Management Style and Philosophical Beliefs

The attitude and effort you go into any task can dictate the results. This is how I
approach everything in life, especially teaching. This could not be truer in the aspect of
classroom management. Without proper preparation, it does not matter the rules in
place. If students are not engaged or do not have adequate challenges, they will more
than likely misbehave. The next layer of effective management is establishing a culture
and climate of high expectations and respect with support from teachers and peers. As
a teacher, I expect students to work hard in class and accomplish at a high level
regardless of background. If a student is missing information or has gaps in skill or
knowledge I as well as other students are expected to help. Each student will also be
respected regardless of skill, knowledge or background. The next piece of my
classroom management style is daily classroom interaction. Having a positive attitude
and establishing rapport with each student and class as a whole will allow me to keep
them engaged as well as differentiate lessons, supports and disciplinary action to each
student or class. Finally, I will utilize resources outside of class to create effective
classroom management. This includes in school resources such as other teachers, past
teachers, guidance counselors and other people in or out of the building. Also, this
includes working closely with parents and understanding support available or
unavailable at home. This tiered system of management allows students to be
supported at every major level and will translate into successful habits and behaviors
within the classroom in the form of student achievement.

Establishing Positive Classroom Culture

Creating an environment that students can feel comfortable to share ideas is one
of the most important aspects of school. Students should feel pushed to be successful
and have strong ideas but should not feel as though they are censured by anyone in the
classroom as long as what they express is respectful and promotes improvement and
learning. In a social studies classroom, I expect there to be conflict within the aspects of
the course and varied viewpoints. Conflict also arises peer to peer and teacher to
student. These conflicts will be met with the foremost thought of respect for one another.
Each student will feel as though their view is respected but does not always have to be
correct. The voice of students should not be silenced for the sake of what is always
accurate. Corrections can be made to content but once a student feels their voice in the
room does not matter then they will stop participating and possibly stop learning.

Developing Rules and Procedures

Day to day rules and procedures allow the class to run in a smooth and efficient
way. Upon entering the classroom it is expected for each student to be ready,
responsible and respectful. In order to enforce this in a positive way, I use pride cards
that allow me to catch students doing things the right way. This will build a culture of
doing things right. In order to keep students from leaving the class for inadequate
reasons or for avoidance, I will use a Social Studies Credit Card. Students begin each
question or grading period with five extra credit points and every time they have to leave
the room for an unexcused reason then they must give up an extra credit point. One slot
can also be used to make up late points on a daily homework assignment. Students are
also expected to have a free reading book with them in the building and will use that if
there is downtime in class. Being late for class is part of not being ready and will receive
a penalty as long as it is unexcused. I will allow one free tardy to be listed on the credit

card and not receive a penalty on the extra credit. Any other tardy after that will be met
with a fee of one credit card slot and then escalating to detentions and onward.
Cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be met with the fullest extent of
school policy punishment.

Classroom Layout

In my classroom, I prefer to do a lot of partner or small group work. This allows

for kids to stay engaged while working on specific skills that need to be mastered. This
is why I prefer to have tables of four around the class. My desk will be off into the corner
and not the center point of the room. Also, the tables will be spread around the room in
an orderly fashion to provide structure but also room to work together as well as
individually.

Monitoring the Classroom and Student Misbehavior

Monitoring student misbehavior is hopefully a small part of classroom

management. Ideally, procedures and rules would be in place by either the school or
teacher that would prevent most serious misbehaviors. However, it is unrealistic to
assume that all misbehavior will be headed off by strong rules and procedures. In my

classroom, I do not tolerate bullying, violent behavior or degradation of anyone. Keeping

these serious violations in check allow for a safe and free flowing classroom where
ideas can be shared. In order to monitor student misbehavior effectively, it is important
to know the student and his or her situation. Being able to assess how a student will
respond to different types of interventions will allow for the proper type of discipline to
occur. Despite this, some offenses must be handled in certain ways based on school,
district or lawful policy.

Parents as Partners
During my time Student teaching, I filled out a weekly web page for students as
well as parents to feel informed of what was going on in the classroom. This included all
homework assignments for the whole week posted the Friday before the week began
and all major announcements from class. Also, extra copies of major assignments could
also be found on this page. Also, contact with parents about any potential issues is
crucial to student success. 504 meetings as well as IEP meetings must be scheduled
and attended to understand exactly what support might be needed and what support the
student is receiving or should be receiving at home. Also, regular communication with
parents about other in class issues such as constant late work or misbehavior can lead
to a better understanding and possibly a solution as well.

Alpha Team Planner: November 2-6

Class

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

English

Campfire Story
sharing
HW: get a
good sleep
and eat
breakfast!

Campfire
Story sharing
HW: get a
good sleep
and eat
breakfast!

Writing
reflection.
Elements of
Fiction
review.
HW: Study
Elements of
Fiction
Notes, eat &
sleep well :)

Elements of
Fiction
Jeopardy!
HW: get a
good sleep
and eat
breakfast!

Vocab
Words 2130. Book
Talk. Free
Read Friday
HW: Vocab
sentences
due
Monday,
cheer for
the
Buckeyes! :
)

C.E.I.S
HW: Bring
Science
Article to
class (Due
Thursday)

C.E.I.S.
HW: Bring
Science
Article to
class (Due
Thursday)

C.E.I.S.
HW: None

C.E.I.S.
HW: None

Science Current Events

In Science

Special
Schedule
ALL week
due to Iowa
Assessment
Testing
HW: Bring
Science
Article to
class (Due
Thursday)

Social
Studies

Group project
norms and
expectations
HW:None

Group project
norms and
expectations
HW: None

Work on
social class
projects
HW: None

Work on
social class
projects
HW: None

Work on
social class
projects
HW: Finish
projects
and be
ready to
present

Math 7

Skills Practice
5-2

Practice 5-2

LT
CheckPoint
5-2
DMR 7-7
and 7-8

Skills
Practice 53A
#1-16

Skills
Practice 53B

Fraction
Sheet #4

Fraction
Review
Worksheet

Fraction
Unit Test

Fraction Sheet Fractions

PreLT
Algebra #2

CheckPoint
Fraction

Sheet #3

(IA Assessment Week)