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Chapter 2:
Organizing and Managing a Multigrade Classroom

Lesson 1: Organizing the Physical Environment

Lesson 2: Managing Student’s Behavior
Lesson 3: Organizing and Managing Groups
Lesson 4: Managing Instructional Time
Lesson 5: Preparing the Curriculum
 Lesson 1:
ORGANIZING THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

Room 1 Room 2
 The __________________________ refers to the overall design

and layout of a given classroom and its learning areas. Its preparation

requires organizing the space, furniture, and resources in order to

maximize learning opportunities and students involvement. The organization

of the ___________ includes creating a floor plan, arranging the

tables, chairs and other furniture and materials, displaying of

visual materials, and others which are related to designing and arranging

the classroom.
In a ______________ classroom, the desks are usually lined
up facing the blackboard. However, this setup may not work
well in a multigrade classroom. Why?
The teacher may find difficulty to conduct differentiated activities
if the classroom is set up like this. Therefore, there is a need to
organize the space and arrange the furniture and materials in
order to establish areas suitable for the activities the teacher
plans to conduct.
The essential areas in a multigrade classroom are as follows:
The essential areas in a multigrade classroom are as follows:

a. _______________ Area. This is where the class discussion and group work
happen. The teacher works with a group or groups of students to fine tune their
learning.

b. __________________ Area. This is where students do independent work.

Students stay in this area to get ready for the next subject or activity.

c. __________________ Area. This is where the teacher plans and prepares the
lesson. Important records and documents are usually placed in this area.

d. Additional Areas. You may find that, in addition to the areas we consider required,
other areas are necessary to cater the needs of the students. Some of these are the:

1. _____________________ area
2. _____________________ area
3. _____________________ area
4. _____________________ area
Although there is no single "best" way to set up a classroom, there are some general guidelines
that may be applied to most multigrade classrooms (Hill, L., 2002):

• Divide your classroom space to different areas based on the

activities that will possibly occur.

• Allocate an area for teacher-controlled resources.

• Chairs, desks or tables can be grouped together for

collaborative work.

• Make use of low cupboards, cubbyholes or partitions to

divide the room into different areas. Be sure that if you do
this, you can see all the learners in the classroom.

• Review your floor plan considering the class traffic

patterns. With minimal disturbance, learners must be able
to move from one location to another.

• Be ready to transform your classroom when needed.

Examples of Classroom Floor Plans
 Take Note!
The actual organization of the physical environment of a
multigrade classroom will depend on the ________ available,
__________ type, the ________ or topic being taught and
the teaching strategies used. A multigrade classroom should not
remain in a fixed position.
 Lesson 2:
MANAGING STUDENTS’ BEHAVIOR
Read the classroom scenario.

Teacher Anne, a multigrade teacher, 1. What went wrong in Teacher Anne’s class?
conducted a whole class discussion with
her Grades 1, 2 and 3 learners. The class 2. What are the possible causes of the
was harmonious until she told the second learners’ behavior?
and third graders to go and work in 3. What are some preventive measures that the
groups while she's dealing with the first
graders. The learners were neglectful of teacher could have done to promote
what to do. Most of them were just acceptable behaviors?
playing around and not helping in 4. How can you deal with this and other
accomplishing the given task. Only a few
members in each group were doing all the misbehaviors when they occur?
work. Teacher Anne wasn't able to keep
every group under control.
For both new and seasoned teachers, managing disruptive behaviors is a
____________.

One of its underlying causes is that teachers are rarely given ____________ on how to
successfully manage undesired classroom behaviors, preferring instead to focus on
how to effectively employ teaching strategies to provide __________ instruction.

However, we must keep in mind that instructional quality is greatly affected by

how we manage our students‘ ____________. If we are not equipped with
effective __________________ skills, we will end up spending the majority of our
time dealing with the students' behavior instead of delivering the lesson.
_________________ can be defined as the process of establishing and
sustaining appropriate student behavior such that the delivery of
lessons is not compromised (Kratochwill, 2010).

This means that the purpose of classroom management is not to maintain

order for the sake of maintaining order, but to maintain order for the
sake of ___________.

Having a system in place that specifies classroom behavior standards

can help in _____________ the classroom environment, ensuring that
students are held accountable for their behavior.
There are three (3) distinct phases of classroom management:

1) _______________ before school begins. Before the school year starts,

the teacher visualizes life in the classroom: how learners are going to
behave in the classroom, how they will interact with one another, how
materials will be arranged, and other essential classroom considerations.

2) Implementing ____________. The teacher executes the plans that

were developed before the beginning of school. In this phase,
expectations are formed. The learners create a vision as to what will happen
in their class.

3) Maintaining good___________. The teacher maintains the positive

academic and social norms that have been established. The role of the
teacher shifts towards maintaining a high level of student engagement
and minimizing disturbances in the learning environment.
In a multigrade classroom, a teacher works with students of _________ ages and
ability levels. As a result, he/she is likely to meet some behavioral problems.

According to Wong and Wong (2009), the root cause of behavior problems in
classrooms appears to be the ___________ of established rules and
procedures rather than poor student discipline.

Research shows that providing _________ and procedures helps things run
smoothly in the classroom.

Because different grade levels exist in a multigrade classroom, establishment of

comprehensive and consistent rules and procedures becomes even more necessary.
Here are some guidelines to consider when planning rules, routines
and procedures for a Multigrade Classroom:

a. Inside the Classroom

 What rules and procedures are you going to establish for the use and
care of the different materials and equipment in the classroom?

 What rules and procedures will the learners be expected to follow when
they are in a certain area of the classroom?
b. Other School Areas such as in the comfort room, office,
playground, etc.

 When and how are learners going to have access to these areas?

 What rules and procedures are you going to implement for lining up
and going to these areas?

 How should learners behave in these areas?

c. During Whole-Class Activities and Seatwork

 When and how do you want learners to ask and answer questions (e.g., raising hands)?
 If you want everyone's attention, how will you cue or signal the class (e.g., using bell or
hand signal)?
 What rules and procedures are you going to set up for learners working together?
 How and when are you going to give instructions for activities or assignments?
 How are you going to monitor progress on tasks of assignments?
 How and when will the learners obtain the materials they need for the activities, tasks, or
assignments?
 What procedures will learners follow when turning in the outputs or materials, especially
when you are having a discussion with individuals or small groups?
 How and when will the learners' outputs or assignments get corrected?
 What procedures will you use for returning work?
 What can the learners do when they are done with their tasks?
d. During Small Groups

 What procedures, rules, and signals will learners follow

regarding the movement to and from groups?
 When and how can learners ask and answer questions?
 What are your expectations for learners who are working
together in small groups?
 While you are dealing with a group of learners, what will the
rest of the class be doing?
e. Other Procedures that Must Be Considered

 What routines are you planning to establish to start each school day?
 What routines are the learners going to follow to end each school day?
 Are you going to use a student helper system?
 What expectations are you going to set for student helpers to accomplish
their roles?

Source: Adapted and revised from The Multigrade Classroom: A Resource Handbook for Small, Rural Schools
Classroom behavior management entails more than just following rules and
procedures. Rather, it's a proactive and constructive system.

This means that teachers should establish an organized, consistent and

culturally-relevant classroom environment that fosters student
learning and effective instruction.

Moreover, they should consistently engage and communicate with

students and their families to build positive relationships with them

(The Iris Center, 2021).

QUIZ