Angelina Duran

Classroom Management Plan

Philosophy

I believe all students are caring and eager to learn. Everyone has different experiences in
life, some good, and some bad. If we look for the good in life, and treat the bad as learning
experiences, we all grow into caring and kind people. This is why I believe Kohns Building a
Community, Crawford and Bodines Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation, and some of
Curwin and Mendlers Discipline with Dignity styles mix well as a classroom management plan.

In the classroom I think it is important to ensure an inclusive and caring classroom

environment. A classroom should always feel like a safe space. Students should be allowed to
make appropriate choices, and have an opportunity to resolve any bad decisions they may make.
In doing this a classroom will have minimal disciplinary problems, leading to a class that runs
smoothly with little interruptions for optimum learning.

Kohns building a community meshes well with Crawford and Bodines conflict
resolution management styles by creating a community where students learn to trust one another,
learn perspective taking so they will be able to see issues from anothers perspective, nurtures
peer mediation so it can occur, and successfully mend conflicts when they arise. In a community
students build relationships and a safe environment to ask for help from peers or the teacher. This
cuts back on misbehavior through frustration of not understanding the material.

Kohn writes that disagreements and conflicts are a chance to help students solve
problems. I think this idea can be facilitated through Discipline with Dignity. Curwin and
Mendlers approach of establishing classroom principles can be done through a class meeting. I
also believe that situations should be dealt with immediately and by teaching students conflict
resolution these situations will be mediated swiftly.

Using the styles of Kohn, Crawford and Bodine, and of Curwin and Mendler will fosters
an inclusive and positive environment where students care about their classmates, know how to
mediate conflict, and will meet the needs of our students. Though there is discipline in the
classroom it is done while respecting each other. It is important that students connect with each
other by learning how to communicate their feelings, and knowing it is ok to make mistakes,
because we learn from them, treat others kindly even if you do not agree, value themselves and
their peers, and know how to work together cooperatively.

Angelina Duran

Classroom Management Plan

Context
I would like to work in a classroom of my own. Right now I volunteer at a school and I
like how they manage their school. The rules are taught to the students through a book called
How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. The story revolves
around a little boy who is not very kind to his sister, and then she is not kind to him in response.
The Grandfather tells him that he dipped in his sisters bucket. The next day he starts to see
everyone buckets. He can see and feel when his or anyone elses buckets drip. Every time they
drip it is because someone is unkind, and he sees the buckets filling when he is kind, or others
are kind. The school embodies this message and reinforces the message throughout the day.
In my class I will have a set of flag rules like Curwin and Mendler suggest, and then the
students will discuss and come up with additional rules. We will discuss consequences for those
rules and agree on them together.
In the school I volunteer at the staff work together to keep students on track and to
remind students to fill each others buckets. Staff communicate efficiently with each other and if
there are disciplinary problems they work together with the student, teacher, and parents to
resolve any issues.

Angelina Duran

Classroom Management Plan

Procedures
When entering the classroom students will have bell work. The bell work will be written
on the board and if papers are needed they will be on a designated table. This will give me an
opportunity to greet students and walk around the class to help students or collect and/or pass
back papers.
The classroom desks will be made up of a heterogeneous groups. I will make sure the
groups will be made up of students that can help each other. For example I will make sure if
there are ELL speech emergent students in the group there will also be an intermediate to
advance fluent student in the group. Each group will have a collector, who will collect the
necessary materials and distribute them. A group encourager, someone who encourages the other
students. A group writer, someone who writes down the ideas collected from the group on the
board or on a paper to be turned in. A timekeeper, someone who keeps the group on task. Lastly
a group sharer, someone who will go to other groups to collect information or data when needed.

Common materials will go in a cabinet or closet that the group collector can grab
items from.
Specific procedures will be taught as a class together with plenty of modeling by
me and practice so the class moves smoothly.
Procedures for emergencies will also be modeled and practiced continuously
throughout the year.
During periods when the students need to exit the class for recess, lunch,
assemblies, etc students will line up quietly, respecting each others space,
behind a line leader that rotates weekly.
During times when I need to call on students I will pick a Popsicle stick from a
jar. This will ensure that a variety of students have a chance to answer.

Angelina Duran

Classroom Management Plan

Rules
Rules are established by me, the teacher, and students. I will introduce my flag rules, and
allows the students to agree on other rules that are important to them through a class discussion.
By establishing the rules together the students form ties to the class. They get to have power over
their decisions because they helped establish the rules. Students have little power in their lives
and by giving them some control in their classroom they care about their classroom, peers, and
teachers.

Some of my flag rules are no bullying, we respect each other, hands are meant for helping
not hurting, and to have discussions. These are very important because I want students to learn
kindness. I do not tolerate bullying and hope to convey that in my class. I also think it is
important for anyone to learn that helping is a better option than hurting. It is important that
students know they can discuss their feelings, whether they are happy, sad, scared, or angry, and
they learn when the appropriate time to have a discussion is. It is important for them to know
how to articulate their feelings, and to feel heard. I also believe that by discussing how
something is making them feel we can avoid many conflicts that are a result of
miscommunication or built up anger.

When students are in conflict with each other they will have an opportunity to go to a
mediation space in the classroom to work it out together. If the situation is more sever the teacher
will mediate. If that does not solve the problem or the student shows continuous or unsafe
behavior the administration, parents if warranted, will have to be involved to help mediate, and a
behavior contract will be made.

Angelina Duran

Classroom Management Plan

Reinforcement
I will be using Ginotts Appreciative praise. When student depend their self-worth on
outside praise it is destructive to them and their experiences. Appreciative praise does not
evaluate but rather combines feedback with a statement of appreciation. Praise should not make a
point or criticize. Instead it should only evaluate the students work, action, or accomplishments.
When using praise we should not attach adjectives to students characters. Instead of
praising students we should praise their work, praises need to be very specific, we need to avoid
fake praises, praise shouldnt put students on the spot, and they should be given as privately as
possible, do not use praises that can embarrass a student or that can be condescending.
For example if a student writes an animal report instead of saying good job, you can write
or tell them that their paper had great facts and important information about the animal.

Consequences
Although Kohn wasnt a fan of rules and consequences the idea of maintaining a classroom
community is embodied in the social contract Curwin and Mendler use in Discipline with
Dignity. Some similarities are:

A system in managing the classroom that enhances human interaction.

Involving students in the creation of classroom rules gives them a sense of ownership to
the classroom.

By having the students help make rules and consequences for the classroom they are more likely
to follow those rules. Because students learn perspective taking they can understand if they will
receive consequences for an action they are about to take and decide it wouldnt be a good idea.
They will do this by asking themselves: How will that action make peers and/or the teacher feel?
How will they feel after the consequence?
Curwin and Mendlers Action plan is to deal with the problem immediately, follow the
consequences you established, be consistent, and respectful.

Implementation
Students will be involved every step of the way. As a community we will establish and discuss
all these systems. I will model and lead the students to learn how to discuss events and feelings,
perspective taking, and mediation. We will practice these daily until they become second nature.
By using appreciative praise students will learn to rely on their opinions to feel good about
themselves.