Manageme nt Plan

Kindergarten Classroom
ED 122 11-17-10 Jill Jaworskis

Table of Contents
Part 1: Classroom Organization
Physical Desk arrangement Learning centers 3 Small group work area 3 Computers 3 Audio-visual equipment Bulletin boards Operational Record-keeping procedures New student in class Orderly, clean classroom Student work 5 3 3 4 4 4 5

Part 2: Disciplinary Policies and Professional Ethics

Establishing initial rules/expectations 6 Consequences for breaking class rules 6 Classroom or school rule infractions 7 Student disrespect to you or to other teachers 7 Student conflict on the playground 7 Student inattentiveness or lack of motivation 7 Students not getting work done 8
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Tardiness 8 Disrupting or offending another student during class 9 What happens if a child cheats 9 Parent/guardian/principal involvement 9 Behavior as a school professional Lounge gossip 10 Not getting along with a colleague 10 Disagreement with the strategies or views of your principal 10

Table of Contents (contd)

Part 3: Classroom Routines and Procedures

Student sharing 10 Room helpers Use of free time, finishing work early 11 Going on field trips Doing homework and handing in papers Passing out papers/announcements Dismissal for recess, lunch, specials (art/music/PE), & end of the day 12 Bathroom Procedures 13 Getting a drink Differentiation policy 14 11 11 12 12

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Assisting students who dont understand directions or tasks Challenge for gifted or high ability students Parents-regular communication and conferences 14 Sources 16 Classroom layout diagram 17

"A teacher affects eternity: she can never know where her influence stops."
-Henry Brooks Adams

Part 1: Classroom Organization

Physical:
Desk arrangement
Scattered throughout the center of the room are round tables, which can be used for whole group or small group activities. All the tables are visible from the teachers desk for easy instruction and supervision. Each table has room for five students, which should help grant social interaction without adding too much distraction to workers.

Learning centers
The reading corner of the room is a main highlight. It is located by the window for optimal light and comfort of atmosphere. It features a comfy couch and several chairs, and is surrounded by bookshelves to provide plenty of reading material as well as physically section off the area to avoid distractions. On the opposite side of one bookshelf is the art center, with easels for working, storage for paper, paints, and other supplies, and a sink and garbage can close by for cleanup. Against the other bookshelf is a computer center with several stations for students to work. Both the art and computer stations are close to the reading corner because they feature quieter activities that hopefully would not disturb the readers nearby. Along the back wall near the row of cubbies and a coat closet, is a dramatic play area. This area is nice and far away from the quiet reading corner, and is near the teachers desk since such active play might need a bit more supervision.

Small group work area

The round tables throughout the room will serve as small group space. Students can sit in a circle and be easily heard by the teacher. Depending on the need for table space during the activity, the group meeting rug and reading area can also be used to house small groups.

Computers
There are three computers available for student use in the classroom. These will be used for educational games during center time, as well as structured research on the internet for projects throughout the year. Technology is a huge part of todays society, so is important to integrate into learning, and I will always try to incorporate it wherever possible.

Audio-visual equipment
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The room houses a television, overhead projector, with projector screen that can be pulled down over the blackboard at the front of the room. There will also be a CD player/radio near the group meeting rug to use for group sing-a-longs or listening to books on tape.

Bulletin boards
At the front of the classroom, right near the door will be our classroom bulletin board. At the beginning of the year, it will feature information about myself so students can get to know me, and will soon change to be all about them. It will display classroom procedures, student work, and/or decorations or information relevant to the current unit/theme. Right next to the bulletin board is the blackboard, which will include the schedule for each day clearly displayed at the front of the classroom along will goals/objectives for each subject. Students will always know what we are doing for the day, and be able to refer to the nearby bulletin board for extra information.

Operational:
Record-keeping procedures
Taking role every day will be combined with lunch count to make the start of the day run as smoothly as possible. On the front board there will be a space with students names written on tongue depressors, with magnets attached on the backs. Upon entering class every morning, they will need to move their name into the column for the lunch theyd like to have. Thus, I will know that the remaining names are of students not present that day. It makes students take responsibility in the classroom from the moment they walk in. To keep track of attendance and student progress, I will keep a record book with four pages for each student. One page will track attendance, the second will record scores, the third is to keep track of behavior (i.e. whether the student was moved to yellow/red each day), and the fourth is for a running total of points for each student. This way there is a wealth of information about each student for a length of time always on hand. All the students records can be easily retrieved to provide to parents or future teachers.

New student in class

Being a new student in a classroom is a stressful experience. All the other students already know the daily routines and procedures, and it is difficult to jump right in and feel like you belong. To help a new student feel accepted, I would talk to the whole class before the new students arrival about who we will be getting in our class and that the new student might feel scared at first, so the class should try to be extra helpful. When the new student arrives, I will give him or her a small introduction of the classroom and how we operate, but I will also give several students the roles of explaining different aspects of the classroom. During center time the new student will 6

travel around the class with one or two knowledgeable students at a time. They will explain the different centers, beginning of the day routines, and other classroom procedures. It will be impossible to explain everything in one day, but having students do more of the presentation will hopefully make the new student feel a bit more accepted by peers right from the start, and makes it evident that all the students are part of the classroom and understand how it operates.

Orderly/clean classroom
Keeping the classroom clean is important for a number of reasons. The spread of germs in school settings is inevitable, but washing hands and being hygienic can minimize it considerably. Teaching hygiene and responsibility for cleaning your own space is valuable to students development. They need to learn those basic skills early to be productive members of a classroom environment. I will always stress that students wash their handsafter going to the bathroom, blowing their nose, playing outside, and doing arts and crafts. There is a sink inside the classroom, so that the class does not need to be interrupted by children leaving the room to wash their hands. At the end of the day each student will be responsible for cleaning their own area. They will pick any scraps or garbage off the floor and throw it away, make sure all materials are stored away in their proper places, and will each be given a sanitizing wipe (i.e. Clorox/Lysol) to clean their portion of the table with. After they have each cleaned their own area, they will pair up with the student next to them and check each others spaces and the remainder of the room. Everyone should be held responsible for the state of the classroom. Another way I will try to keep an orderly classroom is to assign student roles. Every week new students will be assigned to the roles, so everyone gets a turn to be a leader in the classroom. One student will be a line-leader, in charge of being the first to lead the class anywhere, and also keeping the line straight and orderly. Another student will be librarian. The classroom has a large reading area, so the librarian will be in charge of making sure all books get put away in the proper places at the end of center/reading time. The third role will be door guard. This student will open the door if we have any visitors, and will also hold open doors if the whole class travels somewhere, such as out to recess. Another student will be in charge of recess equipment. If we play with basketballs, sidewalk chalk, etc. that student will need to make sure that at the end of recess everything gets collected and returned inside. Other roles may be instated or switched out as needed throughout the year.

Student work
Displaying student work will be a major focus in my classroom. With students work up around the classroom, the room feels like it belongs to 7

them. If they help to create and add to the environment they will feel a sense of ownership and pride in the room they stay in every day. It will make students feel more comfortable and involved in their own learning. Work will be displayed all over the room. It will be shown on the bulletin board for everyone entering the classroom to see, as well as any empty wall space, hanging from the ceiling, displayed around my desk, etc. When old work is taken down to make room for new displays, items can be returned in the students cubbies. These act as mail boxes so the students know to take their work home.

Part 2: Disciplinary Policies and Professional Ethics

Establishing initial rules/expectations
The most important part of establishing rules and expectations in my classroom is that they are put in place, understood, and enforced right from the start. The first two weeks of school will be primarily used to set up and rehearse all the rules and procedures. If students know what is expected right from the beginning, the year will run much more smoothly. Being proactive and preventing unwanted behaviors is much easier than trying to fix them after they appear and take over your classroom. I dont have a set list of classroom rules, because I believe they should be decided upon by the students each year. Of course I will have some hand in making sure there are guidelines for general respect and safety, but I think in Kindergarten students have enough knowledge of how a classroom should run, and what is expected of them. Letting the students create their own rules gives them another way to feel that sense of ownership and presence in their classroom.

Consequences for breaking class rules

Again, these will to some degree be decided up on by students. They should help decide what they think is fair for certain offenses, and share what consequences would motivate them not to break a rule. Once all the rules and consequences are established, they will be rehearsed incessantly so that students know what is expected of them and what to expect should they break rules. One tool Ive seen in many classrooms that Id like to implement is a thermometer/traffic light chart. There will be a vertical image of a thermometer (or traffic light) on the front board of the classroom where it is clearly visible. Every students name is on a clothespin clipped to the side of 8

the chart. I will carry around a few small papers, each of which will have the same image of the thermometer. While a lesson, center time, or small group work is going on, I can go up to a student not behaving or being disrespectful and simply hand them one of the slips of paper. That notifies them that they are not following expectations in the classroom, and are responsible for moving their name up one notch on the chart. Everyones level of behavior is clearly visible in the classroom. It will always be possible to return to the green light though by showing improved choices and acceptance of the mistake made. At the end of the day I will record everyones behavior level in my grade book, and reset everyones clothespins. If a student ever reaches the very top of the thermometer (or red light) in a day, that will equal an automatic call to a parent at the next available time. The student will talk to their parent/guardian and explain what choices were made to provoke the change to red. A positive reinforcement tool I will put in place is a reward jar with buttons. Next to the button jar on my desk will be a bag with an assortment of random buttons. For any especially good behavior, excellent clean-up, etc, a student will get to reach into the bag to pick out a button, and place it in the jar. Once the jar fills up or all buttons are transferred to the jar, there will be a reward for the whole class, which will be democratically decided upon by the students at the start of the year. Each time the jar is filled, a new reward can be decided upon.

Classroom or school rule infractions

The school as a whole should have in place their overarching rules, and consequences for breaking those rules. These rules will be followed by every teacher and student, and might include things like not bringing anything dangerous into the building, not physically harming anyone, etc. Those rules will be made known to my class from the very beginning, and they will be explicitly told that they are very strong rules and that the students do not get to decide what the consequences will be if they break any of them. Every teacher will be well versed in consequences for school-wide rules, and at what point infractions should be brought to the office/principal. Students will also know and understand their own classroom rules, but they will have a hand in creating the rules themselves and consequences, so they might feel a bit more real or close-to-home. Ideally, effective implementation of our classroom rules will prevent any of the school-wide rules from being broken.

Student disrespect to teachers

Disrespect to any teacher will not be tolerated in my classroom. I will make my beliefs known to the students that teachers are in the classroom to help students learn, not to be mean, not to give boring homework, but to help the students learn. Students will all be expected to take that into 9

consideration and act accordingly. If a student disrespects me or another faculty member, the first step I would take is to sit down with the student and ask them why they acted the way they did, and talk about how the other person must have felt, and if the student would like it someone treated them in the same way. Building a sense of empathy is important to young children, and is something I believe many of them lack. Once I have discussed the situation with the individual, a call will be made to a parent or guardian, during which the student explains what they said/did to a teacher and their reason for it. The school might have their own consequences in place for disrespect to teachers, but if not, my own plan will be implemented.

Student conflict on the playground

Consequences for playground conflicts will have to vary to some degree, being natural to the offense committed. A simple issue like taking proper turns with equipment probably only requires a few seconds to resolve by asking the students involved what happened and with guidance have them ultimately work out who deserves what time with the equipment. For a more serious offense such as blatantly disrespecting someone else, the student will be given a time-out from recess, and have to stand with myself or whatever teacher is on recess duty for a portion of their free time either that day or the next.

Student inattentiveness or lack of motivation

In many cases, students who seem inattentive or lazy are automatically reprimanded and just repeatedly told to do their work, concentrate, etc. I feel that in just as many cases, the student is not to blame, and the scolding accomplishes nothing. Often there are other matters at hand, such as problems at home or underlying issues preventing them from physically being able to complete an assignment. Even more often, it is a problem with the teacherhow they organized their classroom or presented a lesson. If many of the students seem to become lazy or lack motivation, it is most likely due to a teachers actions. Therefore, the first step I would take once I notice inattentiveness is to look at possible causes I am creating in the classroom and do what I can to remedy the situation. Perhaps I need to describe a lesson in a different way, make activities more engaging and meaningful, or even just change where the student sits within the room. If I evaluate the situation and it seems that nothing I can change will help the student, I can begin to look elsewhere for causes of the lack of motivation such as home issues or even a possible learning disability. Only if I can find no other cause can I assume the student has complete control over their inattentiveness.

Students not getting work done

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I believe the main cause of work not getting done is inattentiveness or lack of motivation, with methods for addressing described previously. I believe assessing motivation can solve most instances of students not handing in work. More often than with lack of motivation though, I think handing in work could be more heavily affected by the students home. Maybe organization isnt stressed very well and homework often gets lost, or parents/guardians do not take note of whether the student completes their work. This can be addressed at home visits, which should be done twice a year. Meeting parents and witnessing the kind of environment students go home to can help the teacher to understand causes for many student behaviors.

Tardiness
I dont believe students that are tardy should need to in any way disrupt the class that is already taking place. Since a students first job when they enter the classroom is to move their name (on tongue depressor) to the proper column for lunch count, a tardy student will do the exact same. Nothing is different in their procedure for starting the day than any other student. At the beginning of the year it will be explained/modeled/rehearsed that tardy students are not to disrupt the class, and that they can quietly put their things away and join in the activities of the class when they are done. At an appropriate stopping point, I can either fill the student in myself on what they missed so far, or assign as a class role an informant to tell tardy students what they missed. If a student is frequently tardy and it becomes a problem, a call to the parent/guardian or conference might be in order. It seems improbable that it is the students fault they are late. Kindergarten students probably are not in charge of waking themselves up in the morning, might not know the bus schedule, and certainly dont drive themselves, so in most instances, the parent/guardian might need to be confronted about an issue preventing the student from getting to class on time.

Disrupting or offending another student during class

I am inclined to say here that I would give the student a time out, but that could be exactly what they want out of the situation. Often students act up just to get something, so when a teacher singles them out, yells at them, and puts them in a corner, they have received exactly what they want attention and/or a break from class. Instead of settling into this common behavior, I would start with simple steps such as standing next to his seat at the table. If that does no good, Ill use my system of the thermometer chart previously described. I would simply hand the offending child a small slip of paper that indicates they are behaving inappropriately, and they are to move their name on the chart to the next 11

notch, inching toward red. If matters progress further, I will have the child move to a different space in the classroom to continue their work, perhaps up by my desk. The offending child isnt the only one to consider in the situation though. At an appropriate time I would pull aside the student that was being disrupted or offended, and talk over the situation with them, making sure they are ok. I might even be able to find out if the child has noticed any pattern to the other students aggression, or know why they might be targeting them. As far as saying sorry, I dont want to force the student into saying it. It will not be meaningful if I make them say it. After I discuss what they did with them, I will say that if they understand what they did, why it was wrong, and feel bad for doing it, the nice thing to do would be apologize for it. Make it known to them that if they dont think they did anything wrong, or dont feel bad for their actions, they dont have to apologize. That will probably be a good indicator as to if your discussion with them actually made a difference, or if they dont care and need further consequences.

What happens if a child cheats?

At the Kindergarten level, it tends to be pretty obvious when cheating is going on. A student might whip his head around, checking if I am looking or you might just notice them lean to each to whisper an answer. I will make it a goal to prevent any of this from happening at the beginning of the year though. Somewhere within the first two weeks, while I am discussing all the class procedures with the students, I will talk about being honest and doing your own work. I will make it known that only work that is yours will give you a grade. If you didnt do the work, you dont get credit for that work, so it does you no good to steal from someone else. The original student worked hard to do their work, so it isnt fair if you dont have to do any work for it. If I do discover any cheating, I will pull the student[s] aside and ask if they remember the talk at the beginning of the year. I will ask if they think it is fair, worth it, etc.

Parent/guardian/principal involvement
Several things in my classroom will result in a call home or a trip to the principals office. The first thing is disrespecting the teacher, which was already discussed. I dont find it tolerable, and students who choose to disrespect me or a colleague will explain the situation to a parent or guardian. Violating school-wide rules is also subject to a harsher sentence, most likely a trip to the office/principals office. There, they can discuss why the rule they broke is important for the school, and how people are affected when a rule is broken. The last thing that will get a student a call home is reaching the top of the thermometer chart. Their behavior must have been exceptionally inappropriate to reach that level, and a chat with parents might be able to resolve the situation. 12

Behavior as a school professional Lounge gossip: Ideally speaking, the only behaviors or students
you would discuss with colleagues would be those that you may need help with, or examples that may help another teacher. Especially as a new teacher, Im sure there will plenty of situations I will want some advice on. Realistically speaking however, there will be day-to-day happenings youd like to share with colleagues. If I do end up talking about students I will try my best not to use names, and definitely avoid blatantly make fun of them or complaining. Asking for help with a student or seeing if any other teacher has had the student previously is solid ground for discussing a student, I believe. If teachers around me are making fun of students, I will try not to participate, or simply offer any guidance I can for the situation, to steer the conversation away from the joking. Not getting along with a colleague: In a school setting, I dont think you need to be best friends with everyone. There will inevitably be some teachers I will enjoy being around and seeing outside of school, and there will be those relationships that will be kept purely professional. If I dont particularly get along with another teacher, I will try to see if there is anything we can relate to in the classroom. I might ask for help with specific behaviors, lessons, etc. Id like to be at the point with ever teacher that school matters can be discussed, If no further relationship spurs from that, so be it.

Disagreement with the leadership strategies or views of your principal

If I disagree with the principals views or strategies, I would definitely ask other teachers if they understand/see the point in what the principal is doing. Hopefully they would be able to help me see the good in it or else back me up in addressing the principal about the issues. If there are several teachers concerned about a policy or leadership strategy, there may be good cause to address the issue.

Part 3: Classroom Routines and Procedures

Student sharing
After any assignment or project is completed, I will encourage any student wanting to share their work with the class. This will be a time for students to take pride in their own work, and see what their classmates are doing. It will clearly be made known that students who share work with the class will be treated with respect. Everyone knows it is scary to stand up and 13

talk to the whole class, but it is a good thing to share your work with other people, and students shouldnt be ashamed of the work they do. If they worked hard on an assignment, its nice to receive recognition from their peers as well as me.

Room helpers
Student roles are also discussed under Orderly/clean classroom on page 5.
Every week new students will be assigned to each of the roles, so everyone gets a turn to be a leader in the classroom. One student will be a line-leader, in charge of being the first to lead the class anywhere, and also keeping the line straight and orderly. Another student will be librarian. The classroom has a large reading area, so the librarian will be in charge of making sure all books get put away in the proper places at the end of center/reading time. The third role will be door guard. This student will open the door if we have any visitors, and will also hold open doors if the whole class travels somewhere, like out to recess. Yet another student will be in charge of recess equipment. If we play with basketballs, sidewalk chalk, etc. that student will need to make sure that at the end of recess everything gets collected and returned inside. Other roles may be instated or switched out as needed throughout the year.

Use of free time/finishing work early

In my classroom the schedule for each day will be clearly posted at the front of the classroom, so students know what they should be attending to at any one time. If a student happens to finish an assignment or project before everyone else, they will have two options for using the remaining time for that activity. They can choose to go to the center for the subject we are working on (i.e. if a student finishes a math assignment early, they can go to the math center and play one of the games available there). If there is no center for that particular subject, or they choose not to go to the center, they can always go to the reading area and pick out a book to silently or quietly read to themselves. Time in text is crucial to language and literacy development, so any extra time they spend looking at books will be valuable.

Going on field trips

Students will be thoroughly introduced to procedures and expectations prior to the field trip. Bus etiquette will involve sitting on your bottom (not standing up, kneeling on bus seats, etc), being quiet, telling the bus driver thank you, and an explanation of emergency exits and their use. The students will also be introduced to a buddy system. Before the field trip, students will be put into pairs. It will be explained to them that during the field trip, you need to stay with your buddy the whole entire time. It will be every buddys responsibility to make sure their partner doesnt run off from the group or cause any sort of commotion. 14

Another item of note for field trips is stressing the need for the students to be quiet. This may depend on the location of the field trip, but if students are going to a museum, or any indoor location, they will be told the importance of listening to me and any chaperones that may come with. The students need to be quiet enough at all times that they can hear instructions.

Doing homework and handing in papers.

Homework policies will be clearly presented at the beginning of the school year. When a homework assignment is given, it will be listed on the front board, with a specific time limit for it to get done (i.e. math worksheet due in 2 DAYS). If more than one day is given, the time remaining to complete an assignment will be updated as needed. There will be two baskets on my desk, one for class workthings we worked on and will return to during class timeand homework, things that should be turned in completed on the due date. The homework basket will be emptied daily, so I will know if work is turned in late. To collect papers, each student will put their class work/homework in a neat pile in the middle of their table. One student from each table will be assigned to move the pile to the appropriate basket on my desk. Along with homework comes the issue of not getting work done. This was previously discussed in Students not getting work done on page 7. I believe the main cause of work not getting done is inattentiveness or lack of motivation, with methods for addressing described previously. I believe assessing motivation can solve most instances of students not handing in work. More often than with lack of motivation though, I think handing in work could be more heavily affected by the students home. Maybe organization isnt stressed very well and homework often gets lost, or parents/guardians do not take note of whether the student completes their work. This can be addressed at home visits, which should be done twice a year. Meeting parents and witnessing the kind of environment students go home to can help the teacher to understand causes for many student behaviors.

Passing out papers/announcements

If a paper needs to be distributed during class, I will give a stack of five papers to one student from each of the four round tables in the classroom. That student will take one paper, and pass the pile on to the student on their left. This procedure will be introduced and rehearsed at the beginning of the school year and whenever necessary. For papers or announcements that need to go straight home, they can be distributed to the students cubbies, which will act as storage as well as a sort of mailbox. Students will know that new papers in their cubbies should be taken home and given to a parent/guardian. 15

Dismissal for recess, lunch, specials (art/music/PE), & end of the day
Transitions can be difficult moments during a school day. Students are expected to stop one task, move somewhere, and start a new task all in one swift motion. Such a large task is difficult for young students to process. Instead, I will make sure that the students get a warning several minutes before one activity is supposed to end and another is due to begin. That way they have a chance to feel done with what they are working on, and finish their thoughts on the subject. After those several minutes are up and students have finished their current task, I will prepare them for what is coming up next, and say something to the effect of When I say change, Id like for you all to put away _____ and get ready for ____. I will make sure to be clear as to what is coming next, and either write it on the board, or move some sort of pointer on the daily schedule to notify students we have entered the next segment of the day. Remind students of any expectations for the next section such as remembering to stay quiet enough in PE so that they can always hear what the teacher is telling them to do. Once the activity is finished and put away, students can line up according to the established procedure, with the line leader at the front.

Bathroom Procedures
There will be specified times for bathroom breaks throughout the day. Appropriate times will be assessed and decided upon within the first few days of school based on student need and times of heavy hallway activity. When it is time for a bathroom break, the class will be reminded of procedures for the bathroom, and line up as practiced. The class will calmly follow the line leader to the bathrooms, where several students will be rotated in and out at a time so that not everyone is in the bathroom at once. When each student is done in the bathroom, they will return to a line forming in the hallway, and once everyone is done, we will all return to class together. If a student needs to use the bathroom during whole group time, they will raise their hand with their fingers crossed. That way it is a silent notification to me, and does not disrupt the rest of the class. I can respond with a nod and gesture to the door, or shake my head and hold up one finger, signaling they should try to wait just a bit until a better time. During center/free time, it will be acceptable to walk up to me and request to go to the bathroom rather than use the hand gesture. I will start the year with one boys pass and one girls pass to the bathroom hanging up next to the classroom door. When the student leaves, they are to take the pass, place it at their assigned seat, and hang it back up upon their return. That way if a student is missing, I can see if the bathroom pass is in their spot. I will make it clear that students are to do their business quickly, walk quietly in the hallway, and return to the classroom as soon as possible. If individual trips to the bathroom get to be an issue, I can use a 16

timer to make sure the student returns in a reasonable amount of time. If they return before the timer goes off, there is no harm done. If the timer runs out before they come back though, they will need to remove one button from the reward jar.

Getting a drink
The procedure for getting a drink will be the same as going to the bathroom. When we take a class bathroom break, students will also be allowed to get a drink. They will also get a drink break after recess even if there is no bathroom break. Students are to form a neat line behind the water fountain, and the student behind the one drinking will count to three slowly to let them know when they need to stop. These procedures will also be outlined and rehearsed at the beginning of the year. If a student needs a drink during class time, the procedure will also be the same as using the bathroom, but they will hold up their pinky as a hand signal instead of the crossed fingers that signal a bathroom break.

Differentiation policy Assisting students who dont understand directions or tasks:

When an assignment/project/task is introduced, I will do my best to explain it in detail, making expectations clear and manageable. After I have finished my instructions, I will ask students if they understand the procedure/assignment, and what questions they might have about what they are to do next. If questions arise, the procedure will be to first ask the person sitting next to you if they know what to do. If several students at a table are confused about the same thing, they can raise their hand and I will come to their table to help in whatever way I can. If that many students are confused, some re-teaching is probably necessary.

Challenge for gifted or high ability students:

Differentiation for gifted or high ability students will vary depending on the lesson, but could include things like going deeper into a topic, covering more breadth of a subject, working more independently and choosing a different approach to learning material, or going quicker through a greater amount of material. It is not acceptable for advanced students to simply help those at a lower level than them. That does nothing to expand the high ability students learning.

Parents-regular communication and conferences

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Parents will be introduced to classroom expectations and procedures at the beginning of the year during a home visit for each child. I will personally meet each students parent/guardian, give them some background on myself, information on when/why they may be called during the day, and outline what the class will be working on throughout the school year. Making expectations known to parents before the school year gets underway will help prevent any disagreements from starting later in the year Conferences will also be held, most likely according to a school-wide schedule. During conferences I will sit down with the parent/guardian and student, and discuss progress throughout the year so far, what the student is excelling at, and any concerns I might have or things I think should be worked on more at home. I will have student work for them to view and take home, and a folder or book for each student showing assessment results and other evidence of placement and progress. For weekly notices/announcements, a sheet will be placed in the students cubbies and sent home at the end of every week. The notice will inform the parents how the week went, what was covered/accomplished, and what they can expect for the following week. It will also include any pertinent information on upcoming events, early-out days, field trips, or volunteer opportunities.

"I am not a teacher of knowledge; I am a teacher of children."

-Jennifer Swanepoel

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Sources
"Scrapbooking Quotes: Teacher." Scrapbook.com: Supplies and Scrapbooking Ideas. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://www.scrapbook.com/quotes/cat/298.html>. Tomlinson, Carol A.. How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms . 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA.: Association for supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. Print. Wong, Harry K., and Rosemary T. Wong. The first days of school: how to be an effective teacher. New 4th ed. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, 2009. Print.

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