Management Plan
Management Plan
Management Plan
Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela
Table of Contents
I. Classroom Organization A. Physical Layout (pg. 3) B. Operational (pg. 6) 1. Record Keeping Procedures (pg. 6) 2. New Student Procedures (pg. 6) 3. Classroom Cleaning Procedures (pg. 7) 4. Displaying Student Work (pg. 8) II. Disciplinary Policies and Professional Ethics A. General Rules (pg. 9) B. Negative Consequences/Penalties (pg. 9) C. Positive Consequences/Rewards (pg. 11) D. Expectations For All Students (pg. 12) E. Personal and Professional Ethics (pg. 12) 1. For the Students (pg. 12) 2. For the Teacher (pg. 13) III. Classroom Routines and Procedures A. Center Procedures (pg. 14) B. Attendance and Lunch Procedures (pg. 14) C. Student Sharing Presenting (pg. 15) D. Room Helpers (pg. 15) E. Homework and Paper Collecting Procedures (pg. 16) F. Free Time (pg. 16) G. Bathroom and Drinking Fountain (pg. 17) H. Dismissals recess, lunch, specials, leaving (pg, 17) I. Field Trips (pg. 18) J. Differentiation Policy (pg. 19) K. Parental Communication (pg. 19) 1. Conferences (pg. 19) 2. Newsletter/Announcements (pg. 20)
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I. Classroom
A. Physical Layout
Organization
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For my first grade classroom, I made many decisions that I thought were realistic. My storage, sink, and desk are all together in the back of the room. I did this so that all of my materials are located away from the areas that the students use. My desk, with my computer and phone, is on an angle so that I can see all of the students no matter where they are in the room. The intercom system is located on the wall in my storage area. This minimizes the chance of students accidentally bumping it or wanting to play with it. The computer center is along the back wall right next to my area. I did this so that I will be close by if the students had any questions. I have also had experience with students becoming loud with excitement in this center so the teacher needs to be close for volume control. In front of the computer center, is the table for small group instruction. This is located here so that once again I am close to the computer center, but also because I can see all areas of the classroom from here. There is a white board on the wall at this table so that I can utilize this during small group instruction. In front of this area are the student tables. I chose to have tables instead of desks in my room for many reasons. I think that tables foster collaboration. This is something I believe strongly in. Instead of having a desk, each student has a chair. They can keep all of their things in the back of that chair. I used the idea of chairs so that I could easily change groups. If I wanted to group students either by ability or by interests, I could just simply move their chairs. In front of the desks is the large group rug. The carpet provides a place for large group instruction or whole group activities. There is a white board on the wall and a calendar that is on wheels to do the date, weather, and other such things. There is the projector for showing things to the whole
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class. Instead of being mounted on the ceiling, this projector is on wheels so that it can be moved to the other white board for students to see while at their desks. Right next to the door is a long table. This is where the lunch count will take place, the bathroom and hall passes will be located, and any papers that need to be picked up in the morning will be. There will also be a bin for homework folders. On the other side of this table is the library center. This center is filled with beanbags and comfortable things. It also has a bookshelf that is filled with books of every different genre and that cover a wide variety of interests. I laid it out this way so that the table could help block some of the noise out of the library center. The walls are full of colorful bulletin boards that display all of the students work. There are three garbage cans placed throughout the room. I did not put a TV or any maps in the room because the projector and laptop can replace these things. I believe that the layout I have created with the things I have included will guarantee an active learning environment and a positive experience for both the students and myself.
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B. Operational
1. Record Keeping Procedures Much of the record keeping depends on school policy. I plan to record each assignment in a three-line grade book. Each subject would have its own page and each page would have a row for each student. The assignments would be in the columns at the top of the page. This way it would be easy to see who has completed what assignment. A computer system will also be used in the same fashion to keep track of the students grades. I also plan on having a binder for each student. Each binder would have tabs to represent the subjects. Here, I would keep students work in each subject. This way, the student and I can reference their progress through out the year during our conferences. It would also be a nice resource to have for parent teacher conferences, so I can have example of a students work to show their parent(s). 2. New Student Procedures One the first day of school, I will greet the students at the door and introduce myself to each one with a smile. I want them to feel as welcome as I can. They will all have assigned seats, and I will tell them to look for their name on the back of a chair. At their seat will be a fun activity so that we can start getting to know each other right off the bat. I wont spend time teaching procedures on the first day. Instead, the students and I will do a number of get to know you activities. I will also tell them about myself in order for them to feel as comfortable as possible with me as soon as
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possible. I will also be sure to take a picture of each student so that when they arrive at school on the second day, their picture and something they did on the first day will be displayed on the wall. I will also pass out emergency contact information sheets and a survey for the parents so that I can start to get to know them too. For new students who enter my classroom throughout the year, it will be especially important to make them feel welcome. I will meet with them individually to introduce myself and make them feel comfortable with me. Then, I would be sure to pass out the contact information sheets to them to get to know their parents, as well. I would also take their picture to get it up on the wall as soon as possible. In order to make them get acclimated to the classroom, I would ask one of my students, who I think would be good at nurturing a new student, to show them around the classroom. I would also have their seats next to each other. This way, the student would serve as an ally for the new student. 3. Classroom Cleaning Procedures One thing that I will need to explicitly teach in the first few days of school is where we keep different things. I believe that everything has a place and that is where it should be. If my students know where things go, they cant give me any excuses for not putting them away. I will also teach students about helping our friends clean up if we are finished with our area before they are. If it doesnt seem that our friends need help, we can look on the floor for scraps and materials that have fallen off the table. Lastly, It will be part of my classs afternoon routine to be sure the room is neat and clean. Since the students will not have desks, that is one less place for them to shove papers and things. Before anyone leaves
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the room to go home, I will check to be sure that everyones work area is clean and neat. I think it is incredibly important to explain to students that keeping the room clean is everybodys responsibility. 4. Displaying Student Work I think it is very important to display student work in the classroom. One reason is for students to feel welcomed in the classroom and to take ownership over the classroom. In order for students to reach their maximum potential, I believe they need to feel valued in the classroom. I plan on using almost every bulletin board in my room to display student work. I think the walls should reflect the classroom environment and the students in the room. My class is going to work hard and be proud of the work that we do. I will also involve the students in determining what work should be displayed. I also think that is important to have a word wall. This wall will be on one of the bulletin boards. It will be organized alphabetically. I will use this wall for site words, content area words we are working with, and words that students seem to like to use in their writing. A crucial part of my word wall will be student input. Whether a student has an idea of a word to add, or they have been struggling with a word and they think their peers might benefit from it being on the word wall. I will also put all of my students names on the wall. Once I am sure all of the students have mastered a word on the wall, it will be taken down and replaced. We will then have a ceremony as a class because it is a big deal to master words!
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B. Negative Consequences/Penalties
In my classroom, we will use a stoplight system to keep track of personal behavior and rule infractions. The stoplight will have purple on top, then green, yellow and red all going
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down in a straight line. Each student will have his or her name on a clothespin. Every morning, all of the students will start on green. If someone does something really wonderful, they will be asked to move their clip up to purple. If a student misbehaves, they move their clip down to yellow, which is considered a warning. If a student misbehaves again, their clip is moved down to red. This either results in a trip to the principals office (rare), a call home, etc. It really depends on what will be most effective with that individual student. Along with this, each student will have a calendar on a piece of paper that they keep in their folder. At the end of every day, they will color that day on the calendar with what color they were that day. They will also write why they had to move their clip down and what they could have done differently. This keeps them accountable for knowing what they did wrong. It also helps keep me accountable for having them move for legitimate reasons and it isnt me just misdirecting frustration on my students. If a student didnt move their clip down or moved it up to purple, they will write one thing that they thought they did well that day. I think these calendars will be a great resource for parent teacher conferences or if I wanted to give students a grade for behavior. These procedures will be explained to students on the second day of school. I will also explain that some behaviors require consequences bigger than just moving your clip. An example would be fighting. Misbehaving students will always be dealt with in the classroom first and then taken to the principal if things are getting too out of hand and other students safety is at stake. Another tactic I will use to discipline students is recess academy. This will be explained to them on the second day of school. If a student has to move their clip to yellow, they have been disrespectful, had a conflict on the playground,
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were tardy or disruptive, or didnt get their work done, they will have to attend what is called recess academy. Recess academy takes place during the first five minutes of recess. I will explain to the student what they did wrong and then have them practice doing whatever it was the right way. If a student moved their clip, recess academy would teach them what the right thing to do is and they would then know what to write on their calendar at the end of the day. Another piece of recess academy is talking to the student to figure out why they did whatever they did. If a student was tardy, maybe something is going on at home. If a student seems to be unmotivated, maybe there is a reason for that. Having a student come in for recess academy enables an open conversation with the student to determine what the cause of their behavior is. These policies will apply to all students with no exceptions. Each infraction will be reviewed on an individual level. All students will know the consequences and there will not be any surprises. The class will have the mentality that each day is a fresh start and I will not hold negative actions from previous days over my students heads.
C. Positive Consequences/Rewards
In my class, positive rewards will be given in two different ways: on an individual basis and on a whole class basis. On the second day of school, I will read a story called Have You Filled A Bucket today? by Carol McCloud. In summary, this story is about filling peoples internal buckets and not putting them down. Putting someone down is called being a bucket dipper. After we read the story, we will create a class list of ways to fill buckets. I will type this list and hang it up on the wall by all of the students buckets. Each student will
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have his or her own bucket. When a student has had their bucket filled by one of their peers, they will write down what that person did on a slip of paper and put it in their bucket. I can also fill students buckets. After a students bucket is full, they will get to take the pieces of paper home and a sticker will be placed on his or her bucket. At the end of the year, the students will get to take their buckets home. There will be no penalty for students who bucket dip, but if students are forgetting to fill each others buckets instead of dip them, we will reread the story. To reward the whole class, I will use class compliment cards. If I think the entire class is doing something well, I will give them a class compliment card. Once we get to a certain number, we will earn something that we decide on as a class. That could either be free time, treats, or extra time outside. The reason I do not have a specific number of cards it will take is because I do not know my students yet. The number needs to be attainable but also a reward. If the students can reach the number every day, it wont be as effective.
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student partakes in unacceptable behavior, I will tell only what happened and leave personal negative opinions out of the conversation. I will also not let my personal issues with a coworker affect my professionalism or my teaching strategies. I will always put the needs of my students first.
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A. Center Procedures
Part of our classroom literacy block will be spent in centers every day. The students will be placed in groups depending on what they need to work on and they will travel around with these groups. Some examples of the centers would be a guided reading group working with me, a few sorts or literacy games, independent reading, or reading with a partner. The students will spend about 20 minutes at each station or center. They will know that it is time to switch when the timer goes off or I say to switch. The activities that take place at each station will be taught to them so that they are sure of what they are to be doing at all times.
share poems, stories, or individual projects. Group projects would be something for the students to share with the whole class. I think that having them present teaches them important skills that they will utilize more frequently in the upper grades.
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. W.B Yeats
D. Room Helpers
Every day, we will have a new room helper in our classroom. To start the year, we will start alphabetically and go down the list. This student will have many jobs. For that day, they will be the line leader. So that means they will always line up first. They will also be the runner. If I need something from another teacher or I have a note for the office, this student will be in charge of taking it there. The other tasks delegated to this student are subject to change and could be a number of things depending on what I need on that specific day. I chose this strategy because it is less jobs to keep track of. Every one will get a turn every few weeks. I will write the room helper for the days name on the board each morning so I can reference that throughout the day.
Homework folders will be sent home every day but the homework in them will only be collected and checked on Fridays. That way, students and their parents can do the homework when they have time throughout the week and not be stressing about it every single night. I will ask that the parents look at the homework folder every evening so they are aware of what their child needs to do and so that they can read a newsletter or other announcement that I may send home. In terms of handing in papers in class, I will have each student bring me their paper. I plan to utilize the whole group instruction area as much as possible, so I will have the students come back and sit after almost every group or individual activity. By having the students hand their papers to me directly, they will have less time to chat with their neighbor or wander around because I will be watching and waiting for every single paper.
F. Free Time
Free time is something that will earned in my classroom. I discussed earlier theidea of classroom compliment cards. One of the rewards from that could potentially be free time. I believe in giving students choices but in first grade the term free is a little bit worrisome. If we have time in class, I will give the students options such as a class game, independent reading, a read aloud, or writing time. I plan to have the classroom schedule posted on the wall. This way students will know the order of subjects that we will be doing each day. I also will write the specific directions for the task the students are to be working on on the board. This way there will be no student that doesnt know what they are supposed to be doing at any given time.
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thing to be in line together. Either way, we will line up single file and walk quietly to the lunchroom. At the end of the day, I will send the students into the hallway to get their things from their lockers. They will do this based on table or row on the carpet. By doing it in groups, it will make the process go much smoother. Dismissing the students to their buses or parents will depend majorly on the schools procedures.
I. Field Trips
About a month before a field trip, I will send home information in the newsletter or on a separate note to inform parents about what is coming up. Then, about two weeks or so before the field trip, I will send home more details and ask the parents to sign and return the bottom of that paper. This paper will tell the parents what their child needs to bring, wear, or have prepared in advance. Returning this paper will be required before the student is allowed to participate in the field trip. If money needs to be paid, this will need to be returned with the permission slip at least a week in advance. I will be sure to explicitly teach my students that all of our class and school rules apply while we are on the trip. It is important that the students realize that they are a representation of our school and that they will act as such or there will be negative consequences. I will also inform the parents of these expectations in the permission slip.
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J. Differentiation
I strongly believe in meeting the needs to every student and challenging them within reach. There will be few times in my classroom when every student is working on the exact same thing (minus large group instruction). I think it is part of my duty and responsibilities as a teacher to differentiate and push my students at an individual level. I also plan to make any accommodations for students who have trouble seeing the board or any other medical conditions that might interfere with their learning. For English Language learners, I will put specific strategies in place to ensure that they succeed. One of these strategies is to use many visuals. I will have individual conferences with struggling students more frequently than my excelling students. This way I can provide them the extra support. I truly believe in the idea that fair is not equal. Spending equal amounts of time with each student is not fair.
K. Parent Communication
I think that effectively communicating with parents is crucial to extending what the students are learning in school at home. I will have a back to school night about a week into school so that I can explain the classroom procedures to the parents and explain to them the way that I operate my classroom. 1. Conferences I have many strategies in place to be sure that I am fully prepared for my parent conferences. One of these things is
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the portfolio that I addressed earlier that the student will put together as we go through the year. Another thing I have discussed is the behavior calendar. This will be very beneficial with parents to show them how their child is behaving and what they are doing that would be considered misbehaving. I will share this information with the parents and answer any questions that they might have during our conference. 2. Newsletter/Announcements I plan to send a newsletter home every week. This way the parents will be aware of what we are doing in class each week and what we are talking about. I will also have a class blog that I update. The frequency of my updates will depend on how popular and how much use the parents get from the blog. On the blog, I will post extention activities, homework, announcements, and important dates to remember. I will also post pictures of the students (with the parents permission of course).
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Disclaimer*
All of the ideas discussed above are subject to change. Classroom management works most effectively when it is catered to specific students and specific classes. Depending on the needs of my class, I will change my management strategies.
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