Teacher Week '13: Classroom Management

Day 4 of Teacher Week is all about Taming the Wild!  Classroom management can be one of the trickiest parts of teaching... especially when teaching the little ones who really don't have much school experience.  I remember my first year of teaching feeling like college did not prepare me AT ALL for how to handle management and discipline problems.  I've used many systems over the years... some have worked and some have failed miserably.

What I've learned is that the most important part of a good classroom management plan is consistency and high expectations.  Helping children learn to respect themselves and respect one another is huge.  And LOTS of praise goes a long way!

We have a school-wide plan since we follow PBIS.  We have tickets called Pride Paws that students can earn when they are making good choices.  Every 2 weeks we spend time trading them in for small prizes or extra privileges (recess, computer time, sit with a friend at lunch, etc).

 

I used a behavior clip chart last year, but this year we have implemented the behavior stick school-wide.  It's just like a chart, but in mobile stick form. :)  It goes with us everywhere... to lunch, specials, etc.  

 

Don't forget to hop on over to Blog Hoppin' to read about some more classroom management ideas!