Classroom Management - The Beginning

After five years of teaching, I have learned a few things about classroom management.  Now, I don't think my first principal thought I was going to make it on that front.  At least that is the message I got from his surprise informal evaluation on the 3rd day of school (also the 3rd day of having my own classroom!).  I can laugh about it now, but I was furious and devastated when it happened.  Turns out, the man had never taught in a classroom and he only lasted a year in our school.  The qualifications of some of our administrators are scary!  Regardless of his poor timing, it didn't help that it felt like baptism by fire.  I had a large class (31 students), several with ADHD (untreated), 5 girls who thought they should be gang members (oh, did I mention this was 3rd grade and these girls tried to start a fight with some 5th graders on the first day of school!), and a student who wouldn't leave my side (I think I was her mother that year since she didn't have one).  I also was so excited about teaching and just loved being with the students so much that I was kind of a marshmallow when it came to enforcing my rules.

Luckily, I not only had my wonderful Co Op Teacher (from my student teaching semester) across the hall and many other supportive teachers in the school who told me that they had to really work on classroom management for at least their first 3 years and they still work on it. 

Well, that experience (as rough as it was) taught me that I needed to focus on this area of teaching (or else you can't really teach much anyway).  I attended Professional Development, read books, talked to a lot of teachers, and searched the Internet for all the tricks-of-the-trade.  Since that first year, I have learned to steal great ideas, be consistent, toughen up a bit, and go with my instinct. 

After much trial and error, I have found things that really work to help manage the classroom so much better.  In fact, I rarely use my behavior chart because the students are almost always engaged and on task.  Just a side note - don't be afraid to change things at anytime of the year.  At first, I thought it would make me look bad to the kids, but if I find a great idea and want to change something, I tell the kids exactly that and we do.  It's part of life.  Why continue to do something that isn't working so well, if you know you can make it work much better.  They get it.

Many of you probably already know this, but having centers in neat labeled take-with-you boxes allows students to quickly select a center and begin working right away.  It is a major undertaking and takes time to do, but well worth it because it also addresses that little thing called the "literacy walk" your administrators conduct every month or so.  They want to see how things operate in your room during literacy and math time.  They actually ask the students if they can explain what they are doing.  Can yours?  Mine can.  The key is the label.



Math Centers

Each of my labels indicates the name of the center (i.e. Rush Hour,Geoboards, Shapes, etc.) and the skill it is improving (number sense, geometry, probability, etc.).  When the kids use the math centers, they have a Math Center Journal where they record the name of the center, skill(s) practiced, and what they created or learned in the center.  This is the perfect answer to those "walks" and also a really great way for the kids to understand the objectives of what they are doing and explain it to others.

I purchased these online from Target. They sell for around $25 for 6 large containers. Plus, I get 5% off with my Target Card and free shipping.  Love Target!  I know that Really Good Stuff (love that store, too) also sells them, but they are just a bit more costly.  I created the labels using VistaPrint.  They always offer a bunch of free stuff and you just pay for postage.  You can make your own labels at home, however, I find that the cost of ink and the special paper is usually more expensive then paying the postage for VistaPrint.

Thank you for stopping by and please come back, I will continue to share more pictures and classroom/organization management ideas...