Creating a Classroom Management Plan

Classroom discipline problems that aren't properly dealt with can have a profoundly negative effect on those students that are actually interested in learning. Valuable lesson time is taken away from them because the teacher is focusing too much time and attention on the disruptive students.

What is a teacher to do?

Without a classroom management plan, teachers may be forced to deal with a large number of disruptive, inappropriate, or annoying behaviors throughout the day. It is therefore essential to develop a plan for unruly behavior in the classroom, one that is consistent, fair, and easy to implement.

The first step to creating your plan is to decide on a set of classroom rules. You should limit your list of rules to about six or so, and you should state them in positive terms, such as "Keep your hands to yourself," instead of "Don't touch others." Be sure to post them.

It helps to make the rules general enough that one rule will actually cover several, more specific, rules:

Be respectful to others.	instead of	No teasing.
		No interrupting.
		No cutting in line.

Next, determine a hierarchy of consequences for students that choose to break your rules.

For example:
1st offense: Warning
2nd offense: 10 minutes off recess
3rd offense: 10 minutes off recess AND note home to parent(s)
4th offense: Same as 3rd offense PLUS written assignment

Enforce these consequences as necessary, remembering to be consistent and fair. For severe behaviors, skip to the step of the hierarchy that seems most appropriate.

Feel free to modify or add to your classroom management plan as needed. This is a very simple version, just to get you started.

The Parent Coach Plan offers its own unique classroom management plan, it can be found here.

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