I expect from my students. Be on time, be ready for class, and have respect for your classmates and the teacher. They are short, sweet, and to the point, and perfectly accessible for any of the grade levels I am certified to teach.
Routines in my classroom are established from the first day of school. Students know to expect to find on the board or overhead a bell-ringer activity of some sort, and what they should have prepared for when I enter the classroom. Organization is a critical aspect of classroom management. A weekly seating chart/attendance sheet allows me to take attendance quickly and efficiently, as well as keep track of absences, disciplinary problems, tardies, etc., all in one place. This method of attendance and discipline tracking is an effective way of keeping records of problems in the classroom as well as keeping the business end of the class runningsmoothly and efficiently.
One important way to prevent many of the problems that typically happen at the beginning of a class period is to offer a focus activity for students to begin working on when they enter the classroom. Bell ringer activities include Daily Oral Langauge, Journal entries (either written or submitted virtually via Moodle), or an anticipation guide to get students thinking about the topic of the lesson for that day. This helps students to get ready for the day and is very important since most disciplinary problems occur at the beginning of class or during transitions in class activities. Providing a motivational activity will set the mood for the class while preventing possible problems from occurring as students enter the classroom. Providing a proper closure to any lesson is also critical, and helps to alleviate the last few minutes of class from turning into chaos by providing the students with an activity to participate in prior to the end of class, as well as helping myself as a teacher to ensure that the objectives for the lesson have been met. An exit slip of some sort is typically given to students, either written or submitted virtually, to see where students stand and to ensure the objectives have been met (or what information I need to return to the next day).
Classroom management must be implemented every day, and it must be at the heart of every lesson that you teach. Establishing proactive classroom management techniques will help, but reaction to daily problems that occur despite careful planning is crucial for a teacher. The ability to think on one’s feet is important for any teacher, but is a particularly helpful skill during disciplinary issues that come unforeseen. No matter how much planning I may do, problems will most likely arise that I do not expect. This is something that my teaching experience has taught me: expect the unexpected, and acknowledge and understand that I will have to deal with issues as they come. By understanding this fact, I am much more prepared to deal with the unexpected situations that arise daily in a high school classroom.
Examples of Classroom Environment Expectations:
1) Grade 9 Syllabus
2) Yearbook contract signed by all students and parents
3) Student Scavenger Hunt
3) A PowerPoint presentation that is presented on the first day of school
4) A list of Daily Oral Language
5) A sample anticipation guide given to students prior to reading The Tragedy of Julius Caesar