I realized very quickly my first year of teaching that I can’t actually teach any curriculum until I get my class under control. Classroom management is key to a successful school year! Every year it seems I am tweaking my strategies for classroom management. What works one year is bound to not work the next year. However, along the way, I’ve learned that classroom management doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, I find it needs to be just the opposite. It needs to be something simple enough that you will stick with, but also motivating enough for your students to stick with it.

I also think setting high, reasonable expectations for students is so important! Students will meet expectations if you keep them consistent.

Now of course throughout the year, you are going to have to implement new classroom management strategies and tricks to keep your students motivated. These times might include Fall break, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Spring break, testing, full moon, not a full moon, rainy weather, sunny weather..basically it could be ANY time throughout the year. That’s just the way it is. Today, I am going to share with you how I set expectations for my students and some of my favorite strategies for classroom management!

#1 - 3 of a Kind

3 of a Kind is my very favorite strategies for classroom management! ! 3 of a Kind is a fun way to promote positive behavior for the whole class! My students LOVED this one.

Here’s how it works! As students show positive behavior, I have a student flip over a reward card. Once the class get 3 of a kind, they are rewarded with the prize shown!

I usually pick a student who I see showing an expectation to flip over a card. You could also have the students get 2, 4, 5, or 6 of a kind. I put the cards in the Target clear adhesive pockets for easy flipping! I usually find these clear pockets in the Target dollar section during back to school time. Stock up! I promise, you will use them for everything!

#2 - 4 in a Row

4 in a Row is a wonderful tool to use when you want your classroom to focus on specific behaviors. This is one of my favorite strategies for classroom management to use when we are returning from a break or really anytime I notice certain behaviors need some improvement.

First, I find wall space where I can place the clear adhesive pockets. Again, I purchased mine from Target during back to school time. You could easily use this with a pocket chart too!

I select 3-4 classroom behaviors to focus on and place them on the bottom. I have found that if I select any more than 4 behaviors, it is not as effective. Then, I place the stars in the remaining pockets face down. When I see the class display one of the behaviors, I recognize the class and flip over a star card. I start from the bottom and work my way home.

When we get 4 in a row for a behavior, I reward the classroom with a small prize such as, 5 extra minutes of recess or technology time. You could wait until all behaviors have 4 in a row to reward your class. This is entirely up to you! You can grab 4 in a row from my TpT store HERE.

#3 - We are AMAZING!

This is one of those strategies for classroom management that I came up with when we were more than ready for a change! It was right before a break and I needed something to keep my students on track. We are AMAZING is a classroom management tool that focuses on the positive choices students make.

My students have so much fun finding their way through the maze! As my students show a positive choice, they select a card to flip over. They start at the start here and find their way through the maze to the finish line. The card they flip over will have a colored square on it (indicating the way through the maze) or a X on it (indicating they went the wrong way). Once my students make their way through the maze, an award of your choice is given! This classroom management tool will not only recognize positive choices, but will also encourage critical thinking! That’s a WIN-WIN! You can find the We are AMAZING board HERE.

#4 Classroom Expectation Posters

This is one of those strategies for classroom management that I use all year! My students love it and never seem to get tired of it. These classroom expectation posters are a great tool to use with your positive classroom management plan. The posters correlate with my classroom's three expectations: Be Kind, Respect Others, and Work Hard. You can display these posters in your classroom to serve as a reminder for your students. You can find the posters HERE for FREE! I place clear pockets underneath the posters. I found these pockets in the Target dollar section during back to school time, but I also found some similar on Amazon HERE. In my classroom, as students show an expectation, they earn a ticket and place it in the corresponding pocket. For example, if I see a student staying focused on their class work, I hand them a ticket and tell them to put it in the '“work hard” pocket.

At the end of the week, I have a prize drawing for each expectation. After the prize drawing, I take the tickets out and we restart the following week. All the tickets get added to my students’ total. At the end of the semester our school celebrates students who earn 100 tickets. Its a BIG deal!

This is my students’ favorite classroom management strategy!

#5 - Classroom Expectations Display and Booklets

I display our three classroom expectations on a large bulletin board.

Our three expectations for the year are…

Be Kind
Respect Others
Work Hard

At the beginning of the year we go over these expectations a ton! We put together a chart for each expectation display ways we can show the expectation. For example, we can be kind by complimenting others. We also write and illustrate the ways to show these expectations in a booklet we put together. You can find the expectations display and booklet HERE.

#6 - Classroom Expectations Circle Maps

Besides our three main classroom expectations, we also have additional expectations for all areas in our classroom. At the beginning of the year we create circle maps for our other expectations. We create circle maps for arrival, meeting time, literacy workshop, math workshop, lunch, hallway, dismissal…pretty much for EVERYTHING! It is so important to go over these expectations at the beginning of the year. I will never forget when I forgot to make one with my class for the hallway. The first time out in the hallway was not very pretty. You can imagine what we did as soon as we got back to the classroom :)

I keep these posters on hand because there are a few times we need to go back and reread our expectations. The circle maps can be found HERE for free!

#6 - Expectations for Manipulatives

Yes, we have more expectations! I have high expectations..especially for materials that I have bought. As teachers we are constantly buying things for our classrooms and I want them to last. In order for them to last, students have to respect the materials. This is why we spend time talking about our expectations for math and literacy manipulaitves and materials.

Throughout the year, especially at the beginning, I give my students time to play with our manipulatives. We talk about why we like them and what we hope to use them for.

#7 - Turn and Talk Expectations

During our mini lessons I give my students time to turn and talk to a partner. This provides students time to process their thoughts, share their ideas, build a better understanding, and deepen their comprehension. After my students talk with their partner, we share our ideas and thoughts to the rest of the class. I teach my students how to turn and talk at the beginning of the year.

I use these resources to set turn and talk expectations and to help students understand why we turn and talk. You can find the Turn and Talk Expectations HERE.

#8 - Cooperative Learning Expectations

Many times throughout the week my students work with a partner or with a small group. The truth is, I thought students knew how to communicate and work with a partner or a small group. The reality is most of my students didn’t. This is one of those classroom management strategies that I realized I needed to add into my beginning of the year routine.

I realized I needed to teach my students how to work with a partner or a small group. At the beginning of the year we spend a large amount of time going over our cooperative learning expectations.I did this by using the acronyms “GROUPS” and “PARTNERS”. We created posters together, put together a student booklet, and practiced with discussion cards.

Acronyms We Use:
G- Get Along
R- Respect Other's Ideas
O- Stay On Task
U- Use Quiet Voices
P- Participate
S- Stay with Group

P- Participate
A- Ask Questions
R- Respect Others' Ideas
T- Take Turns
N- Never Give Up
E- Explain Our Thinking
R- Respect Others' Answers
S- Stay with Partner

You can find the Cooperative Learning Expectations HERE.

#9 - Apology Bookmarks

This is another one of those strategies for classroom management that need to be done at the beginning of the year. How many times a day do you have students coming to you with a conflict with a friend? I have many! The conflicts are usually short lived and can solved on their own.

I started using these apology bookmarks to help my students discuss and solve their own conflicts.

How do I use them in my classroom?

First, I introduce the bookmarks to my class. We discuss when and why the bookmarks might need to be used. Then, we MODEL! MODEL! MODEL! We model how these bookmarks will be used with friends. Finally, I place the bookmarks in a special spot in our room where students can take one.

When a student needs to talk to a friend, he or she will take a “I need to speak to a friend” card and show the card to me. If it is the right time, I will send the students to a quiet spot to talk and they will return to class when finished.

You can grab the apology bookmarks HERE.

#10 - Good News Drop Box

Students love to share their good news and I love to hear it! However, having a specific time for it, rather than anytime, helps our day run a bit smoother.

Here is a strategy for classroom management that will allow students to share their good news anytime of the day, but without interrupting.

My students write their good news they want to share and place it in the drop box. Throughout the day or week we will read a few notes and celebrate the student. This is such a fun way to recognize student achievements and celebrations!

#11 - Calm Down Corner

A calm down corner is a designated space in a classroom where students can go to take a break and regulate their emotions. Our students come to us with all different backgrounds and home life situations. Kids (and teachers) just need a break sometimes. We have big emotions and need a safe place to regulate those emotions.

Our calm down corner has a 3 drawer container filled with items to help my students. With these calm down tools and resources, students can identify how they are feeling, read a social story, select a calm down choice, select a breathing exercise, and read a check list to ensure they are ready to go! I found many of our tools at Target and the Calm Down Book can be found HERE.

You can read more about our classroom’s calm down corner and calm down kit HERE.

My biggest classroom management advice to you is to do what works for you and your students. If it’s not something you enjoy doing or something you don’t think you will be able to keep up, don’t do it. If it’s something your students are not enjoying, don’t do it. Model positive behavior. Constantly point out examples of positive behavior. I have found that praising students for what they should be doing versus calling out students for what they should not be doing, works so much better! No matter what, students want to please and want to be noticed for what they are doing right. Build those relationships, it will go a long way!

I hope you found some new ideas to add to your strategies for classroom management!

Happy Teaching!

11 Strategies for Classroom Management