In a year, I will graduate college with a Bachelor’s Degree in elementary ed. I am an A student but unfortunately one of the topics my courses have not spent nearly enough time on is that of classroom management, probably one of the most essential aspects of teaching.
Basically I want to know, what works? Sometimes when student teaching, if the students all start to talk, call out, or talk to each other at an inappropriate time, its difficult to get them all back at once. What are some strategies that are effective in bringing the class back together?
#1 by Eleazar on June 5th, 2010
Quote
I do secondary which is more about negative consequences, but rewarding works well in elementary. Try having a little reward stand with erasers, stickers, etc. and give them check marks for good behavior and staying on task. When they get sufficient merit check marks, they’re entitled to something from your stand.
#2 by Ms. R on June 5th, 2010
Quote
Where I teach, we use CHAMPs as our guide for classroom management. It’s called CHAMPs: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management (That’s the title on the textbook). It delineates the expectations for the students and you can always refer back to it if the students get out of control. There is a CHAMPs for every thing in the classroom including activities and transitions. There are videos too where they give you examples. I learned a lot and have benefited greatly in the classroom from this approach.
#3 by Bigred5747 on June 5th, 2010
Quote
Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic classroom management strategy or plan that works for all students with all teachers. You’ll find that each group of students you have will need a slightly different plan. While teaching, remind students of what proper behavior is. For example, if you’re asking the students a question, say “Who can raise their hand and tell me…..” This reminds the kids to raise their hand and answer. Also, if someone does call the answer out, be sure to remind them that it’s not appropriate and call on someone who is raising their hand.
For elementary students, the stoplight method works well. Green means they’re doing well, yellow means the student has a warning and needs to check their behavior, red means that they should get a time out or other consequences, including a phone call home. You could also try a “money system” of classroom management. You can do a search for this method.
Finally, I highly recommend that you read the book “The First Days of School” by Harry Wong. His book talks about setting up procedures and rules and a classroom management strategy. I also recommend the book “Teaching With Love and Logic.” This book discusses ways to develop relationships with students and lead students to making the right choices. Finally, I have heard (but haven’t yet read) that the book “Setting Limits in the Classroom” is a good read for classroom management strategies.
Good luck, and remember there is no “one plan fits all” when it comes to classroom mangement!