I remember teaching my first class like it was yesterday even though it has been 16+ years ago. I completed all of my course work, visited classrooms of veteran teachers, and I loved children… What more could I need? Well, I needed a lot! My reality check came when I started teaching a summer school camp right after graduation. I told my students the rules for the classroom and my reward system. I wouldn’t need consequences as MY students would respond to positive reinforcements. Ugh, was I wrong. In this post, Classroom Management Thoughts for a First Year Teacher, I am sharing my strategies for handling student behaviors.
Words of Wisdom for a First Year Teacher
If I can give new teachers any words of wisdom, they would be to have at least four consequences for bad behavior.
- Verbal Warning
- Student/Teacher Hall Conference
- Refocus Assignment
- Parent Phone Call
It is as important to have positive reinforcements for the students who always do the “right thing”. I have seen classrooms without positive reinforcements and, sometimes, your “perfect” student will stop being “perfect” because they are not recognized.
In this blog, Managing Classroom Behaviors with Check Sheets, I offer an infraction log. This has been an invaluable tool for parent conferences and solving difficult behavioral problems.
I hope your first year of teaching was as exciting as mine!
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