Bret Roberts

Dr. Ables
EDU 225
26 April 2016
Classroom Management Plan
Philosophical Statement:
I believe schools should be a safe haven, where students feel secure and know that
they can talk to their teacher about their problems. Schools should prepare students for
the real world and create good citizens. You never know when a former student might
move in next door and become your neighbor. In order for students to feel safe, and
become good citizens, there must be rules and guidelines. In my classroom, I want to
focus on the childs individual wants and needs along with their own personal curiosity
and interests. Students should have a say in what they want to do. They will learn better
and are more likely to pay attention if they are actually doing something they like and
find interesting. If they are bored because they do not like what they are doing, they
wont get as much out of it. Students will stay more focused on an activity they enjoy. My
students will be able to learn from their mistakes by experimenting and realizing what
they have done wrong. This prepares them for learning experiences in their actual lives.
By creating a fun and friendly atmosphere in the classroom, students will learn more,
because they will actually want to come to school. It is very possible to enjoy learning
and to make it exciting. This is exactly what I plan to do. Students should be able to be
their individual selves and figure out who they are, along with developing their own
personalities. They should be able to choose how they want to live, but they also need to

realize the consequences of their choices. I agree that students should learn the core
knowledge like math, English, science and history, while also saving room for electives
like art. There are many different ways to go about teaching. My approach will be more
student centered because their needs are more important than mine. As their teacher, I am
there to help them succeed, grow and reach their full potential.

Classroom Procedure:
Each morning I would like the students to come in and put their backpacks up in
their own individual cubby. I plan to meet them at the door and tell them good morning.
If they have breakfast they may then sit at their desk and eat it while quietly talking to
their neighbors. Other students may begin working on their morning work. The morning
work will be in a designated tray. Next to the morning work tray will be the homework
tray. As they are picking up their morning work they may also turn in their homework
from the night before. The absent work tray will be in this same area as well. This way a
student can turn in their absent work when they return to school. Once the students have
finished their breakfast they should also begin working on their morning work. Once
students begin to finish their morning work, they will be able to get a book and read
silently somewhere around the room, or play on the computer with my permission. When
I see that everyone is finished or almost everyone is done with their morning work I will
have everyone come back to their desks and have a seat. We will listen to the morning
announcements, say the pledge of allegiance and do lunch count and attendance. Then I
will go over the morning work with the students. Once they have put their morning work
away I will have them sit on the rug so that I can read them a story. I really love reading

to the kids and I think it is a great day to start each day, especially at the lower grade
levels. Throughout the morning and afternoon, we will do centers, language arts and take
a restroom break. After lunch and recess we will do math. I think it is very important to
incorporate brain breaks throughout the day. This gives the students a few minutes to
get their wiggles out and re-focus. At the end of the day the students will always write in
their agendas, so parents will be able to see what the homework is when they get home.
After they write in their agendas, I will let them pack up to go home. During this time I
will play educational and fun videos for them to enjoy. I think it is very important to send
them home in a good mood and end each day on a positive note. One of my mantras is
that No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. It is important to remember this as
a teacher because you dont know what each individual child is going through or what
kind of situation they go home to each night. They might just be having a bad day due to
a situation I am unaware about and I will try to be very understanding of that.

Classroom Rules:
At the very beginning of the school year I plan to send out a newsletter that will
clearly state each of my classroom rules. This way parents will be able to see them and
have a copy of them to keep. The rules for my classroom are listed below.

Treat others with respect at all times.

No talking while I am talking.
Follow Directions.
Be positive and polite.
Do your best.
Have fun!

I thought long and hard about these rules. I came up with them based on my expectations
for my classroom environment. In my classroom I expect everyone to treat others how

they want to be treated. In other words, treat others with respect at all times. I also think it
is very important not to talk while I am talking. If you dont hear me, you may miss out
on important directions or information that could keep you safe. That leads me to the next
rule of following directions. Students must learn to follow directions at a young age. This
will prepare them for the real world and teach them a basic skill that they will use
throughout their lives. I want all my students to be polite to their classmates and any
adults they may encounter. I know that some students may not be taught manners at home
and I want to give them the opportunity to learn them. I will also encourage my students
to be polite by helping others. I want to create a positive environment for my students to
learn in and in order to do this, they must be positive themselves. I want to hear words of
encouragement not put-downs. I want to remind my students to always strive to do their
very best in anything and everything that they do. By teaching them to try their best, I am
also teaching them to be hard workers. The most important rule in my opinion is the last
one. School should be fun! I want my students to be excited to come to school everyday.
These rules will be shared with administrators, parents and students. I also plan to discuss
them with my school principal. They will also be displayed around the room for the
students to see at anytime. I will try to refer to them throughout the day as well.

Discipline Plan:
To manage my classroom, I plan to use a clip chart like the ones I have seen
during my field placements. The clip chart will consist of a starting point and three levels
to clip up to and three levels to clip down to. I will explain the clip chart to my
students at the beginning of the year, and use it periodically throughout the day. When I

see a student following directions and working hard, I may tell them that they can go clip
up. If they reach a certain color on the chart, I will let them pick out a sticker at the end of
the day. If a student is misbehaving, for example if I hear them say something hurtful to a
classmate, I will then ask them to go clip down. If they clip down once it is kind of like a
warning, but if they clip down a second time they might face a punishment, and if they
clip down a third time I will contact their parents. When I ask a student to clip down, I
will make sure to tell them to work hard to try and clip back up. I will pay attention to
that student in particular to try and catch him or her doing something good so he or she
can clip back up. To make sure that this discipline strategy is effective, I will have them
write down in their agendas each day what color they ended up on. In this way they will
be held accountable for their actions. I will make sure that parents are aware of this as
well, so they can praise their child when necessary or talk to them about their behavior if
it is less than satisfactory. In the book, Well-Managed Schools, there is a chart that
explains how to change behavior through consequences (46). I plan to use this technique
in my classroom as well. This chart explains that you should add something pleasant, or
use positive reinforcement in order to increase a wanted behavior. You could also use
negative reinforcement to encourage good behavior, by taking away something negative.
To decrease an unwanted behavior you can add something unpleasant like a punishment,
or take something away from that student. Taking away something pleasant is referred to
as the response cost. According to, Well-Managed Schools, positive reinforcement means
using consequences immediately after a behavior to increase the likelihood that the
behavior will occur again in the future. I plan to use positive reinforcement in my
classroom by rewarding students for their good behavior. For example, I could let them

clip up, or simply tell them they are doing a great job. Also according to the book, WellManaged Schools, response cost or negative punishment is a form of punishment in
which a specific amount of reinforcement is lost as a result of inappropriate behavior. In
simpler terms, the student will have something taken away from them, such as a
privilege, if they are not modeling good behavior. I also plan to use this as a form of
punishment in my classroom. If a student is repeatedly getting in trouble for talking, I
may move their desk away from the group. They will lose the privilege of sitting with
their friends. I think it is important to try different strategies to see what works best for
your particular classroom. I realize that I may have to change my ideas depending on my
classroom each year.

Work Cited
Hensley, Michele, Walter Powell, Susan Lamke, and Scott Hartman. Well-Managed
Schools: Strategies to Create Productive and Cooperative Social Climate in Your
Learning Community. Boys Town Press: Boys Town, 2011. Print.