How to Manage a Classroom
Simplify your rules., Only use specific and important rules that you'll be able to enforce., Be clear., Teach to your students., Establish a consistent daily routine., Be positive., Try out new things., Minimize the amount of time that you're...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Simplify your rules.
Every classroom needs to have simple, clear expectations for the students in terms of behavior and your rules.
Younger students will typically benefit from having the class rules simply worded and posted visibly, while older students benefit from getting them in writing.
Aim for having no more than five big rules, or categories of rules to go over, or you'll lose them. -
Step 2: Only use specific and important rules that you'll be able to enforce.
It's important to avoid including vague rules in your classroom rules, or to try to enforce silly things you'll be unable to control.
It may annoy you to clean gum off the bottom of the desks at the end of each semester, but trying to police students for gum is a waste of your time.
Focus on what's most important.
You don't need to make your students go through a whole list of "Banned" items, like gum, phones, or other devices.
Simply put "no distractions" on your list and confiscate serious things as they come up. , The simpler your rules the better, but how you explain them is just as important.
Remember to repeat the most important information and to check for comprehension.
Request that your students respond to keep them engaged, or to repeat important rules or directions to make sure they're hearing you. , Every class is different.
Younger students will need "simple" rules explained, while teenagers should be mostly aware of what's expected.
Good teachers are willing to go with the flow and change it up depending on what works for each group of students.
Try to remember to explain what you'll be doing in class each day.
Avoid just launching into lessons and hoping your students follow.
Your students will appreciate knowing why you're doing what you're doing. , Spend the first few days of each semester establishing the basic "flow" of each period, or each day.
There are many different ways to organize a day, so lots of this will depend on what you want to do and what you teach, but when students come into your classroom, they should already have some idea of what you'll do that day.
Try outlining the period or the day on the board before the school day starts.
This both gives you a reference point throughout the day, as well as the students an idea of what will happen.
You could even list a specific instruction on the board for them to start without having to tell them.
Alternatively, you might find it effective to switch up the order of lessons in some groups of students.
If math just doesn't seem to be working after lunch, try switching it to another time of day. , While some teachers imagine that being an old-school ruler-breaker will be the way to establish authority, and teaching does require a certain degree of sternness, it's also important to keep things positive and to remember to praise your students on a regular basis.
If you run negative, remind yourself to say at least one positive thing to the entire class each day, and praise specific students one-on-one.
Teaching involves negative feedback, it's unavoidable.
But try to limit your negative feedback as much as possible, and talk about it in terms of what can be improved, not what the students "did wrong." Look forward, not backward.
Teach yourself to say "What we could do better is" instead of "What you did wrong was." Don't embellish praise.
Even if your students are young, don't condescend to them.
Don't tell your students their essays were "All perfect!" if they weren't.
Praise the work your class put in, the behavior, and the effort, not the quality, until the quality praise is deserved. , If you are engaged, your students will be too.
You'll quickly learn what works and what doesn't, so don't be afraid to take risks and try new projects, styles of teaching, and activities.
You can abandon failed experiments when they come up. try to keep it fun.
Aim for at least one new lesson or project per year to try to keep yourself engaged.
If it works well, keep it.
If not, never speak of it again.
Avoid convoluted point-based behavior systems.
Token systems that involve a complicated set of rules for behavior and other methods tend to confuse students more than excite them.
Keep it simple. , The less you have to say each day, the better off your classroom will be.
Whatever you're teaching, it's better to keep students active, instead of passively sitting and listening to you talk. try to limit this as much as possible and keep the day activity-based. , Students will be forced to pay attention and engage with lessons if they're called on regularly.
This also has the effect of encouraging students to contribute and talk when they have something to say, rather than waiting to be called on when they may not have a good answer. , It's great to play the occasional game, break into small groups, and do some solo free-writing in a class period, but you wouldn't want to do too many of the same types of tasks in one day, or in the same week. try to space out different kinds of activities to keep things fresh and avoid boredom ruts. , Maybe every Monday will involve a free-write, while every Friday will involve some kind of group activity.
Try keeping things consistent from week to week so your students will be able to anticipate things and you'll have to explain less. , It's helpful to give short and simple tasks to break up the work and the routine in the day, rather than giving students long multi-part projects that will bog them down.
Consider breaking up assignments into smaller chunks to make it easier on your students and keep them engaged. , Most discipline problems are better handled before they start.
If you've got problem students, it's important to have the consequences of actions clearly defined and to follow through with the consequences swiftly.
If a student forgets to bring their textbook to the classroom, what is the consequence? What if it happens again? What if the student actively defies you? You shouldn't have to struggle for an answer to these questions when they happen.
Decide beforehand. , If you start making exceptions for some students, the rest of the students will notice and your authority over the classroom will suffer.
If you're going to punish one student for talking out, you've got to punish others for the same task.
For this reason, it's important to only establish rules that you will be able to enforce and to enforce those rules.
Rules aren't always dissuasive to students.
It's important to remember that your students will forget pencils, screw around during work time, and generally break your rules.
It's going to happen.
If you have a difficult to enforce rule like "Three typos in a paper results in automatic failure," you can bet it will come up just as often as it will encourage your students to proofread. , It's not generally a good idea to "make an example" of problem students.
This can backfire quickly and easily, especially if you're an inexperienced teacher.
Instead, it's important to take class clowns or troublemakers away from their audience and talk to them one-on-one.
You'll see the stony exterior of these students start to crack in private.Arrange a conference with problematic students' parents, if necessary.
Often, getting the student's parents on your team can be a quick and effective way at corralling trouble-making students. , Ideally, your classroom should be neither too hot nor too cold, which produces the best results for student performance.Every now and then, though, you'll have a class full of goof-offs and troublemakers that are difficult to quiet down.
If you're having consistent problems with the behavior of your students, consider bumping the temperature of your classroom up a few degrees to keep them slightly drowsier. -
Step 3: Be clear.
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Step 4: Teach to your students.
-
Step 5: Establish a consistent daily routine.
-
Step 6: Be positive.
-
Step 7: Try out new things.
-
Step 8: Minimize the amount of time that you're talking.
-
Step 9: Call on students regularly.
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Step 10: Include a diversity of tasks in the day.
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Step 11: Consider establishing themed days throughout the week.
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Step 12: Take frequent breaks.
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Step 13: Make the consequences clear before students misbehave.
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Step 14: Stick to your guns.
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Step 15: Talk to problem students one-on-one.
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Step 16: Keep your classroom slightly warmer.
Detailed Guide
Every classroom needs to have simple, clear expectations for the students in terms of behavior and your rules.
Younger students will typically benefit from having the class rules simply worded and posted visibly, while older students benefit from getting them in writing.
Aim for having no more than five big rules, or categories of rules to go over, or you'll lose them.
It's important to avoid including vague rules in your classroom rules, or to try to enforce silly things you'll be unable to control.
It may annoy you to clean gum off the bottom of the desks at the end of each semester, but trying to police students for gum is a waste of your time.
Focus on what's most important.
You don't need to make your students go through a whole list of "Banned" items, like gum, phones, or other devices.
Simply put "no distractions" on your list and confiscate serious things as they come up. , The simpler your rules the better, but how you explain them is just as important.
Remember to repeat the most important information and to check for comprehension.
Request that your students respond to keep them engaged, or to repeat important rules or directions to make sure they're hearing you. , Every class is different.
Younger students will need "simple" rules explained, while teenagers should be mostly aware of what's expected.
Good teachers are willing to go with the flow and change it up depending on what works for each group of students.
Try to remember to explain what you'll be doing in class each day.
Avoid just launching into lessons and hoping your students follow.
Your students will appreciate knowing why you're doing what you're doing. , Spend the first few days of each semester establishing the basic "flow" of each period, or each day.
There are many different ways to organize a day, so lots of this will depend on what you want to do and what you teach, but when students come into your classroom, they should already have some idea of what you'll do that day.
Try outlining the period or the day on the board before the school day starts.
This both gives you a reference point throughout the day, as well as the students an idea of what will happen.
You could even list a specific instruction on the board for them to start without having to tell them.
Alternatively, you might find it effective to switch up the order of lessons in some groups of students.
If math just doesn't seem to be working after lunch, try switching it to another time of day. , While some teachers imagine that being an old-school ruler-breaker will be the way to establish authority, and teaching does require a certain degree of sternness, it's also important to keep things positive and to remember to praise your students on a regular basis.
If you run negative, remind yourself to say at least one positive thing to the entire class each day, and praise specific students one-on-one.
Teaching involves negative feedback, it's unavoidable.
But try to limit your negative feedback as much as possible, and talk about it in terms of what can be improved, not what the students "did wrong." Look forward, not backward.
Teach yourself to say "What we could do better is" instead of "What you did wrong was." Don't embellish praise.
Even if your students are young, don't condescend to them.
Don't tell your students their essays were "All perfect!" if they weren't.
Praise the work your class put in, the behavior, and the effort, not the quality, until the quality praise is deserved. , If you are engaged, your students will be too.
You'll quickly learn what works and what doesn't, so don't be afraid to take risks and try new projects, styles of teaching, and activities.
You can abandon failed experiments when they come up. try to keep it fun.
Aim for at least one new lesson or project per year to try to keep yourself engaged.
If it works well, keep it.
If not, never speak of it again.
Avoid convoluted point-based behavior systems.
Token systems that involve a complicated set of rules for behavior and other methods tend to confuse students more than excite them.
Keep it simple. , The less you have to say each day, the better off your classroom will be.
Whatever you're teaching, it's better to keep students active, instead of passively sitting and listening to you talk. try to limit this as much as possible and keep the day activity-based. , Students will be forced to pay attention and engage with lessons if they're called on regularly.
This also has the effect of encouraging students to contribute and talk when they have something to say, rather than waiting to be called on when they may not have a good answer. , It's great to play the occasional game, break into small groups, and do some solo free-writing in a class period, but you wouldn't want to do too many of the same types of tasks in one day, or in the same week. try to space out different kinds of activities to keep things fresh and avoid boredom ruts. , Maybe every Monday will involve a free-write, while every Friday will involve some kind of group activity.
Try keeping things consistent from week to week so your students will be able to anticipate things and you'll have to explain less. , It's helpful to give short and simple tasks to break up the work and the routine in the day, rather than giving students long multi-part projects that will bog them down.
Consider breaking up assignments into smaller chunks to make it easier on your students and keep them engaged. , Most discipline problems are better handled before they start.
If you've got problem students, it's important to have the consequences of actions clearly defined and to follow through with the consequences swiftly.
If a student forgets to bring their textbook to the classroom, what is the consequence? What if it happens again? What if the student actively defies you? You shouldn't have to struggle for an answer to these questions when they happen.
Decide beforehand. , If you start making exceptions for some students, the rest of the students will notice and your authority over the classroom will suffer.
If you're going to punish one student for talking out, you've got to punish others for the same task.
For this reason, it's important to only establish rules that you will be able to enforce and to enforce those rules.
Rules aren't always dissuasive to students.
It's important to remember that your students will forget pencils, screw around during work time, and generally break your rules.
It's going to happen.
If you have a difficult to enforce rule like "Three typos in a paper results in automatic failure," you can bet it will come up just as often as it will encourage your students to proofread. , It's not generally a good idea to "make an example" of problem students.
This can backfire quickly and easily, especially if you're an inexperienced teacher.
Instead, it's important to take class clowns or troublemakers away from their audience and talk to them one-on-one.
You'll see the stony exterior of these students start to crack in private.Arrange a conference with problematic students' parents, if necessary.
Often, getting the student's parents on your team can be a quick and effective way at corralling trouble-making students. , Ideally, your classroom should be neither too hot nor too cold, which produces the best results for student performance.Every now and then, though, you'll have a class full of goof-offs and troublemakers that are difficult to quiet down.
If you're having consistent problems with the behavior of your students, consider bumping the temperature of your classroom up a few degrees to keep them slightly drowsier.
About the Author
Deborah Kennedy
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow hobbies tutorials.
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