Alexa Iandolo

Classroom Management Plan

Professor DHaem
February 29, 2016

It is important for all teachers to establish rules and procedures for their classroom. By

having set guidelines, the students will understand what is expected of them. The guidelines that

I will be setting are for a fourth grade class. My classroom will be based on a ticket and sticky

note system, which include rewards and consequences. The students are well aware of this

system and follow it very well being that it is implemented daily. The students and I made a list

of promises as the rules and each student signed the sheet and put a handprint of paint on the

promise of rules. This allows the students to have a say in what the classroom environment will

be like. The promise is posted in the classroom. The promise is as follows:

We Promise to:

1. Treat others the way we want to be treated.

2. Raise our hands to share our thoughts or our questions.

3. Always have our listening ears on.

4. Follow directions to do our best work.

5. Come to class on time, prepared with all our materials.

6. Be the best me I can be!

My students will understand that these promises are to be followed as they sign and hand

print the poster that will be hung up in the classroom. The students will more likely respect these

promises because they were involved in the process of making them. We will go over each one

and talk about them as we make the poster. As I go over each one, I would model or have the

students role-play for each promise, allowing them to get a clearer picture of what the promise is

saying. This allows the students to understand what each one means and what is expected of
them in the classroom. After the promises are set, I will make a copy of the poster to a regular

size page and give each student a copy so that they can always have it with them to look back at

if they need a reminder.

My classroom will be based on a ticket and sticky note reward and consequence system. This

allows the students to become a little bit more independent and responsible for their own actions.

Individual rewards and consequences are important. They will understand that for the promises

we made, they are rewarded for following them and while they do not they are facing

consequences. The reward system includes tickets (like raffle tickets) and when the student does

something good or if I see the student following the promises, they get to take a ticket, put their

initials on the back and place it is a mini garbage pail. There is a girl garbage pail and a boy

garbage pail. The garbage pail fills throughout the week. At the end of each week, I will pick a

ticket out of each pail and one boy student and one girl student wins a prize, to keep it fair for

everyone. The pails start empty every Monday. The prizes are in another garbage pail, so they

cannot see what they are choosing. There are prizes such as a homework passes, extra recess

time, or a pass for their sticky for the day. If I see that the whole class is having a good day,

everyone in the class gets a ticket to put in the pail. This system allows the students to feel

motivated to win a prize on Fridays each week. The sticky notes are for behavior in class, being

prepared for the class for the day, and being on time. Each day, the students come in to class and

place a sticky note on their desk and give themselves the points they think they deserve each day.

For example, if the student is prepared and has good behavior but they were late to class, they

would put two points on their sticky. If they were on time, prepared, and well behaved, they

receive all three points, etc. At the end of each class, the students hand in their sticky to the

teacher and I add it to a chart. On Friday, the points add up to 15 so by adding or subtracting
points for the week is what each student receives as a homework grade. For example, if the

student was not on time on Monday and Thursday, you subtract two points from 15 and calculate

that percentage and put it in the grade book as a homework grade. This allows the students to

stay on top of their responsibilities. It also allows the students to earn their own grades. Other

rewards may consist of verbal praise or a phone call or note home to brag about the great

behavior for the student. This system works really well because it gives the students and

incentive to keep following the promises we made for our class.

My classroom will have a system for the entire class as well. Besides the individual system,

having an entire class reward, that cannot be taken away, can show the students that enforcing

the classroom promises can be rewarded as a whole. The system includes a T-chart on the board

at all times. One side says teacher and the other says students. When the students are all paying

attention, working well on their work, following the promises as a whole, they get a point. If they

are doing the opposite the teacher gets a point. This shows the students that their bad behavior

gives me a point and it reminds them that they are not following our classroom promises. When

the students side reaches up to 20 points, the students get to choose a reward out of the pail and

the entire class gets that prize. This allows the students to feel motivated to reach that 20 points

and not allow me to receive any. This system really allows the students to create an environment

for fun learning. This also allows the students to encourage each other to behave and follow the

promises because we dont want the teacher to get the points instead of us. Just the presence of

me walking over to the T-chart on the board, the students know what it means so they are

reminded with a nonverbal cue to quickly figure out why I am going there, whether it is good or

bad. This system works because being the students are so engaged, I dont even need to stop

what I am teaching, I just need to walk to that side of the board. The students enjoy this system
because they see it as a game try to beat the teacher so they try to keep more points than me on

the board. It allows them to always have our promises in mind and to keep them on the positive

track.

On the other hand, there are consequences that follow bad behavior or forgetfulness of the

promises as a class. The individual consequences affect each students grade so it is up to them to

make sure they earn the most points by following the promises. As a whole, it would be very

unfair to affect everyones grade because of individual students, and the tallies on the board are

for positive behavior that cannot be taken away. While the class is in session, single students may

continue to be disruptive even when I get points on the T-chart. There is a hierarchy of

consequences to be followed regarding the class promises.

1. The first step in the hierarchy would to give the students two verbal or nonverbal

warnings. It would depend on what the student is particularly doing to decide whether it

would be verbal or nonverbal. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for the behavior.

For example, if a student is asking another student a question about the material or asking

to borrow a pencil, there might be a nonverbal warning like a look or if I walk and stand

next to the student talking. The students will understand so I give them a chance instead

of calling them out in front of everyone. It is dependent on the situation I observe

happening.

2. The next step would be a reminder of the promises. After giving the same student two

warnings, they may not be taking the hint or may not understand that it is them who is

disruptive so while I am observing this in the class, I may send a general reminder to the

class what our promises were and if you dont remember look on our poster or your
 handout. I may even look at them with a third warning so they understand it is they in

particularly.

3. If the student were to still be disruptive after those warning and reminders, there would

be a teacher-student face-to-face confrontation. I would walk past the student and quietly

whisper to them to see me after class. This makes it more private because I didnt

announce it to the whole class. It also shows the student that they are not following

directions or behaving properly and we need to discuss what it going on. The student and

I will meet and discuss what may have been going on today and why. The student will

also be told that the behavior is unacceptable and we want to remember the promises.

They are also told that they can have another chance but once we get to this point again, I

will be calling home.

4. If the student continues to disrupt the class, they get a call or email home. This would

show the parent that their child is not behaving in class even after many warnings,

reminders, and a meeting between the student and I. The parents would be in frequent

contact with positive feedback of their child or what things may be happening in the

classroom. This time it would be specifically for the misbehavior of the child. I would

create a behavior plan with the parent and talk to the child to explain the next step that

was made up for him or her. The parent may want to come in for a parent teacher

conference and that would be welcomed if wanted.

5. At this step, if the student still is misbehaving, the student will just be sent to the office.

After many warnings, plans, conferences, the student is just not cooperating and needs

consequences from the office or principal, not just my classroom consequences being

they are not working for the student.

As I explain the reward system to my students, I also explained the consequences so they

understand what is coming to them if they dont follow the promises. I try to explain that I dont

like giving consequences because it makes me upset. I tell them that they make their own choices

and there are many ways to earn great rewards but they have to follow the promises for our class.

I tell them how our classroom can run smoothly and with having a lot of fun when we dont need

to give consequences. The systems I have in my classroom should motivate the students in many

ways, like individually adding to their grades and as a whole for getting tallies but all students

are different so there needs to be different strategies of rewards and consequences for all students

to want to do well and succeed in my classroom.

Dear Parents,

We have a handful of wonderful students in 4th grade this year!

We have come up with classroom promises that will allow our class

to succeed! Our promises include:

1. Treat others the way we want to be treated.

2. Raise our hands to share our thoughts or our questions.

3. Always have our listening ears on.

4. Follow directions to do our best work.

5. Come to class on time, prepared with all our materials.

6. Be the best me I can be!

We have created these promises together, discussing their meanings as we went along. The

students understand that they will be rewarded through tickets and post-its, as well as what

consequences are faced when not following the promises. Our class has tickets for individual

rewarded behavior and at the end of the week two students are randomly chosen to receive a

prize such as a homework pass or post-it pass. Each student is also aware of the 3 points they can

earn for being prepared, being on time and being on their best behavior on a post-it each day,

which adds up at the end of the week for a homework grade. The students are also very aware of

the consequences of the classroom for not following our promises. I am really looking forward to

having a wonderful year. Please read over and discuss the promises with your child. If there are

any questions or concerns, dont hesitate to call or email me. Remember success is only a

ticket away!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Iandolo