Tips for Classroom Management
Tips for classroom management from the trenches! Harry Wong found Sarah Jondahl in California, where she shared how she uses routines and procedures to make her classroom effective.
There are very specific things a teacher can do to make a classroom an "oasis of learning." These are the same strategies that will improve communication in the classroom and leave no doubt about the expectations for learning behaviors.
Meet a teacher who understands very well that the purpose for a classroom management plan is to help students achieve.
The
Most Misused Words in Education
By Harry and Rosemary Wong
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However, what gets in the way of the success of many teachers is that they conduct their classroom with the most misused term in education: classroom management, which is often seen as a synonym for discipline.
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Discipline is behavior management. Classroom management has to do with managing, organizing, and structuring a classroom so that learning takes place.
We recently met a college instructor who
introduced us to one of his students. We asked him, “What are you majoring in?
“Management," he said.
Can you imagine when this student graduates he will go out into the world to discipline workers, customers, and clients? Yet that is the belief many teachers have of management.
- Retail executives manage a store; they don’t discipline a store.
- Coaches manage a team; they don’t discipline a team.
- An apartment manager manages an apartment building.
- A financial manager manages your assets.
Can you imagine your financial manager telling you that if your money misbehaves, he will refer your money to the office, apply appropriate consequences, or give out demerits. The financial manager may even make your money stay after school.
They will organize and structure a classroom with procedures as their major priority for the first two weeks of school. The correct definition of classroom management is that it refers to all the things that a teacher does to organize students, space, time, and materials so that student learning can take place.
Perhaps
you’ve heard the old sayings: “start off on the right foot,” or “get all your
ducks in a row.” That applies to having procedures to organize the first week
of school because it is the foundation for how successful the school year will
be for everyone involved.
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These educators will organize and structure a classroom with procedures as their major priority for the first two weeks of school.
The correct definition of classroom management is that it refers to all the things that a teacher does to organize students, space, time, and materials so that student learning can take place.
Perhaps
you’ve heard the old sayings: “start off on the right foot,” or “get all your
ducks in a row.” That applies to having procedures to organize the first week
of school because it is the foundation for how successful the school year will
be for everyone involved.
A Classroom Management Plan
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Sarah’s plan includes a letter she sends to her students prior to the first day of school. It tells a little about her background and sets her students’ expectations for lots of work and learning. |
When the students arrive on the first day of school she has a plan all scripted as follows:
- Greet Each Student at the Door
- Direct them toward their assigned seats (alphabetical)
- Tell children to read and follow the instructions written on the board (the bellwork)
- Introduce herself
- Teach classroom procedures
- Teach rules, consequences, and rewards
- Communicate the expectations of the classroom
Two major problems in a classroom are movement and noise. Sarah knew this and followed some classroom managment tips she had learned. By the time school started, Sarah had solved these issues before her first day of school.
She planned out exactly how her students were to enter the classroom in the morning, come in from recess, line up to leave the classroom, get ready for lunch, walk in the halls, and get ready for dismissal. She then taught and rehearsed her students in how to be successful with the procedures.
Sarah says, “My classroom management plan is based on establishing procedures I learned from the book, The First Days of School. Having procedures in place from day one and teaching my students about these procedures made the educational experience in my classroom extremely effective.”
All effective teachers have
procedures to assist in managing a classroom and maximizing learning time.
Sarah's Sample Classroom Procedures
These are some of the procedures
and routines Sarah has ready to teach on the first day and first week of school. These tips for classroom management will work in any grade and any type of school.
- Entering the Classroom
Students enter the classroom quietly and calmly, put their belongings away quickly according to the morning routine, and do the “bellwork.” - Bellwork
Each morning there is a “bellwork” assignment on the board or overhead projector. Students enter the classroom and get started on the assignment. - Quieting the Class
The teacher raising her hand quiets the class. - Taking Class Roll
A student is taught the procedure of how to be the “Attendance Keeper. ” This student places an “Absent” folder on that desk of the student who is absent. A glance around the room can quicklyestablish who is absent. - Class Motto
Every morning the class stands and says the motto together to start off our day.
And that's not all. Remember that there should be a procedure for everything? Sarah also includes:
- Collecting Seat Work
- Turning in Work Notes From Home
- Restroom Breaks
- Going to Lunch
- Cafeteria
- Working in Learning Groups
- Selecting Monitors
- Pinning Up Class Work
- Keeping the Noise Level Down
- Sending Notes Home When a Student Is Absent
- Changing Groups/Transitions
- If the Teacher Is Out of the Classroom
- Daily Closing Message
- Saying “Thank you”
- End-of-Class Dismissal
- Transportation
A full description of Sarah Jondahl's procedures can be found at teachers.net or on pages 213-218 in The First Days of School, 4th edition.
To plan your own procedures, follow these simple tips for classroom management.
- Sit down and play out every possible scenario in your head, from getting a tissue to fire drills.
- Make a list of everything that needs a procedure, and then create each procedure.
- Make your list of procedures as easy as possible to understand and follow.
- Post visuals in your classroom.
- Tape them to student’s desk.
- Teach them to your students, and model each procedure as you explain it.
- Act out the entire procedure and then allow the students time to practice, practice, and practice!
Marie Coppolaro of Queensland, Australia, says that going into a classroom to teach without having procedures in place is asking for chaos. When procedures are in place the teacher can focus on teaching. The students know automatically how, when, and what needs to be done.
A teacher's success can be traced to the ability of the teacher to manage the classroom. However, bear in mind that classroom management is not discipline.
The purpose of classroom management is to organize the room so the students will know what to do in order to learn and succeed.
Harry and Rosemary Wong are the authors of The First Days of School, which has sold over 3.6 million copies. They are also the most sought-after speakers in education, booked years into the future. Harry is the only recipient of the National Teachers Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award and Rosemary is the recipient of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Distinguished Alumnus Award. They were both nominated for the Brock International Prize in Education.
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Other Pages You Will Enjoy:
- Meet Harry and Rosemary Wong - Get up close and personal with the Wongs - this is why they work so hard to help teachers everywhere.
- Classroom Routines- More on how to set up routines in your classroom.
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