Classroom Management Strategies
(Structuring Your Daily Activities)
This tab is to help you with:
- Preparation, Presence, and Personality
- Keeping students on track
- Minimizing distractions
- Grabbing students' attention
Relationships
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The Teacher, not the Strategy
- Understand that there are thousands of strategies out there. What makes an effective teacher is not a fancy strategy, but the person behind the strategy.
- A good teacher can makes every strategy work; a poor teacher cannot make any strategy work.
- Approach your profession as a professional. Model respect and expectations through how you present yourself to students.
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Classroom Routines
Universal Design for Learning (What an Effective Classroom Should Look Like)
- Hook: start each day with a video related to the content in order to hook students' attention
- Clear objectives for the day written on the board
- Clear agenda for the day as a list of activities written on board or presented with a PowerPoint slide
- Cueing: constant reference to Daily Agenda & Objective - visible throughout the lesson
- Brain breaks. Depending on group of students, every 20 - 40 minutes.
- Choice in learning approaches including differentiation of content and product
- Closure: Recap and extra reinforcement.
For more ideas visit:
UDL: Universal Design for Learning by CAST
http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.VhgVLxNViko
Roadmap (Agenda)
Teacher creates a graphic organizer that is a visual agenda of the course/unit
Positive Terminology
A teacher can create a caring, safe, and open classroom environment by using positive vocabulary on a daily basis:
- "Thank you for sharing"
- "Since we are in a safe bubble, we can share responses. [Student] what is your response?"
- "It is safe to make mistakes in this class"
- "So close! But I bet the minor mistake you made was on step..."
- "I see where you are going with that idea, but the correct answer is actually..."
- "You are all working so hard and I'm so proud of you"
- "Since you are all smart and responsible students, I know that you can handle this task"
Fidgets (Minimize Distraction When Kids Cannot Sit Still)
Soft objects that students can hold or manipulate
Caution: tools NOT toys
Benefit: students with attention difficulties get to preoccupy the part of their brains that attempts to distract them from their learning. By fidgeting with a soft object, the student's attention can be focussed on learning.
Idea: cut up a pool noodle, give pieces to students, and allow students to roll their feet over them.
Caution: tools NOT toys
Benefit: students with attention difficulties get to preoccupy the part of their brains that attempts to distract them from their learning. By fidgeting with a soft object, the student's attention can be focussed on learning.
Idea: cut up a pool noodle, give pieces to students, and allow students to roll their feet over them.
Sponge Activity (Anchor Activity)
Fast pace students have extra time. What can you do?
2. Translate the textbook paragraph into modern phrases 3. Construct a model, diagram, or image showing the idea 4. Compare and contrast the concept in a different situation 5. Compile the details of this topic and predict its effects on a different topic 6. Defend or criticize the actions of people in this situation |
Motivation Strategies
Need intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for students?
- Use positive language and personalized praise for the student on effort and growth
- Give students a "I love how you've improved..." card
- Competitive group games
- Displays of work to the class
- Online display of work to school/parents/community
- Offer a student-preferred activity if the class completes a task well
- Classroom freedoms (teacher or student choice of freedom, such as can play games on phone)
- Allow students to play games online
- Deals: "if you work hard for 15 minutes you can take a 5 minute break"
- Student choice in student-interest-based projects
- Good news cards to send home to parents/guardians for student affirmation
- Funny videos (check for appropriateness)
Affordable Material Rewards
- Stickers
- Bouncy balls
- Moustache stickers
- Candy (Kinder surprises, Smarties for "smart" answers,
- Create "pilons" that say "excellent" and place on student desks during work time
- Round of applause (get classmates to clap for the student)
Reward System
- Mini-competitions with points
- Teacher can develop a points system, star stickers system, or marble jar (in elementary) to promote desired behaviours.
- If students can find a typo or mistake on the instructional side (teacher), they may receive a point, affirmation, or candy reward.
- Online resource: https://www.classdojo.com/
Planning
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!
- Need an electronic organizer? Scrap the paper book planner and use this Planbook: https://planbook.com/
- Need some "I Can..." statements to frame assessments? Assessment from the Argyll Center: http://argyll.epsb.ca/learning-supports
- Need resources for curricular content? Learn Alberta: http://learnalberta.ca
- Need projects? Alberta Assessment Consortium: http://www.aac.ab.ca/
- Need FREE Alberta-based plans uploaded by real teachers? http://www.ninjaplans.com/
- Need other plans? Edmonton Public Schools Teacher Resources: http://rds.epsb.net/cf/resources.cfm
- Need more FREE resources? http://engagingstudents.blackgold.ca/
- Need differentiated reading levels for news articles? https://newsela.com/articles/#/rule/latest-library
Attention Grabbers
Behavioural Expectations
- High standards cause students to rise to the occasion.
- Teaching discipline gives students real-life working skills.
- Come up with a class (or school) slogan, such as "we are working on rigor, relevance, and relationships"
Relevance, Rigor, Relationships
Kids need to feel loved, so you need to teach to the soul.
Always smile at them and connect everyday.
Be the highlight of their day!