Behavior Plan

Jeffrey Hamblen

Morningside College

Professor: Susie Lubbers

Hypothetical Classroom Grade level: 11th

Type: Regular Gender: 60% Female, 40% Male Socioeconomic Level: Majority upper-middle class, minority low

class Ethnicity: 75% white, 10% black, 10% Hispanic, 5% other Class Size: 15-24 Other: Small town feel, good school funding

Room Arrangement:

The door will be in the rear, left corner of the room with the teacher

desk in the rear right corner of the room. There will be a large

whiteboard on each wall, with the primary board at the front, center

of the room. The pencil sharpener and wastebasket will be location

in the rear left corner of the room near the door. An additional

wastebasket will be near the teacher’s desk in the rear right corner.

Desks will be arranged in three groupings forming a horseshoe. The

daily schedule will be written up on the whiteboard on the right side

of the room. The school information bulletin board will be posted in

the back left of the room near the door. There will be an additional

large table in the rear center of the room for small conferences or

group work. The two front corners of the room will house the storage

containers for classroom materials and technological items such as

cables.

Classroom Rules

Respect Yourself

Respect Others

Respect Property

Come to Class Prepared

Respect Yourself, Respect Others, Respect Property

Consequences: 1st offense: a short one on one conversation reminding of the

rules and policies 2nd offense: an in depth conversation regarding the causes and

effects of the misbehavior, may take place before or after school if necessary

3rd offense: written note to parents/guardians, detention served. May include referral to administration if the offense is severe

Incentives: The student(s) will be praised for correct behavior when

appropriate. The class will have a relaxed Friday lesson if the teacher feels

that the class was well behaved for the duration of the week.

Come to Class Prepared

Consequences: 1st offense: a short one on one conversation reminding of the

rules and policies 2nd offense: a discussion with the student outside of class

about possible fixes to the problem behavior 3rd offense: a written note to parents/guardians about the

behavior

Incentives: A small amount of praise will be given for being prepared

when class starts

Rationale for Rules:

Respect Yourself - It is important for each student to feel proud of him or herself in my classroom. Each student has a voice and an opinion and should feel comfortable sharing and participating in class.

Respect Others - Every student is entitled to his/her own opinion and the entire class should listen to it and be a respectful audience.

Respect Property - Items such as desks, books, and other classroom materials belong to the school. They need to be taken care of and treated with respect.

Come to Class Prepared - This rule applies to the beginning of class when all students should have materials ready to go when the bell rings. Pencils should be sharpened, homework and books should not be in lockers, and daily materials should be placed on the desk/table ready to go when class begins.

Consequences:

A 3-strike penalty keeps things uniform and easy to enforce. The first

violation may be as simple as an accidental slip-up so the consequence

reflects the nature of the offense. A quick talk can remind the student of

his/her responsibilities and serve as a reminder to be observant of the

rules and procedures.

The second offense is more severe because to reach this point, the

student has already been reminded of his/her misbehavior and the

rules have been discussed. A more in-depth reteaching of the rule is

needed and the student will come in on his/her own time to complete it.

The third offense will result in a detention served that week and a

written note to the parents/guardians explaining the situation. In

addition to the written note home, an email or phone call to the

parents/guardians is in order to discuss possible causes or solutions to

the student’s problem. If the student is unwilling to work this issue out

with me or other involved faculty members, an office referral will be

given.

Incentives:

The students will earn trust and respect for complying with the rules.

This extra respect may take the form of more freedom during work

time, a “no homework” pass, and a more fun, relaxed Friday lesson.

Cleanup:

The classroom will be left in a state where a person could walk in and

not know that we just got done with class. All students will participate

in cleaning the room in the last minute of class. Desks will be put back

into place, all paper will be picked up off the floor, and all garbage will

be placed in the proper trash receptacle. All borrowed items will be

returned to their designated spots.

Decoration:

The classroom will be decorated with a “less is more” philosophy.

Required materials such as bulletin boards with school information and

postings will be displayed near the door for convenient viewing. Other

decorations will consist of motivational posters and math related

posters (ie. the number line). During certain times in the year, students

may complete projects, which they will have the option to hang up in

the room at designated locations.

Enrichment:

If a student complete all assigned work before the end of the class

period, the student will be encouraged to help other students who

would like assistance. If the student does not want to help others during

this class period, he/she will be allowed to work ahead in the book,

complete homework from other classes, or quietly read a teacher-

approved novel/magazine.

Extra assistance from the teacher will be available 30 minutes before

school starts and 1 hour after school ends pending any required

meetings for the teacher. During study hall or a prep period, the student

will be allowed to come to the room to receive extra help as well.

Homework:

Homework will be collected at the end of the class period the day it is

due. The first part of class will be dedicated to answering questions.

There will be no time limit on this section of class, but the help will end

when the students stop asking good, thoughtful questions. The

homework will be graded and returned within 2 days unless otherwise

discussed with the class.

Late work will be collected up to 2 class periods late unless there are

extenuating circumstances, which must be discussed with the teacher

personally. All late work will be worth 50% of the total credit. Answers

must be legible and written in either pen or pencil. The proper heading

must be placed at the top left of the paper. An example heading will be

placed on the board at the beginning of class.

Tests:

Tests are extremely important in this class. No make-up tests will be

given except in the most extreme situations, which much be discussed

with the teacher before-hand. After the student receives the grade,

he/she may retake the test one time for up to a maximum of 5% higher

than their original grade. The retake must be completed before the next

test.

Attendance:

All students are expected and required to attend every class. If a student

will be absent due to illness, family issue, or school activity, he/she must

contact the teacher personally. It will be the student’s responsibility to

find out what was missed in class. Any worksheets or other material

handed out in class will be placed in the absent folder, which the

student must check.

Character Counts

The most important part of a student’s education is learning to be

civically and morally responsible. In order to promote good life skills

and improved citizenship, we will be using the Character Counts model.

The school year will be divided into sixths and each section will cover

one of the six pillars of character. Each week, we will select a time to

have a short discussion over the current pillar in which the students will

be expected to participate in the discussion.

The students will complete projects and present information about the

pillar that we are focusing on for that section. For three of the pillars,

students will be allowed to choose their method of presentation. These

options will include a short play, PowerPoint presentation, research

paper, poster presentation, or another appropriate option, which must

be discussed with the teacher ahead of time. The other three pillars will

be completed in collaboration with the English teacher, science teacher,

and social studies teacher. These cross-curriculum activities may

include writing, acting, research, or experimentation at the discretion of

the teachers.

Six Pillars of Character

1. Trustworthiness: being honest, having integrity, keeping promises, being loyal

2. Respect: be a good listener, follow all rules, acknowledge classroom roles

3. Responsibility: be accountable for your actions, do your best, think before you act

4. Fairness: be open minded, respect others’ opinions, treat everyone equally

5. Caring: be kind, be compassionate, forgive and forget, be thankful

6. Citizenship: follow all rules, work well with others, stay informed

ELL Students

The modern classroom includes a much higher level of diversity than in

previous years. A large majority of these students are English Language

Learners and these students need extra assistance to break down the

language barrier of the normal American educational system. I will be

employing different strategies too help these ELL students succeed in

mathematics as well as their other subjects.

Strategies

1. Extra Vocabulary: in addition to the regular vocabulary that the

entire class will be covering, I will also incorporate other more

basic terminology to help the student better understand the

concepts. Each ELL student will receive a typed sheet of

vocabulary and identifying words to help him/her develop their

language skills while working on certain types of problems.

2. Visual Aids: for every possible situation, I will include a visual

representation of the problem to assist the student in better

understanding the problem. This may include pictures, videos, or

manipulatives.

3. Partner/Group Work: it is important for ELL students to have a

classmate or group of friends to have conversations with, so I will

be using group work or a think-pair-share method whenever

applicable. Interest surveys will be taken at the beginning of the

year and these will be taken into consideration when forming

groups to ensure the best reaction between group members.

4. Conferences: I will be taking time to converse one-on-one with

the students once per day or weekly as needed by the student.

During this meeting we may discuss the pace of the class, any

confusing ideas or topics, the difficulty of the subject, and any

other concerns or questions the student has. This is essential to

maintaining the connection between the teacher and student and

will reinforce that I am always available for help whenever the

student needs it.

5. Parent Contact: I will be making weekly calls or emails to the

parents/guardians of the student. We can discuss the student’s

progress for the week, any concerns, and comment on things the

student needs to improve on or things that the student did well

that week. Cooperation is needed from parents/guardians to

ensure that the learning continues at home and the student will

receive the most assistance.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

My name is Mr. Jeffrey Hamblen and your son/daughter is enrolled in my mathematics class this semester. I am looking forward to an exciting year. It is my goal to provide all students with an educationally challenging, yet fun, experience in my classroom.

I only have four rules in my classroom. They are to respect yourself, respect others, respect property, and come to class prepared. All students will be encouraged to speak up and have their voice heard in class. In order for each student to have a turn speaking, the rest of the class needs to be a respectful audience. I will be using a 3-strike penalty system and encourage you to be an active participant in encouraging proper listening skills.

Math is a very demanding course. As a result, there will be homework assignments given almost daily. In accordance with my final rule, it is mandatory for students to be prepared for every class. Each student will need a single subject, college-rule notebook, a pocket folder, blue or black pens and pencils. These materials need to be brought to class every day.

Hopefully, your son/daughter has brought home their course syllabus and you have both read and signed the syllabus contract. I have written this contract to ensure that both the students and their parents/guardians understand how this course will run. If you have any questions regarding the syllabus or the course, please contact me.

I have extremely high expectations of all my students, and for that I will not apologize. I am asking for your help to maintain those expectations by checking with your son/daughter periodically to make sure that his/her work is being done. I am available to help students individually before school, during my prep periods, and after school.

My schedule is as follows:

A-Day B-DayPrep Period 8:35-10:00 Pre-Calculus 8:35-10:00Algebra I 10:10-11:40 Study Hall 10:10-11:40Algebra I 11:50-1:45 Pre-Calculus 11:50-1:45Algebra II 1:55-3:30 Algebra II 1:55-3:30

Once again, I highly encourage all forms of communication. Your child is the most important part of this process and it is in his/her best interest to have a solid line of communication open between home and school. If you ever have any questions or concerns about any part of your child’s education do not hesitate to contact me.

You may contact me via email at anytime and I will reply as soon as I can.You may also contact me via telephone before or after school.

My contact information is:

Email: jlh015@morningside.eduSchool Phone: 712-943-5561

Parent Conference Worksheet

Student Name:___________________________________Date:_______________

Goal: This meeting is to inform the parents/guardians about how their child/children are performing in class. We will communicate and work together to come up with ideas that will maximize student performance and increase the level of learning in the classroom.

Classroom Behavior Information:

Current Level of Understanding 1 2 3 4 5

Staying on Task 1 2 3 4 5

Participation 1 2 3 4 5

Interactions with Others 1 2 3 4 5

Student Strengths

Areas in Need of Improvement

Questions

Suggestions

Summary:

Follow-UpMy contact information and schedule are posted in detail in the student’s syllabus.I am always available at jlh105@morningside.edu

Signatures

Parent/Guardian: _______________________________________________________

Student: _______________________________________________________

Jeffrey HamblenEDUC-405Philosophy of Classroom Management30 October, 2013

Sun Tzu, a legendary Chinese general, once said, “All battles are

won before they are fought.” While my classroom may not resemble a

Chinese battlefield in the year 500BC, I feel that the meaning of Sun

Tzu’s words will still apply to my philosophy of classroom management.

I feel that the best way to keep a classroom running smoothly and

achieve the highest level of student engagement will be to have a

proactive attitude rather than a reactive one. With a high level of

planning, I can prepare for nearly any situation and keep down time to a

minimum. The transitions between activities are the most common

times for students to engage in disruptive behavior, so I will win that

battle by having a set of routines and procedures fully laid out

beforehand.

My goal for a year of teaching will be to have all students take

away meaningful information that can be used later in life. This

information does not need to be purely mathematical. It may be a small

lesson they learned about how to collaborate and work well in groups.

In my classroom, the implicit curriculum will be equally as important as

the explicit curriculum. Our job as educators is to create good citizens. I

will hold students to a very high level of expectations and work with the

students to achieve the most from our year together.

A key part of my classroom management strategy will be

responsibility, both for the students and the teacher. Students will be

responsible for attending all classes, taking their own notes, preparing

for all examinations, and following all classroom rules. My classroom

may be the last step before entering the real world, so I feel that it will

be beneficial to put extra responsibility on the students. Students will be

highly encouraged to work together to achieve the most out of the class.

Entering the world of teaching is more challenging today than

ever before. Every school is experiencing a rise in diversity of both

learning abilities and ethnic backgrounds. As I enter into my student

teaching experience, I will need to use all of my resources to ensure that

I provide the best environment for my students. I will take the many

lessons I have learned in my teacher education program and use them

to develop a fitting classroom management plan that best fits the

classroom I am placed in. Through communication and collaboration, I

will do my best to work with my cooperating teachers to ensure that my

students achieve their goals and work towards a better future.