gustafson classroom management plan

7/25/2019 Gustafson Classroom Management Plan

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Jacey GustafsonManagement Plan Page 1

Adventure Awaits

In First GradeClassroom Management Plan

Jacey Gustafson


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Table of ContentsClassroom Organization (page 3)

Record Keeping Procedures (page 5)

New Students (page 5)

Displaying Student Work (page 6)

Classroom Cleaning (page 6)

Disciplinary Policies & Professional Ethics (page 7)Establishing Initial Rules (page 7)

Student Disrespect & Discipline (page 8)

Student Conflict (page 9)

Cheating (page 10)

Parent/Guardian & Principal Involvement (page 11)

Motivation (page 11)

School Professionalism (page 12)

Classroom Routines & Procedures (page 13)Morning Greeting (page 13)

Attendance (page 13)

Daily Morning Routine (page 13)

Dismissals (page 14)

Field Trips (page 14)

Student Sharing & Free Time (page 14)

Passing Out Papers & Take Home Folders (page 15)

Bathroom & Drink Procedures (page 16)Classroom Helpers (page 17)

Differentiation Policy (page 17)

Parent-Teacher Communication (page 18)

Resources (page 19)


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CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION

My classroom is modeled after the numerous first grade classrooms I have visited

during my education. I wanted my classroom to be warm, inviting, and open to

all students, parents, teachers, and faculty members. I wanted to make sure that

I included various, organized workspaces for the students to utilize so I includedindividual learning areas, collaborative learning areas, a relaxed whole group

area, a library nook, and various learning centers.

I wanted to make sure the student tables were in a collaborative community

where students will be able to work together in harmony, work independently,

and be able to see the board easily in order to pay full attention depending on

the activity at hand. Having the student desks in groups represents my social

constructivist-teaching ideal that supports collaboration and cooperation. The

floor rug in the front of the classroom was placed there to create a friendly, all-

inclusive story time area that is relaxing and welcoming. I have a rocking chair

where I can sit to read stories to the students in this area to make it feel more likea home for the students. I would like to have a classroom bunny that the

students help take care of with daily job duties. This bunny is the classroom pet,

which helps the students learn responsibility, kindness, and compassion.

I placed my desk is in the front corner so that I can see the entire classroom at

all times. I have storage and bookshelves to keep all of my materials neat,


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organized, and out of reach from the students because this area is only for my

teaching materials. I also have the typical desk necessities including a phone,

used for in school communication and out of school communication, a

computer, rug, trash, and personal belongings to make this area represent me

as a person as well as a teacher. By having my desk in the front corner I am able

to monitor all of the students because I can easily see all of the students in thewhole classroom.

I have three round tables setup for various learning centers. These are right next

to my desk so that I can keep a close eye on the students who are rotating

between the learning centers. I have seen many classrooms get a bit chaotic

during learning center times, so I wanted to make sure I could pay close

attention to students during this time and be within a close proximity. One of my

favorite learning centers is the computer center with a globe so that students

can explore different parts of the world and then look up information about

foreign places. This learning center is represents a deep passion of travelling andexploring other cultures that I hope to foster in my students.

I love the idea of having a reading corner, so I put one in my classroom. I

included beanbag chairs, a fuzzy, comfortable rug, and a plush sofa to make

this area cozy and welcoming. I think this reading nook should be alluring to

students to foster a deep love and sense of enjoyment for reading. Multiple

bookshelves and bookstands house a vast array of books for the students to

read throughout the school year. There are also art easels nearby this area to

encourage students to reflect on the books they read or the foreign countries

they investigate in an artful, expressive manner of their choosing.

In the back of the room I have put a kidney shaped table to serve multiple

purposes. Ideally this area will be used for science-based instruction for small

groups during centers. For that reason I have placed the sink, some storage

cabinets and bookshelves, and a refrigerator near this table so we have a

sufficient science work area. This table is also used for ESL pullout lessons, guided

reading, literature circles, math support, group work, and support from various

instructors who provide extra help to the necessary students throughout the day.

Overall I wanted to make my classroom a fun, warm, welcoming, and functional

learning environment. It is my personal goal to make sure every student feelssafe and welcome in my classroom. It is important to me that every student

recognizes that they all are fundamental to making our classroom the best

place that it can be.


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Record Keeping Procedures

To keep all student records organized, I will utilize the school district based

computer grading system. I will keep hardcopies of student work in case the

computer systems fail or something goes wrong. I would like to make electronic

portfolios for individual students so that I can track their progress from the

beginning of the school year all the way until the end. Having these student

portfolios be electronic will make it easy to track the students progress from one

year to the next because I will be able to send the student e-portfolios to the

students teacher the following year. This will work especially well with my ELL

students because these students are often moving schools. This way future

schools and teachers will be able to have some documentation of the students

level of comprehension in various content areas.

New Students

When a new student joins our class it is important that everyone helps make the

new student feel welcome in our classroom. All of the current students will make

a card (pictured bottom right) for the new student to feel welcome as soon as

he enters the classroom on his first day. We will have the new student create an

All About Me hot air balloon to display in the front of the room

so classmates and other teachers can get to know the new

student at a glance. The new students desk will have a

nametag just like the rest of the class desks. The new

student will be entered into my grade book as soon as Ihave the students information. Introducing the new

student to all of his new classmates

will be an essential part of

welcoming the new student. We will

spend a little bit of time his first day to

introduce ourselves with our hot air

balloons. It will be important for the new

student to get to know the rules and

routines as quickly as possible. To do this,

I will assign the new student a classroom buddy to showhim around each day. This classroom buddy will be in

charge of showing the new student how to turn in

homework, bathroom procedures, specials routines,

where the student can find important information, what

the daily schedule is, when it is time to transition to a

new activity, and many other things. I will have the

current students take turns being the new students


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buddy so that the new student will get to know all of the students in a relatively

short amount of time, and on a personal level. If the new student has any

questions I will always be available to him or her, making sure that I am warm

and inviting will be essential components to making the new student feel

welcomed into his/her new classroom.

Displaying Student Work

Since the theme of the class is hot air balloons and the Disney movie Up, I will

utilize the ceiling area to hang a lot of the student work. I will also have bulletin

boards that are up in the air themed so it looks like the student work is soaring

into the sky. I love this theme because it shows students that their work can go

above and beyond if they put their minds to work and do a great job on their

projects in school. Displaying student work helps encourage children to do their

very best work because everyone in the school will be able to see what they

have accomplished. By having student work from each student displayed in the

classroom it will help build a sense

of community. I would also like to

have a bulletin board that

showcases excellent work from the

current school week. If students do

really well on an in-class

assignment, activity, or win an

award I will display these works of

excellence on a Soaring throughFirst Grade bulletin board similar to

the photo above.

Classroom Cleaning

At the beginning of the school year I will make sure the students know that is

extremely important to keep our classroom clean and organized. The general

rule will be that the classroom is just like our homes, we want to keep it clean so

that we can find everything we need to use, safe, and ready for guests to visit at

any moment. I will model how to keep your desk clean by having everything

nice and orderly on my desk and in my personal area. This way students can see

that I make sure that my desk is clean and organized so I know exactly where all


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of my belongings are. I will stress that it is our job to keep the classroom clean

because we do not have anyone here to clean up after us. If we make a mess,

it is our responsibility to clean it up or ask for help cleaning it up if necessary.

Throughout the day, during transitions, I will have the students walk to their desks,

picking up 6 items that do not belong on the floor on their way. This may includescraps of paper, trash, crayons, pencils, or various things students may have

dropped on the floor and forgotten about. This will help keep our classroom

clean on a regular basis throughout the entire day. At the end of each day,

students will be responsible for cleaning out their mailboxes and bringing

everything home in their backpack. In first grade it is important to teach students

how to keep their desk organized so we will have a monthly desk-cleaning day.

We will go through everything in our desks putting everything in three piles: save,

take home, and trash. This will help students monitor what they put into their

desk on a regular basis. We will also sanitize the desks on these days. It is

important to keep germs away as best you can when you have so many peoplein one room day in and day out.

Disciplinary Policies & Professional Ethics

Establishing Initial Rules

It is very important to establish the rules of the classroom early on so the studentsknow exactly what is expected of them when they come to school each day. I

think it is also important for the students to help in making the rules so the

classroom is not just the teachers, but rather a community. The first day of

school I would like to emphasize treating people how you would like to be

treated. Since the new school year will be exciting for the students I want to give

them a few days to settle into first grade before setting the rules. Until we set the

rules my emphasis will remain on teaching all of the students to treat their

classmates how they would want to be treated.

At the end of the first week, we will have a class meeting to discuss the rules that

we should follow in our classroom. To do this, the students will sit on the story

carpet and I will sit in my rocking chair. We will have chart paper and markers

ready to write down our classroom rules. In order to have some structure for

generating our classroom rules, I will have the students turn to a partner and

discuss the types of rules we should have in our class. After they have shared

with a partner, we can take turns making suggestions about the potential rules.

We will generate a list of rules by sharing out what we talked about with their


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partners. Depending on the rules the students come up with, I may have to

suggest a few rules like respecting everyone in our classroom. I hope that the

students offer up rules like, treat others how you would like to be treated, always

do your best, make good choices, and listen to your teachers. As a class, we will

decide on the top five rules for our classroom. By involving the students in

creating the rules I hope that they will take ownership of the rules and truly takethe rules to heart. Once we have decided on our five rules, I will display them in

the classroom where the students will see them every day.

Instead of implementing a full-fledged token economy,

I am going to have a reward system for students who

are doing an exceptional job following the rules. I will

have miniature hot air balloons (pictured on the left)

the students will be given one hot air balloon for going

up, up, and away with the rules (following the rules).

When a student receives a hot air balloon, they willwrite their name on the piece of paper and put it into a

jar on the teachers desk. At the end of the week, the

teacher will draw five names out of the jar and those

students will get to choose their classroom jobs for the

next week. This will be an incentive for the students to

get caught following the rules throughout the week.

Student Disrespect & Discipline

The best way to avoid student disrespect and discipline issues is to have a well-

established classroom management plan. A good teacher follows her

management plan and does not stray away from it when the going gets tough.

Wong & Wong (2009) believe that if the teacher has good classroom

management skills will deter students from misbehaving. Since the students

helped create the rules, I believe this will also help deter student misbehaving.

However, there are bound to be students who act out, misbehave, or disrespect

people in their classroom. One way that I plan to manage student disciplinary

issues is by implementing the Camping Clip Chart (pictured on the next page).This ties in with the whole Disney Pixar Uptheme because the main character is

in a Boy Scout type of group in the movie. I have seen many versions of

behavior charts like this one, but most of them have only had five levels of

behavior. The one I have selected to use in my classroom has seven levels.


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I think this clip chart will resonate with the students more

effectively than the basic behavior charts because the students

will not want to be in the bottom three levels: dont get lost!,

something stinks!, and parent contact. This behavior chart also

provides the students who are struggling with behaving in class

with some advice on how to move up the chart. If a student getsto the dont get lost! level, they will know that they need to

make better choices to move up. In the something stinks! level,

the students will be given a teacher selected consequence for

misbehaving. And finally, the lowest level will be parent contact;

by this point the students have had enough warnings and

adjustment periods to change their behavior for the day and they

have decided not to change their actions. This is when I will

contact the parents.

I also think it is great to have more levels higher up so that studentscan aim higher and be differentiated if they are doing

exceptionally better than their peers. At the beginning of the day

everyone will start off on the Happy Camper level because

everyone will be ready to learn. As the goes on, I will be able to

award students for their good behavior or help redirect students

who are misbehaving based on the Camper Clip Chart.

When students misbehave and do not follow the classroom rules, I

will handle each infraction on a situational basis. It is difficult to

name all of the possible rule infractions that could arise, but I will

do my best to be fair and consistent when enforcingconsequences. Simple infractions require simple solutions, such as

re-teaching the rule to reinforce the logic behind the rule. If it is a

major infraction, the students parents may be contacted or the

principal, depending on the severity of the situation at hand.

Student Conflict

As soon as there is any sort of conflict on the playground, in the classroom, or

anywhere on school property, the students need to be separated immediatelyto avoid allowing the conflict to progress any further than it already has gotten. I

will make sure to maintain a firm, respectful, and matter-of-fact manner when

dealing with student conflicts in order to handle the situation as effectively as

possible.

I will have a designated time-out area in the classroom for when students get

into an altercation. Ideally I will have two areas in the classroom so that the


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students involved can go to their own space to cool off. Then, I will talk to all of

the students involved on an individual basis to get the true story. After I have

gotten all of the different stories of what happened, I will meet with the students

to try and find a resolution. If someone is not telling the truth, it will be

transparent when we meet in the group setting and appropriate consequences

will follow.

If the students cannot come up with a resolution, then I will give them a time-out

in a secluded, yet monitored, area with minimal distractions. This will allow the

students more time to think of a resolution to the issue. I will make sure that the

time-out is given during the students preferred activity time rather than

instructional time. Often times student altercations occur during the student

preferred activity time (lunch, recess, free-time, etc.); if that is the case, I will

handle the issue immediately and time-outs will be given right then.

My hope is to teach my students how to deal with conflicts on their ownbecause this is a life skill that is necessary for everyone to learn. By having

designated cool-off areas I hope that the students will start to utilize these areas

on their own as soon as a conflict arises. It will take time and repetition before

the students start to use the cool-off areas on their own free will, but I am sure it

will happen with consistent implementation.

Cheating

Cheating will not be tolerated in my classroom. Thankfully I dont think cheating

will be a big issue in first grade, but if it does happen, the students involved will

be talked to immediately. In some cultures, sharing information is acceptable

and encouraged, so it will be essential to know your students well and their

cultural background, too. In that case, I would capitalize on the moment and

make it a learning experience for the student from a different culture and teach

them why cheating is not a good thing in the United States. For students who

know better than to cheat, they will be talked to privately about the issue. The

student will be responsible for calling, Skyping, or telling their parents after school

in class, to tell them about the mishap. This will encourage students to take

responsibility for their actions. This will be an intimidating experience for the

student and an extremely valuable lesson, too.


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School Professionalism

Professionalism is extremely important to maintain because I want my coworkers,

administrators, students and their parents to respect and value me as an

educator. To conduct myself in a professional manner I will make sure to dress

appropriately. I am aware that school gossip takes place, but I will refrain from

participating in the gossip because that does not lend itself to good things

generally. I know I would not want to be caught by an administrator, fellow

teacher, student, or parent, partaking in school gossip; it would be very difficult

to explain yourself if ever caught in that situation. I also would never want to be

the topic of school gossip so refraining from gossip altogether seems like the best

option. In my past, gossip has never led to good things for the people who

choose to do so.

I look forward to getting to know my colleagues in the future and hope that I

can utilize them as valuable resources of knowledge instead of gossip. I believe I

will be able to get along with all of my colleagues extremely well. I have been

told that I am an infectious person in that my positive attitude, outlook, laugh,

and smile are contagious, which will surely transpire in the school. If I have an

issue with a colleague I will be an adult about the situation and talk to that

person in private. Bringing others into the issue would only cause the issue to

grow larger than necessary. If I felt I could not talk directly to the person I had an

issue with, I would setup a meeting with my principal as soon as possible to

resolve the issue. In my eyes, your relationships with everyone in the building areextremely important. You want to care for those relationships just like any other.


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Classroom Routines & Procedures

Morning Greetings

Each morning I want to greet my students with a big smile toinspire each student to have a great day. An easy way to

make students feel happy and comfortable in the classroom

is to personalize the greeting I give to each student. Noticing

a new haircut, sparkly shoes, or a crocodile tear running

down a students face can make a world of difference for

that little kid. As the teacher, I am the caregiver for all of

these students and it is my job to notice them and their

various needs as ever-changing as they will be. I want my

students to know they are in good care when they are with

Miss G. and I can do that by greeting and noticing each andevery student.

Attendance

Instead of placing the attendance responsibility on the teacher, I will put it on

the students. I will do this by having the students select their lunch as soon as

they have put their backpack, coat, and other belongings in their cubby. I will

have three lunch options: hot lunch, cold lunch, bag lunch. The students will

move their clothespin (with their name written on it) onto the lunch they choose

for the day. I will be able to tell who is at school for the day because they havepicked their lunch option. Before we start class, I will read off the names who

have not selected lunch for the day, to make sure they are actually absent and

didnt simply forget to pick a lunch because it would be tragic for a student to

not get a lunch because they forgot to move their clothespin.

Daily Morning Routine

The first thing we do each day is announce the new helpers for the day. This is

important to do because sometimes the students think they are still the helper

from the previous day and then all of a sudden you have four line leaders! I will

use this time to go over the date, weather, and agenda for the day. This will

include writing the daily I Can statements on the agenda board. Then the

students will have an idea of what we will be doing for the day. We will read

aloud the date, weather, and I Can statements before beginning our day. The

first content-based activity will be decided upon based on our curriculum

schedule for first grade.


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DismissalsRecess, Lunch, Specials, & End of the Day

At the beginning of the year we will practice our dismissals very explicitly so that

the students get the routine down pat. When we line up to go to recess, lunch,

specials, or at the end of the day, I will wait until the class is quiet and standing

nicely. I will emphasize how important it is to use whisper voices in the hallway

because we do not want to disturb other classes or cause a ruckus while we are

walking to our destination. When we walk to specials we will take a class

bathroom break so that students can get a drink of water or use the restroom

before specials to lower the amount of interruptions with the specials teacher.

On our way to lunch, we will stop at the restroom as well so students can wash

their hands before eating their lunch. Recess will be dismissed on a verbal basis. I

will see which pods of students are ready to head outside. If the pod is ready all

of their desks will be clean, work will be completed, and students will be patientand waiting for the teacher to call their group to line up.

Field Trips

Field trips are an amazing way for students to learn and have fun; they provide

the students with a hands-on learning experience that cannot be achieved in

the classroom. I would love to be able to go on educational field trips every

week, but unfortunately field trips cost money. When we go on field trips, each

student will have a buddy who they stay with the entire time. All of the students

will have a nametag with their name, school, teachers name, and a phonenumber in case they get separated from the group. The students will be on their

best behavior for field trips because otherwise field trips can be taken away

from the class if students cannot behave respectfully on the field trip. Parents

are welcome to volunteer for field trips to help supervise all of the students

because there are so many students we would like to have a higher adult-child

ratio.

Student Sharing & Free Time

Sharing is caring in my opinion. The more I know about my students, the better I

can care for and teach them. Each week I want to have a Soaring Student. This

will be a time to showcase one student. Throughout the week they can bring in

anything they would like to share with the class. On Monday, I would like the

Soaring Student to write five sentences about themselves that their peers may

not know. We will write these sentences on chart paper and display the Soaring

Student at the front of the room. At the end of each day, the class will sit on the


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story rug and chorally read aloud the Soaring Student. We will practice fluency

and expression as we practice choral reading. By the end of the week the

whole class will know five new things about the Soaring Student. Each student

will get at least one opportunity to be the Soaring Student of the week.

If students have free time they should check their homework folder to work onhomework they find difficult; this way they can ask the teacher for help before

they go home to work on the assignment. Ideally during free time the students

will opt to read a book. I love reading and would like to transfer that to my

students. I will have comfortable, inviting couches and chairs in the reading

nook to encourage students to fully utilize the reading nook as much as possible.

I will have pillows, puppets, and stuffed animals the students can snuggle with

while reading or play quietly with. Free writing is also an option during this time. I

will have writing prompts pre-made and laminated for students to flip through,

select an interesting prompt, and write or draw at their desk or in the reading

nook with a clipboard.

Passing Out Papers & Take Home Folders

Students will have their own Homework Folder with a hot air balloon on it; this will

be an easy to distinguish folder for the parents. They will use this every day to put

their homework or parent information inside to take home. On the left hand

pocket there will be a reading record list for the student, parents, and teacher

to keep track of the books the student is reading and has read previously. Thisfolder will be essential for parents to check for day-to-day information about our

classroom activities. They can expect to see field trip notices, homework,

upcoming school events, and potential volunteer opportunities.

Two students will be in charge of passing out papers each day on a rotating

schedule. These students will pass out papers to each student sitting at their

desk. If we are crunched for time, the paper passers will place the papers in

every students mailbox to speed up the process. Individuals are responsible for

putting all of the daily paperwork into their Homework Folder. At the end of the

day I will allow ample time for students to gather their mail from their mailboxes

and organize it in the correct side of the folder (each side of the folder will belabeled by the teacher for ease and clarity).


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Bathroom & Drink Procedures

Students are allowed to go to the restroom to go to the bathroom or get a drink

of water during class trips and independent time. I encourage students to use

the restroom at the beginning of the day before we start class. During the school

day we will have planned bathroom and drink breaks like before/after lunchand on our way to specials. In the classroom I will have Where Are You chart

that lists: bathroom, drinking fountain, nurse, and library. Each student will have a

clothespin that they can place on the chart according to where they are going.

Bathroom Drinking Fountain Nurse Library

Only one boy and one girl will be allowed to be in at the bathroom at a time.

The students will be able to check the Where Are You chart to see if they can

go to their desired place. One side of the clothespins will be blue for the

bathroom, and green for nurse or library; this will help eliminate student

interruptions when I am working with small groups. If the students hold up a

green clothespin they will give me a moment to get to a stopping place with

the group I am working with and then the student can explain further.


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Classroom Helpers

Each day we will rotate classroom helper jobs so that each

student gets a fair chance at completing the various

helper tasks. The jobs that I will have in my class daily are: 2

paper passers, 1 line leader, 1 caboose, 1 captain

calendar, 1 door holder, 2 greeters, 1 electrician, and 1

messenger. The paper passers will hand out mail to each

students mailbox. The door holder will hold the door for

everyone to enter and exit the classroom. The calendar

captain will be responsible for updating the calendar. The

caboose is the last person in line to make sure everyone

stays together and walking at a decent pace. The

electrician is in charge of turning the lights on and off for

the teacher. The greeters are in charge of handing out

morning bell work. The messenger is in charge of relayingmessages to the office, nurse, or other teachers and

administrators in the building for the teacher.

Differentiation Policy

Scaffolding is an essential technique that will be implemented in my classroom

on a regular basis. All students learn new material at different paces so it is

important to keep the material appropriate for each student. Having my ESLendorsement helps with the differentiation in my classroom. The key to teaching

ESL is making content accessible to students in a multitude of ways. Making

content as concrete as possible makes the material easier for all students to

learn; the more abstract the lesson is, the more room for misconceptions and

misunderstandings that can occur throughout the lesson. Allowing students to

express their knowledge of the content in a way that is comfortable to the

individual will help differentiate for every student. For the students who are

exceptionally skilled, I will provide learning extensions that allow these students

to engage with the content in a more thorough and extensive manner. Some

teachers believe advanced students need more work, but I believe advanced

students need to work with the content at a deeper level.


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Parent-Teacher Communication

The parents of my students are an important part of the classroom community,

student achievement, and encouragement. Before the school year starts, I willsend out an introductory email that lets the parents get to know me, my

classroom rules, what they can expect from me throughout the year, and the

best ways to contact me. I would like the parents to fill out an About Me sheet

to let me get to know them a little bit also. This way I can find out each parents

preferred method of contact and their ideal conference times. I encourage

parents to come into the classroom whenever they want. They are just as

important to our classroom community as the students themselves. Without the

parents help, the teacher would not be able to accomplish much. Parent

volunteers are always welcome in the classroom. As for conferences, I would like

to plan the conferences with the parents best interest in mind. Life gets busy;some parents need babysitters to get to conferences, sometimes interpreters

are needed for conferences, many factors play into this important time. I would

love to do home-visits to conduct conferences if it makes it easier on the parents

and family. In general, my classroom is always open to parents; if there are ever

any questions please feel free to ask.


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Resourceshttp://www.pinterest.com

http://images.google.com/Curriculum and Pedagogy Classroom Discussions & Videos

Mackenzie, R., Stanzione, L (2010). Setting Limits in the Classroom. US: Three Rivers

Press.

Wong, Harry K., and Rosemary T. Wong (2009). The First Days of School: How to

Be an Effective Teacher. US: Harry K. Wong Publications.

Sue Jones Presentation during Curriculum and Pedagogy

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

Wilson, Margaret Berry. What Every 1st Grade Teacher Needs to Know about

Setting up and Running a Classroom. Turners Falls, Mass.: Northeast

Foundation for Children, 2011. Print.

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