Classroom Management

Classroom Community

Establishing a feeling of community and implementing a clear classroom management plan are integral to the foundation of creating an efficient and meaningful learning environment. It is my goal each year to establish a warm, loving and productive classroom community that best fits the diverse needs and interests of my students. This begins on the first day of school through the communication of rules, expectations, and routines.

Each year, I work together with my students to establish classroom rules.

We also work together through literature and class discussion to create class books that help us to remember how to respect and treat one another with kindness and love.

In order to help students to feel as though they are a vital part of our classroom community and to impart a sense of responsibility in themselves and in each other, I also implement a job chart to help students to realize and understand the importance of contribution.

My philosophy for managing behavior is based on the concept of positive reinforcement. I believe in providing students with immediate and frequent feedback on good behavior. Any other behaviors, including those that are undesirable, will be ignored (unless the behavior disrupts the entire class, thus requiring a warning or further action). Eventually, students will strive towards receiving praise and positive feedback, which will increase desired behaviors.

If basic positive reinforcement is not effective for a particular student, the next step is to communicate with his or her parents in order to create a successful and individualized Behavior Plan. As mentioned before, my expectations for behavior are clearly expressed to the students, and posted on the wall for review.

Owl Behavior Chart

To give praise to students who are doing well, and to help students keep track of their own behavior, I have an Owl Behavior Chart posted in the classroom. Each child has a clothespin with his or her name on it that moves up and down the chart.

Every Monday, the students begin on “Ready to Learn”. Then, if they show good behavior and make good choices, they move up the chart to Good Day, Great Day, or Outstanding Owl. If they are not following the rules of our Kindergarten classroom, they will be moved down the chart to Reminder, Teacher’s Choice, or Parent Contact.

I send home a Daily “Behavior News” in order to provide consistent feedback to parents on their child’s classroom behavior. If a student is on Teacher’s Choice or Parent Contact, they must have their Behavior News signed, and their parents must help them to write ways that they can do better the following day.

Each morning throughout the week, students who ended the previous day on Reminder, Teacher’s Choice or Parent Contact are reset to Ready to Learn in order to provide them with a fresh start. If students are on Outstanding Owl on Friday, they will have the opportunity to choose a treasure from our Treasure Box.

Connecting with Parents

Teacher-Parent communication is essential in order for students to have the most successful and dynamic learning experience possible.

In the beginning of the year, I offer a Back to School Night where parents can learn important information about the exciting year ahead. I prepare a PowerPoint presentation and provide parents with a take home packet with the following information: Key information about our Kindergarten classroom (homework, forms of communication, birthday celebrations, conferences, Report Cards, etc.), a Curriculum overview, Classroom Discipline, Classroom Morning/Afternoon Procedures, the Sharing Schedule, and Parent Volunteer Requirements and Opportunities. During this time, I also make sure to clearly communicate to parents my open-door (and e-mail) policy. I encourage frequent and consistent communication with my parents in order to create an authentic learning community that involves all shareholders.

I begin each week with a classroom newsletter that is posted on our classroom website. These newsletters include an overview of the academics that will be covered that week, as well as any information on upcoming classroom and school-wide events.

In addition to whole-class communications, I also make sure to keep in contact with my parents through e-mail and scheduled conferences. I provide feedback on student progress through Parent Communications (sent home with assessments), and Standards-Based Progress Reports and Report Cards.

In my classroom, I provide many opportunities for parents to volunteer, such as:

Guided Reading Groups
Literacy and Math Centers
Art Projects
Cooking Friday
Classroom Parties and Special Events
Field Trips