If the classroom is your own section of “the zoo” then those students sitting in that room are, in fact, your wild animals. As a teacher, you have tools to help you control those little wild animals. The effectiveness of those tools depends on your classroom management!
Classroom management is the elephant in the room when it comes to students performing below standard. It’s not the only cause but good classroom management strategies help create a strong learning environment. When there’s a strong learning environment, more learning occurs.
When there’s a strong learning environment, more learning occurs. Click To TweetA part of classroom management that isn’t talked about often is creating a classroom management plan that parents will love. This sounds weird right?
Think about it this way. If your parents LOVE your classroom management plan, then you are more likely to get backup if/when one of those wild animals gets a little unruly.
What kind of classroom management strategies can you utilize in your room that will ensure parents will be behind you 110%? Here are some ideas to consider when creating your classroom management plan.
Classroom Management Plan
#1 Reality:
When designing your classroom management plan, you want to make sure you are thinking about things on a realistic level. In reality, if a student is talking out of turn, what would be a good consequence?
- Roll your eyes because it’s the thousandth time today you’ve had to remind someone of this rule!
- Crouch down by the child and ask them nicely to raise their hand.
- Thank the student for their thoughts and remind him/her to raise their hand when he/she wants to talk.
- For sure not 1.
If you said “4: For sure not 1.” Then you are correct. Parents expect you to be the adult in the room even when students are getting a little crazy due to a full moon, the announcement that there will be cake at lunch, a fly buzzing around the room, snow falling from the sky… you know, the normal life-changing things.
Make sure your expectations are realistic, something that you can follow, and are age appropriate.
#2 Fair does not mean equal:
This is a lesson that we learned in the 1960’s when people thought segregation was ok. Just because we try to make things appear equal, that doesn’t mean they are fair.
When you are making your classroom management plan, make sure you are thinking about students as individuals and not as a group as a whole. When you write your plan out, you may want to consider students who have ADHD, single-parent households, loud/violent homes etc.
Just because Sally can still focus after missing recess for throwing gum in Johnny’s hair, doesn’t mean you’ll get the same result from Bob who hasn’t stopped moving since he got in the room.
#3 Consistency:
Now I know you may be thinking, “Consistency? You just told me that fair does not mean equal!” You’re right, I did. But, hear me out ok?
If you are going to punish a student for not raising his/her hand today but ignore it tomorrow, that will not work. Parents are all about making sure everyone is TREATED the same. Even if the consequence is different, treating all of your students the same is vital to get parent support.
Once you have a plan in place that you created while keeping the three ideas above in mind, you can start working on your classroom management philosophy. Usually your classroom management philosophy has three goals that no parent can argue with.
- Promote safety
- Promote a positive atmosphere
- Promote positive learning
Your classroom management techniques should all be centered around the goals that you set for your classroom. If the three goals above are close to your goals, here are some classroom management ideas to use in your classroom.
Classroom Management Tools
#1 SAFETY Signs
One way to promote safety in your classroom is to use visual safety signs in places where danger is eminent such as by the door (lining up), group reading areas (more people…more temptation), and your desk (personal space).
Have an expectation for lining up and a consequence for not lining up appropriately helps keep your classroom safe just as all classroom management techniques do. Talk about what these signs mean in your classroom and what to do when they see them. The procedure students follow is 100% up to you!
#2 R-E-S-P-E-C-T Tell them what it means!
Students sometimes forget about manners especially when they are excited about understanding a new concept. You can help promote respectful behavior by having an R-E-S-P-E-C-T board where students and teachers can write down respectful behavior they saw and say THANK YOU for using that behavior.
For example, if Tina raised her hand when she usually interrupts me, I could write a sticky note that says, “Thank you Tina for letting me finishing my idea and following our classroom rules for conversation!”
These little notes make students feel so good! If you employ this idea, make sure all students are recognized by keeping track on a private chart of your own.
#3 CELEBRATE Good Thoughts Come On!:
In order to create a positive learning environment, you need a team mentality. Even if you’re sitting on the bench, you should be proud of each other’s work.
Demonstrate what a positive classroom looks like by telling students how well they are doing and using positive talk like, “I know you can do it!” or “You’re really getting better at these fractions!”
To build a place where learning is good! When you start demonstrating this, students will too. You can even make a “Celebrate” board much like the R-E-S-P-E-C-T board and have students write each other notes.
Another idea you can use to celebrate each other is to use colors to signify a student’s level of understanding. Then pair a green (got it!) with a yellow (almost have it!) or a red (I’m lost!) to have students help the other. Then have them do a sweet handshake to celebrate when the other students’ cards change from yellow or red to green!
There are so many classroom management ideas out there that the possibilities are endless!
These are all great classroom management strategies and ideas to help you and parents work together. To ensure parents LOVE your classroom management plan, inform them about your ideas and how your class will work.
Showing them a behavior management plan will help them see where their child may need help and you could give them ideas for home; now you’re working as a team! Way to create a POSITIVE parent-teacher relationship while keeping those wild animals under control.
Other Articles You Might Enjoy
Collaborative Learning
Amazing Classroom Rules
Getting Your Students Attention
Do you have a tip for creating a classroom management plan your parents will fall in love with? Leave your comments below so it might help other teahers take their classroom management to a new level of awesome!
Until Next Time Educational Rockstars,
