McMahon, Taylor

Classroom Learning Environment Plan

Table of Contents
PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

CLASSROOM PROFILE

BELIEFS (LETTER TO PARENTS)

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT RATIONALE

COMMUNITY BUILDING

10

BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR

BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR

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10
11

ROUTINES AND STRATEGIES

12

MORNING ROUTINE
STRATEGY 1- END OF THE DAY EXIT REQUIREMENT
STRATEGY 2- CLASSROOM JOBS

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13
13

REFERENCES

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

As a future educator, my classroom management philosophy revolves around the needs of
my class, both academically and emotionally. I believe that school exists for students, not
solely for the teacher. I will strive to create a classroom in which students feel
comfortable and safe to share their own ideas and opinions. I believe that students should
have an equal part in determining how the classroom looks and operates. Students will
generate where we take our classroom while still meeting the needs of all in the class.
After gaining my own experiences in the classroom, I have come to realize that
there are many aspects of Centers theory that I plan to utilize within my classroom.
Although the classroom rules will be created with the students and the teacher as a team,
the rules that we create should be direct. As Canter states, the rules must be observable,
not vague. This way, the students are able to follow a set of rules that are completely
understood. When students are following this set of rules, I will offer supportive feedback
to make sure that they understand how proud I am of their ability to follow the rules that
they set.
My classroom management philosophy also contains aspects that focus around
Linda Alberts theory. Her main suggestion is to make every student feel like they have a
place in the class and belong as well as making sure students connect with others.
Alberts positive approach is how I want to make sure that my students feel these
connections. I will focus my days around constant community building hidden within
many different lessons. The main focus of Alberts is Helping teachers meet student
needs so that students will choose to cooperate with he teacher and each other. I want

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

my students to want to participate in class and want to follow our class set of rules
because of a sense of ownership that they feel around it.
In my short amount of experience, I have already realized that parent
communication is one of the most important factors in classroom management. Parents
need to become partners in everything that involves their students as Alberts suggests.
To do so, it is important that I make parents aware of the code of conduct in our
classroom, establish how I will remain in constant contact with parents, continuously
hold parent-teacher conferences, and notify parents of occurrences of behavior problems.
All parents will be different in terms of their willingness to communicate and become an
active role in their students lives, but I must strive to try and get all parents to
communicate with me, even if it is only one way.
In conclusion, Alberts and Canter help to shape my very own classroom
management style. Through allowing for students to actively participate in the creation of
class rules, my students will be more inclined to follow the rules because they feel
responsible for them. With a comfortable atmosphere, students will not only feel
ownership for the rules, but will genuinely want to follow them. If at any point the
students feel as though a rule should be changed, then they should feel comfortable
enough to express their opinions and offer new suggestions. My beliefs are going to help
me to run my classroom smoothly and positively. Every year my management philosophy
will evolve around the new students that I receive into my class. I will constantly be open
to change and ready to adapt.

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

CLASSROOM PROFILE
My classroom is made up of 17 students, split between nine boys and seven girls.
Out of the class, one of the students has been labeled as gifted and talented. This student
is always ready to help other students and wants to share his ideas. Eight of my students
are below level in terms of reading and writing. Out of these eight, two are labeled as
having a slow learning disability, seven go to speech classes, four were retained, two are
autistic, and one is epileptic. Four of the students in my class have severe ADHD and are
medicated. These students tend to misbehave and not want to participate in the mornings,
but are the polar opposite in the afternoon. One student is very emotional and tends to
take feedback as criticism and does not want to share his opinions with the class. Three of
the female students are the opposite and always want to share and volunteer to do help
others and do extra tasks. These girls are paired with students that are shyer because they
help them get out their ideas and talk with them, but when outside of the classroom stick
together. The cultural backgrounds vary from student to student. One student in particular
is from Puerto Rico and does not speak any English, only Spanish. Three students speak
both Spanish and English fluently. In general, the school in which I am teaching is
labeled as a Title I school.

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

BELIEFS (LETTER TO PARENTS)

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full sized image.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
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full sized image.

McMahon, Taylor
Classroom Learning Environment Plan

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT RATIONALE

A. Teachers Desk: My desk will be used as more of a storage area for all of my own
resources and copies of papers for the upcoming weeks. This is also where I will
keep my plan book open to be able to easily reference during the day. Instead of
sitting at my desk during the day though, I will primarily use the guided reading
table.
B. Student Tables: Students will be seated at different table groups. These groups
will be made up of higher and lower level students combined with each other
because Seating arrangements in which higher- and lower-achieving students are
interspersed throughout the room can increase involvement and participation
(Levin and Nolan, 153). The groups will change on a bi-monthly basis. Every
time that a group changes, they will be able to come up with a group name and
make a sign together with their name. This allows for students to learn to work
with their peers while building community at the same time.
C. Whiteboard: The whiteboard will be at the front of the room so that all students
no matter where they are sitting easily see it. I will have morning messages
written on the board every morning so that students can see the plan for the day.
The board is also where our behavior chart will be located so that students can see
it and hold themselves responsible for their actions.
D. Projector Cart: I will have an ELMO and a laptop on a cart that I can easily pull in
front of the whiteboard in order to display certain things. When not being used,
the cart will be pushed to the side of the room to make sure that it does not
become a tripping hazard.

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

E. Guided Reading Table: This is where I will work with students in small groups
based off of which areas students need the most instruction. I will also spend most
of my time at this table throughout the day whether it is grading papers or
conferencing with students. There will also be a mini dry erase easel on the table
so that I will have a spot to write out examples when working with students who
need more visualization.
F. Classroom Library: The classroom library will be a very warm and inviting area.
A comfortable rug along with beanbags will be made available for students to sit
in. The library will be made up of a variety of books covering many different
genres. Students will be able to sit and read books in the classroom library as well
as pick out books to take back to their desks.
G. Bulletin board: Allowing for students to make decisions on what bulletin should
be used for creates a more student-directed learning environment allowing for
students to feel a sense of ownership, pride, and community (Levin and Nolan,
155). The main bulletin board in my classroom is along the wall right where
students enter. I will have the students decide on what we would like this board to
look like and what sort of things that we will hang up on it. I would have it
against that wall in particular so that everyone who enters the classroom is able to
look at it. This is also in a spot that all of the students would easily be able to turn
and look at from their seats so that they are constantly able to look back at their
masterpiece.
H. Computer: The computer will be located towards the back of the room and used
by students when doing centers. It is at the back of the room so that students do

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

not get distracted by anything going on in the classroom when they are supposed
to be using a certain program.
I. Shelving: The shelving next to science center will be used as cubbies for all of the
students. This is where the students will keep their backpacks, jackets, and
lunchboxes so that they are out of the way during time of instruction.
J. Word Wall: The word wall will be located directly behind the guided reading
table so that all students easily see it. This is where vocabulary words will be
displayed in alphabetical order so that students can refer back to them. Words that
I have noticed students struggle with when grading their writing will also be put
on the board so that they are able to look at it so that they spell it correctly on
their work. Students will be able to request for a word to be put up on the board
by writing it on a post it and sticking it to the board at the end of the day.
K. Math Resources: All of the math manipulatives will be stored in different group
bins at the back of the room in the shelving by the computer. Each table group
will have their own bin so that only one person from each group has to get up to
get it when we are using manipulatives.
L. Science Resources: All of our science materials and projects will be located in the
shelves right by the classroom sink, allowing for easy clean up access. This area
will be called Science Center.
M. Teachers Chair: I will have a chair on the corner of the rug that is designated as
the teacher chair. This is where I will sit while doing read alouds or while
teaching lessons while the students are sitting on the rug facing me. It is on the

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

corner so that all the students can easily see me, but are not distracted by anything
that is written on the board.

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

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COMMUNITY BUILDING
In Because we can change the world: A practical guide to building cooperative,
inclusive classroom communities (1999) Mara Sapon-Shevin describes how classroom
communities are built over time. Communities are built through the sharing of
experiences, students discovering themselves and one another, and the positive
interactions between peers (71).

Before the School Year

Before the first day of school, I plan to begin building relationships with both my
students and their parents by sending them an introductory letter. This letter will contain
a little bit of information about myself as well as expressing how excited I am to have
each student in my class. I will attach my contact information to this letter so that parents
are able to get in contact with me if they have any questions prior to the beginning of the
school year. The letter will also contain the web address to the personal web space that I
will create. This web space will contain information regarding how we will run our
classroom, what is expected of the students as well as the teacher, and any other
information that is important regarding our class. I will also keep this web page updated
with announcements throughout the entire year so that parents are always in the know
about what is going on in our classroom.

Beginning of the School Year

On the first day of school, students will be given the opportunity to make
nametags for their desks as well as for their cubbies. According to The First Six Weeks of

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

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School, As the students work, their anxiety and self-consciousness begins to fall away
(Denton and Kriete, 37). This will allow for students to shed off some of their
nervousness. The students will also be given a brown bag to turn into their very own Me
Bags. Their assignment is to take home their bag and fill it with a few things that help to
describe their lives and the things that they like as well as decorate the bag any way that
they like. I will model my me bag for the class so they can see what is expected and
also learn more about who their teacher is.
The first week of school will be filled with different activities for everyone to get
to know each other. For example, the students will complete a Find a Friend scavenger
hunt. There will be different clues to what type of people that they are looking for, such
as finding a friend who likes to fish, plays soccer, wears glasses, etc. Students will walk
around the room and ask each other these questions to find out interesting things about
their classmates. This also helps students find connections with their peers.

Throughout the School Year

Throughout the year our class will continue to build our community through
morning meetings at the beginning of every week. We will begin the morning meeting by
getting in a circle on the rug. A variety of different types of greetings will be written on
different cards. At the beginning of the meeting we will randomly pick one to perform in
which students will greet each other by name. Then, we will pick an activity card in order
to do an activity that helps the class practice skills that we have been learning about in a
fun way.

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

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ROUTINES AND STRATEGIES

Morning Routine
In my classroom, as students enter the classroom every morning, I will personally
greet them. Students will be expected to remove their communication binder and
homework folder from their bag. The binder will be put in the bin dedicated to them.
Next, the student should take their backpack and lunchboxes to their individual cubby.
After this is completed, students will empty their homework folders, putting the
completed homework in the bin on the guided reading table and taking their empty folder
to keep in their desk.
Upon getting to their desk, the students will be expected to grab their morning
work folder from the bin sitting in the middle of each of the groups. They will work on
the packet inside their folder every morning during the week and turn it in after the bell
rings on Friday mornings.
To teach this morning routine I will follow what is expressed in Elementary
Classroom Management, Effective classroom managers explain and demonstrate
procedures, allow students to practice them, provide feedback to students about their
performance, and then reteach the procedures if necessary (Weinstein, Romano,
Mignano, 109) This routine will be implemented beginning on the first day of school.
During the first week of school, I will model every morning exactly what they should do
upon entering the classroom so that it becomes an established routine. When students
perform the routine correctly then I will praise them and give any other feedback. After
the first week, if some students still do not remember what they should do every morning,

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

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I will pick students to model it for the class and allow for classmates to help explain the
process step-by-step. The students will be held responsible to completing this routine
every morning of the entire school year.

Strategy 1- End of the Day Exit Requirement

At the end of the school day, each student will receive a laminated piece of paper
that resembles a movie ticket as they get in line for dismissal. After all the students are
standing quietly in line, I will walk down the line asking each student to tell me one new
thing that they learned that day. Once they share this information with me, the student
will then be able to give me back the ticket and will be able to be dismissed. After
receiving all of the tickets, we will leave the room for dismissal. This will be a strategy
that students will be able to quickly catch on with so that they are able to think of what
they are going to say for their exit ticket before the day is up, allowing them to gain a
sense of responsibility for knowing what they will say.

Strategy 2- Classroom Jobs

Another strategy that I plan to implement within my classroom is the use of
classroom jobs. These jobs will consist of line leader, door holders, messengers, paper
passer, lights person, librarian, and substitute. Jobs will be changed every Monday
morning so that the students are in the jobs for an entire week. Students will be
responsible for their behavior while performing these jobs. If a student is not on the green
level of the behavior chart, the substitute will take over their job until they have made it
back onto green. This holds students responsible for their actions as well as the actions of
their fellow classmates. At the beginning of the year, each job would be thoroughly

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

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discussed and explained to the students. I will also model exactly how each job should be
performed and when.

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Classroom Learning Environment Plan

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REFERENCES
Denton, Paula, and Roxann Kriete. The First Six Weeks of School. Greenfield, MA:
Northeast Foundation for Children, 2000. Print.

Levin, James, and James F. Nolan. Principles of Classroom Management: A Professional

Decision-making Model. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.

Weinstein, Carol Simon., Molly E. Romano, and Andrew J. Mignano. Elementary

Classroom Management: Lessons from Research and Practice. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.