Effective Classroom Management: Rules and Procedures

1. Effective Classroom Management:Rules and Procedures

2. The most important factor that affects student learning is classroom management. How you manage the classroom is the primary determinant of how well your students will learn.

3. The first day of school is the most important day of the school year. • Effective classroom management practices must begin as soon as your kids walk through the door on the first day of school.

4. The three main characteristics of master teachers: #1- They have good classroom management skills #2- They teach for lesson mastery #3- They practice positive expectations

5. What is classroom management? • Classroom management refers to all of the things a teacher does to organize students, space, time, and materials so that lessons can happen and learning can take place.

6. You MANAGE a classroom, you don’t discipline a classroom. • Managing a class is a much bigger concept than disciplining a class. • Part of managing a class is to teach the students how to discipline themselves. • Self-discipline is ONE of the many things you will teach the kids all year long.

7. The Characteristics of a Well-Managed Classroom • The students are deeply involved with their work • Students know what is expected of them and are generally successful • There is relatively little wasted time, confusion, or disruption • The climate of the classroom is work-oriented, but relaxed and pleasant

8. A well-managed classroom is a task-oriented and predictable environment. • Students know what is expected of them and how to succeed. • The teacher AND the students know what to do and what is supposed to happen in the classroom.

9. The Effective Teacher • Works on having a well-managed classroom • Trains students to know what they need to do • Has students working on tasks right away • Has a classroom with little confusion or wasted time.

10. A successful teacher is ready! • The work is ready. • The assignments, materials, board work, etc. are ready when the bell rings. • The room is ready. • The desks are straight, room is clean, and things look organized. • The teacher is ready. • The teacher is excited about teaching and has positive expectations that everyone will succeed.

11. Have your room ready. • Your room needs to look like you are ready to work. • Have your desks arranged so that all kids can see the boards. Never have a kid sitting with his back to you when you are teaching. • Have one or two EXTRA desks so you can move kids who need to be separated.

12. Have your walls ready. • Have a place to show student work. • Have routines posted. • Have your rules posted. • Have schedule of class periods. • Have a designated area where you can post assignments, rubrics and examples.

13. Have yourself ready: Win the parents over before misbehavior begins. • Make a phone call to each parent telling them how pleased you are that their child is in your class. • Have a letter to send home on the first day of school that further introduces yourself and tell the class and the parents some of the exciting things you will be doing this year.

14. Be ready to greet the kids. • How you introduce yourself that first day goes a long way toward how much respect and success you will have all year long. • Stand at the door and welcome each kid. • Have a smile on your face and act genuinely happy to meet them.

15. How To Make Your First Request Effective • Smile! • Welcome each student at the door, making sure they belong in your class. • Tell the students as they walk through the door whether the seating is assigned or open. • Follow this with, “When you sit down you will find an activity on your desk. I think you will enjoy doing it. Please begin working on it right away.”

16. Your first request will be ineffective… • if you do not welcome the students. • if you reassign seats after everyone has taken a seat. • if you grumble or complain about anything! • if you have not given the kids an assignment and they just sit there while you register the class.

17. The 3 most important student behaviors that must be taught the first days of school are these: • Procedures • Routines • Rules • Discipline

18. A procedure is a method or process for how things are to be done in the classroom.

19. Do not confuse procedures with discipline. There are two major differences: 1- Discipline: Concerns how children behave. Procedures: Concern how things are done. 2- Discipline: Has penalties and rewards. Procedures: Have NO penalties and rewards.

20. The Problem is Not Discipline • The number one problem in the classroom is not discipline, it’s the lack of procedures and routines. • Your attention to procedures and routines will determine whether you have a classroom that is chaotic or one that is smooth running.

21. The main reasons students do not follow procedures: 1- The teacher has not thought out what happens in the classroom. 2- The students have not been trained to follow the procedures. 3- The teacher doesn’t spend enough time managing the classroom.

22. Why Procedure are Important • Students must know from the very beginning how they are expected to behave and work in the classroom. • Discipline dictates how they are to behave. • Procedure and routines dictate how they are to work. • 1st grade whole brain learning • 8th grade whole brain learning

23. Why Procedures are Important • Since a procedure is how you want something done, it is the responsibility of the teacher to have procedures clearly stated. • A routine is what the student does automatically without prompting or supervision.

24. Why Procedure are Important • Classroom procedures are statements of student expectations necessary to participate successfully in classroom activities, to learn, and to function effectively in the school environment. • Classroom procedure allow many activities to take place efficiently during the school day, often several at the same time.

25. Why Procedure are Important • Classroom procedures allow activities to take place with a minimum of wasted time and confusion. • Classroom procedures increase on-task time and greatly reduce classroom disruptions. • They tell a student how things operate in the classroom, thus reducing discipline problems.

26. Students Accept and Want Procedures • Effective teachers manage with procedures. Every time the teacher wants something done there must be a procedure or a set of procedures. • You will need procedures for taking roll, checking papers, what to do with finished work, moving from task to task, quieting the class, cleaning up etc

27. Three-Step Approach to Teaching Procedures • Explain- State, explain, model and demonstrate the procedure. • Rehearse- Rehearse and practice the procedure with teacher supervision. • Reinforce- Re-teach, rehearse, practice, and reinforce the procedure until it becomes a habit or routine.

28. Procedure for Quickly Getting the Class Quiet: If You Hear my Voice clap Procedure for Quickly Getting the Class Quiet: Give Me Five Procedure for Quickly Getting the Class Quiet: Oh class, Oh yes Procedure for Non-interruption of quiet time

29. You need rules. • Rules are expectations of student behavior. • Try and state them POSITIVELY. • Rules immediately create a work-oriented atmosphere. • Rules create a strong expectation about the things that are important to you.

30. Rules are either general or specific. • General rules offer greater range and flexibility… • …but you have to explain them. • Specific rules are to the point and clearly state the expected behavior… • …but you can’t have too many.

31. Examples of rules: • Follow directions the first time they are given. • Raise your hand and wait for permission to speak. • Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself. • Stay in your seat unless you have permission to get up.

32. Why Only 3 to 5? • Ever notice how groups of numbers on credit cards, phone numbers, social security numbers, etc. are always written in groups of 3 to 5? • People remember things better when they are in small groups. • Choose the most important 3 to 5 rules for you.

33. Discipline Plans Have Consequences • Rules are used to set limits. • Limits tell a student how far they can go. • You will always have students pushing the limits or boundary testing. • Students need to know that breaking the rules will have consequences.

34. Consequences can be negative or positive. • Positive consequences (Rewards that result when people abide by the rules.) • Extra recess. • Extra free time. • Game day. • Lunch bunch. • Trick-or-Treat in May!!!

35. Student Behavior: Turning in a sloppy paper. • Logical Consequence: • Rewrites the paper. • Illogical Consequence: • Teacher gives the student a zero and refuses to allow the child to redo the paper.

36. Student behavior: Walks in noisily. • Logical Consequence: • Student walks in again. • Illogical Consequence: • Student signs name in conduct record, student given lunch detention, etc.

37. Consequences: Conduct record • First offense: student’s name entered in conduct record. • Second offense: student’s name entered in conduct record and loses point. • Third offense: Conduct record, after school detention and note or e-mail home to parents. • Fourth offense: Conduct record and office referral.

38. Be careful with your consequences! • Explain the consequences ahead of time whenever you introduce a rule. • Choose consequences that are uncomfortable for the student. • Tell the student that the consequence was the result of his or her CHOICE. • When delivering the consequence, encourage the student to use appropriate behavior in the future.

39. If you need to step into the hall to talk, always ask the student these 4 questions: 1- What did you do wrong? 2- What is wrong with wrong with ______ ? 3- What will you do next time? 4- If you ____________ next time what will happen?

40. Many of the ideas in this presentation came from Harry Wong’s The First Days of School