Classroom Management Self Check

At various times throughout the school year you may sense your students begin to struggle and the climate in your classroom begin to change.  When that happens, try these steps to root out the cause.

1. Physical Space:  Have you changed the physical arrangement in your classroom?  If you were a student in the room, how would it feel to enter and sit at one of the seats in your room?  Are there clear paths to desks, storage, tools, and stations? Can you see the screen? Do you have some “private” space?
2. Procedures and routines: When was the last time you reviewed procedures with the students?  What do you want students to do in each section of class time? How do they know what the procedures are for doing each activity?  How have you informed new students of all your procedures?
3. Rules and consequences: What are the basic rules that are needed for instruction to take place? (Remember the difference between a rule and a procedure)  What happens if a student doesn’t follow a rule? What happens when they do?
4. Engaging lessons: What are your teaching goals for each lesson?  What do you want to introduce, present, review or assess?  What will students do to meet the objectives for the material taught and will the lesson be relevant and engaging?