Classroom Management Plans Unit A Chapter 1 Page 5 Diana Greenhouse’s and Kazim Cicek’s PowerPoint presentations are in the Going Beyond folder for Chapter 1 at EffectiveTeaching.com. Effective teachers have classrooms that are consistent. Students do not like surprises, yelling, or disorganization. They like a classroom where they know what is happening. Likewise, you like to know what is happening on a vacation, participating in a theatrical production, or attending a convention. This is why the travel agent will give you an itinerary, the stage director will work from a script, and the convention organizer will provide a program. Effective teachers have classroom management plans, or scripts, ready before the first day of school. The plan organizes the classroom with maximum engaged time for learning. The scripts of Diana Greenhouse and Kazim Cicek are shared here. These scripts are for you to adapt, not to adopt. (See the GoBe for Chapter 1, page 4.) Refer to Units C and D in The First Days of School to learn how to create your own script. An Alternative Certification Teacher’s First-Day Script Diana Greenhouse has a background as a substitute and paraprofessional. Her experience made her headover-heels about teaching full time. This led her to enroll in an alternative-certification program in Texas. As part of her alternative-certification training, Diana attended a presentation by Harry Wong. She heard him talk about airline pilots, business people, and wedding coordinators who use plans or scripts to effectively organize their work. She then saw examples of scripts used by effective teachers. She learned how Sarah Jondahl succeeded on her very first day as a first-year teacher. Sarah began with a classroom management plan that resulted in success from the very first minute of her teaching career. (Read about Sarah on pages 213–218 in The First Days of School.) Sarah says, “My classroom management plan is based on established procedures. Having these procedures in place from day one, and teaching my students about these procedures, makes the education experience in my classroom extremely effective.” Taking this information to heart, Diana created her first-day-of-school script. Diana’s Morning Procedures ƒ ƒ ƒ Place students’ desks in pods of five and arrange them in a U-shape, creating four groups of five. Share myself with students by displaying a poster of personal pictures and biographical facts. Do the activity “Stand Up, Pair Up.” This is a getting-to-know-each-other exercise. o As students walk around the room, the teacher asks them to pair up with the nearest person and take turns saying something about themselves for a minute each. The teacher can also have the pair introduce each other, and then ask them to say something based on a word or phrase thrown out by the teacher, such as “movie,” “shopping, or “book read.” This is a really fun way to break the ice at the beginning of the school year. -1- Classroom Management Plans (continued) ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ Introduce classroom rules and procedures with a PowerPoint presentation. Role play and then practice the rules and procedures. Take a tour of the campus and playground. Read a story. Break for lunch. Afternoon Procedures ƒ Introduce the teacher who will be team-teaching the class. ƒ Read “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.” ƒ Introduce dismissal procedures. ƒ Discuss importance of safe and orderly dismissal. ƒ Dismiss class. With her classroom management procedures in place, Diana created and put into action her dream of teaching. When the school offered designated themes for the campus hallways, she selected New York City as her theme. When it was completed, the entrance to the hallway had a huge marquee that read, “Like New York City, Our Learning Never Sleeps.” The students enjoyed walking down the hall in preparation for the start of the new school year. With her morning and afternoon procedures in place, Diana said, “I could not wait until Monday, my first day of school! I just couldn’t help myself!” Diana created a PowerPoint presentation for her procedures. To see Diana Greenhouse’s presentation of her first day of school script, click here. The Success of Her First Day of School Diana reports, “My first day of school script helped me tremendously! I was able to maintain a very calm demeanor amid all the excitement and jitters of the first day of school by referring back to my script, which I kept close by on my clipboard. “My PowerPoint presentation was wonderful for my students! And it was a very effective way to present rules and procedures. My students truly enjoyed discussing rules and procedures, and even asked to go over them again! “I knew I really reached my students when, on the playground, I simply stood up, raised my hand in the air, and watched as the students quickly understood that recess was over. They ran toward me and quickly lined up in front of me with their little hands in the air! “It was an awesome sight. And I never even had to say a word.” A Very Successful First Year Fast-forwarding to the last day of school, Diana says, “What an incredible school year this has been! When I look back at all I have accomplished in one school year, it takes my breath away. “My students learned. I loved every minute of teaching . . . and it all started with that very first minute of the very first day of school, when I started my school year with a classroom management plan on PowerPoint.” -2- Classroom Management Plans (continued) From Turkey to Success in America Kazim Cicek was born, raised, and educated in Turkey. With a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and genetics, he began teaching science in a middle school in Oklahoma. He describes his first three years as “being a warrior.” He says, “Being a teacher was like being in a war to me. I felt that students were like the enemy and they were always trying to find my weak points to defeat me. “I acquired the characteristics of a warrior. Every day was like a battle for me. A couple of times I wanted to give it all up.” After his third year of teaching, Kazim heard Harry Wong at a meeting. “The presentation changed my teaching life. I had never considered the word ‘procedures’ before, but it was so obvious to me after I heard [Harry] speak. “During the break, I purchased The First Days of School. Because school was starting in a few days, I did not have time to read every word in the book. However, I got the idea. I got the inspiration. The rest was my job!” Kazim worked on his classroom procedures over the weekend and prepared a PowerPoint presentation to teach his class the classroom procedures. The Result of a Weekend’s Work Kazim says of his efforts, “The result is perfect. My students learned my classroom procedures. Everything is running smoothly. I don’t have to give the same simple directions to my students every single day. They know the procedures and follow them. I still cannot believe the secret of classroom management is that easy. “Last week I confused my schedule. I thought I had a lunch period. While I was enjoying my lunch and chatting with teacher friends, the assistant principal came and told me there were students in my room doing their work. I ran out of the lunch room and saw that although it had been almost ten minutes since class began, there was no noise in the classroom and everybody was doing what they were supposed to be doing. The teacher in the next classroom did not even notice there was no teacher in my classroom. “The amazing thing is the change in my classroom by means of a little work, which I produced in only four days! “I pinch myself, and can’t help asking, ‘Why didn’t I do it before?’” Three Months Into the School Year Here are some of Kazim’s reflections after three months: “I thought The First Days of School was another one of those classroom management books that was full of theory and inapplicable words, that it would not fit my personality. But this book is different. -3- Classroom Management Plans (continued) “It is applicable. Everyone can get something out of it to fit his or her personality “I am still amazed that my classes are going very, very well. “What was different this year was what I did the first week. In the past, I used to try to tell my students each day what I wanted them to do. But kids don’t like always being told what to do; nobody does. So, they had a tendency not to do it most of the time. “Now, all I need to do is make myself very clear at the beginning as to what I want from my students.” Happiness at the End of the Year The last slide Kazim showed as part of his PowerPoint presentation declared, “Have a wonderful, enjoyable year.” Kazim says about the end of his school year, “This was my fourth year and I have never felt this way before— ‘happiness.’ In previous years I was happy just because another school year was over. This year, however, I am happy simply because I did my job successfully. “Only now I am looking forward to the next year because I now know what to do!” The Future Is Very Rewarding Teaching is very rewarding to Kazim Cicek, who shares his optimism: “I am very motivated to teach. Being a teacher has always been a holy job to me. I love helping people. I like kids. I enjoy it when I can teach something to someone. So, being a teacher has always been on my mind. “Feeling that I am being helpful to the students to build a better future is making me happy. When I lose this feeling I will retire. So far, it seems I will do this job until I die.” Click here to see Kazim Cicek’s classroom management PowerPoint presentation. Create Your Own PowerPoint Adapt the examples of Diana and Kazim and create a PowerPoint presentation that visually relays your Classroom Management Plan to your students. They are longing for consistency in their lives and with your plan. Offer an upfront vision of what they can expect for the school year. -4- Week 2 Journal Prompts CHAPTER 6 1. Discuss the difference between expectations and standards. How can practicing positive expectations help students reach high standards? 2. Refer to the box found on page 41. What is a "self-fulfilling prophecy?" What impact can it have on student achievement? 3. Oftentimes new teachers are told, "This class is so bad, you'll be lucky to survive one week." What can be done to turn low expectations into a positive situation for everyone--the students, the teacher, the school, and the parents? 4. Select THREE ways that you will commit to, to convey positive, high expectations to your students. How will you know if they are working or if they need to be revised? CHAPTER 7 1. What expectations do students bring with them to school? 2. What steps can you take to make school more of a concept that simply a place? 3. Review the list on page 46 and think of other possible ways to welcome students on the first day of school. Choose THREE ways that you believe can be effectively implemented as a starting point. CHAPTER 8 1. Why might something seemingly as mundane as what you wear particularly important in the teaching profession? 2. Looking professional is not the same thing as looking good. What does dressing appropriately mean to you? 3. One can overdress for the classroom. How might this have a negative effect on students' perceptions of you? 4. Open the GoBe055 file. "People do not learn simply because they like you. They learn because they respect you." As a teacher, how does this statement relate specifically to what you wear to work? CHAPTER 9 1. How does your body language invite or disinvite someone to participate? What are some common body language positions that are perceived as invitational? 2. Why is it a stronger message to be intentionally inviting, rather than unintentionally disinviting? 3. Think about what it means to be inviting in the classroom. What does this mean in terms of teacher comments, teacher behavior, and classroom environment? 4. Think about what it means to be uninviting in the classroom. What does this mean in terms of teacher comments, teacher behavior, and classroom environment? CHAPTER 10 1. Why do you think seemingly small gestures, such as saying "please" and "thank you" to your students, make such a big difference? 2. Think back to one of your favorite teachers. How many of the four attributes of an effective teacher listed on page 76 did this teacher display? 3. What practical ways can an effective teacher convey love and warmth? 4. If you want to spend one-on-one time getting to know individual students, what structures would you need to have in place to ensure the rest of the class is well-managed? 5. Open the GoBe075 file. What exactly was the lesson Amanda McKnight's class learned that day? What type of classroom environment do you think Amanda created all year long for this accomplishment to occur on the last day of school? 
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