Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard

Classroom Management Plan

I. Description of grade level, ages, course content, and community including issues of diversity (e.g. economic, racial, disability): This classroom management plan is directed towards ninth grade freshman in Crestwood High school. The average age during students freshman year is usually fourteen to fifteen years old. The course is Academic English II, which includes a vast array of literature, including works from the Romantic, Victorian, and Modern periods. In addition we will cover selections derived from British literature, American literature, and global literature. Some examples include short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, plays by William Shakespeare, poems by William Blake, and an assortment of novels such as The Catcher and the Rye, and Beowulf. Crestwood High School is located in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, which is a part of Luzerne County. The Mountain Top community is a suburban area with a predominately white population. The ethnic demographics include a 94% Caucasian population, 1% Black population, 2 % Hispanic population, and 3% Asian population. In addition, Crestwood has a 14% eligible for a free lunch population and 4% eligible population for reduced lunch. Crestwood High Schools student population is 1062 students. The school contains a male population of 51% and a female population of 49%. II. Description of how you will physically arrange your classroom: In our classroom, we will arrange the students desks in five rows and five columns, with wide spacing in between to allow for easy movement throughout the classroom. This setup also works great for a literature class because it allows the desks to be moved at any time to create a large group discussion. Our book cases, shelves for materials, and cabinets will be located along the walls for easy access. We want our classroom to have a warm, safe, and welcoming atmosphere. In order to achieve that, we chose to put motivational, creative, and fun posters around the room to display that positive and warm atmosphere. In order to remind our students about our rules and expectations, we chose to place two charts/posters on the front board where students can see them and be reminded of them as well. Below is the diagram, which provides a detailed description of what our classroom would look like.

Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard

Classroom Management Plan

Teacher Desk 1

Display of Expectations

Front Whiteboard

Display of Expectations

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Cabinet 1 Cabinet 2

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30 Book Case

Craft Materials

III. Description of your classroom behavior expectations:

Poster

Back Whiteboard

Poster

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Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard IV. Description of your classroom behavior expectations.

Classroom Management Plan

Our students will be engaged in defining the following expectations through our day-today activities, lessons, and classroom discussions. In the first week of school, we plan to go over our classroom expectations by giving each student a handout of the syllabus, which will describe an outline of our yearly lessons together, the required materials, and finally, whats expected of them and their behavior in the classroom. As a reminder to our students, we will post behavior expectation posters around the room and remind our students verbally throughout the year. Positive reinforcement can also be used to motivate students in learning because it not only boosts the self-esteem of the student you are complimenting, but it also gives the student, who is participating in junk behavior, motivation to do well so that they can also receive that positive feedback and compliment(s). For example, in literary circles, a student may have prepared, read his/her material for class, and be participating in class discussions so we may say As Tim previously stated before, Esther, has a really complex character development because she feels peer pressure from her friends and she also is struggling with the loss of a loved one. This is use of positive reinforcement because it is rewarding Tim for doing his readings by bringing up his point consistently throughout the literature circle, while ignoring the fact that Tyler and/or other students didnt do their readings. These other students may see how Tims points are carried throughout the literary circle and be motivated to be prepared next class so that their opinions and perspectives can be rewarded in literary circles as well (See below for expectations and behavior chart).

Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard

Classroom Management Plan

Expectations

Start of Class

During Individual Tests

During Lectures in Class Be focused on the current reading material and class discussion.

During other Team Activities Be focused on literary circles and others while theyre talking. Organize literary circles within one minute.

Outside of Class Time Preparation

Be prepared

Arrive on time to class before the bell rings. Bring all reading materials, writing tools, and notebooks. Sharpen pencils before class discussion. Use the bathroom before class discussion. Be attentive to overview of the lesson for the day.

Be focused on the current test.

Review notes prior to class. Prepare thoughts, reactions, and opinions before literary discussion the next day. Keep materials organized.

Be on time

Listen to directions and follow the Read materials instructions before time in on the test. order to participate in Organize literary circle. yourself and your materials beforehand.

Be responsible Read materials Quality work Collaborate and participate

Keep your eyes on your own test.

Take notes during discussions.

Be on task One person speaks at a time

Think about class discussion and points that Ask for are being raised. guidance and help if Ask questions needed. and respond appropriately to others opinions, thoughts, and reactions.

Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard Be respectful Appreciate others thoughts, reactions, and opinions Respond appropriately to others feedback

Classroom Management Plan Provide constructive criticism, and or support for your differentiated opinion/thought. Be respectful to others thoughts, opinions, and reactions to the text. Encourage others to be on task and to provide their perspective. Review prior class notes before next class. Keep materials organized. Adequately prepare by doing readings and assignments.

V. Describe how you will establish rapport and build positive behavior with your students/clients: It is very important as an educator to build rapport with your students. Rapport is the relationship that teachers build with their students. It is important for teachers to make their students feel that they can come to them when they have a problem, or need to talk about something. Teachers need to be able to connect with their students to get across to them. If students do not feel that their teachers care about them, then they will not care about what you know as a teacher. Many teachers struggle on a daily basis with establishing rapport with all of their students, specifically, those who appear difficult to reach. As a teacher, you are most likely going to establish rapport with those students with whom you are most comfortable. To establish rapport with the students who we do not connect as easily with, we must 1. Understand this aspect of human nature and 2. Reach out and connect with those students who appear more distant from you in terms of personal comfort. Tool 1 in establishing a Conducive learning environment is Staying Close. We will implement this tool by greeting each of our students as they enter the classroom. As teachers, it is our job to make sure that our students feel welcome and comfortable in our classroom. We will make sure to build a connection with each student by interacting with them as they enter and leave the classroom and throughout the classroom discussion and or independent work. Creating conversation with your students allows them to see that you really are interested about them, and that they arent just some number in the classroom. We

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Classroom Management Plan

will make sure to know all of our students names, and to talk to them and relate to them as best and as much as we can. Tool 2 is Positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement involves anything that follows a behavior that makes it more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. When a favorable outcome, event, or reward occurs after an action, that particular response or behavior will be strengthened. We will implement this tool by providing students with positive and encouraging comments after they have exhibited some form of good behavior. An example of this would be, Thank you for raising your hand Kayla. In literary circle discussions, we will make sure to positively recognize student contributions in the discussion. An example of this would be, That was a really interesting point that you made Ryan, great job in identifying that throughout your reading! Positive reinforcement will help build our students self-esteem and allow them to see that as teachers, we really are grateful for the things that they contribute to the class and the good behaviors that they display. If students are positively recognized for something that they have done or achieved, it will usually make the student feel good about themselves. Students will see, firsthand, that their teachers really do care about them because they are paying attention to them and encouraging them to keep on exhibiting their good behaviors and contributions. When students feel and recognize that their teachers care about them, they are more likely to participate and be motivated to learn. It is particularly important to use Tool 1 and Tool 2 with at risk students. At risk students refer to students who are typically at risk for failing academically. This can be caused from a variety of different factors including students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, students who are academically disadvantaged, etc. In our classroom, we will make sure to respond to all of our students needs, but we need to pay particular attention to the students who are at risk of failing. To do this, we will make sure that these students are given extra attention. We must make sure that these students feel and know that we care about them. We need to set the same high expectations and standards for them, as we do for our students who are not at risk. We need to make it clear to these students that they have just as much potential to succeed as everyone else in the class does. As educators, we must also show our at risk students that we care about them and that we are interested in their lives. We must encourage them to always try their best and provide them with positive feedback when they contribute to the class or exhibit appropriate behavior. We cannot let

Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard

Classroom Management Plan

these kids get off short-handed, we need to probe them to try their best on school assignments, and we must make it a point to build relationships with these kids so that they know we are rooting for them to succeed. By allowing these students to see that we care about them and their success, they will be more likely to follow the classroom expectations and establish and maintain good behaviors. If they are able to see that we care about them, then they will want to succeed and try their best and hopefully their tendency of developing a chronic problem behavior will either decrease or be eliminated completely. The two types of inappropriate behaviors are junk behavior and problem behavior. Junk behavior refers to any age typical behavior that may be annoying (tapping, humming, mumbling, rolling eyes, etc.), but is not harmful to self, others, or property. Problem behavior refers to a behavior that is harmful to the student/client, others, or will likely result in property damage, (hitting, kicking, cursing, etc.). We will ignore junk behavior by ignoring the student who is exhibiting this behavior. Typically, students who exhibit junk behavior want attention from the teacher. They want to get a reaction out of their teacher which is why they partake in this particular junk behavior. When students are exhibiting junk behaviors in our classroom, we will ignore them and provide a positive consequence to another student(s) /client(s) who are acting appropriately and are in close proximity to the student(s) who are exhibiting the junk behavior. We will provide the positive consequence within 3-5 seconds of recognizing the positive behavior of the other student. Usually, when the student who is exhibiting the junk behavior sees another student being positively reinforced for their behavior, the student will stop their junk behavior because they realize that the only way they are going to be receiving attention will be through exhibiting good behavior. When the student stops using junk behavior and begins exhibiting good behavior we will provide a positive consequence within 3-5 seconds after their new appropriate behavior begins. We will respond to problem behaviors by stopping the students inappropriate behavior, redirecting them back to a different, logically related behavior that is appropriate and we will reinforce them within 3-5 seconds after their new appropriate behavior begins. We will make sure to stay calm and cool when dealing with the student. We will also make sure to look at the student when dealing with the problem behavior. The behavioral contract comes into play when all four Tools fail to work. The behavior contract should be a clear statement of a target behavior. (See below for a behavior contract).

Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard

Classroom Management Plan

BEHAVIOR CONTRACT Student Name __________Kayla____________ Relevant staff name(s): Dr. Maureen Walsh Erin OConnor Melissa Reichard Target behavior (behavioral expectation): Be respectful: Speak only at appropriate times . Listen to others while they are speaking. Use appropriate language. Data collection procedure: Use a private star chart for Kayla to track her good behaviors and her negative behaviors. In addition, track the times of day she struggles with behavior the most and over what possible reasons. Use these data collections to help progress Kayla in the classroom setting and give her the appropriate tools she needs in order to succeed. Reinforcement procedure (what and how often): Kayla can choose to pick a book from the classroom library at the end of each week, when she has achieved 35-50 stars and choose from a prize box each day when she has earned 5 -10 stars. What must student do to earn reinforcement? Be respectful: Use appropriate language . One person speaks at a time. Listen and follow directions the first time Consequences for failure to meet behavioral expectations: Kayla will not earn access to the prize box or classroom library. Other relevant consequences deemed necessary by teacher(s). Bonus for exceptional behavioral performance: When Kayla meets expectations 5 days in a row, she may choose a book from the classroom library along with a book mark and a small reading light. When Kayla earns 2 consecutive bonus picks, we will renegotiate the contract. Todays Date: 4/15/2012

Erin OConnor & Melissa Reichard

Classroom Management Plan

Signatures of all relevant people:

VI. Describe how you will structure the learning process in your classroom: In our Academic II English class, we will structure our group work in forms of literary circles. Majority of our work together revolves around reading and discussing major themes, characters, literary devices, figures of speech, plots, and settings of assigned readings. Group discussions will be used in order to guide students along in their readings and understanding of the literature they are assigned. Depending on classroom size, discussion circles may be split into two. In order to make sure discussions are effective and active, we plan to organize and setup our students personalities accordingly so that proper behavior and expectations can be followed through. Individual work will consist mainly of students reading the literature on their own time. Students must be prepared in their individual work in order to participate in the group work (there cant be class discussion when no one reads the materials). Should students be unprepared for literary circles or class activities, they will be assigned additional readings along with previous readings they have fallen behind in. If they are unprepared, they cannot participate in discussion or class activities and will be given an alternate assignment. Active learning in our classroom will involve student engagement and hands-on activities involving the text through classroom discussions and projects. We plan to incorporate technology by assigning a particular group a task related to the text that they may have to accomplish through a Web Quest, Scavenger Hunt, poetry readings, and other differentiated projects. We will be there to facilitate, guide, and follow through with error correction through their learning. Other relevant factors and aspects that we feel are important to our classroom management would be having a safe, friendly, and supportive environment. This can be achieved by establishing good friendship and acceptance within the classroom so that

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Classroom Management Plan

students support each other as well as following through with Tools 1-4 and reminding students of classroom behavior and expectations. VII. Describe how you will respond to inappropriate behavior The two types of inappropriate behaviors are junk behavior and problem behavior. Junk behavior refers to any age typical behavior that may be annoying (tapping, humming, mumbling, rolling eyes, etc.), but is not harmful to self, others, or property. Problem behavior refers to a behavior that is harmful to the student/client, others, or will likely result in property damage, (hitting, kicking, cursing, etc.). We will ignore junk behavior by ignoring the student who is exhibiting this behavior. Typically, students who exhibit junk behavior want attention from the teacher. They want to get a reaction out of their teacher which is why they partake in this particular junk behavior. When students are exhibiting junk behaviors in our classroom, we will ignore them and provide a positive consequence to another student / client who is acting appropriately and is in close proximity to the student who is exhibiting the junk behavior. We will provide the positive consequence within 3-5 seconds of recognizing the positive behavior of the other student. Usually, when the student who is exhibiting the junk behavior sees another student being positively reinforced for their behavior, the student will stop their junk behavior because they realize that the only way they are going to be receiving attention will be through exhibiting good behavior. When the student stops using junk behavior and begins exhibiting good behavior we will provide a positive consequence within 3-5 seconds after their new appropriate behavior begins. VII. Describe self-monitoring of your distribution of positives (Tool 2) vs. corrective

feedback (Tool 4): Teachers need to use the 4:1 ratio in order to give corrective feedback. The 4:1 ratio means that for every one negative comment you must give four positive comments. The 4:1 ratio is important because it help keeps teachers reminded of how negative feedback adversely affects students self-esteem and performance in the classroom. The differential rates of reinforcement based on students needs involve the following process: First, the 4:1 ratio is set up; the next step would be a behavior contract, and lastly a functional behavioral assessment. A teacher should self-monitor distribution of Tool 2 vs. Tool 4 by striving to achieve a 4:1 ratio of positive reinforcement (Tool 2) for appropriate behavior for each instance where you provide corrective feedback (Tool 4) for problem behavior. Every time

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Classroom Management Plan

we give negative feedback, we will place a marble in our left pocket. Every time we give positive feedback we will place a marble in our right pocket. This will help us monitor the amount of positive and negative feedback that we give to our students and it will also help us keep a 4:1 ratio. Name of Student: Kayla Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Marbles in left pocket (Negative) Marbles in right pocket (Positive)

VIII. Describe how you will screen for given students/clients who are in need of 1.) A behavior contract and 2.) A functional behavior assessment (FBA) and a personcentered behavior intervention and support plan: The Response to Intervention (RtI) approach is an approach to students who are in need of differentiated activities throughout the classroom. There are three tiers. The first Tier is directed towards all students. It is believed that 80% of those students needs will be met, while the rest will be moved to Tier two. In Tier one, the standards will be aligned to the curriculum. There will be high-quality instruction based on research-based instructional practices, effective support to enhance student engagement in learning, and student progress monitoring relevant to benchmark assessments. With the other percentage of students, there will be targeted interventions for some students. The standards will align with the instruction, along with supplemental, targeted group instruction. The use of standard protocol interventions that are research based. Specialists may assist in strategic instruction individually and/or within the general classroom setting. In addition, there will be frequent student progress monitoring. In the third Tier, 1-7% of students will have intensive student-centered interventions. The use of standard protocol interventions will also be used, as well as specialists who will provide direct strategic instruction and/or tutoring individually and/or within general classroom. Students progress monitoring will occur weekly and instructional changes based on educational team data-based decision-making. These tiers help the RtI process by promoting the importance of effective instruction in building a strong foundational

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Classroom Management Plan

core for all students. It encourages school teams to focus on Tiers two and three implementation efforts on effective instructional practices and discourages school teams in building Tiers two and three structures without a strong, standards aligned instructional core in Tier one. The RtI approach also helps in terms of making decisions because as the teachers, we will know where our students lay in terms of progress in the classroom. If students prove to have difficulties in reading or following along with discussions, steps will be made through tiers in order to get those students what they need. Increasing problem behavior impacts the use of Tool 4 in comparison to Tool 2 because Tool 4 is the stop and redirect, whereas Tool 2 is positive reinforcement. If you have serious problem behaviors in the classroom that inhibit the learning outcomes of other students, it can be difficult to use Tool 2 because you need to step it up to Tool 4, where you redirect the student in his/her actions and get them back on task. This can inhibit the use of the 4:1 ratio in comparison to the corrective feedback because with the 4:1 ratio, you always want to give more positive feedback than negative feedback; however, with increasing problem behavior, it may be difficult to use the 4:1 ratio because you need to stop them and redirect them. In this case, youre not necessarily giving them positive or negative feedback; rather, youre redirecting them to what they should be doing in the classroom.