Favorite Classroom Management Strategies

On the first day of school, I like to rattle off the various jobs I've held over the years: pizza maker, ice-cream truck driver, factory worker, grocery clerk, security guard, writer, janitor...

I then invite kids to guess which of the jobs I listed is NOT TRUE. The answer? Security guard. 

This little game gives me the chance to share some of my history and leads into an important feature of my classroom: I am not a security guard. I am not a police officer. I am not the gendarme, nor the constabulary. And do I want to be. In truth, I would be a terrible police officer. I am not good at making and enforcing rules. Rather, I am a teacher. My energy goes to finding ways to help kids learn. With this understanding established, I explain my methods for keeping order in our room:

I will plan highly engaging lessons that they'll want to take part in. Each day will include opportunities for movement and discussion. (These are marked with a * on the whilteboard, as reminders to all of us that activity is planned.) 

That is my discipline strategy: keep them engaged, thinking, wanting to be a part of the learning. On days when my kids are off task, I can invariably trace their derailment to my own failure in planning. That isn't to say I blame myself for kids' misbehavior. But if I have an off day of teaching, my #1 method of getting back on top of my game is to plan the heck out of the next day's lesson. And because I live by this, I have very few discipline issues. Still, I have a few. Here is how I address them:

1) The sleepy kid - Offer her a lemon drop. 

2) The kid who is only pretending to read his book - Give him a choice: "Would you like to change books, or power through the next 10 pages?" I also ask the kid to rate the book on a scale of 1-5. If he doesn't give it a 4 or 5, I suggest a new book. There are too many great books out there to waste your time on a 3.

3) The kid who is distracting others from learning - "Would you like a drink of water?" This question, whispered softly to a student is my code for "Please get up, go out in the hall, get a drink, and get a grip." I explain on the first day that it is never my intent to embarrass them, but there might be times when I need them to step out of the classroom, get their act together, and re-think why I might have asked them to leave for a minute. I explain that "get a drink of water" does not mean wander the halls. It means go get a drink, then either come back in with their behavior/attitude under control, or--if they prefer--wait outside the door and I'll come out and talk to them soon.

I am not Pollyanna. My classroom is not perfect and my students at times need reminders to shape up. I know my style would not work for everyone--but the fear-of-god method doesn't work for me. A well-planned lesson, a well-stocked lemon-drop jar, and a nearby drinking fountain are my tools of the trade.