My #1 Classroom Management Strategy
Does classroom management feel like it gets harder every year? I think most teachers would answer that question with a resounding “YES”! I want to help with that.
Classroom management happens to be my “meat and potatoes”. It’s the thing that in a teaching interview I always say is my biggest strength (among a long list of weaknesses, of course, we’re all human).
While I may be a so-so science teacher, by the second month of school I could always look at my class and think “we did it…most days are smooth and we are a well-oiled machine”.
So how did I do it?
My #1 Classroom Management Strategy: Everything is a privilege that is earned through respect and following expectations.
Let me explain…
If you pick apart your school day, you wouldn’t believe how many things that feel ‘routine’ are actually privileges that you are giving to your students. The glory of privileges? They can be taken away.
I reminded my classes every single day that their behavior and respect levels would dictate the day that they had. And anyone not showing respect or meeting expectations would lose privileges.
Here’s an example…
When students came into the classroom in the morning they were expected to read the board and follow the directions quietly and calmly. By 9:00 they needed to be in their seats reading a book silently.
Little joey came in on a Wednesday morning LOUDLY. He didn’t look at the board, didn’t follow directions, and at 9:00 was in the hallway messing around. Did I correct him? Nope. Did I hand him a consequence then and there? Nope. I went on with the day as though he had gotten away with not meeting my expectations.
Until it was time for math. Math that day was a review activity for a test we were having the next day. The students were going to do this review with partners. I went ahead and paired up all students, except didn’t give Joey a partner. When he came up to me and asked “who’s my partner?” I simply replied “You didn’t follow our morning expectations. If i can’t trust you to do that, I can’t trust you to work with a partner. You will be doing the review on your own today”. And walked away.
It is that simple. Misbehavior and not meeting expectations doesn’t always need a consequence ADDED, it can result in the LOSS of a privilege. And the impact is huge to the student. And they learn the lesson fast.
So what other day-to-day things are actually privileges that you can remove after a student makes a poor choice?
Partner work
Tech use (I’m sorry computer use requires trust. You’ll be doing that pencil/paper today!)
Walking a path at recess instead of playing
Needing to work at their desk instead of being able to work around the room
Walking at the back of the line
Walking at the front of the line (for those students who prefer the back and don’t want to be near the teacher)
Being ‘fired’ from their class job for the day
No library visit that day (if they go on their own instead of as a class-I always sent small groups so that was a great one to take away)
Access to certain classroom tools (electric pencil sharpener, special markers, etc…)
Not able to participate in end-of-day class game, or sit out for a portion of it
These little parts of your day are a big deal to your students, and when a privilege is removed, they FEEL it. Eventually your students will learn that if they want to enjoy the more enjoyable aspects of your classroom, they need to earn it, and over time behavior will become less and less of an issue for you!
With classroom management becoming more and more challenging, I truly hope this strategy brings you as much success as it brought me!
May your coffee be strong and your students be calm this week!
