Running head: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN 1

Classroom Management Plan

Marlene Rivera

California State University Dominguez Hills

Classroom Management Plan

My observation took place at 186th Street Elementary School in the city of Gardena. The

classroom in which I had the opportunity to observe was Ms. Barnes’s second-grade class. Her

class had a total of 24 students. 186th Street Elementary School is a Title 1 school with a total of

818 students, with 67.5% Hispanic or Latino, and 17.1% African American. 80.8% have

free/reduced lunch and 25.2% are English Language Learners (Cde.ca.gov, 2018). Mrs. Barnes

classroom consisted of five groups of four tables that are placed around a rug which is in the

center of the classroom. One group of tables is strategically placed by her desk which seats her

struggling students. Doing so, she is able to keep an eye on them and help these students if any

assistance is required. During my time in Ms. Barnes’s classroom, I was able to observe three

students.

Student A struggles in his academics. It can be clearly noted that this student easily

becomes distracted. This student is always in a happy and cheerful mood, ready to learn. He has

no problem interacting with his peers. I noticed that he likes to talk a lot and is always actively

participating. However, when it comes to individual work he struggles to focus which causes him

to fall behind during lessons. Mrs. Barnes accommodated this student by seating him next to her.

Student B has an IEP. This student started the school year late. He struggled in adapting

to the class rules and expectations. Unfortunately, the school has not yet assigned him a one on

one. He has a different aide every day which can also be a cause of his sporadic misbehavior.

Student B has no problem interacting with his peers, but when he cannot complete an

assignment, task, or when he gives a wrong answer he gets frustrated and begins to scream and

cry. He shuts down and does not want to participate anymore. Ms. Barnes was great in finding

alternatives to help him stay motivated and engaged in her classroom. She offered student B
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breaks in between lessons, these breaks allowed the student time to walk outside for a couple of

minutes to prepare himself for the next lesson.

Lastly, student C is an English Language Learner. Although she struggles in her reading

she does not let it her hold her back. She enjoyed sitting next to me and would read aloud to me.

Ms. Barnes does not speak students’ C’s native language, which is Spanish. However, Mrs.

Barnes does provide her homework and important information in Spanish for her parents. Mrs.

Barnes also has a collection of books that are written both in Spanish and English. Student C has

always shown ambition to learn and if she is struggling with something she does not hesitate to

ask a classmate for help.

There are a variety of teachers who focus their teaching methods through either

discipline, rewards, or engagement. I would place myself as a mixture of all three. I believe that

the use of rewards can help reach the students interest and push them to complete certain tasks.

Although students should be encouraged to learn for their own benefit and not just for a reward.

Which is why I also place myself in the discipline focus. In order to have a structured classroom

that follows routines and procedures discipline must be taught and be used consistently.

To help start the school year successfully implementing routines and procedures at the

beginning of the school year can help with classroom management. One routine I observed Mrs.

Barnes carry out in her classroom is the process of taking roll in a manner that includes student

work as well. When her students enter the classroom, they know to work on the problem written

on the board and have their homework out. Meanwhile, Mrs. Barnes goes around checks

homework and takes roll at the same time. I believe by enforcing a routine of this manner in my

future classroom can help me build relationships with my students. This will allow me to check

in with my students one at a time. Another procedure I found helpful in Mrs. Barnes class was
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assigning a class president and vice president for the day. These two individuals were responsible

for any help Mrs. Barnes needed throughout the day such as passing out supplies, collecting

recess supplies, etc. Each day a new class president and vice president would be assigned. I

noticed that students would get really excited to come to school the next day because they knew

they were next to become the class president. Lastly, I will use a cue such as “1,2,3, eyes on me”.

Farr (2010) found that introducing a cue to get the class attention can help in a smooth transition

to the next lesson. It is also important to be consistent with your procedures in order for students

to fully grasp them.

Students will be asked to create their own classroom rules as a class. I will guide my
students to stay on target and help them choose proper classroom rules. Once the rules are chosen
and every classmate agrees to them students will sign their names at the bottom of the poster,
symbolizing a contract (Personal Observation). Their signature is their agreement to follow the
classroom rules. Just like in a regular contract, if rules are not followed there will be
consequences. The class rules will then be displayed on the wall where students will be able to
see their signed contract at all times.
It is important and a goal of mine to create a community in my future classroom in a way

that helps develop the students’ autonomy. I want students to feel comfortable to participate and

not be scared to ask questions or for help. Weinstein, Curran, and Tomlinson-Clarke (2003)

found that having students work with others can contribute to the goal of building a classroom

community. Having students sit in groups can help create a sense of trust to rely on each other to

get the task done. I will also offer independent work that will help students develop their

leadership skills in having the responsibility to properly work on activities on their own. Such as

having the choice to work in certain areas in the class during independent study (Personal

Observation, November 2018).

Students are in the classroom approximately less than seven hours a day. I was fortunate

to see Mrs. Barnes use a variety of strategies to help with time management that I know will help

me in my future classroom. A strategy that helped students was the display of a timer on the
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board. This allowed all students to see how much time they have left to complete their work.

Another strategy used was a touch light placed in the center of each table group. When it was

time to clean up the table captain turns on the light which means he/she is working on cleaning

up their area while the rest of his group goes and sits on the rug for the next lesson. Once the

table captain is ready he/she turns off the light and joins the rest of his classmates on the rug.

This helped Mrs. Barnes start her transition while the table captains are in charge of putting away

their groups supplies. Lastly, Farr (2010) emphasizes the importance of planning ahead for

potential problems, having “sponge activities” can help avoid loss of useful class time.

As a future educator, it is essential for one to be capable to adapt any lesson for students

who struggle academically, have special needs, or is an English language learner. Some

accommodations I can provide for an academically struggling student is breaking down their

work into small parts and having the student focus on one section at a time (Personal

Observation, November 2018). If the student happens to have a special need I will provide the

student with any accommodation I can in order to help the student succeed in my class. Such as

using hands-on activities and giving directions visually other than solely saying them (Personal

Observation, October 2017). For English language learning students providing homework and

any important information sent home to parents will be provided in their native language. As a

bilingual individual if I am able to communicate in their native language I can give directions or

help in their preferred language when appropriate.

It is important to have students interact with each other. Peer interactions can help

students with their cognitive, social, and language development which can support their success

in school and in life (Stephens 2016). Some strategies I plan to incorporate in my future

classroom that can help me succeed in this would be to emphasize the rule “Three Before Me”
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(Personal Observation, November 2018). This allows students to depend on each other for help

instead of just always relying on the teacher. As stated by Pinto (2013) the use of “Talking

Chips” is another strategy that can encourage those students who are not known for participating.

During my observations, Mrs. Barnes would have the students form a circle on the rug and have

the children discuss the value of numbers amongst them. A student would choose another

classmate to give their opinion and example, the class would then discuss if they agree or

disagree and why. I believe incorporating this strategy would help build a community in my

classroom.

A study done by Bower (2011) argues that the general definition of parental involvement

does not allow all families to feel included. Their work schedules, lack of transportation, and

lack of childcare are just a few examples that may prevent families from attending school events

or volunteering at their child’s school. Therefore, it is my goal to make sure all parents feel an

active factor in my classroom community, by offering various ways parents can become involved

in their child’s academics. Bowers (2011) strategy on weekly newsletters will allow parents to

know their child’s behavior for that week and if any homework is incomplete or missing. In

addition, calling parents to personally invite them to school events opens doors for parents, in

return many reciprocated and would be the first to call the teacher to ask about their child.

Moreover, the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education (2008) found that teachers need to

become knowledgeable about their students’ cultural background in order to have a more

culturally responsive classroom. As suggested by Pinto (2013) sending home a copy of the class

expectations and rules on the first day of school can support in parent communication.

Furthermore, the school site I did my observations uses ClassDojo, an online site that allows

parents to see what their child is learning in their class, in addition to their behavior and any
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN 7

pictures, projects, or concerns the teacher wants to share. Having an online site like ClassDojo

will allow many parents to engage in their child’s academic success at any moment the parent

wishes. Bower (2011) also emphasizes providing at home activities that reflect what is being

taught in class in which parents can engage with their child. It is important to make such

activities involve items that can be easily found in their home. Incorporating at home activities

can help students understand the material and become excited about the subject.

To provide a fair environment in my future classroom I plan to use “Talking Sticks” as

seen in Pintos (2013) textbook. However, Mrs. Barnes added her own taste to this approach.

Each stick displays the students name and on one end of the stick is colored green and on the

opposite end, red. Once a stick is used, it gets flipped to the other end with the opposite color.

This helps Mrs. Bares track on which stick was selected allowing each student a fair chance to

get called on. It is an objective of mine to make sure I provide a safe and fair environment in

which every student will know they will be respected. I will make sure to not tolerate any

bullying or discrimination of any kind. I want my students to feel comfortable to come to me for

any problem they may have. I am here to help my students become successful students and

respectful citizens to society. When needed or asked for I will conduct community circles.

Practicing restorative practices such as a community circle in your classroom can help build a

healthy relationship between the student and educator. Furthermore, reduce, prevent, and

Conclusion

These strategies are only a few of many that I have in mind to incorporate in my future

classroom to help manage my classroom while still being culturally relevant. When I decided to

choose a career in the field of education I made it a goal of mine to make a positive impact on

my students’ life. Making sure they know their education is important to me and that I am willing
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to try any strategy to help them succeed. I know that my research for strategies to help my

students cognitive, social, and emotional development does not end here, but will continue for

many years to come. As my favorite quote by Chris Guillebeau says “If ‘Plan A’ fails, remember

there are 25 more letters in the alphabet”. If a strategy does not work for my classroom there are

many more that can.

References

Bower, H. A. 1. ed., & Griffin, D. (2011). Can the Epstein Model of Parental Involvement Work

in a High-Minority, High-Poverty Elementary School? A Case Study. Professional School

Counseling, 15(2), 77–87. Retrieved from http://libproxy.csudh.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eft&AN=70105657&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Carol Weinstein, Mary Curran & Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke (2003) Culturally responsive

classroom management: Awareness into action, theory into practice, 42:4, 269-276,

DOI: 10.1207/s15430421tip4204_2

Cde.ca.gov. (2018). One Hundred Eighty-Sixth Street Elementary - School Directory Details

(CA Dept of Education). [online] Available at:

https://www.cde.ca.gov/schooldirectory/details?cdscode=19647336018477 [Accessed 8

Dec. 2018].

Farr. (2010). Maximizing the efficiency and structure of your classroom. Retrieved from

http://teachingasleadership.org/sites/default/files/Related-

Readings/CMC_Ch3_2011.pdf

Metropolitan Center for Urban Development (2008). Culturally responsive classroom

management strategies. Retrieved from

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/uploads/005/121/Culturally%20Responsive%20Cl

assroo%20Mgmt%20Strat2.pdf

Pinto, L. E. (2013). From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Corwin
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Restorative practices: Fostering healthy relationships and promoting positive discipline in

schools. Retrieved from https://advancementproject.org/wp

content/uploads/2017/11/5165058db7e15ced3a_6lm6y18hu.pdf

Stephens, T. L. (2016, June 6). Tips for encouraging positive interactions between students with

behavioral disorders and peers | Pearson blog. Retrieved from

https://www.pearsoned.com/tips-for-encouraging-positive-interactions-

between-students- with-behavioral-disorders-and-peers/