Classroom Management Plan 1

Classroom Management Plan

Brenda Zamudio

Dominguez Hills University

Classroom Management Plan

The classroom I observed is Ms. Guillen’s (Ms. G) six grade class. She has been

teaching for 17 years and is passionate about children’s education. Her classroom is well-

structured with a welcoming environment that allows for students to be engaged all day

long. She waits for students at the door and greets them as they go in the classroom. As

she waits to begin breakfast in the classroom she has students work on their reading

counts points, which is to read a box and take a test based on what they read. She has a

routine that she follows every day, which helps the students stay on task. Mondays,

Wednesdays, and Fridays are technology days and Tuesdays and Thursday meditation

days. Although she has a routine there are some students who have learning disabilities

and struggle to obtain the lesson. She addresses this issue by scaffolding her lesson and

meeting the needs of each student. I have observed three students into further detail, “B”,

“M” and “A”. These three students have different learning conditions. “B” is an English

Language Learner (ELL) student that struggles to comprehend English words. She can

sound out words but is now able to understand what the words mean. She feels she can’t

relate with students in the class and this causes her to be antisocial. Ms. G makes

accommodations for her by pairing her with a bilingual student. As for “M” and “A”,

they are very social but “M” struggles with math and “M” is a special needs student. “M”

is having trouble with negatives and positives so Ms. G relates the lesson to real life

similarities like owing money to the bank or having money in your bank account. She has

students draw a picture on an index card of what they have understood and then exchange

and discuss with a partner. This strategy helps M because she is getting extra help and

feedback. The teacher also makes sure to walk around to see all students are following
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along and not staying behind. She also uses YouTube videos to explain the lesson a little

more. Lastly, “A” struggles with speech and behavior, so he goes to speech therapy to

practice his pronunciation on the words that contain the letter R. Therefore, the way they

have made accommodations for “A” is by sitting him in the back of the class with his one

on one. His one on one makes sure to keep him on track with his work and if he is being

disruptive to the class she makes sure to discipline him. However, Ms. G doesn’t exclude

him from the lesson instead, she encourages him to participate and gives him extra points

for great behavior. This helps “A” work on his behavior because at the end of the week if

he has enough points he will be able to have lunch with the teacher. If “A” is having a

bad day, Ms. G has him write his feelings in his journal. After observing Ms. G’s class, I

have come to terms of the type of classroom I will set up.

The way I would set up my ideal classroom is by falling under the reward-and-

routine focus spectrum. I will teach the state requirements to the students putting a little

flavor of my own. I want to let the students know they are welcomed and every one is

important. I will implement this through placed base learning, establishing routines and

ritual, and project based learning. In order to have a well-rounded environment I need to

make sure I put all my teaching strategies into practice. I will start by having a classroom

that is neat, colorful, and friendly and letting the students know it is our classroom this

will “encourage the students to act as teachers, and they themselves, often functioned as

learners in the classroom” (Ladson-Billings, 163).

The arrangement in the class can influence the responsibilities of students making

choices for themselves. For example, having clusters of kids will gather to work on

similar assignments and have student led conferences. This allows students to work as a
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group and let them know they’re not alone. Yet, it also helps them know what must be

done of them in order to move on to the next cluster. Another example, allow the child to

make their own decisions by letting them pick topics they would like to write about. For

instance, if the subject is art then student can have the freedom to write about any artist.

Lastly let them build their confidence by asking open-ended questions that they can turn

into writing prompts. This will enhance critical thinking.

Wasting five minutes of instructional time a day adds up to 25 minutes a week,

100 minutes a month. Therefore, I will give the students the opportunity to uncover their

knowledge by eliminating downtime. Three strategies that can minimize downtime and

maximize instructional time are glass jar jobs, brain (Sudoku critical thinking puzzle)

teasers, and critical thinking scenarios (Would you rather? Stimulate imagination and

relate to the curriculum. Would you rather live in 16-century England or 16-century

America?). For examples, students who have completed an assignment before time can

go to the glass jar to randomly pick a number that will let them know what task they can

work on next; read a book, finish an assignment from class work folder, practice

vocabulary. Brain teasers can be used during breakfast in the classroom, recess and lunch

lines. For example, while passing out breakfast students will be given a multiplication

problem and once they have solved the problem they may receive their breakfast.

Scaffolding is a must in order for students to successfully understand the object of

the lesson being taught. Scaffolding allows for all type of children to learn in different

ways. For example, pair up ELLs with a bilingual student so they can build better

understandings. As for special needs students offering more time to complete a task can

result in positive outcomes. Small discussions can help the students who are struggling to
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stay on task. As for the gifted students, they work at a faster pace so they can help other

students who are falling behind with the lesson.

Furthermore, not every child learns the same, that is why it is important to have

children interact with their peers to learn from one another and to build their social skills.

Three strategies that can be used to promote peer interaction are Theory building over

theory telling (building upon each others ideas), decorations and display (students point

on how to they want their environment to be) and classroom layout (seating

arrangements). A strong classroom learning can be affected by the way students sit.

Placing students next to their buddies can cause for distraction so instead do semi circle

seating so students can interact with their peers.

Additionally, treating the students with respect will result in fairness among the

students and the adults. “Make sure you avoid talking down to the students, and avoid

judgmental language and tones of voice”(87). That is why a contract can be signed to

emphasize behavior goals. It brings fairness among students, teachers, and parents. It

makes them realize what they are doing can have a consequence.

Parent communication and involvement is essential for students’ success. “It

enhances the academic and personal success of individual students” (Pinto).137 The

parent and teacher develop a relationship that allows for parents to participate in their

child’s education. Five ways to effectively see these results are through technology

(ClassDojo, Remind, Google Classroom, Blackboard, and LAUSD Portal), Newsletters

(informing the parents about school events), sunshine calls (calling home in regard to

student’s progress), Open House (displaying students work), and notes or parent

conference.
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My students are my priority and I want to be able to have a positive learning

effect on every individual student. I plan to see my students succeed in a well-rounded

environment, prepare them for their future careers, and have a strong caring relationship

with the students, the parents and the community. Students need to know every school

subject is important because what they learn today will affect who they become

tomorrow. I will honor the success of the students and therefore I fall in the middle of the

classroom management spectrum, reward-and-routine focus. I want to be the teacher that

takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart.

References

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. (1995). But That's Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally

Relevant Pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34(3), 159-165.

Pinto, Laura E. (2013). From Discipline to Culturally responsive Engagement.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.