When students come back to school after a nice break, the are often reluctant to enter back into the normal routine and may be more disruptive at first. They may have been out of town or otherwise unable to talk to their friends and will want to catch up on what everyone did, causing a lot of talking in class.
One great way to handle this behavior issue after a break from school is to designate the first half hour or so of class time for catching up. The teacher can start by sharing what she did over break and then ask if any other students would like to share as well. After a time of sharing, the teacher should then explain to the children that they can continue to share and catch up with their friends during lunch and recess time.
- Keep a clipboard with you at all times for informal assessments – use sticky notes with each child’s name.
- Keep a mailbox on your desk so that students can write notes to you – no more tattlers!
- Color code!
- Use vocab words when teaching a lesson and then add them to the word wall.
- Build a simple puppet stand
for shows.
- Have students create hand-made signs for areas in the classroom.
- Use a story telling apron made out of flannel board felt.
- Purchase transparent Highlighter Tape
!
- Make boxes out of 2 milk cartons – make one side name, arrow up for I understand, arrow down for I don’t understand, green light/red light for answering questions.
- Use a thinkmark – This allows students to write their thoughts as they read a book.
- Journals – split into color folders and collect a different color every day to write back.
- Hedgehog desk – “I need space” place for children to choose to go to instead of getting into a fight.
- Color code baskets for each subject for assignments.
- Read books aloud on tape for the library.
Writing class rules is a simple procedure that can make a huge impact on classroom management. In fact, class rules are so important that a teacher who realizes that the class rules are a problem should take the effort to change those rules even if it is mid-school year. Use the following check list to ensure your classroom rules are effective.
How many Rules do you Have?
- Be sure to have at least three rules
- Class rules should be kept to five at the very most
- Combine rules to reduce the number and clarify more specifically to have more rules.
Positive Language for Class Rules
- Do the students know what to do after reading a rule?
- Each rule should state what students need to do rather than what they need to avoid doing.
- Reword rules as necessary
Class Rule Clarity
- Be sure there is no question as to what students are to do after reading the rules
- Analyze each rule – can it be stated more clearly?
- Can any rules have additional details added in order to ensure proper student behavior?
Teach and Reinforce Class Rules
- Did you teach students what each rule meant?
- Can students explain to a visitor what the class rules are?
- If faced with a hypothetical situation, could students explain which rule applies and why?
- Did you practice each procedure including lining up, preparing for lunch and recess and cleaning up at the end of the day?
It is never too late to go back and add or correct the classroom rules. In fact, starting fresh in the middle of the school year may make all the difference in the world and turn your problem class into a success story!
While organizing the classroom might not seem like an important part of classroom management, in fact the physical environment is as important as the rules and consequences in keeping students focused.
Seating Chart
The seating chart has a huge impact on the classroom management strategies of a teacher. While the actual seating arrangement is based more on the teaching style of an individual teacher than on the management strategy in place for students, there are two things that are important to keep in mind:
- All seats need to be positioned so that each student can clearly see the teacher. To ensure this, the teacher can take a moment to sit in each seat.
- All seats need to be positioned so that the teacher can quickly reach each student at a moment’s notice to handle any academic or behavior problem that may come up.
Classroom Decorations
It is very important to have the room decorated appropriately for students. The posters and other decorations aid in boosting student enthusiasm, increasing student motivation and reinforcing academic skills and concepts. At the same time, though, it is important to not overdecorate a room. Too much decoration can overstimulate student’s and cause them to become distracted. An important rule of thumb for decoration is to ensure that there is blank wall space around each decoration. If in doubt, take something down.
President Obama will speak to the students in the Nation on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. This is an excellent opportunity for teachers to take the words of the President of the United States and turn them into a more well behaved, on task classroom.
While President Obama talks to students about setting and meeting goals this school year, teachers should look for ways to incorporate the class expectations into those goals.
Teachers can have class discussions about how students can meet the goals they set, using real goals as examples, and guide students into understanding how the class rules will help them meet those goals.
One possible activity is to have students pair goals with each class rule. So if the class rule is to raise your hand before speaking, a goal that can be paired with that rule is to learn to be more respectful of others in the classroom.
Some other ideas for pairing class rules with student goals:
- Stay seated in class – Do your best on all seat work/complete all assignments
- Always Walk in school – work slowly and carefully on assignments just as you walk slowly and carefully in the halls
- Be respectful of others – Respect the teacher’s time and write with neat handwriting
Have students help in pairing up goals with the class rules.
Read on for more extension ideas, or check out lesson plan ideas for President Obama’s Speech.
