Classroom+Management

**Classroom Management Strategies**
Much of the information on this page comes from the following resource: I have also included tips and advice from various building administrators.
 * Baron, Wendy, Bongolan, Rain, and Moir, Ellen. //Keys to the Secondary Classroom.// California: Corwin, 2010.**


 * Greet students at the door at the start of each class
 * Contact parents early on--short phone calls to introduce yourself and some of the topics you will be covering this year. These calls should be positive--share with the parent a "small success story" about his or her child. For example, "I just wanted to let you know that Joe really helped keep his group on-task yesterday."
 * Pre-formatted "job well done" notes home to parents Forms
 * Send home a slip of paper with a Unit Essential Question you will be exploring as a class. Have a parent answer the question on that slip of paper (and if it is a true essential question---it should not have a "yes" or "no" answer and should be something that promotes diverse responses). Post these responses on your classroom bulletin board. This is a "community building" activity that can improve student behavior by promoting the school-home connection.
 * Wait time for questions---do not get nervous if students are taking a little while to answer your questions. Give them time. Your instinct will be to rush in and "save" them from the silence. Doing that can sometimes throw your whole lesson off---you may finish much earlier and be left with 5 or 10 minutes at the end of class with nothing to do. Don't be afraid of the wait time.
 * Have a back up plan! Over plan---so you are never left with that "dead time" at the end of class. Also, if a lesson is not going as well as you thought it would---you will have an alternative.
 * Targeted Talk---Praise students who are doing the right things---the way you want them done. For instance if Group 1 is //not// doing what you want them to be doing but Group 2 //is//---praise Group 2 instead of correcting Group 1 right away. But be specific. Do not just say, "Good job!" Instead tell Group 2, "You are doing an excellent job completing this graphic organizer! The textual evidence you have included in the columns is very strong."
 * Transition from two, or three, or four different activities during a class period. Keep them moving and engaged!
 * Post "Agenda" on board so students can see the plan for the class period.
 * Connect to student prior knowledge
 * Move around the room
 * Peer groupings
 * Make content meaningfulinform students of the real world applications of your content, post standards
 * For every negative thing you must say to a student (to re-direct them or keep them on-task)---try to say 5 positive things