Classroom Management Plan 1

Classroom Management Plan

Stephanie Castro

LBS 302

California State University Dominguez Hills

Classroom Management Plan 2

Introduction

My observation/field work took place in a third grade class at Della S. Lindley

Elementary. Mrs. Escobedo’s third grade class consists of about 90% hispanic students with 5%

African American and 5% Caucasian. Most of the students are English Language Learners.

There are 8 students that are behind in reading and writing and they get extra help from another

teacher in an intervention classroom in the school. She has one student with an IEP and a few

students that are above grade level. In the classroom I observed three different students one was

a student with an IEP, another was an English language learner and the last was a student that

struggled emotionally.

The student with an IEP did not have an IEP in the beginning of the school year, at first

he was just really behind in all the subjects. His attendance is poor at school and he is constantly

being pulled out of the classroom to help him catch up in the subjects he is most behind. I

worked with him one on one plenty of times but I did not get too far because he was always

pulled out. He has a hard time staying on task and I believe it may be due to the fact that he is so

far behind in the classwork that he feels it may be a waste of time. Mrs. Escobedo has mentioned

that he misses a lot of school because there problems at home he deals with. This student is very

capable of doing the work he just needs to improve attendance and get extra help/time to

complete assignments.

The student that is an English language learner has improved since I have been in the

classroom. I have worked with her closely and listened to her read out loud often. A big hurdle

this student faces is that at home her mother does not speak english and has no one that can help

her out when she does not understand a word or has a hard time with pronunciation. She gets
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pulled out of class to get the help she needs and also stays to attend the after school program

where she can get some help with homework. I asked her if she had a computer or device that

can help her pronounce words and she said she did not. I spoke to Mrs. Escobedo about the

students situation and she gave her a dictionary to look up words that she is not familiar with

unfortunately she did not have a device to help the student with word pronunciation.

The student that struggles emotionally is very bright and is above reading level for her

grade. She is also bright in the other subjects. I have also worked closely with her and found that

small things will upset her. For example a student made fun of her Christmas tree headband and

she got really upset and ran to the corner and curled up into a ball. I have noticed that she is

constantly getting into small arguments with other students and ends up isolating herself from the

class until Mrs. Escobedo has a talk with her and the classmates that are involved. In a

conversation with Mrs. Escobedo I found out that she has had some behavior issues in the past

and voiced that her previous teacher told her that she is the middle child and struggles with it

because she may be lacking attention at home.

I would consider myself to be more on the engagement/focus spectrum with inclusion of

some rewards and routines. The reason being is that I feel a classroom should be fun, interesting

and engaging and the learning will fall into place. Providing a fun and interesting environment

will have the students longing for knowledge. Once the students are engaged I will incorporate a

few rewards to keep the students involved throughout the school year. I will also include routines

and procedures to build a good classroom climate and have an easy flowing class. Rules and

expectations will also be put in place to let students know what is expected of them within the

classroom. Another piece will be on student autonomy, maximizing instructional time, and
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accommodations made individually and as a whole. Lastly I will explain peer interactions, parent

communication/engagement, and fairness and respect in the classroom. All of the following are

essential segments to have in a classroom management plan.

Routines and Procedures

One of the routines or procedures I would like to include in my classroom is building a

good classroom climate and culture. A way of doing this would be to get to know my students

individually. By knowing them individually I will be able to know if there are any

accommodations needed or how to present lessons to the class. Farr (2010) states, “ Students

crave structure and predictability”. By providing a structured and efficient classroom

environment students will feel safe and secure which will allow for more instructional time

(Farr, 2010). I would also like to use strategy 31 (Pinto, 2013), the strategy is identified as HAT

(How are things). This strategy has students sit down for about five minutes individually with the

teacher to go over how the student is doing in class and also how he/she is feeling. This will help

me the educator understand my students and have a connection with them. Alongside classroom

climate, going over the rules and regulations with the students and reminding them throughout

the year will help minimize future misbehaviors. A second procedure would be having the

students properly transition from one subject to another. Students will be able to see the class

agenda to know what the day will consist of, students feel more comfortable when they are

aware of what they will be doing throughout the day. If a lesson is lengthy students will be given

a one to two minute stretch or brain break to help them pause and refocus on the topic. The last

routine is having the students work in small groups to check for understanding after a lesson.
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Students will work in large groups or individually while I work with a smaller group of three to

check for understanding. This will allow me to scaffold students and answer any questions they

may have. This also let’s me see who needs additional individual help. Once all of these

strategies become routine, students and myself will have a great classroom climate and allow

learning and growing to occur naturally and with ease.

Expectations and Rules

I will initially go over my rules and expectations and have an open discussion with my

students to go over them, strategy six (Pinto, 2013). The students will be allowed to give

reasonable suggestions if they would like to see changes to a rule or expectation. The class as a

whole can vote if they want to change a rule or leave it as it is. Once all the rules and

expectations have been agreed on and finalized, the rules will then be posted for all to see. I will

also go over them with students to assure that they understand them and know what the

consequences will be if not followed. Pinto states that the classroom communities are stronger

when students are part of rule setting (2013). The students will be reminded of the rules and

expectations when necessary and will be enforced throughout the school year. The rules will be

basic and are as followed:

● Students must be respectful. Treat others the way you would want to be treated. Respects
other classmates property and school property.
● Always do your best.
● Listen when others are speaking.
● Raise hand to speak.
● Do not disturb others while they are working.
● Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
● Have fun!
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I will also use strategy eight which is progressive discipline (Pinto, 2013). This strategy focuses

more on corrective behavior rather than punitive. Students will be given a warning first, secondly

the students take out a piece of paper in which they explain in writing what happened and how to

correct the behavior. A third offense will result in a loss of a privilege. A fourth offense will be a

call home and finally the last offense will be sent to principal's office.

Student Autonomy

Student autonomy is a great way to help students succeed in the classroom. According to

Rusul Alrubail students must know that they have a voice and it will be heard (2014). She also

gives a few pointers that will help educators foster students to be autonomous. Alrubail states

give students choice, ask for their opinion, trust they will make the right decision, give students

responsibility, provide feedback, foster a safe and friendly environment, and speak to students as

equals(2014). When a student is in trouble for disrupting class or fighting, I will have the

students get a sheet of paper that will be called a letter. In this letter the student will have to write

down why they got in trouble, what caused this action, and how they will correct the action. Both

the student and the parent must sign the letter and then the student and myself will discuss the

situation. Students will learn the expectations for working in groups and independently. A

strategy learned from Mrs. Escobedo on encouraging students to work independently is to have a

chart that tracks when they were able to successfully work independently. When the students fill

up the sheet of successfully working independent they will earn time as they do with strategy 23

(save up time) in which they get to chose how to use the time saved up. Everytime a students was

unsuccessful at working independently they will provide a reflection sheet to let me know why
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they were unable to work independently. If the task was difficult this will allow me to adjust the

content or answer any questions the students may have had. Depending on the activity the

students will be able to choose groups or will be assigned. This will allow students to work with

others they normally don’t work with.

Maximizing Instructional Time

The first strategy I would like to use is strategy 23, which is save up time. Students will

begin each day with three minutes, everytime the students are off task or taking too long to get in

the learning position I will start a timer showing the amount of time that was wasted and that

time will then be added up and deducted from the three minutes they started with. When the

students have earned 15 or 30 minutes they can use the time as free time, play games, have a

guest speaker, or anything that they choose that is reasonable and allowed in school. To

maximize instruction time in a class I will keep a backup lesson plan or paper worksheets if

using technology (Meador, 2017). Even though using technology is great, there is a possibility

that the internet will not be working or students will have issues logging in and to prevent wasted

time I will have a backup lesson ready. To keep students focused I will give students a mental set

breaks when transitioning from one subject to another. I will also give a minute stretch break

when lesson is long or difficult this is an idea borrowed from Mrs. Escobedo. The last strategy I

will use is number thirteen from the Pinto’s book which is getting students attention. There are

various ways to do this one being “Give me five”, I will hold up my hand and say give me five

and the students will put their hands up and count down five, four...one. As students are counting
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down they get quieter. Another one is clapping patterns or songs that the students copy the

teacher.

Accommodations

“English learners come to school with a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds…”.

There are many factors that affect English learners such as age, time in the U.S., and literacy

background (Curriculum Framework, 2014). Students that are English learners will have the

material with instructions in the primary language spoken or given the instructions out loud if the

students first language is spanish. English questions will be brief and to the point for those that

are English language learners. They will also be provided with a written outline of the lesson

and questions that will be asked during that lesson. I will provide vocabulary words and

definitions to look out for during a lesson. Extra time will be given on assignments that need to

be turned in if needed. Students that are struggling academically will be required to finish the

same work but with less problems. Students that are specials needs or have a disability will be

accommodated as need, for example a student with special needs or a learning disability will

work in small groups and will be given extra thinking time to answer a question. I will also keep

topics small in scope until the student has mastered discussion etiquette. Students will also

receive an outline of the lesson and the questions that will be asked during discussion for those

students that need additional processing time. Worksheets will be broken up into small

step-by-step tasks. Students will also be given reading material that is simpler or at their level

(Enloe, n.d).

Peer interactions
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Learning games is another great tool to get students to interact. Students will have to

work together in groups of two or three to obtain the answer and practice social skills. Students

will be working in pairs and small groups where they can practice brainstorming,

communicating, and presenting projects this is a strategy learned from Mrs. Escobedo. Another

peer interaction strategy is the inside outside circle where students are separated into two groups,

then they form an inside circle and outside circle facing each other, this strategy is borrowed

from Dr. Inman. The students will have questions which can consist of a lesson, quiz for a test,

or to get to know each other. Mix-pair-share is another strategy I would like implement. This

strategy has students move or dance around and once the music stops or the teacher yells freeze

students must pair up with the closest person, if a student does not have a partner they raise their

hand and will get assigned a partner. The teacher will then ask students questions or give

vocabulary words that the students will share with their partner (Kagan, n.d).

Parent communication and involvement

I believe that parent communication and involvement is crucial for students to succeed.

Before the school year starts I would like to send out a notice home introducing myself and

include the many benefits a student gets when parents are involved with the school. I will also

invite parents to attend the first day of school. On our first day I would like students and parents

to share hopes and concerns for their children and together set up a student goal. I will have

parents come within the first two weeks of school so that they can see our expectations and

classroom rules and how they were developed by the students themselves . I will also like to get

to know the parents during this meeting and let them know I am available to answer any
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questions or concerns they may have. When it comes to open house or back to school night I will

have the students make a card inviting their parent to attend. I would like to hold a parent and

student fun day each semester so that not only the kids get to know each other but the parents as

well. Additionally I would give them updates about the classroom and other school activities.

This will be a great way for students and parents to connect outside of the classroom. I would

like to give parents surveys at the beginning, middle, and end of school year to check in on the

parents and get insights on how to assist or answer any questions/concerns. This will help parents

feel involved with their students learning and keep in contact with parents. Lastly I would

encourage parents to volunteer for a day or help out with classroom tasks such as stapling papers,

making copies or other minor tasks.

Fairness, Equity and Equality

Educators need to address equity in the classroom to make sure students understand the

difference between equity and equality. Sonia Nieto states that treating everyone equal does not

lead to equality it just perpetuates the inequality that already exists (2004). An example of this

would be giving two students a stool to stand on to see over a fence but one student is shorter and

the stool will not be sufficient to see over the fence, this would be equality. With equity the

shorter student will get a higher stool to see over the fence and the other student will get the

normal sized stool. Equity is the state of treating others free from bias or favoritism. Fairness is

the quality of making judgements free of discrimination, students need to be aware of this term

to treat others with kindness and not judge others based on color, race, or ethnicity. When

students are taught to be kind to others no matter the differences students can get along and be
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kind to one another. A community circle is a great way to promote fairness and equity in the

classroom. Every morning I would have students get in a community circle to talk about any

topics that arise. I would like to address culture, race, and gender as well as other important

topics. This circle will have students understand one another and see that everyone is different

and it is a good thing. Students can learn to respect each other as the class gets more comfortable

opening up and expressing themselves during circle time.

Conclusion

This management plan will help me build a foundation as a new teacher in an elementary

school setting. In my fieldwork site I was able to observe Mrs. Escobedo use routines and

procedures to provide a good classroom climate. I was also able to see the rules and expectations

enforced and how students practiced student autonomy. I have learned strategies that I will

incorporate in my classroom from my fieldwork and from my LBS 302 class. In Mrs.

Escobedo’s class I observed three different students, one with an IEP, another struggling

emotionally, and an English language learner. With this I was able to see what accommodations

the students needed while in the classroom. The last and most important thing I learned was peer

interactions, parent communications and how to promote fairness and equity in the classroom.

All of the following are essential to both the student and parents. Peer interactions are very

important for students to learn social skills and to successfully work together. Parent

communication and involvement is essential and extremely crucial when it comes to a students

academic success. Lastly promoting fairness and equity is what helps students feel secure in the

learning environment, the community circle will help students learn that people are different and
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how to respect others due to their differences. All of the following are tools that will help me

provide the students with an equitable and safe learning environment.

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References

Alrubail, R. (2014, June). ​The Synapse.​ Retrieved from:

https://medium.com/synapse/student-autonomy-e56bd45a7f51

Curriculum framework and evaluation criteria committee (2015). Access and equity in ​English

language arts/English language development framework for California public schools:

Kindergarten through grade 12.​ (pp. 879 – 936). Sacramento, CA: California Department of

Education

Enloe, J. (n,d). ​Accommodations and modifications​: Accessing the curriculum. Los Angeles Unified

School District.

Farr (2010). ​Maximizing the efficiency and structure of your classroom​. Retrieved from:

https://toro.csudh.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-4684212-dt-content-rid-14833987_1/courses/LBS

302-01_2188_42407/LBS302-01_2188_42407_ImportedContent_20180917022258/LBS

302-02_2188_42408_ImportedContent_20180827063235/Maximizing%20Efficiency_Str

ucture%20of%20Classroom.pdf

Kagan. ( n,d). Cooperative learning: A quick reference guide of Kagan structures. Retrieved

from: https://sirblois.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/cooperative-learning-activities.pdf

​ etrieved from
Meador, D. (2017)​. Strategies for teachers to maximize student learning time. R

thoughtco.com/strategies-for-teachers-to-maximize-student-learning-time-4065667.

Nieto, S. (2004). Culture, identity and learning in ​affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of

multicultural education​ (pp. 144-162). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Pinto, L. E. (2013). ​From discipline to culturally responsive engagement.​ Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin