5 Classroom Management Tips for Every Classroom

Even if you are a veteran educator who has decades under your belt in the classroom, you know that there is no such thing as a typical school year. No matter how many times you think you have seen it all, each new year brings brand new experiences. 

 

One example from a couple of years ago in my classroom was our first fire drill. Even though I spoke to the class expecting the “surprise” fire drill soon and explained precisely what each of them had to do, once the alarm went off, a boy in the front row panicked. He sprung up, flipping over his desk and chair in the process, and then proceeded to sprint at full speed out of the classroom and down the hallway towards the exit doors. Being the only male elementary school teacher in our district, I handled things a bit differently than many would. I leaned my head out of the classroom, shouted his name until he stopped to turn around, and yelled, “We all get out of this school together, or nobody does! Get back here!” We may have been just about the last class out of the building for that fire drill, but we all made it out of there together.  

 

All of you have probably encountered similar strange situations in the classroom. Even with the best classroom management in place, things can go haywire. Still, here are five classroom management tips that should work well for all.

 

Stay Consistent

Whether you communicate with students, parents, or other teachers, it is essential to stay consistent. This works exceptionally well for discipline in the classroom. The students will know what to expect and won’t push their luck. Plus, as far as grading papers, staying consistent will give the students and parents an idea of what to expect. Create rubrics to follow while scoring papers if you would like a simple way to stay consistent for grading. Parents can sometimes challenge educators on the grades they hand out, so having a rubric in place will allow you to show the parents how their kid earned their grades. 

 

Put Students in Charge When Possible

Students like to be helpful and take more ownership of the classroom if you put them in charge of some of the little things. Plus, it teaches them responsibility. Teachers spend time before, during, and after school organizing their classrooms. Students will be more than happy to shoulder some of the load. Assign students different tasks every week. You can put a couple of them in charge of keeping the classroom library neat and organized. In addition, placing a couple of them responsible for all of the trash being off the floor at the end of the day will save you precious time after they leave. Students love to help out, especially the younger ones. 

 

Have Discipline in Place

If you are a veteran educator, you probably already have a behavior program you use. Whether it is one that you created yourself or one that the district wants teachers to use, don’t be scared to modify it to fit your exact needs. Also, as we all know, sometimes you have to give a nice hard stare to the offender, and they will straighten out without you having to say a word. If proper discipline is in place, you will spend less time on behavior problems and more time educating. 

 

Have the Class Schedule on the Board Everyday

By placing the itinerary on the board every day, you can keep yourself on track and stop the students from asking what they will be doing next. It will also provide the kids with an example to follow when creating their schedule. 

 

Keep Lessons Just the Right Amount of Time

I remember from my time in school that certain teachers take 30 minutes to say something for a lesson they could have said in five minutes. Either their summarizing skills need a bit of help, or they like to hear themselves talk. In any case, it can cause the students to lose focus. Try your best to keep your lessons to a manageable time. Kids nowadays have shorter attention spans (as well as adults), so if there is a point you are trying to make that takes over ten minutes, you may have lost them. 

 

Find What Works Best for You

These are tips for improving classroom management, but every teacher will eventually find what works best for them through trial and error. If you believe your district could use a helping hand in establishing better classroom management, iAchieve offers professional development on numerous topics. We could assist you in improving your district. 

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