Classroom+Management+Ideas

Please add here ideas that you have observed your mentor teacher using to manage the classroom. Kindergarten Teachers: In Mrs. Binns class, there is a lot of good classroom management techniques. She likes to have the kids always orderly and kept on task. For example, at the end of the day, she has all of the students sit on the rug, and she dismisses them to their busses individually, to be sure that each student arrive to their bus safely. Also, Mrs. Binns has a student who is child of the week. This student is able to learn responsibility, but it also helps make Mrs. Binns class easier to manage, because he is given the job of calling all of the students to line up and count them, to make sure all of the students are there and ready to go. These are only a few techniques Mrs. Binns uses to help manage her classroom. (Rachel)

Mrs. Shea's Kindergarten class is very well-disciplined. She is devoted to her students and manages them well. This really shows just by observing the way they act and go about their day. She has good classroom management techniques in her classroom. For example, when the class is getting ready to go out to recess or start a new activity then Mrs. Shea picks a student to get the class lined up. That student lightly taps other students around the room that are patiently waiting and are quiet to line up at the door. This gives that one child positive feedback for their good behavior and a special responsibility. Another example of her good classroom management is her 1,2,3,4 signal calls. When the students are sitting on the rug ready to begin an activity, Mrs. Shea makes sure that she has their full attention and cooperation by using this signal call. She calls "signal 1", and the class stops talking. Then "signal 2", and the class looks at her. "Signal 3", the class sits with their legs crossed. Finally "signal 4", the class is ready to listen to Mrs. Shea. Both these techniques are good ways to keep the class in order and well-behaved. (Laura)

In Mrs.Borsts class, I have learned so many new classroom management ideas. She loves being there with all of the kids and she really shows that she likes being there. One thing that I really liked that i thought worked really well is they have these sheets of colored pages, that they have perfect purple, outstanding orange, good job green, warning white, yikes yellow, and rough day red. The kids all have a clothespin and depending on how the students are acting throughout the day they move their clothespin up and down on the chart. If they have a rough day red the parents are notifited so they can work on their behavior at home so they can have a better day the next day. Another thing that i saw that worked really well was is the students were getting out of hand and to noisy, she would go and stand in the middle of the room and call out "If you hear my voice put your hands on your head, if you hear my voice put your hands on your nose, if you hear my voice put your hands on your hips, if you hear my voice meet me on the carpet or sit down in your chairs." This worked so well because it was like simon says so they were all able to follow along and they seemed to catch on quickly. (Kimberly)

Class managment is the key for efficent teachers. Once you walk into Mrs. Bartholomews classroom she has everything prepared to make sure the children have something to do when they first walk in. The students walk in and put the folders on her desk for her to check while they are doing a morning worksheet. Then she gives the students an opportunity to do their work and talk to their peers. When the sudents finish early, they know they can sit on the rug and read a book until the rest of the students are done. Once everything is done, all the students go on the rug. The rug has different colors of square boxes, so each of them sit in their own box. It make sure no one starts fighting, or talk to one another while the teacher is talking. Her classroom is very structered and organized. She has the same routine when you walk in everyday so therefore the students can understand what to be like in the classroom and not at home. Giving them structure and a routine can really help the students function. (Ivana)

Mrs. French has shared many of her great classroom management ideas with me. There are tons of little things she does that make a big difference in her classroom. From the moment tthe children walk into the classroom they have jobs to do before they can go sit on the rug. I think there are seven jobs that the studetns do in the morning. They have to hangup their coats and backpacks, put their folder in the basket, put up a clothespin with their name on it to sign in, sign their name on the white board, put away their snacks, and couple of other things im not remembering.The kids learn responsibility from doing there jobs and I think it also helps create the feeling that they are all needed in the classroom because they have jobs that have to get done. Another of Mrs. French's classroom management idea is how she moves children around. Whether they are sitting on the rug, in a circle, on line if their are kids who are fooling around or being noisy she asks them to switch places with someone else or to move to the fron of the line or different spot. She does this in a way that does not embarass the student and she does it many times throughout the day so it doesnt feel to the student that its a big deal that they were moved. It solves that behavioral problems quickly and effectively without having to raise her voice at students. (Vivana)

Mrs. DeAngelis has many different ways to manage her classroom. First off, she set a routine for the students to come into the classroom every morning and sit on the carpet. The carpet is divided into squares and each student has a specific spot to sit in. She also has different color tables that the kids have assigned seats to. This way when she wants them to go back to their seats, she calls that specific color and they get up and walk to their table. She also sets rules for the students to follow. For example, the students must raise their hand and not call out. Another rule is that once the children are seated on the carpet there is no longer talking. Also there is always walking in the classroom. If the students run to the carpet or out to their cubbies, she makes them come back in and restart. Mrs. DeAngelis also has a reward system. She has a jar and if the students are extremely good on a specific day they get a few teddy bears. Once the jar is filled they have a party. Mrs. DeAngelis understands that kids of this age need structure. That's why thier morning routine is always the same and the rules never change. (Kristin)

I have learned so many great classroom management techniques from Mrs. Clark in her second grade class. The students have a morning routine, they come into class, put their homework in the homework bin and then they got and get their morning work sheet. If they finish early with their morning work or if there is not morning work, they know to got right to their centers. She also has different jobs for each student. This is great to have because everyone will not be doing the same thing at the same time. She also have a very interesting way of making the students behave like she wants them to. She always phrases her demands in a question form, so they do not sound like demands. If someone is not cleaning up neatly, she will say " Is that how we clean up?" and then say " How do we clean up?". The child then starts to clean up the proper way without even being told how to. She also has the children work for rewards. She has a jar that she keeps on her desk. It has a few marbles in it, for every time the children are good she will add a marble to the jar, if the children are bad, she will remove a marble. At the end of the year if the jar is filled with marbles, they will recieve an award. There are many more classroom management techniques that she uses but these are just a few. (Adriana)

Ms. Salo's class is very chatty and vibrant. In order to control and keep the students on task, she uses a variety of techniques to manage the classroom. When the children are assigned an in-class project, they need to go to the back desk where the materials are lined up for them. Ms. Salo calls them one-at-a-time (according to who is sitting quietly) to avoid chaos. This teaches the children that they must show patience and behave well in order to participate in the fun projects. The same goes for lining up at the door to attend lunch or recess. Also, Ms. Salo has a chart hanging at the front of the room. It is labeled starting from the top: perfect purple, outstanding orange, good green, warning white, yikes yellow, and rough day red. Whether the students call out or use good manners, Ms. Salo moves their names up or down the chart accordingly. They are always motivated to reach perfect purple. She rarely yells at the children, just tells them in a clear, gentle voice what they should or should not be doing. She shows positive regard so the children know what the right thing to do is. (Emeline)

In Mrs. Coluccio's class, there are several different types of classroom management techniques that are used. One example is the rug that she has in the classroom. It has rows of different colors and is divided into five squares in each row. Also, each child is assignment a square and from there she can call individual colors up for the students to pack up or to go to their bus line. Another technique she has is individual cubbies for each child, here she puts any work that is graded and the students keep their crayon box and folders in there. This allows for the students to keep their supplies organized and orderly so that Mrs. Coluccio and the child can keep track of their work.  (Jasmine)

Mrs. Binns has given me so many ideas for how to keep a classroom under control and very manegable. One example of this is how she gets the students to listen to her. When she needs the students to quiet down, she turns off the lights. Her students are so well behaived, and taught that when the lights go off, their mouths are closed. Also, Mrs. Binns has good classroom manegment skills by teaching keeping the kids always busy. Whenever the students finish a worksheet, she has them come show it to her, to make sure it is complete, and then tells them they can take out a book or practice their letters and numbers. This controls the class, and makes sure that the students are not a distraction when they finish their work (Rachel)

Ms. DeAngles has many ways to keep her class under control. Many of her students act out or get up in the middle of the lesson and walk around. She handles this by giving them three seconds to get back to their seat or they lose play time. Also each student either shares a cubbie for their stuff and they also have to share supplies. Ms. DeAngelis is teaching them that sharing space and materialistic items is important. Before they go anywhere she makes them line up at the door according to the color tables they sit at. *Kristin*

Mrs. Borst has many classroom management ideas. One idea that I really liked was one of her students has a hard time following the directions and doing the morning routine, of coming in taking their jacket off, putting their book bag away, taking their folder out and brining it inside the room, handing in homework and putting the folder in his cubby. It is almost December and he is still having a hard time following the routine. So she took pictures of him doing all of these steps. She laminated them put them on a long sheet of colored paper and laminated that as well. She cut the pictures out and placed them on the sheet of paper with a Velcro stamp so as he does each step he takes the picture off and places it in the baggy underneath it. She had him start it on Monday and it went pretty well so she was very pleased. The parents thought it was a great idea. (Kimberly)

Mrs. Shea uses many classroom management techiniques in her class. Another technique that I saw her use was the bathroom signal. When a student needs to use to the bathroom or get up to get a drink they must put their fist in the air. This is a good way to manage a class so no one else gets distracted and the whole class is not disrupted. Mrs.Shea recognizes that the child needs something and she knows what that signal means so she allows them to get up and use the bathroom or get a drink of water. This signal is very much effective in her class. The students use it when necessary and it is a good way to manage a classroom. (Laura)

Mrs. Bartholomew uses many ways of class management that is shown when the students walk through the door. When the students walk in, they have to put their folders in the basket for her to check. Then the students go to their cubbys and get their markers. They sit down and wait for the teacher to assign them work for the morning activity. She is very structured and she has managed her class to make sure that when they walk into the door they follow the instructions. This is a good way to manage the classroom because once they do it first time it becomes part of their schedule. They also memorize it so it becomes a normal day for them. (Ivana)

Mrs. French has many great classroom management ideas that she uses in her classroom. When she wants to move on to another activity or if the children are getting loud she plays a few chords on her piano to get there attention. The children stop what they are doing and look the direction of the piano. it works really well and is a good way of getting their attention in a kind and relaxed way. (Viviana)

Another interesting way that Mrs. Salo manages the classroom is with stations. The students have a lot of free time because they are a full-day class. After all of their work is done, they are allowed to play at around 11:00. Mrs. Salo has a computer station, reading station, coloring/drawing station, painting station, and a toy/blocks station. In order to avoid chaos, she has a lily pad hanging at each station with 2-4 velcro strips attached. When a child wants to go to a specific station, he or she sticks their own frog (each student has their name written on a frog) onto the lily pad. If the station is full, the child must wait or ask politely if he or she can have a turn. I thought this idea was really creative and fun. This is something I would definitely use in my own classroom someday! (Emeline)