Running Head: CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT PLAN ELEMENTARY 1

Classroom Environment Plan:

For the Elementary Classroom
Nicola Fitzsimmons
Grand Valley State University
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When I have my own classroom, it will be important to me that my students know

that I care about them as individuals. It will also be important to me that my students

consider being a part of our classroom as being a part of a community community, and

that they see themselves as having a stake in our classroom and in their learning. There

are a number of valuable practices that I plan to employ, that I hope will help me to

accomplish these goals.

One practice that I have learned about and love is the idea of having daily

classroom meetings. I have learned how important it is to take time at the beginning of

the school year to have students get to know one another, establish procedures, and

start the school year off right (Wong & Wong, 2009). I also believe that these sorts of

whole-classroom conversations are powerful to have throughout the school year.

Though it may seem like there is never enough time in the school day, dedicating

twenty minutes a day to bringing the class together to: greet one another (“What is

morning meeting?,” 2016), find out students’ interests and what they are up to outside of

school, work to help students to establish connections with one another, to self-reflect

(“Ms. Noonan: Morning meeting,” n.d.), and even to talk about problems and solutions

for the classroom, has the potential to have a major impact on students’ feelings of

belonging, ownership, and success in the classroom.

Another practice that I plan to utilize is a social contract. While I believe that clear

rules, procedures, and routines are an important part of classroom management, I do

not believe they must all be set by the teacher before the students arrive. Rather, during

the first few days of school, the students themselves can discuss what rules they would

like to see implemented in the classroom, take the time to talk them out, and ultimately
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vote on them. Once the rules have been decided, I would want them written out and

signed by all of the students. I would post this social contract and give a copy to the

students and even other staff. Such a practice is recommended by Curwin and Mendler,

who offer great insight on constructing an effective social contract (Smith, n.d.)

I think allowing students to have a role in deciding what rules they want in their

classroom is an ingenious way to give them ownership of their classroom and to set

them up for success in following the rules. This is because the rules will not have been

forced upon them but developed and chosen by them, because they thought they would

make sense for their classroom. Having students sign them is another step in helping

students to feel responsibility to upholding the rules. If a student breaks a rule, the

contract can then easily be referred to. I think it is also important to actively talk about

the rules throughout the year and be willing to revisit and even amend them.

That said, in allowing students do discuss the rules, I will have guidelines for

what should be included in the rules. As students volunteer ideas for the rules and

discuss what should be included, I would facilitate the conversation and guide them to

consider that students should be safe and respectful towards others, themselves, and

the classroom. Practically, this means keeping hands and feet to one’s self and taking

care of the classroom, being kind to one another, doing one’s best, and helping others

to do their best. Including a rule that addresses bullying would be non-negotiable for

me. Furthermore, I like what Curwin and Mendler state about ensuring that rules are

neither too vague nor too specific (Smith, n.d.). I agree that it would be ideal for the

rules to be succinct and clear.

On the topic of bullying, I think it is important to ensure that, in addition to having

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clear rules regarding kind and respectful behavior, there is an active program in the

classroom to teach students not to bully and about what to do if they see someone else

being bullied. Coloroso’s insights into why people act as bystanders and how to teach

them to resisters is incredibly valuable here. Bullying should be talked about, explicitly

taught against, and actively prevented. Such a program should also encompass or be

paired with community-building in the classroom, to help facilitate the students to form

bonds with one another. Teaching and encouraging my students to build one another

up, to help them be academically successful and to feel like they belong will be an

important goal for me.

Bullying prevention is also a great example of how community-building does

need to extend beyond the classroom. As a teacher, I would like to include parents and

other community-members in this community, as well as other students and staff in the

school. Furthermore, anti-bullying efforts are more likely to be effective if there are

school-wide policies and procedures to prevent it. As bullying is an important cause to

me, as a teacher this is an area where I would be happy to collaborate with other staff to

determine the best approach for our school. And, in teaching my own students anti-

bullying skills, this would be an opportunity for them to be leaders throughout the school

community, making it safer and more positive for everyone.

Much of my classroom management approach will be about preventing student

misbehavior, rather than responding to it. Countless educational theorists (including

Glasser and Kohn) agree on the importance of choice in the classroom (Charles, 2012;

Kohn, 1993). Giving the students options in what they are learning about, in how they

approach assignments, and, overall, what they are doing in the classroom is crucial to
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helping them to become self-motivated, lifelong learners. This personal stake in their

education will also help to minimize behaviors, because rather than telling students

what to do all of the time, I will be facilitating their generating and choosing from a

selection of positive choices.

I also appreciate that so many educational theorists disagree with not only

punishment in the classroom, but reward. My experiences as a paraprofessional have

led me to question the role I would like extrinsic, unrelated rewards to play into how I

motivate students to be engaged and well-behaved in the classroom. Though I may

choose to incorporate rewards sometimes, I plan to put the bulk of my efforts into

making the learning experience be the reward. Glasser explains that “students will do

what is most satisfying to them at any given time,” (Charles, 2012). I would like to strive

to make my lessons what is most satisfying, rather than trying to bolster mediocre

lessons with the promise of candy afterward or even tokens for being willing to sit

quietly and appear to be listening to my instruction. I might not go as far as Kohn does,

as he includes verbal praise in this, but I do like his potential alternatives, including

showing that I noticed what a student did, asking them questions about it, and

commenting on the effects of their actions (Kohn, 2001).

When it does come to responding to inappropriate student behavior, I really like

Fay and Cline’s Love and Logic approach. Responding to misbehavior first with

empathy (Fay, 2000) is a great step to maintaining or even building a relationship with a

student (rather than damaging it because they are acting inappropriately—likely

increasing the likelihood of future misbehavior.) I love the concrete examples of things

that people might say when using the Love and Logic approach. For example, reading
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that a great first response is “What a bummer!” (Fay, 2000), sounds like a small tip, but

it makes me feel armed with an amazingly powerful tool, for when I do encounter

misbehavior that requires a consequences, but also some understanding. I also love

how Love and Logic follows that up with teaching and allowing students to be problem-

solvers, in control of their own choices and consequences.

One other powerful tool that learning about Love and Logic has given me, is the

idea that consequences do not have to be assigned immediately (Fay, n.d.). When I

studied behavioral psychology, it was stressed in my learning that consequences should

occur as close to one second or less from the time of the behavior. In my experiences in

the classroom, I have often felt pressured to deal with behavior and name a

consequence for it immediately. I love the idea that the consequence can wait. I think it

is still important to acknowledge the misbehavior immediately, or close to the time it

occurs. But knowing that I have the option to wait to cool down before choosing a

consequence, or that I have time to determine what an actual reasonable (Coloroso,

1994) and related consequence could be, is such an important concept to me. I believe

this is something that I will use in the future.

When it comes to what the consequences for behaviors in my classroom will be, I

do really like the idea of students determining how to make up for misbehavior and for

the action to be related to the misbehavior. I have not experienced clip charts in my

classroom and having heard about the toll it can take on students’ self-esteem for them

to constantly be on “red,” I do not believe that I will use them in my own classroom. I

think it would likely make the most sense for plans on how to deal with misbehavior to

be individualized. For example, for slight or initial infractions, setting a limit or referring
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to the social contract would be a first step for me. After that, it would be talking with that

student and having them work to come up with what will prevent them from making the

same choices in the future and how they can make up for it now. What that would look

like would vary by student and behavior: if they are constantly talking during direct

instruction, they may choose to move their seat away from a friend. If they are talking

because they have trouble following what I am saying and are asking questions, they

might choose to write a quick note so that it is less distracting to others. If they have

trouble controlling their talking, we might plan to have them track the number of times

they have an outburst, and then work to decrease that number.

I know that I would not want to take recess or movement activities away from

students or have them miss more engaging activities, when that may be what they need

the most. I certainly would not want to shame students for their misbehavior—I do

believe it is important to keep a calm, even tone. It is also important to re-establish

connections with students and make sure that they know I still care about them, even if

they do misbehave. I also believe it is important to collaborate with other staff and

especially their parents, in order to help students to make the best choices they can.

Ultimately, there is so much care and consideration I will take when designing the

structure and procedures in my classroom. In addition to the classroom rules developed

through the social contract, I will establish routines and procedures that my students

can follow. For example, I will make sure my students follow the same routine when

they arrive, so that they know what to do immediately every morning (Wong & Wong,

2009). If students and I decide that pencil sharpening during direct instruction is

distracting and should be prohibited, I would make a sign that lets them know when it is
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OK to sharpen their pencils and when they should wait. (I am a strong supporter of

utilizing visuals to support students.) This would also be combined with a solution for

when their pencil breaks and they need it to be sharpened immediately: of many

possible solutions, perhaps we allow students to swap dull pencils for a sharp one from

a designated area. Ensuring that expectations for students are clear and fair can go a

long way to helping them be successful and for managing a classroom effectively.

Another aspect of classroom management that I would put much forethought

into, is how I organize my classroom. I like the idea of having student desks organized

in small groups, so that they can collaborate in their learning. This will likely be

accompanied by more talking, but such talk does not have to be a sign of inappropriate,

off-task behavior. Putting student desks into small groups should be paired with

learned-centered activities and units. I strongly believe in the importance of empowering

my students and teaching them the skills to collaborate and to be in charge of their own

learning is a part of that.

I also plan to do my best to make my classroom look colorful, inviting, fun, and

hopefully not too busy. I would like to display student work on the walls, as well as

anchor charts and other academic tools, and visual reminders of procedures and

expectations. I would like my classroom to be a place where students are excited to

come. I would try to encourage this and their sense of belonging by greeting them at the

door each day (“Capturing kids’ hearts,” 2004), individually, with a professional persona

and caring demeanor. Consciously working to express enthusiasm and warmth toward

my students, in my word choice, tone, and body language, I aim to manage my

classroom by building relationships with my students and them with one another.
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References
Capturing kids’ hearts. (2004, December.) Advocates for Education of Whitefish Bay,

Inc. Retrieved from https://flippengroup.com/wp-

content/uploads/2016/02/AdvocatesForEdCKH_Dec04.pdf

Charles, C. (2012). Building classroom discipline. (9th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Coloroso, B. (1994). Kids Are Worth It! New York, NY: Avon Books.

Coloroso, B. (2005). A bully's bystanders are never innocent. The Education

Digest, 70(8), 49-51. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/218184827?accountid=39

473

Fay, J. (2000). What’s more important: GPA or character? Love and Logic. Retrieved

from https://www.loveandlogic.com/articles-advice/whats-more-important-your-

childs-gpa-or-character

Fay, J. (n.d.). The delayed or ‘anticipatory’ consequence. Love and Logic. Retrieved

from https://www.loveandlogic.com/articles-advice/the-delayed-or-anticipatory-

consequence-for-teachers-educators

Kohn, A. (1993, September). Choices for children: Why and how to let students decide.

Phi Delta Kappan. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/choices-

children/

Kohn, A. (2001, September). Five reasons to stop saying ‘good job!’ Young Children.

Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/five-reasons-stop-saying-good-

job/

Ms. Noon: Morning meeting. (n.d.). TeachingChannel. Retrieved from

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/classroom-morning-meeting
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Smith, K. (n.d.). Social contracts…: A proactive intervention for the classroom. Institute

on Community Integration, College of Education, University of Minnesota,

Minneapolis.

What is morning meeting? (2016, June 9). Responsive Classroom. Retrieved from

https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/what-is-morning-meeting/

Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2009). The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective

Teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.