In my
last post we discussed rules and I shared
my rules and a rhyme that help with classroom management. Be sure to read that post to catch up with
our discussion. This week we are going
to talk about the three elements that I think are the backbone of good
classroom management:
consistency,
routine and organization.
If you’ve been teaching for very long, you know that
being “organized” looks different in each classroom. In my music classroom organized means there’s
a place for everything, but that doesn’t always mean that everything is in that
place. In my music classroom I have an
organized plan for seating students, getting supplies, returning papers, etc.
but that doesn’t look like what it does in a regular classroom setting. The week before concert time my room looks
like a sparkly, rainbow unicorn just threw up all over every corner of the
room. It does NOT look organized, but…well…
it is! The apple and banana costumes are
hanging on the back wall. The glittered
letter posters are stacked on the piano.
Coffee can drums and stacked neatly near the windows and extra copies of
lyrics and lines are in folders clipped to the walls. Everything is organized for functionality,
not necessarily for beauty.
I can’t teach you the intricacies of organizing your
supplies or your classroom. Everyone’s
needs are different. My advice is to
take some time to think about how things work in your classroom and arrange
them accordingly. Have a plan for
everything. Make lists. Be proactive.
Just as it is important for everything to have a place,
everything you want students to do in your classroom needs a protocol or
routine. How do you want students to
find a seat? Teach them how to do
it. Practice it. (I recommend a seating chart for all classes,
but that’s more for being consistent.)
How will your kiddos get supplies?
Teach them. Practice it. How will
they line up? Teach them. Practice it.
I have experimented with different routines in my
classroom for lesson time. I often plan
the same sequence of events for the first 5 minutes of class. This is how my K-2 classes start:
1. Sing a good morning song.
2. Attendance with
a purpose. (This means that I will have
them clap one of the three rhythms I have on the board, answer a question on
the board or sing an answer. I may sing “Good
morning, Joey!” (sol mi mi, sol mi) and Joey echoes back “Good morning, Mrs.
King”.)
3. Songs We Know
(2-4 short songs that we know well)
4. Beat or Rhythm
activity.
This works well for me and students know what to expect. Experiment with ways to create a routine with
your classes. This is often a time that
I assess students ability to match pitch, keep a steady beat or read rhythmic
notation. I just note it as I am taking
attendance. Done!
Routines like this won’t work every class period (Hello,
fire drill.) but you may find that having one helps your students behave better and helps you focus more.
This one is tough.
I’ve been teaching for twenty years and every year I feel like I’m
trying out something new. There are
still ways to be consistent even when trying out a new strategy or philosophy
in your classroom. What I have learned
those is quite simple. Never, ever
create a rule that you are not willing to enforce every time. EVERY TIME.
Let me say that again and put it in another paragraph
because it is that important. Don’t make
a rule that you are not willing to enforce every single time it is broken. It is the key to being consistent in your
classroom. It is also the key to not
going stark raving mad in your classroom.
It’s fine to let kids know that when you are teaching,
lecturing or conducting that they should not be out of their seats to sharpen
their pencils. It is a general expectation. For me, it falls under classroom rule 2,
respect others. I know teachers that
take 5 minutes off of recess each time a student does this. Seriously?
Isn’t that exhausting? For music teachers
with limited class time with students, how do you keep up with that and enforce
it? Bleh.
It’s okay to let students know that you expect them to be
quiet when leaving the music room, but having a rule that says “If you talk in
the hall, you get this specific punishment.” might be more work than you have
considered. Are you willing to
discipline every single time someone talks in the hall every single day the
same way for every single student?
Overwhelming.
When considering classroom management and how to be
consistent, you need to be realistic.
Some things are a matter of safety, other things are a matter of
sanity. Choose wisely or your sanity may
not be safe! Consistency is one of the
reasons I have only three broad classroom rules.
See them here. Create rules that focus on creating a safe,
functional learning environment.
So how does all of this play out in my classroom? Let’s go back to little Joey who finished up
his echo singing and has now moved on to annoying his neighbor by putting his
finger in her ear.
Me (stopping what we are doing and staring quietly but intensely at Joey for a
full ten seconds): Joey, you are not being respectful of Mariah’s personal
space. Stop.
I continue with my
awesome, well-prepared, practically perfect lesson plan. Joey continues.
Me (stopping, staring quietly and intensely again): Joey, please move back to the empty carpet square
on the back row. I’m very disappointed that
you are being disrespectful to your neighbors.
If you are not going to be respectful so the rest of can learn you may
have to leave music class. I would hate
that.
Back to my awesome,
well-prepared, practically perfect lesson plan.
I’m being consistent by reminding Joey and the rest of the class of our
rules and that we have them so that everyone has a chance to learn. I’m also using my very best, no-nonsense,
I-mean-business voice. It can be very
convincing!
Me: It is time to
get crayons, paper, clipboard and return to our carpet square. Please say “Crayons, paper, clipboard,
carpet.” (Students repeat and are
reminded of the procedure they have been taught for getting supplies.) Back row, you may go. Joey, can we talk at my desk while your row gets
started?
While I direct each row to get supplies and get back to
the carpet square, Joey stands by my desk and we chat about what is going on. This part doesn’t always go well, but it does
let me know if Joey needs to leave class, if he can be separated and still
complete his work or if he can go back to his regular seat.
The keys to good classroom management and good discipline
are being consistent, having routines and being organized. Plan, prepare and put stuff in a place that
makes sense. That’s organization. Teach them what you want them to do, how you
want them to do it and then do it.
Create a routine or a rhythm for how learning activities flow in your
classroom. Make rules that you can
follow through on. Do it every
time. Every single time. That’s being consistent. You can do it!
