Classroom Management Strategies to Get Your Class to Do Their Best

Any veteran teacher will tell you that classroom management affects learning. If you don't have some tools in your tool box for managing the behavior of a challenging class, all of the amazing lesson plans in the world won't help you. Classroom management can include classroom reward systems, raffle books, treasure boxes, blurt beans, beat the teacher competitions and so much more. However, management must be more than just rewards. It also must be about relationships and expectations.

 
​Classroom Management Ideas - the Basics:
​

•  The first step to good classroom management is to have guidelines in place for students to learn and understand your expectations. This is going to look differently in every classroom. I prefer my students to come in and get started, so I often post directions for an activity on the board. Other teachers prefer students to complete a listen and repeat at the beginning of each activity. (Teacher gives directions orally, students tells those directions to a friend.) Still other teachers would rather students jump right in and experiment with an activity and then after they have built some background knowledge the teacher will give specific directions. In reality you'll probably use each of these methods at some point during your week. However, your students need to be taught your go-to method from the first day of school so that they know what is expected of them. Students want to follow the rules (for the most part), but they can't follow rules they don't know about or understand.

 

•  Next set up procedures for a regular day of school. Routines and schedules are your best friend when it comes to classroom management. Children are creatures of habit. They work better if they know exactly what is expected of them. During the first week of school, model and teach students a procedure for EVERY part of your day. (I mean every part of the day, when and how they sharpen a pencil, when and how they get a book off of the shelf, when and how they interact with their classmates.) Then keep your schedule exactly as it is (as best as you can) for at least 2 weeks. Once they have gotten the routine and procedures down, you can change it up a little, but remember that routines and procedures give students security and help them remember what behavior is expected of them when.

 

• Take time to get to know your students! I can't stress how important it is to get to know your students. In fact, I wrote a whole blog post about ideas of HOW to get to know your students. Getting to know the needs, interests, and personalities of your students will be invaluable to you in increasing engagement and knowing what rewards will help what students. Each kiddo has their own kid tool box of strategies that work for them, but they're not going to list fthe contents for us. We have to get to know them in order to motivate and reward them properly.

​

• Use different types of rewards. Now I'm one of those teachers who doesn't reward EVERYTHING. I don't think that an average 3rd grader should get a sticker every time they remember to to raise their hand. However, some 3rd graders who have a history of never remembering to raise their hand might need a sticker every time for a short period while you are teaching that skill. Rewards should be given regularly, for skills you are developing. These rewards should eventually be weaned back when students have the skill. This being said, these are kids and there is always a new skill we can work on and reward. Below I've listed out some specific rewards that I use. Remember that not every reward will work for every student.

​Successful Classroom Reward Systems

Not every reward system will work for every student, so it is important to have a variety of ways for students to earn rewards and a variety of rewards they can earn. Here are some ways students can earn rewards that have worked well in my classroom:

• Class Dojo (can also be done with a simple sticker chart) - Students earn and lose points based on criteria that we develop as a class.  I record these points on the class dojo website, which can be viewed by students and parents. When students hit a multiple of 20, they get to choose from a reward book. Some teachers refresh their points each week or each month. I allow my points to accumulate for the entire semester, so we only reset at New Year's. This way those students who are slow to accumulate still get a chance to earn the rewards.

 

• Classroom Marble Jar - Have a mason jar (or other similar sized jar) in the front of the room. When the whole class (or an individual student if that's how you set it up) is doing their best, we add a marble to the jar. When the jar is full we have a whole class reward (dance party, extra recess, time to draw, etc.) Some teachers also remove marbles if the entire class is misbehaving. I try not to do this, as generally someone was doing the right thing, but they get punished with everyone else.

 

• Classroom Raffle - Purchase (or see if parents will donate) larger prizes. I generally get things like a football or a set of books the class likes. Some free ideas could also be "a day as the teacher's assistant" or "a month with no homework". Either way, set up the prizes on a high shelf where students can see, but not touch. Place a jar or baggie in front of each prize. Buy a roll of raffle tickets (or use post it notes). When students are caught being awesome, they get a raffle ticket which they can write their name on and put in the container in front of the prize they desire. After a set amount of time, draw raffle tickets and hand out the prizes. Because these prizes are bigger, I generally draw at the end of the semester or the end of the month, depending on the attention span of my kiddos. In addition to being a way to talk about statistics, this is a great time to remind students that the person who is chosen may have one entry or 100 entries, but if you have 0 entries you can't win.

 

• Do the Dab! (or the Floss or whatever weird thing is the new fad) - Kids LOVE to see their teachers in a different light. Sometimes they love it enough that it can be a reward. Last year my students loved to watch me dab for some reason. So I took advantage of it. We had a difficult time walking through the hallways quietly. So I made a deal with my kiddos. If we could make it from point A to point B without Mrs. Raki having to remind anyone of the expectations, I would dab for the class when we got to point B. Another teacher I worked with used to put a timer on in his classroom. If the class finished cleaning up before the timer went off, he would spend the extra time showing them tricks using a fidget spinner. I've also seen this done the other way, if the goal is met then the kids get to do some weird dance move or fad that is popular now. It's all about motivation. If the kids are into it, it can be used as a quick (and FREE) reward.

Classroom Reward That Don't Break the Bank

Classroom rewards are wonderful, but even when you're using the dollar store and oriental trading, they add up! So here are some ways to have rewards without spending your entire paycheck.

• Ask for donations - As a former Title I Teacher, this one is hard for me to remember. However, I've found that even low income families have access to things that might be a good addition to a treasure box.  I had one mom who worked at McDonalds bring me a pack of coupons for free ice creams that her manager donated. Old toys that are headed towards Goodwill, bags of clearance Halloween candy, items parents have picked up as freebies at conferences or festivals - these are the donations I ask for at the beginning of the year. I let my parents know that I will accept donations all year long, and I warn them that they go into a treasure box where students can pick when they earn a reward (which means some of those might end up back at their house, lol. )

 

• Create a catalog where students can choose from in-class rewards like:
  • computer free time
  • art supply free time
  • puzzle or game free time
  • lunch with a friend
  • swip swap (sit near a friend for the day)
  • stinky feet (no shoes in class)
  • wear your shirt backwards in class
  • wearing a hat in class
  • selfie with the teacher (to be sent to parents)
  • a good phone call home
  • being the teacher's helper
  • no homework pass
  • sit in the teacher chair
  • classroom job of your choice
  • teach a lesson to the class
  • show and tell
  • lunch with the teacher

 

• Whole Class Rewards can also be experience based like:
  • Dance party
  • Computer lab party
  • Drawing and coloring party
  • Kickball game
  • Watch a movie
  • Students create a play, or a board game
  • Let students bring in board games or puzzles
  • Fortune teller and origami party
  • Play with the math manipulatives

 

• Not free, but cheap and unique rewards include:
  • printable coloring pages (print on a topic that interests your students)
  • party favors (multiple in a pack)
  • seashells or shiny rocks (sold at hobby stores or collected on the beach, and the kids LOVE them)
  • string for friendship bracelets (tie off the sections, you get more than you think)
  • stickers (buy a big pack, cut it into strips)
  • trading cards (buy a pack, open the pack the reward is one card)
  • art supplies (buy a multipack, split it up, it's amazing what kids will do for a new paintbrush)