Classroom Management Plan

Erika J. Gonzalez

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Introduction

This semester, I had the opportunity to experience the role of an elementary school

teacher. I completed my fieldwork at Gardena Elementary which is part of Los Angeles Unified

School District (LAUSD) once a week for three hours. The student to teacher ratio is 23:1 which

are predominantly Hispanic students. I would get there every Tuesday morning to find kids

finishing up their breakfast, since according to Ed Data, Gardena ELementary is a Title 1 school

with a total of five hundred and twenty seven students receiving free or reduced lunch. After,

students work on their “Daily Language” by fixing grammatical errors as a class. Students

answer questions by volunteering or being picked randomly with “equity” sticks. The entire

school participates in Test Reading and Comprehension (TRC) and Dynamic Indicators of Basic

Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessments. While the teacher tests students individually, they

break up into groups that consists of reading independently, writing workshop, listening to an

audio of a story and keyboard. I took this time to work with students on a one-to-one level or

small group instruction. This classroom operated as inclusive which means that all students

disability or not, learn together. The classroom has many English Language Learners (ELLs),

students with an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) and students struggling academically.

Student A: Has an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) and gets removed for speech every

Tuesday for about forty-five minutes. Since I began observing I noticed Student A had a difficult

time sitting still and being quiet during a teacher-directed lesson. Furthermore, he did not follow

directions so he never completed the same tasks as his peers. I did not see the teacher properly

accommodating for him by giving him a different assignment that still had the same value of

learning, rather he would let him act out and proceed with his lesson.
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Student B: Student B struggles academically and I personally feel it has to do with lack of

engagement. He had difficulty reading and sounding out simple words such as the, what, and

cake. Looking at the board to copy the work was also a challenge since he was not able to see

from where he sat. As a result, he would sit there and not follow along with peers. Overall, I

think he was unmotivated to learn and did not put much effort into his academics.

Student C: Student C is labeled as an English Language Learner. When he spoke to me I was

able to see he would say things in past tense when they should have been in present tense, thus

causing him to use the wrong verbs “is” and “are” Moreover, when reading he would have

difficulty pronouncing words like adaption because of the ending –tion. Once I corrected him he

would take my feedback and say the word correctly. A characteristic I grew to admire from

Student C was his desire to learn. He would want me to read and grade his summaries so that he

can do better next time. Reading and writing were definitely a challenge, but he was great with

math. He was able to retain information already learned and apply it to a new concept.

Classroom Management Spectrum

Determining where I would stand in the Classroom Management Spectrum was quite a

challenge because every approach that is mentioned in our Pinto reading seems to have its

benefits. Initially, I thought rewards and routines was the most useful since students have an

incentive to either behave or perform well. Although, there are articles that show this concept

can be seen as negative. However, after careful consideration, I found engagement to be the most

appropriate approach that I would like to implement into my classroom. I concluded that if

students are engaged in their learning, they will be more inclined to do their work rather than

cause any disruptions. As Pinto (2013) states, “if students are engaged in meaningful and

relevant learning activities issues of “misbehavior” disappear as students are fully committed.”
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Although “misbehavior” is inevitable, having proper classroom management can reduce its

frequency. Also, according to Chakrabarty & Saha, (2014); Marks( 2000), engagement is

essential during a students schooling since it contributes to one's individual growth and academic

achievement. Both of these articles state that engagement contributes to greater success which

exceeds a classroom setting. Thus, I decided that my lessons will revolve around an engagement

focus to motivate student learning and have them be outstanding students behaviorally and

academically.

Routines and Procedures

As a future educator, I believe students need a sense of stability within the classroom

because they may not have that at home. Establishing routines and procedures provides students

with a sense of comfort since they will always be aware of what is going on and what is to

follow. Therefore, I would like to contribute to this by providing students with a written agenda

on the board since their first day. I would make it a habit for them to look there to find answers

to questions they may have.The sooner they get accustomed to the flow, the easier it will be

throughout the year. When students first come into class, their morning routine will consists of

taking out their journal to answer a given quick write question that may or may not relate to the

lesson for the day. For instance, on Monday after a weekend questions can vary from “What did

you do on the weekend” to a “Free Write.” Ideally, I would like to take these home twice a

month to get to know my students better and build relationships with them. This strategy has

shown to positively influence students by increasing their participation in class and diminishing

their bad behavior ((Dotterer & Lowe, 2011; Furlong et. al, 2013). Adding onto the concept of

teacher-student relationships, I would create a procedure of Individual “How Are Things” (HAT)

meetings. Pinto states that this strategy “demonstrates genuine care for students”. Being
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consistent is an important factor which is why I would find a way to create a rotation. Some

ideas are going off of the attendance roster, or by their numbers which is discussed in further

detail in the third procedure. Through my observations I realized that transitioning from one

activity to the next can take quite a long time if not done correctly. So lastly, I would like for all

my students to have a number within their table depending on where they are sitting. For

instance, the rotation can start on the right and go clockwise. The rotation would remain the same

throughout the tables so when seats are reassigned, they are used to the routine and able to figure

out the numbers themselves. This should allow us to have different participants throughout class

discussion, easy access to materials or completing a task such as lining up seamlessly. All of

these routines will be introduced and reinforced since the beginning and with daily practice

become routines.

Expectations and Rules

Other components that need to be addressed at the beginning of the year are expectations

and rules. Since my style of teaching will stray away from a discipline focus, I would like for my

students to help me create these two agreements. I will have some ideas written out for them,

although I will consider their input as long as it is realistic. According to Pinto, a strategy such as

Start-Stop-Continue offers students a voice which can be applied in this activity. For instance,

students are deciding on what our expectations and rules should be (start) are able to disagree

with my suggestions (stop) or actually decide to follow what I think is necessary(continue).

Either way, students will be able to see that I am taking their thoughts into consideration even if

they are irrational. I will write it out, however explain to them why it will not be part of our

classroom. Once we have all agreed on our rules and expectations they will be printed out,

laminated and displayed in our classroom where they are visible for all my students. If there are
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days where students are misbehaving or simply breaking the rules they helped create will give us

an opportunity to revisit them. This will also help me monitor the entire process, if it does not

work, or students are taking advantage than it may be my cue to implement a new system for

these agreements between students and teacher.

Student Autonomy

Holding students accountable for their behavior in terms of rules and expectations is a

great way for them to learn responsibility. Student autonomy is described as, “the ability to take

charge of one’s own learning” which gives students the opportunity to be responsible for their

own learning. The first way I would like students to practice autonomy is by giving them a

limited amount of buttons at the beginning of the week which is an idea that stems from

“question chips” (Hockett & Doubet, 2017). I would use buttons instead, but the goal is for

students to decide if their question requires my help, or if they can try to figure it out on their

own or by asking their peers. The use of buttons is not a way to discourage students from asking

questions, rather them trying to work through a problem. Another way students can monitor their

own learning is by having the opportunity to leave the classroom if they are feeling sad, angry or

upset in anyway. I have witnessed this during my observation, my mentor would let Student G

know he needed to step outside. I do not think it was done in the most efficient way as he never

asked him why he was acting the way he was. I would like for students to leave the room to

reflect on their actions, and then follow up with them while other students are working on their

assignments.

Use of Time

As mentioned earlier in the section for routines and procedures, I witnessed a lot of class

time wasted transitioning from one activity to the next. Starting any lesson would take a
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minimum of seven or eight minutes because students were not prepared nor did they did like to

follow directions. My mentor would lose his patience and told the students, “okay put your stuff

away, we will finish this another day”. A lot of time was spent giving them directions, but no

new information was gained. One strategy I would that seems effective for maximizing time is

having back-up plans. If I noticed students off task, or not engaged I would move onto the next

rather than let them sit there being unproductive, “having a backup plan ready can ensure that

learning time for that class period will not be lost” (Meador 2017) which happened almost every

time in the classroom I worked with. Continuing with a lesson that did not go as plan can be

disastrous, and overall a nightmare which is why having back-up plans are a must. Giving proper

directions is also a way to minimize classroom time wasted, Meador states, “this takes away

valuable instruction time and disrupts the learning process.” I will make sure that the what I am

expecting is clear and understood by having students repeat my directions. I would also use a

digital timer on the projector to keep students on task and leave it up to them to make use of

time. A timer is helpful for both teacher and students for any given activity. This also serves as

an accommodation since it is loud, large and visible for all students.

Accommodations

This semester I have learned the difference between modifications and accommodations

more in depth. I feel that people should know how to differ these two terms because they are

often used interchangeably. In the English Language Arts/ English Language Development

Framework they define accommodations as changes that help a student overcome or work

around disability whereas modifications are adjustments to an assignments or assignments that

changes what is expected or measured. In other words, accommodations help students with a
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disability complete the same task as their peers rather than modifying the rigor of the assignment

to help the student complete it.

Disability students

Depending on the students’ disability the individual instruction will vary, but if one of

my kids were to be visually impaired per say, I would give him or her the instructions verbally in

an audio form or braille. In small group instruction, I would still let students with any disability

partake in the same activities as their peers with proper accommodations. For instance, if an

activity requires students to do a specific motion or task, a visually impaired person will receive

more one-on one verbal instruction to make sure they understand what is going on.

Struggling academically

For individual instruction, I would have students who are struggling academically sit in

the front of the class so I am always able to pay close attention to them. I would also allow them

to show student autonomy by using a concept from Hockett and Doubet which are colored cups.

Ideally, they are in the colors of traffic lights; red, yellow and green to signify how much

assistance the student needs on a specific assignment. As I walk around, the red cups will help

me monitor the students who are struggling academically the most, and potentially creating

groups off of the assistance needed. Overall, I find this idea to be beneficial since it helps me

indicate which students are having more difficulty.

English Learner

Assisting English Learners is something I have been doing since I was a student in high

school. I would help my teachers translate for my classmates because their native language was

not spanish. I feel that being bilingual is already an asset for myself in the classroom. I am aware

that it can be any language other than spanish, which is why I decided I would accommodate for
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these students by translating the work in their home language. Even if I do not know how to

speak it, there are many online resources I can use such as Google Translate, to help me make

the curriculum more accessible for my ELLs. Giving students the ability to complete work in

their home language is also an accommodation I would make. It will definitely require extra

work from my end, but I truly believe it is for the better.

Peer Interaction

Working close with a class of twenty-three students made me realize that since an early

age, not all students will get along. In order to have most, if not all students engaged or

interacting amongst themselves they must feel comfortable to speak within the classroom.

Giving students the opportunity to feel comfortable with each other is a plan I want to achieve as

a future educator. I would like to start off the school year by having everyone introduce

themselves and share three fun facts. Teachers assume that everyone knows each other, but this

should not be the case. Having all students participate gives them and myself the chance to learn

everyone’s names. These introductions will then become a way to initiate our community

building skills. After completing our daily do-now, I will have a grade level appropriate ice

breaker, if not give them the option to share what they wrote in their journal. If they do not feel

comfortable sharing, they can simply say “pass” although if this became a consistent answer, I

will pull the student aside and ask why they do not feel like sharing. I want all my students to

treat one another with respect, and modeling the behavior is a way it can be achieved. If they

consistently hear me say “please” and “thank-you” it can easily be picked up on. Another way

students can attempt successful peer interaction is by practicing communication skills. According

to an article written by (Stephens 2017), showing kids how to be good listeners and waiting until

the other person is done talking to respond shows effective communication skills. This is also a
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strategy that can be useful outside of the classroom as it demonstrates one’s ability of listening.

Think Pair Share (TPS) is the idea that students are able to think and reflect on their learning, or

question being asked. When sharing with their partner, there is an insight on a different

perspective thus creating new learning. This is also a way for students to talk to everyone rather

than the same person which in turn creates a safe environment.

Parent Communication and Involvement

Having parents involved in their children’s education can be a main challenge for

educators. If a teacher is not culturally responsive or does not try to understand her students’

backgrounds, accepting this realization can be difficult. Research states that lack of parent

involvement has to do with parents working two jobs, transportation and language barriers.

Funds of knowledge is defined as, “the historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies

of knowledge and skills essentially for household or individual functioning and well-being

(Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 2005, p.72). This concept denotes that students bring

knowledge from home, and providing material that is culturally relevant is a way to get parents

involved. When parents understand what their children are doing, they are more likely to be

involved which can be seen in Strawberries in Watsonville written by Peggy Morrison. In this

article, students learn about the strawberry cycle which they associate with their family members

working in the fields and it happening certain times throughout the year. This teacher knew her

students and gave them a homework assignment that gave parents the opportunity to be involved.

Adding more to recognizing funds of knowledge, if permission is granted, I would love to

conduct ethnographic reports because through my research for another class, I learned that it is

“the most effective way to develop and establish rapport with parents and learn about their

community…” (Johnson, E., & Johnson, A 2016). Pinto states that phone calls are typically
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associated with negative behavior, however sunshine calls represent “communication for positive

news”. Letting parents know something as a simple as appreciating the way their child remained

on task all day, gets them involved in their learning. This is a duty that I must remain consistent

with since the beginning of the year because some students may be experiencing this for the first

time. Also necessary from the beginning of the year is a letter from myself welcoming students

and parents. I think this is best during the first week so if parents have any questions, they are

able to ask during our next encounter at school or via email either way my contact information

will be available. Lastly, although it may seem hopeless, I would want all my students’ parents to

sign up for “class doo” an application where parents are able to see how their child’s day is going

by looking at pictures or repo

Fairness and Respect

Growing up as a brown Hispanic female student, I did not see a reflection of myself until

middle school. I heard some of my teachers speaking in my first language and that made me feel

comfortable. She made it clear to my classmates and I that we are all different and that made us

unique and ourselves. She treated everyone with the same respect and made us all feel special.

This is the kind of feeling I want my students to remember me for. This is not to be confused

with “equity and equality” because it is not the same thing and the Lau vs. Nichols case in 1974

is a perfect example. I want to make it clear to my students that regardless of their cultural

background, we are all entitled to the same education and we will be all treat each other with

mutual respect. This semester I recall one of my professors saying that a teacher’s culture

becomes “dominant” within the classroom, which I can see what she was implying but I want to

let all my students know I recognize cultural differences and embrace them.

Conclusion
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I am thankful to have had the privilege of working with the students I did this semester.

They reminded of why I wanted to be part of this field since the beginning, and I was able to

learn many things both good and bad. I got an idea of what I want my future classroom to look

like and the expectations I have of myself as a future educator. This classroom management plan

includes what I absorbed during the semester and overall the fieldwork I conducted was a

learning experience that I would not trade for anything.

References

Chakrabarty, A. K., & Saha, B. (2014). Low achievers at elementary stages of

EFL learning: The problems and possible way-outs. International Journal on New Trends

in Education and Their Implications, 5(3), 160-165.

Dotterer, Aryn M., & Lowe, Katie. (2011). Classroom Context, School

Engagement, and Academic Achievement in Early Adolescence. Journal of Youth and

Adolescence,40(12), 1649-1660.

Furlong, M., Whipple, J., St. Jean, A., Simental, D., Soliz, G., & Punthuna, J.

(2013). Multiple Contexts of School Engagement: Moving Toward a Unifying

Framework for Educational Research and Practice. The California School

Psychologist,8(1), 99-113.

Hockett, J., & Doubet, K. (2017, November 15). 6 Strategies for Promoting

Student Autonomy.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-strategies-promoting-student-autonomy
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Johnson, Eric J., & Johnson, Angela B. (2016). Enhancing Academic Investment

through Home-School Connections and Building on ELL Students' Scholastic Funds of

Knowledge. Journal of Language and Literacy Education,12(1), 104-121.

Marks, H. M. (2000). Student engagement in instructional activity: Patterns in the

elementary, middle, and high school years. American Educational Research Journal, 37,

153–184.

Meador, D. (2018, July 16). Strategies for teachers to maximize student learning.

Moll, Luis C., Amanti, Cathy, Neff, Deborah, & Gonzalez, Norma. (1992). Funds

of Knowledge for Teaching: Using a Qualitative Approach to Connect Homes and

Classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132-41.

Pinto, L. E. (2013). From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement.

Thousand Oaks, CA:

Stephens, Tammy L. “Tips for Encouraging Positive Interactions Between

Students With Behavioral Disorders and Peers | Pearson Blog.” US.