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Classroom Management Plan Andy Mickunas

Welcome to Mr. Mickunas 5th grade learning habitat! This habitat offers everything your

student needs for success!

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Table of Contents The Classroom Habitat..pg. 3 Physical Classroom Organization: Our Habitat ...pg. 4 Classroom Operationspg. 6

Teaching Record Keeping Procedurepg. 6 Flexible Groupingpg. 7 New Studentspg. 7 Classroom Cleanliness.pg. 7 Displaying Student Workpg. 8 Portfolios and Project Learning.pg. 8

Policies and Procedures.pg. 9 Discipline and Professional Ethics .pg. 9

Social Contract.pg. 9 Whole Class Behavioral System.pg. 9 Individual Student Infractions.....pg. 11 Acquisition of Preferred Activity Time (PAT) ...pg. 12 Bullying...pg. 13 Professionalism and Ethics...pg. 13

Classroom Routines and Procedures ...pg. 14 Morning Meetings..pg. 14 Attendance..pg. 15

Acceptable Volume in the Classroom..pg. 15 Room Helpers.pg. 15 Brain Breaks...pg. 16 Homework and In-class Assignments..pg. 16 Finishing Work Earlypg. 17 Passing Out Papers and Classroom Announcements.pg. 17 Classroom Library Use..pg. 17 Getting a Drink and Bathroom Use.pg. 18 Pencil Protocolpg. 18 Dismissalspg. 18 Specialspg. 19 Field Trips..pg. 19 Substitute Teachers....pg. 19

Differentiation: Helping All Students Achieve Success.pg. 20 Supporting All Learners...pg. 21 Challenging High Ability Students...pg. 21

English Language Learners...pg. 22 Parental Involvementpg. 22 Student Led Parent Conferences..pg. 22 Communication and Volunteerism .....pg. 23 Works Cited..pg. 24

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The Classroom Habitat

According to Wong (2009), classroom management is the most important factor governing student learning. Because I know this, I have put a lot of thought into my classroom management. Classroom management refers to all the things a teacher does to organize students, space, time, and materials so student learning can take place (Wong, 2009). The management plan contained within this document describes just this. In order understand how my classroom environment is part of classroom management, I have decided to compare the learning environment to the habitat that an animal lives in. This idea is a metaphor, but it communicates my thought process.

A habitat is an environment that provides a living thing what it needs to live. For example, in a livable habitat exists food and water. These are things that we need to survive. This classroom is like a habitat for your students because it provides them everything they need to successfully learn. This idea is not just a metaphor, though. This year the students and I will be describing our classroom as a learning habitat. To recreate this habitat environment, your children will be helping me create a large tree that will be near the large group area in our room. Also, our classroom will be organized into ecosystems. Each table that students sit at will be named after a certain type of ecosystem. Students will get to pick a certain animal from their habitat and name their table after it. To facilitate a sense of community, your student can select this animals name as a nickname. Of course, if your student would prefer to not have a nickname, they can certainly going by their given name exclusively.

This learning environment offers your 5th grade students the experiences they need to flourish. This classroom is physically designed to promote learning. The operations in this room maintain cleanliness, safety, and support. This habitat instills positive behaviors and reduces negative behaviors. This environment provides your students the policies and procedures that will help them make good use of their time during these experiences. These qualities are all required to optimize learning. This management plan will further explain how this will happen.

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Physical Classroom Organization

Shelf&with&books&and&plants&near&window&

Shelf&with&books&and&classroom&pet&near&window&

Smart&Board&with&

pull&down&screen&

Bulle7n&Board&with&Student&

Work&and&student&art&

Technology&work&area&

Door&to&Coat&Room&and&restrooms&

Large&Group&Area&Instruc7on&with&CD&player&

Social&Studies&Area&(Maps&and&historical&nonEc7on&texts&)&

Check&in&table&with&pencil&&sharpener&and&sharp&pencils&

Crea7ve&Art&Space&with&classroom&

supplies&

&&

Guided&Reading&Table&and&teachers&desk&&

Teacher&walk&in&&Supply&closet&with&TV&and&

VHS&

Sink&and&Drinking&Fountain&

Student&Mailboxes&

Student&table&for&four&with&chairs&

Student&table&for&four&with&chairs&and&

student&of&the&week&trophy&

&

Student&table&for&three&with&chairs&

Reading&Corner&with&bean&bags&

Table&for&one&with&chair&

Table&for&&two&with&chairs&

Table&for&one&with&chair&

Student&table&for&&&&&&&&three&with&chairs&&&

Table&for&&two&with&chairs&

Trash&and&Recycling&

Phone&and&Intercom&&

Projector&

File&Cabinet&

Science&As&Inquiry&

Math&&As&Inquiry&

Table&for&&two&with&chairs&

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I designed my 5th grade classroom with many goals in mind. Literature, mathematics, science, and social studies are all represented in this classroom. First, I decided to include inquiry centers to facilitate growth in mathematics and science. Clearly, students need space to explore and discover with independence. This classroom will also have a reptile that the class will study and take care of; this will help students understand what an organism needs to survive. Additionally, the theme of the classroom is habitats and the animals that live in them, so the room is decorated with pictures of various animals. These pictures will provide a starting point for certain science lessons. There will be living plants in the room and a collection of rocks. Social studies and literacy will be part

of daily life in this classroom. Students also have access to maps for social studies and a large collection of appropriate fiction and non-fiction literature. Although not indicated on my map, a wall of words and our daily schedule is also located near our large group area. Because students thrive with structure, this daily schedule will be predictable. Again, every content area is given real estate in this classroom.

My classroom allows students to learn through the arts. My classroom includes spaces to learn through the visual arts, music, and dance. This is a classroom where music will be valued and regularly played. Music can strengthen learning and provides an additional avenue for students to demonstrate their knowledge. Although dance will be used for learning specifically, brain breaks will offer students a chance to dance in a less structure form. Students will also show their learning through visual arts. Student created art will be exhibited everywhere in this classroom. The walls will be covered with it! Additionally, with digital literacy and 21st century skills becoming more and more essential for success, this classroom includes a space where students can work with computers and tablets to develop those skills.

Furthermore, I designed the seating arrangement of my classroom with purpose. Each table in our room represents a different ecosystem and will be decorated in a way that demonstrates this. For example, those students at the prairie grassland table will have a table with different types of grass displayed. This classroom includes tables that vary in size. This flexibility allows the classroom organization to evolve depending on what is being studied and how learning is happening. This flexibility also facilitates classroom management. Some tables fit one or two students, whereas other tables can be occupied by as many as four students. The goal is to facilitate learning by keeping students productive and engaged. If a student is being too social, that student can work

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individually at a table. However, this seating arrangement changes regularly, so that students experience various social situations. This also prevents individual students from being isolated at a table for an extended period of time. Also, although students will have a seating chart during independent work, this organization is flexible; often during the day students can learn in a social manner despite sitting alone. This classroom arrangement will also offer students choice. During independent reading students will have the privilege to select their own reading spot in the room.

The large group area of the classroom will be used numerous times each day. This is where all large group instruction takes place. It is a place where it is most obvious that our class is a community. This area has great access to both the CD player and the smart board. Thus, all use of the smart board happens from this location. Using music as a catalyst, this spot in the room is also where students and their teacher dance and sing while learning. This is also a spot where the tree that we design will be located. See the attached photograph to see what our tree has looked like in the past.

This classroom will be positive, accepting, and a lot of fun. This is a classroom where students will learn through guided discovery and through challenge. Independent problem solving and the scientific investigation will be advocated. This is a classroom where students will develop critical thinking skills. These are my goals. I believe that my classroom design reflects these goals through what is present in the class and by how it is structured. The next section will describe operations that occur within this space.

Classroom Operations

Record Keeping Procedures In my classroom I choose to use Microsoft excel and the online interface used by Des Moines Public Schools for record keeping. The online interface that is used by the Des Moines Public Schools includes a parent portal that you can login to. This parent portal allows you to access your childs grades. This login information will be provided to you at Get To Know The Teacher Night. In Microsoft excel I use a color-coded system to keep track of whether or not students scores are above or below criterion. Additionally, when students turn in assignments I have a record sheet that I use to determine who has

turned in assignments. Assignments are turned in at a designated spot in the room. When students turn in an assignment the student crosses off their name. Additionally, I often record anecdotal information on all of my students. This information is not used for

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formal assessments, but guides instruction on an individual basis. I use a grid to maintain this form of record keeping. Flexible Grouping I am a strong believer in flexible grouping (Tomlinson, 2001). This means that in my classroom students are grouped in many different ways and also work independently. This varied way of grouping students is ultimately to facilitate success for all students. I also use this approach to facilitate a culture of equality and community in my classroom. I want all of my students to feel that they are equally respected and valued. I dont believe that students should be consistently grouped by ability or in any other predictable hierarchy. In contrast, depending on the task, I group my students by readiness, interest, and learning style (Tomlinson, 2001). Students will also occasionally be grouped by their ecosystem, which is determined by seating arrangement. Because I group in many different ways, groups are often heterogeneous with respect to readiness. However, there are occasions where I group my students by ability level if I believe that it will benefit the growth of students. New Students When new students join my class it is an event that is celebrated! Students are welcomed with positivity and inclusiveness. I want each student to feel welcomed to my class, so I have a welcome card that each new student gets from the class. Every student will have to sign this card. The student will get this card at end of their first day. Also, the morning that they join our class they are introduced to every student in the class. The student shares which school they used to go to, what they like to do for fun, and their favorite subject in school. Additionally, the student will be assigned to a specific ecosystem desk in the class. The student will be given a list of animals from that ecosystem that they will get to choose to represent them. Along with their name, a picture of that animal will be added to their desk with some facts about the animal. The student will then be asked to add a picture of their animal and their name to the class social contract. Lastly, the student will be given a buddy that will show them around their new classroom. Classroom Cleanliness Classroom cleanliness is an essential part of maintaining our classroom. Although I will be enforcing the cleanliness of this classroom, the onus of this task will truly be on the students. The students will know that the classroom space belongs to all of us and thus is a reflection of our class. If our classroom looks sloppy, our class looks sloppy to those people that enter it. As a result, it is our responsibility to make sure it is clean before we transition to new lessons and before we leave the classroom. Students will not be dismissed at the end of the day until the classroom is clean. Cleaning our room is a task

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that will always be completed as a large group. However, there will be students designated in the classroom that will be responsible for making sure everyone is cleaning during this time; these students will be called the motivators. If students are told to clean and refuse or decide not to, they will have to pick up the room during preferred activity time (PAT). This is how cleaning will be accomplished. A clean classroom will part of the culture of the classroom. Also, cleanliness will be talked about on the first day of school. Students will understand expectations.

Displaying Student Work

All students will be encouraged to share! Displaying student work, in particular, will be a huge part of our classroom environment. One large wall in the room will be always designated for exhibiting student work. The art on this wall will be given the respect that work is given in museums. Students will select only their best work to be shown on this wall. For ease of use, our work will be hanging here using clothespins. Above the student work the wall will state Our Hard Work On Display. This is part of

our classroom that represents the communal nature of the room. Also, this is a space in the classroom where respect will be emphasized. Any disrespect expressed towards other students will not be tolerated at all. Students will feel safe when presenting their work on this wall. The importance of taking pride in ones work will be encouraged! Negative comments about ones own work on this wall will be discouraged.

Portfolios and Project Learning As you may have heard, my classroom is slightly different for a number of reasons. First off, this year students will be developing a portfolio of their strongest work. These are assignments that your student is especially proud of; their portfolio is reflective of their hardest work. Throughout the school year I will ask my students to select their strongest work to place in their portfolio. Each students final portfolio will represent a summative assessment. This portfolio will be shared with you at conferences. At the end of the school year each student will take their portfolio home to share with their parents. Additionally, my classroom also uses project-based learning. This means that in my classroom students engage with a single question, problem, or challenge for an extended period of time. This investigation allows for sustained inquiry, problem solving, authentic value, student choice, and the creation of a public product that displays their work (What is Project Based Learning (PBL)?). These projects also allow a seamless integration of the arts, mathematics, literacy, and science. To introduce the format to students, our very first project will be habitats. For more information about project-based learning, please explore http://bie.org/about/what_pbl. Also, if you have any additional questions, you can certainly email me.

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Policies and Procedures Discipline and Professional Ethics

Social Contract: Behavior To Thrive In This Classroom Habitat. A large part of the discipline that occurs in my classroom is a result of our social contract. A social contract is an agreement that each student makes with themselves and the class as a whole; it reflects what students feel is going to make our class successful academically and behaviorally. I advocate for a social contract that the students help construct. The social contract is gradually created over the first couple days of school. With teacher prompts, students help write the rules of our classroom. Ultimately, though, the rules must cover certain areas. These are the following areas that must be covered by the social contract:

1. Students must be responsible. 2. Students must be respectful to everyone. 3. Students must do their best. 4. Students must be kind and helpful. 5. We are all part of the same team.

Ultimately, using the ideas that students suggest, the social contract will be distilled into a set of rules that resemble these five. After the social contract is created, all students will sign our social contact and it will hang near our large group area. This social contract will be referenced on a daily basis. When students are having trouble controlling their behavior, they will be asked to closed their eyes and re-sign their social contract. Because the theme of this management plan is habitats, the social contract will be titled How to Thrive in this Classroom Habitat. Whole Class Behavioral System On top of using a social contract to guide behavior in this classroom, there are additional approaches and techniques that I use. I teach students specific rules in the classroom through the democratic approach that is championed by R.J. Mackenzie and L. Stanzione (2010) in Setting Limits in the Classroom. According to these authors, with the respect to enforcing rules, the ideal teacher maintains a respectful attitude, holds their ground firmly, states the rules and expectations clearly, and follows through with consequences

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(Mackenzie & Stanzione). Thus, the students learn specific rules when experiencing what happens when a rule is broken. Additionally, I am strong believer in the power of positive relationships. If you have established rapport with your students and they know that you care about them, they are much more likely to comply with your rules and respond to your requests. Thus, I make it a priority to establish and maintain a positive relationship with all my students. Every one of my students knows that I care for them greatly and believe in their future. They know that is my goal to facilitate their success. In line with this thinking, then, I am much more inclined to praise positive behavior than shame negative behavior. In fact, I dont shame students at all. In order to guide behavior, I publically praise those students that are following directions and adhering to classroom procedures. These praises are a cue to other students that they need to be doing the same.

Similarly, I make it a goal of mine to project positive expectations towards my students. I believe that students success is limited by teacher expectations, but can also be facilitated by it. Simply put, if a teacher is anticipating failure and misbehavior out of a student, it is more likely that that student will fail and misbehave. Conversely, if a teacher expects all of his or her students to achieve and be behaviorally angelic, students will be more likely to reach toward those expectations. The research of Rosenthal (1968) supports this reality. Knowing this, every day I will express these positive expectations to my students.

I am also concerned with any way that I can promote motivation in the classroom. I do this by making my lessons as fun as possible and my providing students choice when applicable. I use many strategies to engage my students and make them an active participant in the learning process. I want my students to fall in love with learning! Although my students must follow directions and be part of the class, I want my students to participate because they want to and not because I am forcing them to do so. Again, I also believe that students motivation is promoted by the positive student/teacher relationship that we share. It is also promoted by the communal quality of our classroom. Also, brain breaks and preferred activity time will be used to reinvigorate motivation. I will discuss brain breaks and preferred activity time later on in this document.

Integrated into my instruction are many attention getters to redirect student focus. For example, I will often do a 3-2-1 countdown. Students must be quiet and attentive before I get to the number one. If they dont, the class suffers a consequence. I will explain this consequence during the section on Acquisition of Preferred Activity Time (PAT). Similarly, I often use clapping rhythms to get attention and make my students mentally sign their social contract to reorient their attention. If the whole class is exceptionally loud, I will turn off the lights to cue to my students that they need to focus their attention on me. Depending on the situation, being forced to turn off the lights might warrant a large class discussion and loss of PAT time (See subsequent section).

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Individual Student Infractions

Of course, if individual students engage in negative behaviors, there will be consistent consequences. Also, supported by Mackenzie and Stanzione (2010), I utilize firm limits in my classroom. Messages provided to students will be direct and specific; when I give students behavioral directions, I used my normal voice and will not show threatening body language. (Mackenzie & Stanzione, 2010). I certainly do not believe in shaming children or scaring them into submission. Students will be told a logical consequence for

noncompliance and, if they do not comply, they will receive that consequence. Logical consequences are a learning opportunity for the child. The logical consequences that I use have also been adapted from the work of Mackenzie and Stanzione (2010):

Examples of Logical Consequences: Abuse It, Lose It Temporary Loss of Privileges, Equipment,

Items, and Activities Wasting Instructional Time Make Up Time the next time the rest of the

class has Preferred Activity Time Talking During Instruction Separation from Group (Stage One Time

Out) Disrespectful Behavior Separation from Group (Stage One Time

Out) Failure to Master Classroom Procedures

Students will practice procedure during Preferred Activity Time

(Mackenzie & Stanzione, 2010) Cheating is a behavior that tells me that a child is not confident about their own work. Thus, when cheating occurs, building up their confidence is my primary and immediate goal. If cheating does happen, I will talk to that student down the hall about why we dont cheat and work with that student to create a plan so that it does not happen again. That child will be told to redo the assignment. If they are caught cheating again, they will lose all potential credit for the assignment. However, I also stress to the whole class that they must do their own work and use privacy folders when completing assessments. The following two scenarios may require the involvement of my principal. Any physical infractions (i.e., shoving, hitting, kicking, etc.) necessitates that the principal be notified. These types of infractions are formally documented with a written form. Lesser infractions are recorded anecdotally. Similarly, if physical altercations occur on the playground while I am not present, assuming I learn of the event, the principal will be informed. This type of infraction will be handled by the principal with the help of any

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administrator that was present for the incident. This intervention occurs as soon after the event as possible. Potentially, a student may suffer a consequence due to their misbehavior, but refuse to comply. This child will be told that, if they do not comply with the consequence, an administrator will be called. The child will be given 2 minutes to think about this reality. They will be given the choice to comply with the consequence or be removed from the classroom. If the principal is called and becomes involved, a consequence will be determined by the principal. I respect my principals authority and trust his or her judgment. However, in this situation I am supportive of my students not spending time in the office. Instead, I believe that the child should be placed in another classroom with a younger grade level for a period of time to cool down. It is my belief that having a student spend time in the office should be treated as final alternative. Taking my students away from learning is never my goal! Of course, regardless of the severity of the misbehavior, after a child experiences a logical consequence, this child is again in good standing with me. I dont believe that misbehavior should in any way influence in a negative way the relationship that I have with my students. Despite negative behavior, I seek to maintain a positive relationship with all of my students. Acquisition of Preferred Activity Time (PAT)

As a means to promote positive behavior and student motivation, I am also a believer in Preferred Activity Time. This means that, depending on class behavior, students can earn and lose time that is used for a preferred activity. These activities are educational or benefit the student in some way, but are not directly curricular. The process of acquiring Preferred Activity Time begins with me (the teacher) gifting the students 5-10 minutes of PAT time. Then, depending on student behavior,

students can earn bonus time by being responsible and on task or they can lose time by being off task. For example, if the class is able to get through independent reading time without any students causing a distraction, the class could potentially earn 2 minutes of PAT. Conversely, if the class is told to transition to reading within two minutes and takes two minutes and seventeen seconds, the class loses seventeen seconds of PAT. PAT is also deducted when the whole class goes beyond my 3-2-1 count down during large group or when I am forced to turn off the lights off because of student volume.

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Bullying Bullying can negatively affect the classroom in many ways. Students physical and emotional well being can be damaged; students ability to concentrate and ability to learn can be reduced. Clearly, bullying is an issue that will be addressed immediately in my classroom. Also, as students get older, cyber bullying also becomes more and more of a concern. Prior to using computers in my class, students will have to understand rules and digital literacy before use. Clearly, cyber bullying will also be addressed during this time. Bullying will not be tolerated in my classroom. Although each case of bullying will be assessed, any case of observed bullying will result in immediate separation from the group for the bully; a discussion with that student will then happen to determine the next step. Also, in my classroom students will be part of the anti-bullying effort. As a result, our classroom will be community where all students possess an anti-bullying stance. Using their own experiences as a starting point, students in my classroom will create an anti-bullying service learning project to combat bullying in our school. This projects goal will be to promote inclusion and respect and to develop rules and policies to assist the schools mission. As a teacher, with this project, my goal is to instill an anti-bullying stance into my students. For more information on bullying, see http://www.stopbullying.gov/index.html Professionalism and Ethics

As a teacher, it is my responsibility to teach my students to respect education. In order for my students to respect education, I must be a symbol that shows them the success and value that learning can provide a person. One way that I accomplish this as a teacher is through professionalism. Modeling professionalism to my students means many things for me. Clearly, professionalism means dressing in a way that demonstrates self-respect; I will always dress in a fashion in the classroom that is clean and appropriate. My professional attire communicates to my students that I expect

respect. The clothing that I wear shows my students the respect that I expect them to show education. Lastly, my professional attire conveys that I respect my students. Dress is just one of the many statements that I make as a teacher. According to Wong (2009), Every time you act, you validate who you are. Dress is one opportunity to act. Thus, I opt to dress for respect. However, my professionalism extends far beyond appearance. My professionalism is demonstrated by my attitudes and in the way that I interact with students, teachers, parents, and other staff within the school. I certainly seek to maintain a positive relationship with everyone, but I am also going to bring my professionalism to these relationships. Within these relationships it is possible that I will encounter a conversation that is gossip, inappropriate, or extremely negative. I will not engage in these conversations. I do not see them as part of my professional role. To me, professionalism

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and ethics are intertwined and part of the same larger goal. Thus, my professionalism will be demonstrated through my ethics. Of course, there will be times where I disagree with colleagues. If the disagreement is due to my opinion, I am certainly flexible and can adapt to change my perspective. I seek to maintain a harmonious relationship with all of my fellow teachers. However, if I experience something that I believe is damaging students, I will voice this to my Principal, so that it can be handled appropriately. Furthermore, as part of my professionalism, I will always maintain confidentiality when working with student information. I have a strong sense of ethics and would never do something knowingly that could hurt students. Similarly, I maintain high expectations for all of my students and treat every student as equally as is possible. I am a teacher because I care about students and want to see them successful. I believe my professionalism and ethics reflect this.

Classroom Routines and Procedures: How To Navigate this Classroom Habitat

I also strongly believe that classroom procedures are a necessity for an effective learning environment. Procedures make the classroom predictable and organized for students. These procedures allow the day to operate smoothly, because students know how to navigate transitions and the numerous situations that occur in a classroom. In other words, students know what to do (Wong, 2009). Let me explain the various procedures that will occur in our learning habitat. Morning Meetings Morning meetings will be a daily occurrence in my classroom. Daily meetings will be used to start the day with positivity, facilitate our classroom community, and provide a way for each student to start the day with success academically and behaviorally. Morning meeting is a time where my goal is to make everyone feel welcome, so I greet every student. This is also when I tell my students that I care about every one of them. I tell them that I know that they will all be successful today and I believe in them. After greeting my students, three students will be allowed to share something that they did for fun recently. Who gets to share will be determined randomly, but all students will get a chance eventually. After sharing, we will do some quick work with place value, graphing todays temperature, and a conversion of metric units. These three math practices will be daily and will be gradually added to morning meetings. Also, each morning meeting will include an activity that focuses on teamwork. This activity may involve work that students were engaged with prior to morning meeting. Morning meetings will be used to bring attention to any class-wide behavioral issues that have been occurring that need to end. Related to this, morning meeting will be a time when classroom procedures are established and practiced. Morning meeting is a very important time of the day.

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Attendance Attendance is also something that I will record each morning. Attendance is recorded every morning when students decide their lunch for the day. Students will be offered two options for hot lunch or a cold lunch option when they enter the room. The student will indicate their choice by placing a popsicle stick with their name on it into one of three cups. Immediately before class starts I will check to see which students did not place their stick in one of the three cups. I will double check to make sure these students are actually absent. If the student is, in fact, not in the classroom, they will be marked as absent. If the student is just late, they will need to sign in at the office. Parents that have a student that is absent will receive a call by the office secretary. Acceptable Volume in the Classroom Students in my classroom will be taught a system to understand the type of volume that is acceptable in our class and when outside of the classroom. The system to the right will be taught to all students. These voice levels will be used during classroom management. If students do not adhere to these levels, they will get warning. If they again have trouble, they will have to move their seat. Not adhering to these levels will also be grounds to lose PAT time Room Helpers In my classroom students will have the opportunity to take on additional responsibility as the teachers assistant. To simplify this process, one student will responsible for every job on a single day. The student that is responsible will be determined by a random cycle. This student is responsible as the paper passer, line leader, pencil sharpener, and errand runner. This student will be required to water the plant if it needs to be watered and feed the class animal on certain days. This responsibility is a privilege. Thus, if a child does not want to participate as part of the class in this way, this privilege will be offered to the next student in line. How to complete these tasks effectively will be modeled to the whole class and I will definitely continue to offer students guidance.

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Brain Breaks Brain breaks are an essential part of my classroom. I strongly believe that breaks involving movement especially benefit learning. According to the work of John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman (2008), there is evidence that exercise can actually promote brain growth and increase academic performance. Thus, I utilize brain breaks for this purpose and try to keep my students moving during class, too. My students get one brain break in the middle of the morning and one in the middle of the afternoon. Depending on students behavior, I use brain breaks to raise the classroom energy and lower it. In other words, if my students are acting out of control, I use a brain break that I will calm them down (i.e., a yoga exercise). Conversely, if my students are acting tired, I use a brain break that will energize them (i.e., dancing video). Additionally, brain breaks are one reward that students can receive when they have preferred activity time. Simply put, brain breaks are part of my management plan. On top of being rewards, they also are used to affect the energy and motivation of the class. I opt to use the following websites during brain breaks: https://www.gonoodle.com http://adventuretofitness.com https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga Homework and In-class Assignments As implied in my record keeping section, homework and in-class assignments will have a formal procedure that students must follow when they turn assignments in. Students will turn their homework in at a designated bin. Next to that bin will be a sheet that has their name on it. When the student turns in their assignment, they must place a checkmark next to their name under the assignment that they are turning in. This allows me to easily determine who has and who has not turned in their assignments. This also allows me to provide reminders to students and easily monitor students over the long term.

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Finishing Work Early If students finish work early, there are a number of things that they can always do in this classroom. They are always welcome to independently read any book of their choice. Also, students that finish work early can play educational math games on our tablets and laptops if they are not in use. If there are students that are consistently finishing their work early, I will definitely work with that student to develop an independent project related to that students personal interest. This project can also be focused on a problem that

the child would like to spend time solving. This project will culminate with the creation of a product that demonstrates the students learning. Ultimately, I want those students that finish work early to be rewarded for their effort and be provided an alternative that facilitates motivation. See more on differentiation in the section titled Differentiation: Helping All Students Achieve Success. Passing Out Papers and Classroom Announcements As said previously, there will be one designated student that passes out papers each day. This does not mean that a student will be passing out the graded work of other students. This student will be passing out papers that the students will be using for an assignment or that need to go home for parents. This student will just walk from table to table and provide enough paper for everyone. Of course, I will hand back any graded work directly to the student that it belongs to. Grades can be a very private manner. I would never do anything to break disrupt a students privacy. Essential classroom announcements will be provided at morning meeting or when the whole class is at the carpet. It is a students responsibility to be listening during these announcements. These announcements will not be given until the entire class is quiet. An attention getter will be used to quiet the class, and then it will be the responsibility of the class to listen. Classroom Library Use As can be seen in my classrooms design, the classroom contains shelves with many books. The students in my class are welcome to use any of the books from my library at any time. However, there is a procedure for

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checking out books from my library. This procedure will be taught to students at morning meeting. This procedure requires that, when a student checks out a book, that student write their name and the name of their book on a sheet that is next to the library. Then, after the student is finished with the book, they just need to place a second check mark in the third column on the sheet. This indicates that it has been returned. A student can keep a book as long as someone else does not need it. This procedure allows me to confirm that all of the classrooms books get returned. Additionally, it allows me to monitor which books are most and least popular with my students. Above is an example of the sheet that my students must complete. Bathroom Use and Getting a Drink

Anytime that it is an emergency your student has the right to use the restroom without my approval. However, if students need to use the restroom and it is not an emergency, they must first walk over to me for approval. The students will show me that they need to use the rest room by crossing their fingers. I will give them approval. However, before they leave the room they must sign out on a clipboard by the door. Similarly, if a student needs to get a drink of water, I have a non-verbal hand signal for that request also. The student can walk up to me and show me three fingers. Assuming there is

no reason why the kid should not be getting a drink of water, I will give that student approval. Because there is a drinking fountain in our classroom, that student does not need to sign out. Pencil Protocol Similarly, there is a specific hand signal and procedure for when a student needs to get a sharp pencil. When the student needs to get a newly sharpened pencil, that student can walk over to me and show me a fist. I will tell the student to go get a new pencil. In a designated spot there will a cup with sharp pencils and a place to put their old unsharpened pencil. The classrooms daily helper sharpens dull pencils daily. To the right is a picture of what our cups look like. Dismissals Prior to dismissal each day, the classroom must be clean. Students will be given 3-4 minutes before dismissal to make the room look as clean as it looked in the morning. This means that all tables are clean and the floors are free of litter; it also means that all

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students chairs are stacked on the tables. Also, prior to dismissal, students must have all of their things ready to go. This means that they have their backpacks packed and their coats on if it is cold outside. After students are ready, they must be lined up prior to dismissal. Students will have a couple minutes to get their things and line up at the door. Additionally, before the class is dismissed when the bell rings, students must have their voices off. This is how the class will show me that they are ready to go. Without all of these requirements, the class will have to wait. Specials Numerous times during the week our class will go to specials (P.E., Art, and Music). Because our school has teachers that teach only these subjects, I will not be with the class during specials. Thus, these teachers are responsible for handling misbehavior when my students are in their classroom. Of course, my students will know that I expect them to abide by their social contract even when outside of our classroom and I am not present. Similar to dismissal time, prior to leaving for specials, our classroom must be clean. I will provide students a few minutes to clean up before specials. Additionally, students must be lined up and quiet before I will walk them to specials. Again, this is how my students show me that they are ready. Regardless of whether or not we are on time, I will wait until my class is ready to depart. Field Trips Field Trips are special days! Prior to your student attending a field trip, I will need a signed permission slip from you! Without the permission slip, your student will unfortunately not be able to attend. Students behavior is especially important on fieldtrips. I believe that all students deserve and need the cultural experience that field trips offer. However, if a students behavior is significantly inappropriate on a field trip, I will pull that student away from the group without a warning. This is a consequence that students will know about prior to going on the field trip. Of course, if you are willing and able, we would always like to have your presence on field trips. If you do volunteer to help during a field trip, my primary expectation is that you keep students safe. You will be responsible and in charge of those students that you are assigned. The schools office is notified about every field trip before they happen. Thus, if you need additional information about a field trip, they should be able to provide you with that information. Substitute Teachers and Binder Providing support for substitute teacher is part of my job. Despite not being in the classroom, I can still do a lot to make sure that my students are successfully learning. Further, I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that my students are safe while I am gone. As a result, I will provide each substitute with a binder that contains the following:

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1. Understanding the layout of Mr. Mickunas classroom. This is a section of the binder that describes all of the different areas in my classroom and how they are used.

2. Emergency Information This is information that provides my student teacher all the phone numbers that he or she needs to know. It also includes information about every kind of emergency situation (tornado, fire, lockdown) that my teacher could possibly encounter.

3. Student information This section will provide a picture of each student and any pertinent information about that student that is appropriate for the substitute to know. For instance, allergies, behavioral issues, emergency contact information, etc. will be included for the substitute to help the substitute effectively provide instruction and safety.

4. Classroom procedures A compressed version of routines and procedures contained in this management plan will be provided to every substitute.

5. Curriculum Each day that I am gone the substitute will know exactly what I was going to be teaching that day. Included will be a supply list and curricular notes that will facilitate instruction.

6. Behavioral Expectations Additionally, an outline of my behavioral expectations will be given to the substitute. Included will be our social contract and my belief system regarding logical consequences.

7. A Thank You Note

Differentiation: Helping All Students Achieve Success I believe that, whether or not a student is significantly above grade level or significantly below grade level, all students should be given the support that they deserve in order to grow intellectually. A teacher should be able to provide instruction that maximizes all students capacity as learners. Consistent intellectual growth keeps students engaged with education and provides them a bridge to their dreams. This consistent intellectual growth is aided by differentiation. Differentiation occurs when a teacher proactively plans and carries out varied approaches to content, process, and product in anticipation of and in response to student differences in readiness, interest, and learning needs (Tomlinson, 2001). Although each student informs the differentiation that I provide, the following strategies that I use will provide you a window to see my process. Many of the strategies that I use are applicable to all of my students. For instance, the flexible grouping that I use allows students to be challenged by peers at times, but other times challenge them! Furthermore, I vary my questioning depending on the ability of the student. I may pose difficult questions to the whole class that may be too difficult for certain students, but I also ask questions that all students can answer. Likewise, I asked questions that are designed just for those students

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that cant successfully answer the more difficult questions. Similarly, I use extended wait time so that ALL students have an opportunity to process questions and formulate a response. I acquired the following strategies from the text How To Differentiate Instruction In Mixed-Ability Classrooms (2nd ed.) by Carol Ann Tomlinson (2001). Supporting All Learners This is how I provide support to students that are struggling. For one, when working with these students, I make sure that these students know that I value them. Because all students have strengths, I affirm these students whenever possible. Additionally, when working with these students, I focus their learning on the big ideas (Tomlinson, 2001). Furthermore, I provide concrete learning opportunities and plenty of repetition when working with these students. I often use direct questions to guide their thinking. Also, I let these students know that I believe in their ability to be successful. One way that I communicate this is through my high expectations and kind words. I firmly believe that all students can learn and I make this truth a big focus of my teaching. These are some strategies that I use with these students:

1. Learning Centers: These are stations that promote exploration and skill development. These stations can be adapted depending on student interest, readiness, and learning styles. These stations allow matching based on students ability. For instance, the two tables might have the same focus, but one of the two tables may be provided a graphic organizer or other supports. Clearly, these stations can be used to support students throughout the entire spectrum of readiness.

2. Tiered Assignments: This is when I create multiple versions of the same activity. Students are working on the same goals, but at different levels. This is essentially a scaffold in that it keeps all students working at a level that allows growth. This strategy can be used to support students that need more support AND those students that need a greater challenge.

Challenging For High Ability Students Providing support for these students is just as important as the support I provide struggling learners. I dont believe that any one student is more important than another. In order to develop my high ability students, I provide them open-ended projects, independence, and occasionally extensions. What is important, though, is that these students be given assignments that are qualitatively different instead of quantitatively different. High ability students should not be punished for their excellence by receiving more work. Because these students may finish their work early, it is also important to encourage these students to develop in the areas that they truly enjoy. This is a good way to extend their learning because it rewards them. I provide them with an opportunity to enrich their learning in a direction of their choice. It is essential to challenge these students because we do not want them to become lazy due to success. According to Tomlinson (2001), these students can grow into perfectionists and become hooked on success. Thus, because of this, it is even more important to provide the challenge that

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these students need to occasionally struggle. Struggling or even failing is a powerful life lesson that, in the long run, may promote ones ability to overcome difficulties in life; a difficult situation may compel that student to develop better study and coping skills. These are a few strategies that work well for high ability students and that I use in my classroom:

1. Compacting: This is a three-step process where the student first completes a pre-assessment. Second, after the assessment has been completed, what needs to be mastered is determined and what already has been mastered is determined. Third, a plan for using freed-up time is developed. This can either be accelerated work in a certain content area or a student created project.

2. Mentorships/Apprenticeships: Students can work with a mentor that can guide a student in a particular area. The mentor can be an older student, a member of the community, a parent, or an associate. This mentorship may manifest into a specific project or exploration of a certain profession. Of course, I used this approach to challenge students at all levels of readiness.

English Language Learners

I am a big supporter of second languages! I believe that bilingualism should be assessed for its value instead for the challenges that it brings the educational system. According to the work of Cummins, there are close to 150 empirical studies carried out during the past 30 or so years that have reported a positive association between additive bilingualism and students linguistic, cognitive, or academic growth (Cummins, 2000). Because of this value, I am very supportive of a students native language. Although I cant teach ELL students their native language, I will do everything that I can to support ELL students in my classroom. Here are some examples of the supports that I will provide these students.

1. If there are other students that speak the same native tongue, these students will be grouped with each other at times.

2. If students need to use a translation dictionary, it will be available for them. 3. Academic language can be explicitly defined during lessons.

Parental Involvement

Student Led Parent Conferences Twice a year you are responsible for coming into the school for conferences. The conferences that I facilitate may be slightly different than what you are used to. Each conference will be student led! This means that your child will share their portfolio with you, describe their achievement in each curricular area, and will demonstrate their reading ability. In other words, your student will read a book to you at their reading level.

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Prior to the conference, each child will have practiced this process with another student. This style of conferences promotes independence in the student and gives the student the burden of explaining their performance to you. This provides the student ownership of their success. Of course, after the conference, if you have any additional questions that your student did not answer, you are welcome to direct those questions to me. Also, if you have any questions about this process, feel free to send me an email. Communication and Volunteerism When needing to communicate with me my preferred mode of communication is email unless the situation is an emergency. When using email, I will always get back to you within twenty-four hours. You can email me at andrew.mickunas@drake.edu. If it is an emergency, you are welcome to call the school during regular hours and they will transfer you to my classroom line. If it is not during regular hours, you can contact me at 515-868-4957, but please dont call after 9:00 PM or before 7:00 AM. I strongly encourage you to become part of your students educational experience. That means that you should volunteer in the school! If you would like to volunteer, you are welcome to spend time in our classroom. There are many things that you could help with. You could read to students or help me prepare materials. Also, if you know a lot about a topic that we are learning about, it would be great for you to share your knowledge with the class! You could provide a demonstration, an activity, or a short talk about your experience or skill. Sincerely, it benefits your child to see their parent as part of the academic process. Additionally, being in this classroom will definitely give you a better understanding of what your student is doing on a daily basis. This will allow you to better help your student at home. I also encourage you to be part of our parent teacher association (PTA). If you are interested in any of these experiences, please send me an email and we can work something out. I see the parent and teacher as part of a teaching team. If we work together, we will have a lot of success!

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Works Cited

Text Kenzie, R., & Stanzione, L. (2010). Setting Limits in the Classroom: A Complete

Guide to Effective Classroom Management With a School-wide Discipline Plan (3rd ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press.

Ratey, J., & Hagerman, E. (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. New York: Little, Brown. Rosenthal, Robert, and Lenore Jacobson. (1968). Pygmalion in the Classroom. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Tomlinson, C. (2001). How To Differentiate Instruction In Mixed-Ability

Classrooms (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Wong, H., & Wong, R. (2009). The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher (Second ed.).

Websites

What is Project Based Learning (PBL)? (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from http://bie.org/about/what_pbl Home | StopBullying.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/index.html GoNoodle. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from https://www.gonoodle.com Cosmic Kids Yoga. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga Adventure to Fitness. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://adventuretofitness.com

Pictures

(n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://www.beazleyhome.com/wp- content/uploads/2012/07/Natures-Harmony-Wall-%20Murals.jpg (n.d.). Retriever November 26, 2015, from https://s-media-cache- ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b6/84/74/b684740f26abc817828444315bd37537.jpg (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/visualpharm/animals/icons-390.jpg (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, fromhttps://s-media-cache- ak0.pinimg.com/736x/49/19/ac/4919ac34c74dc679cb6c75766a4adef2.jpg (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from

http://woodlawnschool.pbworks.com/f/Cartoon_Tundra_background_by_Kiaria1010.jpg

n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/- 3lLp4ZIN8yQ/T2Z6p2t0SRI/AAAAAAAAM30/HjX76ftfbp0/s1600/BEEP%2BBEEP.png

n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://gallerydrawing.net/wp-

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content/uploads/2015/10/ocean-animal-drawings-photo-EkbN.jpg n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://png.clipart.me/previews/341/free-vector- cartoon-natural-24255.jpg n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/t/bisons-

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(n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from https://s-media-cache- ak0.pinimg.com/236x/40/96/a5/4096a5ea7a6aad56229baed87f171d62.jpg (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from https://s-media-cache- ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2b/45/9e/2b459ea9e5a8ed5fd366f8b627e25c49.jpg (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://www.theclassroomcreative.com/wp- content/uploads/2013/07/PencilSigns.png (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from https://s-media-cache- ak0.pinimg.com/236x/29/2a/14/292a142709dabd5e744bb469e8201f24.jpg (n.d.). Retrieved December 1st, 2016, from

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Imhi98dHa5w/maxresdefault.jpg (n.d.). Retrieved December 2nd, 2016 from http://images.clipartpanda.com/teacher-owl-clip-art-animal_owl.gif