Trevor Ivan

Management Plan
10/30/16
EDUC 450
My History Classroom
It is undeniable that classroom management is an extremely important aspect of
teaching and to begin I would first like to explain my plan for the layout of my
classroom. Desks will be set up in groups on each side of the classroom so there is a
large aisle in the middle. Each group of desks will face each other while still allowing
for students to see the board. This will best suit my teaching style as I like to walk
while I teach and I feel it encompasses a less intimidating dynamic than a
traditional, front facing row format. Furthermore, I hope to acquire as much
historical posters as possible as I believe they are a great avenue to teach from,
giving students a visual of historical events and materials. As of right now my plan
is to acquire an oversized map of the world to place on a wall in my classroom so
students can visualize places around the world and their absolute location.
Additionally, I will place posters that include a variety of themes surrounding
motivation, how to be a good historian, how to write an essay, how to analyze a
primary source, country flags, personal pictures and most importantly expectations.
Therefore, my expectations will have a permanent place on the wall, and for
good measure I will create a portable object (a tower of some sort) that places
expectations for students to see during our three different types of learning
environments (individual work, group work, and lecture). In addition, I will utilize one
white board in my room to create a weekly calendar for each class, listing where we
will be going and homework that they must complete. This will be a permanent
feature and one in which students will be referred to if they have questions about
the week, homework or anything they missed. As for myself, I will keep a
comprehensive calendar notebook to organize the trajectory of my classes and
tasks that need to be completed. Furthermore, for every class period I will post
learning targets for the day in order to guide student learning and discussion. From
this, I will have a cabinet in the back of the classroom which will hold basic school
supplies including pens, paper, pencils, markers and any other commonly forgot
school supply (except backpacks) to curb consistent battles between students who
constantly forget their materials. However, I will establish the expectation for them
first, to remember their school materials and second take personal accountability to
grab materials from the back if they need it.
Next, and fully portraying my persona as a typical history nerd, I would like a
cabinet, bookshelf or any piece of furniture to house historical books that I find
valuable to read. Shamelessly I have already began collecting books to create my

own mini library to place in my classroom. As for student textbooks, they will be
kept in class to lower the risk of them getting damaged or lost, but will be available
for students to take home if they check them out through me. Students will also be
responsible for any damage that they inflict on the book and especially if it is lost.
Furthermore, to enhance the structural layout of my classroom, I will place a
separate table that will house individual plastic bins labeled for each class for
students to turn in their work. This will exponentially increase my own organization
and prevent files from becoming lost or misplaced by students and myself. Located
on the same table will be file keepers/separators that house worksheets, guides or
pieces of information for students to take if they lost their assignment or were
absent the day of instruction. Therefore, my expectation of students will be to hold
themselves accountable to turn in any work with the correct class, and to gather
any missed work from the files located on the back table.
For my own personal well-being, I will utilize an accordion style folder (for
each class) to remain organized with student work. In addition, I have found manila
folders are very effective in organizing student work and class materials, in which I
will utilize them as a portable means to transport important files throughout class,
home and school. Lastly, positioned on my desk, I will have two bins for students to
place late or absent work in which students will be expected to write LATE or
ABSENT at the top of their assignment.
Attendance, Late Work, Tardies and Class Participation
As for attendance, I will establish a strict un-excused absence policy in which
students will be un-able to make up missed work or gain participation points for that
day. However, they will still be expected to gather the information and materials
from which they missed in order to stay on track with class expectations/goals. For
students, this could look like coming into lunch hour, planning periods or days with
a late start to discuss any missed work. On the flip side, students with an excused
absence will be able to make up any missed work, but it will be their responsibility
to figure out what they missed and will have 48 hours to turn in work to the
appropriate bin. Furthermore, tardies will not be tolerated in my class as after three
unexcused tardies, each tardy thereafter will be counted as an unexcused absence.
After five unexcused tardies students will be referred to the front office for
disciplinary measures. As for late work, 10% will be deducted the first day an
assignment is late and an additional 40% the second day, after which any
assignment will not be accepted and the student will receive a zero. However, it is
important to note I will work with students, parents and families on a case by case
basis if there is an open stream of communication between the two parties
discussing present uncontrollable situations, as I fully understand things come up
that need compassion and support to make it through.
However, class participation will be a huge component in my class and it will
be extremely important for students to attend class regularly. Therefore, students

will have the opportunity to gain participation points each day through discussion
and collaboration with their classmates. This will be facilitated through punch cards
that will be distributed to students at the beginning of the semester to be punched
each day students (for two points each punch) participate in class topics.
Furthermore, utilizing technology will be a major component in my classroom
but, cell phones will not be allowed during class time as I believe they are a major
distraction to student learning. My policy lays out as follows: the first occurrence
students will be given a brief warning and then the second time, it will be taken
away till the end of class. However, I understand and personally relate to the need
to listen to music while studying, so I will allow my students to listen to their music
during designated times as long as they are not a distraction to the people around
them. Additionally, as smart phones become increasingly more advanced, I believe
they can be utilized as a great resource toll for academic research in which I will
allow students to use their phone when instructed, to research concepts for group
work or any time deemed appropriate. Other than those two exceptions, I will
maintain a strict no cell phone policy in which I do not want to see them or hear
them. Lastly and in terms of grading, I have decided to make my grading scale
based on a weighted total system. It is a more dynamic system which allows to
easily track student progress, and honestly makes more sense in my brain.

Teaching style/behavior/class norms/routine

To begin each class for the semester, my main focus will be building
relationships with my students to create a warm, friendly environment. This will look
like blocking out the first week of class to dedicate time to build community. This
will involve ice breakers and conversations to build lasting relationships and trust
where I will have the opportunity to get to know my students, students can get to
know each other and students can get to know me. There will be presentations on
how to be a successful learner, conversations on what they can expect from the
class (and me as their teacher), what a respectful community looks like and what I
will expect from them throughout the semester. This will allow me to establish an
effective culture of mutual respect, accountability, creativity, comfortability and
understanding. Additionally, this time will serve as an opportunity for myself to go
over the layout of the semester in terms of content and a chance to explain my
style of teaching which will incorporate three different types of learning: direct
instruction, individual work and group work.
As per specifics for my individual day routine, I will start off each class with a
summary of what was discussed the previous day and provide an overview of the
direction the class is heading for the week. In this introduction, I will introduce the
learning target and ask for any questions of clarification. From this I will go into the
main heart of the unit and at the end provide brief closure to prep for the next day
of material. I will provide a syllabus for students at the beginning of the semester as
a reference and a reminder of the policies that I have in place for class. It will also

outline the grading policy, absent policies, as well as list out expectations students
need to hold themselves accountable.
Moreover, my expectations/non-negotiables will be outlined in an organized,
effective manner following the model of Champs/ACHIEVE. These expectations will
be placed on a portable tower in the front of the classroom for clear and undeniable
visibility by all students. For example, some of my expectations for individual work
will include no side conversations, raising their hand if there is a question, and
completing work with the given amount of time with no distractions. This includes
not using the restroom during class time, unless it is an emergency (I am still on the
fence with this policy). For group work, students will be expected to work solely with
their assigned group, stay on task, talk quietly and contribute to group
conversation/work. In addition, students will be expected to use appropriate
language and act in a respectful manner to myself as their teacher and to their
peers. This includes, speaking in a calm manner when frustrated, seeking
understanding, not talking during or over someone who is speaking and being
present throughout the class period. This will require students to raise their hand
when they want to add to the conversation and hold themselves accountable for
their learning while refraining from distracting others.
Together with student expectations, my policy regarding consequences and
redirecting students will follow the love and logic model. This entails approaching
students with respect and dignity while maintaining control over the classroom
environment. It helps foster relationships and consistently holds students
accountable for the expectations that were explained to them. Not only that, it
helps build respect by promoting conversations that are constructive and positive
for students as it requires them to monitor and fix their own behavior while
providing a resource in myself to ensure growth. This method of love and logic
includes a variety of different techniques but could include doing a quick and simple
pass by to remind students of the expectations or standing next to them while
teaching, or asking if I can catch up with them after class or simply noticing
something different about their behavior or outfit to give them positive
reinforcement. By the same token, I will never raise my voice out of anger at a
student and will only give out consequences if it is productive for student learning,
which could include lunch or after school detention. But I fully believe in the power
of initiating a conversation to check in with a student and offering my support to
help change a students behavior. However, with any teacher and in any classroom
there will be occasions where I will need to remove a student (or the class) from a
situation in which I will plan with a colleague (in advance) to transfer an
unresponsive student to their classroom, or plan simple field trips to isolate a
student to create a one on one environment to bring in additional support.
Ultimately, these are my non-negotiables and expectations as I want to set
up a classroom culture where students feel comfortable and respected to have fun
and share their opinions during class. Moreover, I feel it will be extremely important

during my first couple years of teaching to draw a hard line in the sand regarding
professionalism with my students per the small age gap between us. This will
require myself to develop a strong sense of respect as their teacher, which could
make or break my control over the classroom. However, I want each one of my
students to know that I care for them as each one of them has incredible value to
offer the world and my classroom. Therefore, I want to build solid relationships with
my students to enhance the classroom environment to be productive with learning
and promote overarching understanding of student interests and life outside the
classroom.
Students however will be held to high standard of achievement to participate
in class, think creatively and critically, and maintain a high level of maturity.
Therefore, communication will be a huge factor in my classroom, and it will be my
responsibility to develop a strong avenue for student to teacher communication in
which students who have concerns, questions or comments will be expected to
communicate that with myself (and vice versus). This will also encompass active
and open communication with parents and families. I plan on sending weekly emails
to parents updating them on class work and student homework to provide them the
direction of the class and the status of their student. My hope for this is to build a
positive partnership with parents and families to promote the success of their
student.
Strategies for Teaching
To encourage student success and learning, I am going to base my class on
creativity, which will challenge students to think outside the box and develop skills
that will help them for the rest of their lives. I want my students to believe in their
abilities and to go after their dreams with full intensity. Therefore, my classroom will
incorporate a variety of creative teaching strategies which will allow students to
make a choice and differentiate to meet every need of each student. This will
include multiple opportunities for group work, class discussions, simulations, visual
examples, think-pare-share activities, individual and group projects and a variety of
other formative assessments. Along with that, I will also incorporate summative
assessments with one midterm, final exam, and an essay 3/4 of the way through the
semester. These assessments will be used to track student progress as well as to
adjust my own style of teaching to ensure high understanding within students.
Assignments will be differentiated to meet the levels of each student, and flexibility
throughout lessons will be a main component of my teaching. Therefore, reflection
of my own dispositions and effectiveness of meeting content standards will be
crucial in achieving student success. Lastly, as technology will be an integral part of
my classroom (which access will dependent of my school district), I will expect
students to utilize laptops, IPads and computer labs, to further their involvement
and understanding of a topic. However, even with the wealth of knowledge on the
internet, this part of my classroom must be set up in a way students understand the

expectations to only utilize them for academic research (unless they want their
privilege to be taken away).
Furthermore, I want my students to be invested and have a choice in what
they learn. From this, at the beginning of the semester students will have the
opportunity to voice their opinion on what subject areas or topics they want to
cover. While this procedure will not guide the entire schedule for the course, it will
still allow students to put forth their interests to benefit the growth of their own
knowledge. Moreover, students will be given multiple opportunities throughout the
semester to choose particular assignments to complete during a specific unit. For
example, one unit could incorporate assignments where students to choose either
to draw a picture, write a short response or respond verbally to higher level thinking
questions. Either way students have a choice to decide what fits best with their
learning style.
Lastly and as important, if not more important for teachers than teaching
content, is to develop transferable skills for students to be successful in the next
journey of their lives. While this mentality will be infused throughout units of the
semester, I plan on blocking out 3-4 days throughout the course to be spent
developing life skills for students which could include taking personality tests,
career aptitude tests, resume workshops or interview prep. These days will also
include opportunities to talk through current problems in society and to encourage
conversation in order to develop communication skills. Ultimately, the purpose of
these days will be to develop transferable skills to promote student success and
debrief about complex issues facing our society to ultimately take a break from
content.
Availability and Collaboration
To support students, I will make myself available both during and after school
along with my planning periods and lunch. This gives students the opportunity to
ask questions, seek clarification and bring up any concerns they may have, which
builds communication and teamwork between the student and me. However, I am
purposefully leaving mornings open for myself to prep for the day and an
opportunity to relax and converse with colleagues. This time will also be used to
brainstorm ideas with colleagues and build stronger connections with faculty.
Furthermore, I will also use my planning periods/lunch to interact with fellow
teachers, observe classrooms and to build connections with support staff
(counselors, administration, etc.) to further my development as an effective teacher.
My hope through my holistic teacher interactions will be to gain ideas on how to
bring outside content into my classroom to further develop student learning and
growth. Additionally, I want to encourage feedback, both from my students and
fellow staff to suggest changes I could implement to make student learning more
effective and visible.

Conclusion
In brief, holding to this management plan will be critical for myself to
be successful in my first few years of teaching as it sets clear expectations and
purpose for students to achieve greatness. It allows myself to maintain control of
my classroom while providing a space for students to feel valued and respected to
ultimately create a classroom culture of understanding and excitement to truly learn
about the value of Social Studies.