Day One Day Two Day Three

Snowball Ice Breaker: Practice of classroom Assignment of groups: Thus

Allows students an routines: Students will have far, students have been in

opportunity to socialize, get an opportunity to practice and self-selected seats. Now, they

to know each others names, ask questions about will be assigned to pods for

and practice taking turns classroom routines literary circles and small

talking and listening. Name cards assignment: group discussion. These will

Introduction of classroom Students will be given the be changed several times

routines: Allows students to name card assignment. They during the year to allow

get to know how our class is will be given time in class to maximum exposure to

going to be run and how to work on it, in a way to allow differing viewpoints.

efficiently use time in our them to experience a mock Sharing of name cards:

classroom. workshop period. Students will work on their

Introduction of Classroom Creation of class listening and sharing skills in

Rules and Behavior expectations: We will small groups. They will be

Management System: generate together classroom given the opportunity to

Students will learn about the expectations. This will allow express themselves and make

rules I have in place for the the students to work on the space their own by

classroom and will be told collaboration and cooperation displaying their name card on

about how I plan to manage with each other and me as the their desk.

their behavior. This will teacher.

allow them to get to know me

 as a teacher and gain an Discussion of technology

understanding of how I policy: The technology

expect us to treat each other policy will be introduced and

respectfully. students will be given the

Student Survey: Allows me opportunity to ask questions

to get to know a little about and comment on the policy to

my students in relation to my make sure it is fully

subject as well as a few of developed.

their interests.

A. Classroom Expectations:

The expectations will be created as a class, however they will be guided by me to fit close to the

expectations below:

1. Respect others by listening intently and waiting for your turn to talk.

Rationale: The Class-S guide requires active listening by students in order to maintain a

positive classroom environment (Pianta, 2012). It also helps to promote fruitful

discussion and reminds students that they are expected to participate not only by talking,

but by being present while others talk.

2. Arrive on time and ready to learn!

 Rationale: In order to help me make the most of class time, I need students in class and

ready to go when the bell rings. This is why I built in a three minute buffer period for

students to finish getting set-up before class gets started.

3. Be prepared for class by bringing your materials and doing your homework. Class discussion

only runs when you have something to say!

Rationale: Discourse and collaboration are huge components of a functioning classroom.

If students neglect to prepare for class, especially in a class run on small group

discussion, they leave their fellow classmates at a loss. In order to support discussion and

collaboration, students need to be prepared for class.

4. Question ideas, not people.

Rationale: In order to maintain a positive classroom climate, students need to respect

both each other and me as the teacher. In order to prevent students from saying hurtful

things to each other or to me, I will ask that they try to question ideas and thoughts being

thrown around the room instead of questioning who is saying them.

B. Classroom Rules:

Rules will be generated by me and shared with the class. All of the rules I have written are

brief and in a positive tone (Tomlinson, 2010, p. 102), however although some of them are

transferable to other places outside of the classroom. Instead, the rules are designed to guarantee

the safety of the classroom, the adherence to classroom routines, the quality of instruction, and

the behavior management system. I decided to title these rules instead of expectations because,

although the expectations are to be followed, rules have a more serious connotation and imply

that there are consequences associated with violating them.

1. Be kind. Name calling, teasing, bullying, and violence are not accepted in this classroom. Use

kind words and kind voices.

2. Preserve class focus. Do noisy activities (sharpening pencils, digging through backpacks,

hammering a sword of valerian steel at the forge, etc.) at appropriate times (during independent

work, during group work, at the beginning of class).

3. Follow the technology policy. Phones should be silenced and put away during instruction

from the teacher, during group discussion, and during whole class discussion. Phones may be

used sparingly during independent worktime to send a quick text or tweet about how awesome

Ms. Mattes class is. Laptops will only be used when advised by Ms. Matte to do so or during

independent worktime. They will only be used for school purposes.

Classroom Routines

C. Rationale:

On the end of the students, routines are methods to build student competence (Tomlinson,

2010, p. 100). The routines enable students to autonomously and successfully function within the

classroom. Additionally, many of the classroom routines are designed to help me with time

management. The routines cut down on time that I would spend handing out or collecting papers

or time that students would spend getting ready for class.

Purpose:

The routines are designed to promote student autonomy and accountability. With the routines,

students are responsible for turning in their own work, getting themselves ready in time for class,

and getting their own materials.

Conveyance to Students:

All routines will be taught during Welcome Week, then practiced and reiterated if there proves to

be a need to revisit them. On Welcome Week Day One, the routines will be relayed to the

students. They will be given an opportunity to practice using the Turn It In Bin on their way out

of class and will practice the Leaving Class routine. The Coming In routine, although shown and

explained to them on Day One, will be projected on the board on Day Two of Welcome Week as

they come in. I will stand at the door and remind them to grab their sheets for the day off the

desk and to spend the first three minutes of class getting prepped for class.

Day Two Coming In PowerPoint Slide:

A. Coming In: Before class starts, I will set out any papers which I have made for the day on the

table near the door. The students will come into class, grab their papers, and get set up for class.

Students have the first three minutes after the bell rings to turn in any assignments that are due,

pull out their books and/or computers,

B. Turning In Assignments: At the table near the door, there will be a designated bin for each

class. Major assignments will be turned into the Turn-It-In Bin at the beginning of the class

during the three minutes of prep time that the students are given after the bell rings.

C. Computer Use: Via the technology policy, students are expected to only use their computers

for instructional purposes and to work on assignments during workshop. When students are to

use their computer for class, the Welcome PowerPoint slide will have a picture of a laptop in the

bottom right hand corner. During the first three minutes of class, students will be expected to

turn their computer on and leave it at clam shell until it is time to use their computer in class.

Since the classroom the project is modeled on has few chargers, students are advised to come to

class with charged computers so that they are not competing for outlets. If a students computer

is below 50% at the start of class, they may use the power strip near the Turn It In Bin to charge

their computer. They are expected to plug it in during the three minutes of prep time after the

bell rings and collect it when it is time to use computers in class.

D. Leaving Class: Class ends with the bell. This procedure serves to protect student safety in the

classroom. Students are advised that they will be given one to two minutes before class ends to

pack up. This, typically, will be built into their exit activity (such as exit cards). When given the

exit activity, students are expected to complete it, quietly pack up their things, turn it into the bin,

and line up at the door quietly. Exiting without an assignment will be initiated by me letting them

know it is time to pack up one to two minutes before the bell rings. Students are reminded that it

is not appropriate to pack up on ones own volition and that it violates our classroom norms of

distracting our peers and the teacher.

Pianta, R.C. (2012). Positive Climate. Class-S Dimensions Guide. Baltimore, MD:

TeachStone.

Tomlinson, C.A., & Imbeau, M.B. (2010). Classroom Routines: Preparing for the Work

AheadLeading and managing a differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Weinstein, C.S., & Novodvorsky, I. (2015). Designing the Physical Environment Middle and

secondary classroom management: Lessons from research and practice. NY: McGraw--

Hill.