I’ve talked a lot about classroom management because it is so crucial to having an organized classroom. You can spend lots of time planning out your classroom management plans, but if you have no strategy on how to implement those plans then what good do they do? In this post, I share how to implement classroom management procedures in your classroom.
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A common misconception, when it comes to classroom management, is that it all has to be set up on day one. This list shares some great ideas of procedures you need to be sure to have in your classroom.
It is important that you start the year with a well-thought-out plan, and implement it accordingly.
But it is also important that you adjust management plans as needed, throughout the year.
And the most important thing is that you implement classroom management procedures with an intentional and step-by-step process.
How to Implement Classroom Management Procedures Step by Step
During the first day and week of school, I spent the majority of my time discussing procedures. The important thing I did was make my students a part of that discussion versus telling them how things worked in my classroom.
Even if it is not the first week of school, you should still implement classroom management procedures in this same format. This works great for the first day of school, returning after a long weekend, the first day of a new semester or after a holiday.
1. Carpet Time
When I am ready to discuss classroom management procedures with my kids, I call them to the carpet. That’s the first step. Before I call them to the carpet, we talk about how we come to the carpet. Then we practice. If they don’t do it correctly, we go back and try again.
Once we make it to the carpet (successfully), we are ready to discuss.
2. Discuss Ideal Expectations
If we are talking about walking in line, I ask my students to think about how we get in line, walk in a line, all the things with being in line. I have them put their hands on their head to show me they are thinking.
After about twenty seconds, they turn to their shoulder partner and do a quick Timed Pair Share about what it means to walk in line. Now, all students are engaged in the discussion instead of just one. (YAY Kagan Cooperative Learning!)
3. Create an Anchor Chart
Once the kids have shared, we write down those ideas on an anchor chart. I typically pull popsicle sticks with student’s roster numbers on them. I write down what they share (most of the time).
Related: How to Organize Anchor Charts
4. Practice the Procedure
The next step is to practice. If it is the first week of school (or I am having to review procedures mid-year), we practice it three times- correct, incorrect, and correct again.
This way the class sees what the procedure looks like to be used correctly as well as incorrectly. This is also a great opportunity to have students who struggle with procedures come up and practice the correct way to do it, showing you that they do know how to follow the procedure!
5. Repeat Practice as Needed
Once the class has practiced multiple times, they are ready to use the procedure during the school day. If there ever comes a time when the procedure isn’t being practiced correctly, we take some time to do Recess Academy and practice until we get it correct. (More on that below!)
Discipline in the Classroom
A few weeks back I was coaching a First-Year Teacher and she asked me about discipline. This isn’t the first time I have been asked about discipline so it shouldn’t have been that hard for me to answer. But I had to take a minute to think about my discipline practice.
I told her a few strategies but honestly thought, wait…how do I handle discipline?
Now that I’ve had a few days to reflect on that question, I realize that my “discipline” plan was hard to pinpoint because it didn’t really look like typical discipline (i.e.- moving a clip, sending to the office…don’t get me wrong, I definitely sent kids to the office but it wasn’t a regular thing. Except for one year, hah!)
Here is how I disciplined my students:
Redirection
For most students, a simple redirection was enough to get them back on track. Kids are kids, they are going to talk and misbehave.
I tried to make my redirections discreet by simply walking near the kid, whispering to them if necessary, or by finding a student near them and thank them for something specific.
If one kid was talking, then I found a kid near them who was working quietly and thanked them for staying focused and on task.
Recess Academy
If the discipline needed to be applied to the whole group, I used Recess Academy which is an idea from the book Setting Limits in the Classroom. The idea of Recess Academy is to be intentional about matching a consequence to a behavior during recess.
A common issue in my class was talking while working or talking in line. So I would give the students a warning- “I notice we keep talking in line, show me that we can walk in line quietly or we can practice at Recess Academy.”
If they continue talking, then at recess time I would tell them it is recess time but we need to do Recess Academy. (If you tell them there will be Recess Academy, stick to it. Even if they improve. You must hold them accountable so they know you mean what you say.)
“So (and here is where I would repeat the whole, 5-step process we just talked about) let’s chat about lining up expectations.”
Kids would share the expectations with each other and to the whole group. Then we would practice two or three times.
I did not ever tell my class “you owe me a minute” each time they were not following directions. Some years classes would never have recess if I did that.
Plus, recess is really important to kids’ developmental growth and learning, so taking it away is not an option for me.
Challenging Student Behaviors
If a student continued acting out or misbehaving, then they got put on an individual behavior plan that rewarded them for the positive choices they made instead of disciplining them every time they made a mistake.
You can read more about that process in this blog post on managing challenging students.
In Conclusion,
No matter what behavior management plan you use in your classroom, the steps listed above can help you implement classroom management procedures anytime throughout the year.
Here’s a quick recap of the steps:
- Call students to the carpet
- Discuss the procedure
- Add to the anchor chart
- Practice the procedure
- Repeat as necessary
Quick Links
Here’s a quick recap of links I shared + some extra resources to help you with your classroom management.
- 5 Must-Have Behavior Management Plans
- How to Organize Anchor Charts
- Learn more about Classroom Organization Coaching
- Classroom Management Free Trainings
- Behavior Management Economic System
- 4 Steps to Classroom Management
- 10 Must-Have Classroom Jobs for Elementary Teachers
- Student Routines to Help Keep an Organized Classroom
- Back to School Routines for After Holiday Breaks
In my ebook, The Simply Organized Classroom, I write even more about Classroom Management routines and how you can implement them in your classroom. As well as ideas of plans you can use in your classroom. Grab your copy here.
If you are looking for additional support when it comes to Classroom Management, then check out the free training offered by Linda Kardamis from Teach 4 the Heart. She has a ton of free and paid courses all around Classroom Management.
Related Posts
Until next time,
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