Case Scenario
It is the third day in your new classroom. You have taken over mid year for a retiring
teacher. The classroom is organized in rows with the teacher’s desk at the front of the class.
The walls are bare. The students come in the room pushing and shoving each other. They
throw their book bags in the back closet, the noise level is high, and you have overheard
some derogatory comments about an Indigenous student.
Plan of Action
Some students don’t like change. People have a natural fear of the unknown. Here
are the strategies and actions I will take to manage the class.
Immediate action: I will ask every student to sit down first and calm down. I will calmly and
respectfully ask students not to push and shove as respect to everyone. I will allocate a few
moments of silence and reflection of what just happened. I will ask the students to put their
hands in a basket. A little meditation activity will help. I will put on meditation music if
available. Deep breathing to calm everyone’s emotion. Then I will introduce myself and my
role moving forward.
Addressing derogatory comments: I need to talk to talk to the student who made
derogatory comments in private. He/she will be referred to the administration for any
applicable disciplinary action. I will also talk to the indigenous student to make sure that
he/she is fine and assure him/her that I will not allow that to happen again in class. I will also
offer a listening ear if he/she needs to talk about it.
First period: When everyone is settled, I will ask the students to move desks to form a table
for four. This is needed for the next activity which is brainstorming about class rules. Each
group will be given poster paper to write their ideas. I will ask student to respectfully share
ideas and be open to others. When done, we will summarize the classroom rules together.
We will post these rules in one of the empty walls. It might look like this:
Classroom Rules:
1. Respect others.
2. Raise your hands when you need to speak.
3. Keep a clean and tidy classroom.
4. Keep hands to yourself all the time.
5. Speak in an appropriate volume.
We will immediately implement these rules. We will also revisit the rules on a monthly basis.
The following period: We will do a simple Getting To Know You activity. I will start saying
information about myself and if they have the same information then the student/s will
stand up. For example, I will say “I have a dog”. Then those students who have a dog need to
stand up. I will then ask specific but quick questions like “What kind of dog do you have?”
until everyone who stood up have answered. I will pick from students standing who will say
the next thing about themselves. For example, he/she may say “I have siblings”. Then those
students who have siblings need to stand up. I may ask each one how many siblings they
have. Then when done, another student who is standing takes his/her turn and so on until
we run out of time. This activity is quick and easy to implement. It will hit most students in
class and because it is about themselves, the engagement will be high.
Next activity: This activity can be done the next period or the following day. Students will
answer survey questions. They will be given questionnaires that they will fill up and another
one that will be sent to the parents. Questions need to be adjusted according to the grade
level.
Sample survey questions
Tell me about a teacher you really liked and what he/she did that you appreciated.
Tell me about a teacher that you felt wasn't effective and why.
Describe the most interesting activity you ever did in school.
Describe the most challenging class or unit of study.
How do you like to get feedback?
If I notice that you're not following one of our classroom agreements, how would you
like me to let you know?
The next day: We will implement the Successful Points Program. I will explain how the
program works. We already made the classroom rules so now I have to explain the
Behaviour Rubric where they can get points or lose points. I will also explain the
consequence ladder where inappropriate actions have certain consequences. I will also
explain the class store. This is the fun part as I explain what they can buy from points earned
in the class store. The Behaviour Rubric, Consequence Ladder and Class Store incentive will
all be displayed on the empty walls. A parent information sheet will be sent home.
A Sample of Behaviour Rubric
Expectations + Earn Points - Lose Points
Attitude Accepts challenges. Turning down challenges.
Following Instructions Following directions the first Ignoring directions.
time they are given.
Respecting Others Chooses kind words and Chooses unkind words and
actions. actions.
Teamwork Helping another student. Refusing to offer help.
Active Participation Participates actively in class. Does not participate in class.
Ongoing Activity: Journal Writing. This is similar to a diary. Students can write their thoughts
in a diary. Writing conventions will not be graded but the journal will only be marked for
completion. Information in the journal will be kept confidential. This writing activity may be
done everyday at the beginning or end of class period or every other day. The topic could be
anything as long as the student is writing words and sentences.
Everyday Interaction: Students will be greeted at the beginning of the day. We will spend
several minutes in the morning for short conversations about their day or weekend keeping
in mind the classroom rules. The teacher will model the expected behaviour. He/She will talk
respectfully and politely. Students will be praised for following expectations. The teacher will
use encouraging words when they are not met yet.
Blowing of Steam: Preferably at the beginning of the day or after lunch. We will do some
physical activity to spent energy such as dancing to Just Dance that will be shown on screen,
Go Noodle for the younger grades, or Yoga. It may also just a simple warm up or stretching
exercise. I want to make sure that students will have fun while doing this.
Desks and chairs: Desks and chairs will be arranged in rows facing the smartboard. If
needed, they can move the desks if the class activity needs collaboration. Students may be
moved to a different spot depending on the behaviour.
End of the week: Students can buy from the class store. This is the fun part. It is suggested
to do at the last period of Friday. There will be a stack of pencils, snacks, certificate for
students of the week, etc. or whatever the teacher planned on giving. Other incentive
includes giving a positive feedback to the parents. One of the most popular is giving jobs to
the students. It could be a line leader, board cleaner, timekeeper, etc.
A Sample of Class Store Incentive
5 points – buy a pencil.
10 points – buy a snack bag.
15 points – positive phone call home
20 points – line leader
25 points – student of the week
30 points – Computer Time
