Ms.

Geigers 3rd Grade Classroom

Management Plan
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Table of Contents

Classroom Organization
Physical Description 1
Physical Layout 2A

Operational Organization
Record-Keeping Procedures 3
New Student Procedures 3
Keeping the Classroom Orderly 4
Displaying Student Work 4

Disciplinary Policies and Professional Ethics
Establishing Rules/Expectations 5
Consequences for Breaking Rules 5
School Rule Infractions 6
Students Disrespecting Teachers 7
Recess Conflicts 7
Student Inattentiveness/Lack of Motivation 7
Tardiness 8
Student Disrupting/Offending Another Student 8
Students not Getting Work Done 9
Students not Trying to Get Work Done 9
Cheating 9
Involving Parents 10
Administration Involvement 10
Behavior as a School Professional 11
Lounge Gossip 11
Disagreeing with a Colleague 11
Disagreeing with my Principals Leadership Strategies 11

Classroom Routines and Procedures
Student Sharing 12
Room Helpers 12
Free Time 12
Field Trips 13
Homework 13
Handing in Papers 13
Students Finishing Work Early 14
Passing out Papers 14
Announcements 14
Dismissal for Recess/Lunch/End of the Day 14
Going to Specials 14
Bathroom/Drink Procedures 15
Differentiation Policy 15
Parents 15
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References 16

Part I: Classroom Organization

A. Physical
I decided to model my classroom design off of a classroom that I had in elementary
school. I made some modifications, but overall I remember really liking the way my 3rd
grade classroom was arranged.
Near the door are items that will aid in getting students into the classroom quickly
and ready to start the day. To the left of the door I have placed student cubbies so when
the students come into the classroom they can immediately place their backpacks and
personal belongings in their cubbies. They would then proceed to the morning check-in
table, located to the right of the door. At the table students will place a stick with their
name into the hot can, alternate can, or cold can for lunch. That will also serve as
attendance. There will also be a pencil sharpener at the morning check-in table so that
students can get their pencils ready for the day.
Above the morning check-in table I placed a bulletin board. I plan on it having a
student spotlight section each week, and also containing that weeks jobs in the
classroom. Students can look at the board when they check-in in the morning.
Next to the table I placed the Classroom Rental Center, which I got the idea from
the book, Setting Limits in the Classroom. I placed that by the check-in table to help
remind students to bring all materials to their desks so they are ready for the day.
The Smart Board is at the front of the room, I think it makes the most sense to
place it there since that is where students will be looking most of the time. To the right of
the board I placed a TV that contains a DVD player. Again, since that is the front of the
room it makes sense to have the TV there.
My desk, with the computer and phone are placed in the corner so that I can easily
see what is going on in my classroom. With it being located across from the door, I can
see who comes in and out of the classroom which I think is huge as far as safety goes. I
also placed storage behind my desk so that students do not have easy access to those
types of materials.
In-between the windows I placed the student computer center. I liked having it
near my desk incase students have any technical questions or problems arise, I am close
by to help them out.
In the far corner I placed the reading nook, complete with an easel, large rug, and
comfy chair. There are two bookcases to help section off the corner to make it cozier. The
bookcases will contain categorized books that students can read during free reading time.
This area will also serve as a large group meeting spot, as I included the easel for
instruction.
Next to the reading nook is where the subject centers begin. The small group
reading center and math center both have round tables to facilitate discussion. They also
are separated by bookcases which will contain activities and supplies for those subjects.
On the walls next to those centers are a white board and a bulletin board. The bulletin
board will be used to display student work.
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The other two centers are social studies and science. The social studies center has
a smaller rug and bookcase that will contain maps and globes. Students can go to the rug
to look at unique books and artifacts from the unit we are studying. The science center
has a rectangular table and bookcase that will contain mini experiments or activities that
students can do in a small group.
In the middle of the classroom is where the student table groups are located. Four
students will sit at a table, to facilitate discussion and cooperative learning. I placed the
tables in a circle around the writing center because I want the classroom to feel like a
community. The writing center is in the middle because that is where students will be
turning in all assignments, and also receiving help on any writing activities we do in
class.
Lastly, the sink and drinking fountain are in the back corner of the classroom so
that if a student does need a drink or to wash his/her hands, they are less of a distraction
to the rest of the class.



B. Operational
Teacher Record-Keeping Procedures: In my classroom, I will use hard-copy lesson
planning books for each subject. Rather than using these to record student grades, I will
use these books to help me keep track of what each student should be working
on/progress they are making in each subject area. Each student will have his/her own box
on the page that will be used to keep track of progress each week. I will organize each
book by having the students who need the most teacher instruction at the top, with the
more independent students at the bottom. That will make it easy for me to organize and
see where most of my attention and direction should be spent. When it is reading time, I
can grab the reading book and clip-board cruise to different students and make notes in
their boxes. This will be helpful to use when creating report cards and having parent-
teacher conferences as I can easily flip from week to week to see the progress that the
student has made.
As for official grades, I plan on using an electronic grade book. This will make
recording grades more efficient and will also help reduce errors. It will also allow for
easy access to see which students are struggling and with what concepts by highlighting
certain scores.
In regards to student behavior and parent contact, I will keep a
large binder that has a section for each student. In each students section,
there will be a good behavior log, behavior improvement log, and a
parent contact log. For the good behavior log, I will record the date and
what the student did that demonstrated incredible behavior (these would
be things that uphold the values in our classroom promise sticking up
for a friend, helping someone who spilled their glue, etc.). For the behavior improvement
log, I will record the date of the incident, what the student did, what
action was taken to solve the behavior, and if a parent was contacted.
For the parent contact log, I will record the date of contact, the mode
of contact, and the subject matter. If an email was sent, I will print out
the email and place it in that students section. By taking these
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measures, I will ensure accurate records of student behavior, how it was handled, and
what communication took place with parents. I believe it is important to praise students
for good behavior and to let parents know as well, so that is why both good and bad
behavior logs are included.
I will keep track of attendance electronically by having a new excel spreadsheet
each month. The office will also keep track of student attendance, but I feel it is
important for me to keep track as well so that I can best suit my students needs.

New Students in My Room: When a new student arrives in my classroom, he/she will
immediately be given a buddy. If the new student is a girl, she will receive a girl buddy
and vice-versa for boys. I feel that this will make the new student more comfortable by
having a buddy who is the same-sex. The buddy will sit by the new student, help them
with what we are working on in class, and show them around the school. They will also
sit with them at lunch and show them how the lunch and recess procedures work. By
having a buddy, the new student will also have an immediate friend, which will hopefully
help make them feel less nervous about coming to a new school.
During the first day, the new student will stay inside for recess so that I can sit
down with him/her and get to know them. He/she will receive a fun folder that has all of
our classroom and school-wide expectations, general information about our classroom
and the school, and a few get-to-know-you sheets. We will spend some time during
recess going over really important classroom procedures and just getting to
know each other. By spending that one-on-one time with the new student, I
will be able to begin to form a relationship with him/her and he/she will feel
more comfortable in the classroom.
I will also keep a bag on my desk that contains blank name tags and
other items that my students use on a daily basis. After school that first day,
I will be able to easily add name tags to the new students desk and cubby.
By making sure he/she has a name tag, it will help make him/her feel a part of the class.

Keeping the Classroom Orderly & Kids Desks Clean: Before going to lunch, students
will have three minutes to clean up the classroom and make sure it is in order. I will play
the Magic Scrap game, in which students have to pick up scraps off of the floor. If the
scrap that I saw was picked up, then I announce who picked it up once the room is clean.
This process will also be repeated before the end of the day. Students will be
given five ten minutes to clean up the room, to make sure it is the way we want to learn
the next morning. After the room has been picked up and the magic scrap has been
identified, students will pack up their backpacks to get ready to go home. This includes
taking papers from their cubbies, stacking chairs, getting their coats on, and lining up to
leave.
On Friday afternoons, I will leave the last fifteen minutes of the day to have
students do a deep cleaning of their desks. This will include having students clean out
their desks to make sure they are organized and will also include disinfecting the tops of
their desks. I believe it is important to try and minimize the germs in the classroom, so by
disinfecting the tops of student desks once a week, we can hopefully eliminate some of
those bugs!

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Displaying Student Work: It is so important to have student work both in and out of the
classroom, to show that I value the effort students put into their work. When students
which is why I will have my students work displayed at all times. I plan on having
several bulletin boards in my room that will be used to display student projects. I will
also have space on the walls outside of the classroom to hang up student work. Each
student will have their name with a clothespin that is attached to the wall. This will make
it easy to hang up the work and to see who created what.
Work or projects that are not displayed around the room will be given the option
to be placed in each students portfolio. We will have designated time once a month to go
through the assignments and projects that students have
created for them to choose what they want in their
portfolios. This will give them an opportunity to show to
their parents during conferences what work they have
done and that they are proud of it. I think this is
important to include in part of my classroom because it
gives the students some say in to what they want shown
to others. It also allows for reflection on their work, and
for them to think about why they are proud of the work
that they accomplished. By having this outlet, it will
hopefully encourage students to continue to do their best on all of their assignments.



Part II: Disciplinary Policies and Profession Ethics

Establishing Initial Group Rules/Expectations: During the first day of school, students
can be anxious and apprehensive about the new environment. Therefore, the first day will
be a fun and engaging day mixed with get-to-know-you activities and learning the initial
classroom rules and expectations.
I believe that it is important for the students to take some ownership in their
classroom rules and expectations, so we will discuss as a class what types of behaviors
we want in our room. We will start out by reading the book Have You Filled a Bucket
Today? by Carol McCloud. This book will help introduce the idea of filling up peoples
buckets, which is something that I want to make sure the students include in our
classroom expectations.
After reading the book, we will then brainstorm a list of
attitudes, behaviors, and ideas for how to treat others in our
classroom. I will then write this on a big poster and we will call it
Our Classroom Promise. The students will then trace their hand
around the outside of the poster to recognize that they were a part of
this promise and that they will uphold its values in our classroom.
As far as other classroom rules and expectations go, those
will be introduced after our classroom promise has been created and
hung up. A similar process will be used to set up our classroom
expectations. Students will brainstorm different ideas and we will
vote on our top five. I will explain that I have the ultimate decision in deciding what
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expectations will stay, and that I can modify them if I see fit. However, the students are
the ones generating the list and therefore feel like their voices are heard when
establishing classroom expectations.
We will practice these expectations very rigidly for the first few weeks of school,
to ensure that students understand how to carry out Our Classroom Promise and our
classroom expectations. Reminders and consequences will be given out if students do not
follow the expectations, or they may be asked to repeat the action the right way. This will
hopefully help reduce the number of behavior problems throughout the year because
students have practiced what is expected of them so many times.

Consequences for Breaking Class Rules: When students break a classroom expectation,
there are various consequences that may occur, depending on the severity of the offense.
If a student blurts out, is not sitting still during whole group
instruction, etc. then the student will receive a STOP card. (I will keep
a handful of STOP cards with me at all times.) I will simply hand the
STOP card to the student and continue teaching (students will have
already been made aware of what receiving a STOP card means). This
serves as a warning to the student to stop whatever they are doing that
does not meet our classroom expectations. Handing out STOP cards
also does not interrupt teaching, and is a less threatening/embarrassing
way to address the problem behavior for the student. Students keep
their STOP card until I have a chance to talk with them quietly about
their behavior and can retrieve the card back.
If the student does not improve their behavior after receiving a
STOP card, I will give the student a verbal cue to fill out a Think
Sheet. The student will go over where the Think Sheet station is located and will fill
out the half sheet of paper that asks them to reflect on what they did. The questions
include: name, date, what action/behavior they exhibited that did not meet our classroom
expectations, why they behaved the way they did, and how they can improve that
behavior for next time. The forms will then be turned into a basket and I will collect them
at the end of the day to save for my own student records. The sheets will go into my
student record binder and an entry into the behavior log will be recorded.
If the Think Sheet does not improve behavior, then students will have to stay in
for recess and attend Recess-Academy. The student and I will first have a brief discussion
as to what the problem was today, why he/she acted the way he/she did, and what he/she
can work on for next time. I think it is important to determine why the student acted out.
Was it because he/she did not eat breakfast, did he/she go to bed really late the night
before, or is he/she simply bored in class? By figuring out the cause of the behavior, I can
better advise my student on how we can both work to fix the problem. After the
discussion, the student and I will work on a plan to help them improve this behavior, and
we will briefly practice the behavior the appropriate way before they return outside for
recess.
In only extreme behavior situations that threaten the safety of other students,
administration will be called to the room for backup support. It is then up to the
administration to determine a consequence for such behavior. Once the student has
calmed down and has returned to the room, I will find a time to conference with the
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student to reflect on what happened and will attempt to help them come up with a plan in
case something happens like that again, so that they will know how to better handle
themselves.
Other consequences may include, staying inside for recess and not participating in
fun classroom activities (such as holiday celebrations, extra recess, free time, etc.). These
consequences will be handed out based on an individual basis, depending on the
classroom expectation broken and how many times it has occurred for that student.
However, all incidents, regardless of the consequence, will be recorded in the students
behavior log.
My ultimate goal in giving consequences to students is to not embarrass them in
front of the whole class. Many students act out to gain attention from some underlying
issue they are struggling with. I want to determine why the student is acting in that way
so that I can better help them and meet their needs. By listening to the students problems
and addressing those needs that may eliminate those problem behaviors all together.

School Rule Infractions: Students who break school rules, will have similar
consequences that breaking classroom rules follow. If the infraction can be taken care of
by simply giving the student a verbal reminder to take a hat off or spit out his/her gum,
then that is all that will happen. If a student is a repeated offender of those minor
infractions, the student will be asked to fill out a Think Sheet and will have a brief
conference with me about how we can work to eliminate this behavior.
If the behavior is something that a verbal reminder cannot fix, the steps for
breaking classroom expectations will be followed and documented in the students
behavior log.

Students Disrespecting Teachers: If a student disrespects me, they will receive a verbal
warning that sounds something like this, It hurts my feelings when you _________.
Please stop and try __________ again. They will also know that because they
disrespected me, they will have to fill out an Im Sorry sheet, located next to the
Think Sheet station. On the sheet, students will fill out their name, the date, who they
disrespected, and why they are sorry for disrespecting that person. They then have to
hand me the Im Sorry sheet and the situation is cleared up.
If a student disrespects another teacher or staff member, and I hear it happen, I
will say to them, It makes me really sad that you _________ to __________. Please
apologize and say that again. Once the student returns to the classroom, he/she will fill
out an Im Sorry sheet and will have to hand deliver it to whomever he/she
disrespected. This holds the student accountable for his/her actions and also teaches them
to apologize for disrespecting their elders. The incident will be recorded in the students
behavior log.

Recess Conflicts: When I witness student conflict on the playground, I will go over to
the students involved and will ask both sides to explain what is going on. After each side
has explained what they think happened, I will have the students no longer play together
for the remainder of recess. They will also have to avoid the area of the playground that
caused the problem (if it was an object, then I will hold the object for the rest of recess).
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If the students cannot follow those instructions, they will be asked to sit out for the
remainder of recess.
If a student reports an incident to me at recess, I will find the other students
involved and will ask for their sides of the story as well. Again, if an agreement or
compromise cannot be agreed upon, the students will be asked to no longer play together
during recess for that day and will have to play in different areas.
If a student gets hurt at recess, immediate medical attention will be given. The
student will be taken to the nurses office and questions regarding what happened and
who was involved will happen after the student has been medically treated. This
investigation will likely occur after recess is over; therefore the incident may last into part
of the school day. The students involved will be asked to give their side of the story
during work time and appropriate consequences will be given depending on the severity
of the incident.
Any recess incident will then be recorded in the behavior logs to document what
happened.

Student Inattentiveness or Lack of Motivation: If a student is off task and is not
paying attention, he/she will receive a card with an eyeball on it (similar process to the
STOP card). Students know that when they receive an eyeball card, it is a reminder to
focus on their work/listen to whoever is talking. If this visual cue does not get students
back to work, a verbal reminder will occur. I will go over to the student and will address
the situation. We will have a brief conversation as to why he/she is not on task or why
he/she is having a problem focusing. If it something that the student needs (i.e. a new
pencil, clarification, etc.) then I will try to provide those things necessary to the student
right away. If it is that someone or something is causing the student to not focus, either
the item will be removed or the student will have the option to do his/her work in another
location in the room or in the hallway.
If I notice that a student is lacking motivation in school, the student and I will
have a conference during recess. We will try to determine why they are unmotivated and
will come up with a plan that will help motivate them. Be it rewards, verbal praise, more
challenging or easier work, whatever it is, I am willing to work with the student and to
figure out what will motivate them to actively participate in school. If, after we have
implemented the plan and there is no improvement, the students parents will be notified
and will be asked for suggestions on how to best motivate their child.

Tardiness: Students will know the morning routine, therefore if someone is tardy, they
should be able to catch up on their own without disrupting others. There will always be
an assignment with instructions on the board, so students who are a few minutes late have
some time to get everything done before we start our day. If a student is more than 10-15
minutes late, they will have to discuss quietly with one of their tablemates what they
missed and what they need to do. When I am available, I will go over to the student to
catch them up to speed and to determine if they need anything from me because they
were late (i.e. a snack because they could not eat breakfast, a pencil because they forgot
their pencil case at home, etc.).
Even though tardy students can be disruptive, I want to ensure that my students
know the routines and procedures so well that they can slip in whenever and know
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exactly what to do. I also do not want to punish them for being tardy, because they are
not in control of when they leave the house; it is most likely their parents who make them
tardy. That is why I want to provide them with the necessary items when they arrive so
that they can be successful for the remainder of the day. However, I will record tardiness
in my student record binder. If a student is repeatedly tardy, I will make contact with a
parent to address the issue.

Student Disrupting/Offending Another Student During Class: Students in my class
are taught during the first few weeks of school how to stand up for themselves if someone
is bothering them or being rude to them. They should say, Please stop ___________. It
is hurts my feelings when you ___________. Thank you. OR Please stop
___________. It is hard for me to _______________. Thank you. If a student takes
these actions and the behavior continues, then they know to come get me, unless I notice
it first. If the behavior is happening during large group instruction, the student will
receive a STOP card. After large group instruction is over, I will talk with the student and
he/she will have to fill out an Im Sorry sheet and will hand it to their peer. The
offender will also give a verbal apology.
If I see the incident happening, I will pull the student aside and have a
conversation about what he/she is doing and why it is rude or inappropriate. The student
will then follow the same steps as described previously and the incident will be recorded
in the students behavior log.

Students Not Getting Work Done: Because not every student finishes at the same time
with assignments, I will try to have 5-10 minutes each day where students can have
catch-up time. It will vary day by day depending on our schedule, but this time may
occur before or after lunch, before we leave for the day, etc. During this time students can
work on assignments that they are behind on, or that were due earlier in the day/week. If
students do not have any work to get caught up on, they will silently read. This time is
meant to be quiet, independent work so that students who really need the extra time and
use it to its full potential.
If a student repeatedly struggles to finish his/her work on time, a conference with
the student will take place to determine possible reasons as to why it is happening. The
student and I will come up with a personal plan to help finish the students assignments
on time. Options may include: having the student go to a resource room to work with
another adult or to simply be in a quiet space, to stay in for half of recess, come in early
or stay after school, lowering the assignment requirements, or to take work home. Each
option will depend on the student and what I think will be best for him/her. Parents will
be notified of these changes and will be able to conference with me about any
suggestions they might have.

Students Who Do Not Try to Get Work Done: This problem relates to my plans on
dealing with lack of motivation in students. Generally the problem with students who do
not make an effort to accomplish their work, are unmotivated. To help assist these
students, verbal cues will be given during work time to help get the student back on task.
Certain assignments may be given class time to work on, but if that is not enough time for
the student, then they have to take it home to finish it. A whole-class reminder will be
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made about that rule if the certain assignment fits into that category. If that still does not
motivate the child to complete his/her work, the students will have a conference with me
to discuss why he/she does not want to complete the assignment. Most likely the students,
who have to conference with me, are repeated offenders of this problem so we will come
up with a plan to help motivate the student to finish his/her assignments. Parents will also
be contacted if this is a repeated problem that does not seem to improve after I have
talked with their child. I will be able to discuss options with the parents about how we
can work together to motivate their child to finish the assigned work.

Cheating: During tests and quizzes, students will put up folders to use as test dividers.
This will help reduce the amount of shifting eyes and trying to look at neighbors
answers. However, I realize that some students are still going to find ways to cheat. If a
student gets caught cheating during a quiz/test, I will walk over to his/her desk and
immediately take the quiz/test. The student will not be able to make up the assignment
and will be scored with what has been completed. The parents of the child will receive
notification of the cheating and the incident will be recorded in the behavior log.
If it is brought to my attention that a student cheated during a quiz/test after it has
been turned in, I will talk with the accused student about what happened. If it is clear that
cheating did occur, the student will receive a zero for that quiz/test and will not be able to
make it up. The parents of the child will receive notification of the cheating and the
incident will be recorded in the behavior log.
While this may seem harsh for third grade students, I will not tolerate cheating in
my classroom and I feel that students need to learn that it is not acceptable to copy other
peoples work. If the punishment is harsh enough, students should hopefully learn from
their mistake and will not do it again.

Involving Parents: I feel that parents should always be made aware of things that their
child does during the school day, be it bad or good things. Therefore, after a child has a
behavioral incident that requires a conference with me, I will notify the childs parent
either by phone or email. This will simply state that I had a discussion with their child
about a certain behavior because it has been a recurring problem in our classroom. I will
also inform them that their child and I came up with a plan to help manage the problem
behavior and will share that plan with them. Lastly, I will ask them for any suggestions
that they might have to aid in this process.
If the plan that the child and I created does not seem to be working, then I will
actively involve parents. I will ask them to come in for a conference with me so that we
can discuss how to best help their child succeed. Together, we will devise a plan that will
be implemented both in the classroom and at home. I will contact the parents after several
days for follow-up to let them know how their child is doing at school and to find out
how things are going at home.
When a student becomes a safety threat to others, parents will be immediately
notified. Because this is such a serious matter, parents must be involved from the
beginning. All communication with parents at any stage or level of behavior problem will
be recorded in the parent communication log.

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Administration Involvement: I will involve my schools administration only as a last
resort. I feel that it is my responsibility to try and resolve the behavior problems as they
come up, rather than dump on the office to handle. Therefore, the administration will
become involved if, after parent involvement, there has still been no improvement with
the students behavior. I will contact my principal and inform him/her about the students
behavior and what has been done to try and improve it. From there, it will be up to the
principal to decide the best course of action, but it may involve a conference that includes
the student, the students parents, myself, and the principal. By including everyone who
can make a difference in the students behavior, we can hopefully help to improve it.
If a student becomes a safety threat to others, administration will be called
immediately for back-up support. If at all possible, I will try to avoid sending the student
to walk themselves down to the office, as they may find this fun, or could cause even
more disruption in the hallway. Rather, I will have the principal come to my room to
retrieve the student, or will walk the student down to the office myself while the
remainder of the class goes to the library or computer lab.
After school, I will talk to the principal to discuss what actions were taken with
the student and how we should proceed in the future. Parents will be notified of the
incident and the actions that were used with their child.

Behavior as a School Professional: It is so important for students, parents, faculty, and
community members to respect me as an educational professional. Therefore, while at
school I will dress conservatively and appropriately; will show
respect to my students, parents, and colleagues; will have active
communication to parents with classroom updates; will collaborate
with other teachers to maximize the amount of best teaching
strategies I can incorporate into my classroom; and will continually
search for and participate in professional development.
Outside of the classroom, I will keep my Facebook profile
private and will not friend any of my current students or my current students parents. I
will be aware of how I look and act in public, as community members may form an
opinion about me, my school, or teachers from the way I behave. I understand that the
character traits I teach my students to value and uphold, I must also uphold in all aspects
of my life. I will try to keep those in mind and carrying those out no matter where I am.

Lounge Gossip: Gossip is all around us, but the only way to avoid it is to not start it or
participate in it. I will not talk about school policy, students, or faculty while in the
school building with other teachers. It is inappropriate and unprofessional. The only time
I will be discussing those items is when it is in a professional setting and those things are
supposed to be discussed.

Disagreeing with a Colleague: It is likely I will not agree with all of my colleagues, all
of the time, however I will ensure that I do not disrespect anyone by making rude
comments, or announcing that my way is the right way. I will show respect towards
colleagues I do not get along with and will not gossip about them. While I may not
actively seek out their advice, I will work collaboratively with them when needed and
will ensure that they are included in emails or meetings when needed. I will also keep my
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feelings about a certain colleague to myself, so that others are not involved in the views
that I have towards a certain colleague. In order to have an effective team of teachers, it is
important that everyone works together, so I will not jeopardize the effectiveness of team
work by making my opinions about someone publicly known.

Disagreeing with my Principals Leadership Strategies: Because my principal is my
boss, I have to respect what his/her leadership strategies are. If I do not agree with the
way that certain situations are handled, I will keep my thoughts and opinions to myself so
as not to gossip or stir trouble amongst faculty members. It is important to always respect
the people you work with and work for, so I will therefore not share my opinions about
the leadership style unless I am personally asked for them by my principal. In such a
situation I would voice my opinion in a way that frames my views as merely a possible
suggestion for something that could be tried. Otherwise, it is not my place to state my
opinions about how I feel the school should be lead to faculty members.

Part III: Classroom Routines and Procedures

Student Sharing: If students have something to say, they will be expected to raise their
hands. They must wait to share their ideas until they are called on. They will be made
aware that I love having students ask questions, share a connection they made to the
content, or make a suggestion for how to improve
the activity/instruction. Therefore, students will
know that it is ok to raise their hand at any point
during the day, but what they have to say must be
relevant to what is currently happening in the
classroom. If a student blurts out, a STOP card will
be given.
Another part of student sharing is sharing
what the students created. During the last five minutes of each content area (reading,
writing, science, math, etc.) students will volunteer to share with the class either what
they worked on, something they learned, or a question that will further their knowledge
about the topic. This serves as a reflective piece of learning and wraps up that activity for
the day. It also allows for peer feedback and student-to-student interaction/critique about
the learning that occurred that day.

Room Helpers: My classroom will have student jobs, however not everyone will have a
job at the same time. The jobs in my classroom will be: line leader (is first in line), door
holder (is second in line, holds doors open for the entire class then becomes the caboose),
mail manager (passes out papers throughout the day and puts any notes that go home into
students take home boxes), messenger (will take items/notes to other
teachers or the office throughout the day), calendar helper (helps me with
the morning routine in the morning), electrician (turns on and off the lights),
and snack facilitator (passes out paper towels for snack and makes sure all
of the trash from snack has been thrown away).
The jobs will change every day and will already be assigned when
the students come into the classroom in the morning. They will know that
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part of their morning routine is to check the job chart to see if they have a job that day.
The job chart will be a class roster with clothespins that have the job title written on
them. I will slide the clothespins down a name each day, so that each child will get a fair
opportunity with each job.

Free Time: When students have free time, they will be expected to finish another
assignment that needs to get done, they may do free reading, or may visit the content
center of the content area we are currently doing (i.e. during social studies time, students
could visit the social studies center to play games, read books, or do activities that relate
to social studies). If students come up to me when they have free time and ask what they
are supposed to do, they will be ignored because they know that I expect them to always
be doing something that will further their learning. There is also a poster that will be
hanging up that provides different suggestions on what to do during free time if students
forget their options, especially during the first few weeks of school.

Field Trips: I believe that field trips are incredibly beneficial to student learning, as they
enhance the concepts and can make really strong connections for students. Therefore, I
will always try to take my students on two-three field trips a year. I will apply for field
trip grants and scholarships through local organizations and/or my schools PTA. I will
also require two-three parent volunteers to accompany my class on the fieldtrip to help
monitor the students. It will also be helpful to have parent volunteers so that students can
be broken up into smaller groups while we are exploring our field trip site. This will
allow for students to learn more, see more, and experience more if there are fewer of
them in a group, rather than the whole class travelling together.
Before going on a field trip, permission slips will be sent home with students for
parents to decide if their child is allowed to go, if they will be bringing a lunch from
home or if they need one from school, and if the parent would like to volunteer to come
along. The forms will be returned to me so that I can order enough school lunches, create
an accurate list of attendees for the field trip site, and can ensure that there will be enough
seats on the bus.
In the classroom, students will be learning about how the field trip site connects to
our learning. We will explore in depth, the ways in which the site relates to our classroom
so that students know what to look for while they are out and about. This learning process
will happen for several days before we go on the field trip. The day of the trip, we will go
over the assignment/project that will be completed once we return. By providing the
expectations of the assignment beforehand, students are given a focus and purpose of
what to listen for and look for while they are on the field trip.
As a follow up afterwards, students will complete their assignment. Depending on
what is chosen for the reflection piece of the field trip, it may take several days to
complete. Students will also write thank you notes that I will send to our parent
volunteers, field trip coordinators, and those who provided funding for our trip.

Homework: When homework is assigned, I will always go over one or two problems
that are included in the homework to serve as examples for the students. For some
students who struggle with figuring things out on their own, these in-class examples will
walk students through the problems and will show them what I am expecting in their
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answers. Depending on time, students may be given a little class time to work on
homework. During that time they may ask me questions if they arise. If time is not
available for homework help, students will be expected to complete the remainder of the
assignment at home. The assignment will then be turned in the next morning when the
students arrive.

Handing in Papers: At the morning check-in station, there will be a bin for homework,
forms, and other miscellaneous papers to be turned in. As a part of my morning routine, I
will collect those papers within the first few minutes of class and will move them to my
desk. For the remainder of the day, the homework basket will
serve as the turn-in basket. Whenever students are finished with an
assignment, they may get up from their desk and turn it in to the
basket. At the end of the day, I will collect all of the papers and
will sort them by assignment. While this is more work for me, I am
afraid that by having a basket for each subject may get messy and
papers are more likely to get lost. One basket makes it easy for the
students and is a central location for all papers that need to come to me.

Students Finished Work Early: Students who finished their work early then have free
time and will follow the free time guidelines as mentioned above.

Passing Out Papers: The mail manager will help me pass out papers throughout the day.
When it is time to pass out an assignment, the mail manager will know to come to me and
I will provide half the stack of papers to them. We will then work together to distribute
the papers to the class to make this process a little faster. At the end of the day, the mail
manager will also pass out papers/fliers that need to go home with each student. The mail
manager will put these papers into the students take-home boxes.
When papers are being passed out, students will not be allowed to begin their
assignment until everyone has a paper. They are not allowed to ask any questions
regarding the assignment/paper until I have given directions on what to do in case their
question is answered.

Announcements: As a part of our morning routine, I will go over the schedule for the
day. It is at this time that I will make any announcement I may have. If something comes
up throughout the day that requires immediate attention, I will ask students to stop what
they are doing and to give me their undivided attention. I will then make the
announcement. Reminders will also be talked about at the end of the day before students
pack up to go home.

Dismissal for Recess/Lunch /End of the Day: When it is time to leave for lunch and
recess, students will wait for my cue. I will provide students a few extra minutes each day
in order to clean up their desks and the classroom. After the Magic Scrap game has
been played, students will wait for my cue to go line up for lunch. When they hear my
cue, they know that they must use hand sanitizer, retrieve their lunch card or cold lunch
and then may get into line. We will not leave for lunch until everyone has followed this
routine and is quietly standing in line, facing forward, and hands to themselves.
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At the end of the day, a similar routine will occur in that the Magic Scrap game
will be played and the students will clean up the room to put it back in order. After the
room is clean and tidy, students will listen for my cue to retrieve the papers from their
take-home boxes and will be able to put them in their backpacks. Students can put on
coats/hats and backpacks before putting their chair on their desk. Once those tasks are
completed, they may get in line. We will not leave the room until everyone is quietly in
line, facing forward, with their hands at their sides. Students will know that I dismiss the
class when we are ready to walk in the halls, the bell does not dismiss them.

Going to Specials: Students in my room will follow the same procedures for going to
specials as they do for going to lunch/recess. Before we leave the classroom to go
anywhere, students must have cleaned up their work area/desk, and must be quietly in
line, facing forward, with their hands at their sides. I will wait as long as I have to, for
students to follow these rules when in line before we leave the room to walk in the
hallway.
Once I have dropped the students off at specials, I will briefly talk to the specials
teacher to inform him/her about any problems that have come up during the day with
students. This will help make the specials time run smoother for that teacher, or may help
enforce a certain disciplinary action that I took with a student. At the end of specials, I
will then ask the teacher how things went so that I can take the necessary actions when
we return to our classroom if need be.

Bathroom Procedures and Getting Drinks: Students will be expected to take care of
going to the bathroom and getting a drink during the first five minutes of class. This is
their time to get settled in for the day, so I do not care if they wander in and out during
those five minutes to take care of business. They are also expected to take care of this
after lunch/recess, before they return to the classroom for the afternoon.
If a student desperately needs to go to the bathroom or get a drink,
one student can leave at a time. There will be a bathroom/drink hand
sanitizer bottle that the student will grab and then come to me and simply
show it. I will acknowledge them with a head shake for yes or no, and then
they will either place the bottle on their desk or back in its place until they
are able to go the bathroom. Once he/she returns, a squirt of hand sanitizer
will be used before placing the bottle back to its location. I will keep mental
notes of who is abusing this power and may have to come up with alternative ways to
deal with the bathroom/drink privileges for those students. Otherwise, as long as students
are not constantly asking to go to the bathroom, they may leave with the bracelet when
they need to.

Differentiation Policy: Students who do not understand directions or tasks will be given
their instructions in alternative ways, however they will be suited for the individual
student. Some of these may include a handout with written directions, one with pictures,
or me verbally explaining the assignment once other students have already started. An
example will always be given to the students to give them a model of how to do the
assignment. Assignments may also provide scaffolding so that students are not
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responsible for as much information. Again, each student will be treated differently
according to their abilities and needs.
For the gifted and high ability students, instruction will be differentiated so that
students are given a creative outlet for assignments. Projects will be open-ended so that
these students can use their creative and higher-order thinking skills to create projects
that they are excited about. Reading groups and writing groups will be leveled so that
high-level readers and writers are in the same group, meaning that they can read and
write more challenging texts. In regards to other subject areas, these students will be able
to do experiments or projects that may challenge their thinking, or may relate to the topic
that the rest of the class is studying. They can then create a report that teaches the rest of
the class about what they discovered.

Parents: I will keep a weekly blog for parents that will include the weeks schedule of
events, homework, the spelling list, the lunch menu, and the schedule of specials. The
blog will also include what we are working on for that week and any special projects or
events that will be coming up soon. If something to the schedule needs to be changed for
that week, I will update the blog and will also send out an email to the parents to be sure
that they are notified of the change. For parents who do not have access to the internet, a
hard copy version of the blog will be printed out and given to the student to take home
each week.
Parents will also be notified on an individual basis as needed for updates about
their child. These will be both good and bad interactions, as it is important for parents to
be informed about the behaviors of their child.
I would like to have a parent-teacher conference during the first week of school in
order to get to know each students family and to begin to form a relationship with them.
It will also be beneficial to learn about the student from his/her parents. They will be able
to provide me with any tips that have worked well with their child before.
In preparing for the real parent-teacher conferences parents will be notified of
conferences three weeks in advance by receiving a note. Attached to the note will be a
portion that gets returned back to school with the parents top three time slots for
conferences. Two weeks in advanced, parents will receive their conference time and will
be given instructions as to what they need to prepare/bring along with them. There will be
a station set up when parents arrive to look through their childs portfolio. This will act as
a time buffer in case the previous conference runs late or the parents arrive early.




References Consulted:
Hubbell Elementary, Walnut Hills Elementary (practicum sites)
Mrs. Huegel
Mrs. Jones
Personal experience
Pinterest
Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. Mackenzie, Ed.D., and Lisa Stanzione, M.A.
The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong